The “Statue of Unity,” which is actually of independence leader Vallabhbhai Patel and is currently the world’s tallest statue, was completed last fall, and more are on the way: a statue of the 17th-century warrior-king Shivaji in Mumbai, and enormous images of the Hindu god Rama and the 19th-century holy man Swami Vivekananda in Ayodhya. Why? A desire to stand out on the world stage, sure, but even more because of the Hindu nationalism of Narendra Modi’s government. – Apollo