Israel to install Shivaji statue ‘to deepen ties’ with India, diplomat meets Fadnavis in Mumbai

ISrael is preparation to instal a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in single of its “ vainglorious” cities, the country's consul superior general to Mumbai Yaniv Revach said on the Maratha king's Coronation Day. The consul general said that they had approached Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis “to ask his advice” on the partnership. “Of course, he gave us immediately his blessing, and he will give us all of the support that we'll need,” Revach added.Revealing the proposal that he sent to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Revach said the “long-term project” would be a display of “goodwill for the Indian people” from Israel.“Because following the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Jerusalem, we decided to deepen the ties between Israel and India in different aspects. One of the aspects was actually the history of our two nations,” Revach told news agency ANI, adding that the idea was to build a statue of Shivaji Maharaj and send it to Israel rather than doing a big project in India. ‘Efforts to create greater awareness about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’The Israeli consul general to Mumbai also cited the similarities in the history of both India and Israel.“When I came here to India a few months ago, I learned about the similarities between India and Israel. The fact that we both nations had to fight, the Jews also had to fight for their land for many, many decades,” he stated.Revach said that in this context, the Israeli government is making “special efforts to bring people from our two countries closer…” after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country earlier this year in February. “I believe that we need to make efforts to create greater awareness about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Israel,” he added.The consul general hailed the Chhatrapati's “good governance, courage, religious tolerance”, saying these qualities continue to “inspire generations.” Revach said the statue would serve as a “powerful symbol” of India-Israel ties, and would be meaningful historically given links between Maharashtra and the Indian Jewish community.CM Fadnavis unveils Shivaji Maharaj's statue at Navi Mumbai airportMeanwhile, Maharashtra CM Fadnavis unveiled Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue at the Navi Mumbai international airport on Shivrajyabhishek Din or the coronation day of the Maratha king.The 20-foot bronze statue was installed at the airport, which began operations in December, 2025. “I am confident that every passenger arriving at or departing from this international airport will draw inspiration and energy from Maharaj's image, statue and memorial,” Fadnavis said.