Jan-March 2006 - Institute of Sikh Studies

62ABSTRACTS OF SIKH STUDIES : JAN-MARCH 2006 / 537-38 NSmidst of civilization, making artificial hells and subjecting to thecomplications of chance the divine destiny of man.” Perhaps it was acomment on the decadent Paris, where not much liberty was left forthe people. Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), who lived during theturbulent times in France, depicted the quintessence of Parisiandepravity in many of his paintings. It was unthinkable that theRepublican France, the champion of liberalism and progress, shouldhave moved closer to reactionary tyrants.In 1865, in one such society of the liberal intellectuals, a Frenchhistorian-jurist, Edouard de Laboulaye, while speaking at a dinner party,proposed that the people of France should construct a monument inthe United States that would celebrate the American independenceand the bonds between the two nations. One distinguished Frenchsculptor, Fredric Auguste Bartholdi was also present there. He tookupon himself to work on such a project. But there was no money forconstructing such a colossal monument. It was only ten years later,when the Third Republic was established that the work started on theStatue of Liberty. It took almost ten years in its construction and thepeople of France collected funds for the same.Lady liberty might never have been uncraeted on American shore,had not the New York World publisher Joseph Pulitzer launched hisown campaign to cajole the poor and shame the rich into providingmoney for liberty’s new home. The people of America collected 3, 50thousand dollars for constructing the pedestal for the installation ofthe Statue of Liberty on the Ellis Island in 1886. However, sournotes were sounded on the dedication day. The first was a jib by theTimes of London, which called the unveiling, ‘a curious festival’ andwondered why liberty should be exported from France, which has solittle thereof, to America which has so much’. Though the Frenchpeoples have always remained champions of freedom, their rulers,however, betrayed them many a time. Napoleon Bonaparte, the heroicchild of the French Revolution and passionate supporter of humanfreedom, unfortunately, ended as tyrant emperor of France. On hisabject surrender to the British, France felt humiliated. Napoleon III,his nephew, repeated the story.The French admired the Americans for their War of Independenceand in recognition of the same donated the Statute of Liberty, which