A large sculpture of national poet Allama Iqbal is confusing a lot of Pakistanis on social media. The deformed structure is situated at Gulshan-E-Iqbal Park in Lahore. Social media users made the picture viral by questioning the artistic quality of this statue. There was sarcasm, criticism, and even some serious calls to remove this abomination and replace it with a respectable one if it’s necessary.
This Statue Looks Like Anything But Allama Iqbal
The first reaction from most users after seeing this image was huge laughter. They were confused about the statue and did not know who or what did it look like. Upon further discussion, they come to realize that it was in fact Iqbal’s statue. They were not expecting that the government which came as the beacon of change, actually had actually brought this much change.
Many were still trying to recollect what did look like because it was far from looking like Allama Iqbal. A lot of people were intentionally or unintentionally giving wrong guesses about the namesake of this sculpture. One of them thought it looked like Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
Failed Attempt At Art
The people were coming up with more hilarious reactions. As, this singer’s comment shows that the statue seems an attempt to take revenge from the toxic ex rather than a way to pay tribute to the national hero.
What Does This Statue Represent?
Some keen-eyed observers did not find anything wrong as the statue depicted the same distorted values among the society of Pakistan. To them, the Allama Iqbal sculpture was an exact representation of how Pakistanis had destroyed the very purpose of creating a separate homeland.
After the Statue of Unity in India, this is another statue that is getting this much level of criticism (however, not for the purpose but for its art).
Call For Removal
Despite the humor, some users called for its removal and prompt replacement. For them, it was only sick joke, which seemed like a strain on the legacy of Allama Iqbal.
Who Created This Statue?
In the end, it turned out that no professional artist made this sculpture. Media reported that it was the local gardeners of the Lahore park, who made this as an amateur tribute to the famous poet.
https://twitter.com/Wabbasi007/status/1356476255147876354
The park unveiled this statue on 14th August 2020, which was the 73rd Independence Day.
Critics are also asking authorities to issue guidelines for the workers in the future for any such purpose so that these kinds of mishaps can be avoided. Otherwise, the attempts to glorify the historical figures can end up in misrepresentation.
