Israel is planning to place a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in one of its “big” cities, the country’s Consul General in Mumbai Yaniv Revash said on the coronation day of the Maratha king.
The Consul General said they had contacted Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis “to seek his advice” on the partnership. “Of course, he gave us his blessing immediately and will give us all the support we need,” Revac added.
Revealing the proposal he had sent to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Revach said the “long-term project” would be a show of “goodwill to the Indian people” from Israel.
“Because after Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Jerusalem, we decided to deepen relations between Israel and India in different aspects. One of the aspects was actually the history of our two countries,” Revach told news agency ANI, adding that the idea was to build a statue of Shivaji Maharaj and send it to Israel instead of doing a big project in India.
“Efforts to create greater awareness about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj”
The Israeli Consul General in Mumbai also pointed out the similarities in the history of both India and Israel.
“When I came to India a few months ago, I learned about the similarities between India and Israel. The fact that we had to fight both countries, the Jews also had to fight for their land for many decades,” he said.
In this context, Revach said, the Israeli government is making “special efforts to bring people together from our two countries…” after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country earlier this year in February. “I think we need to make efforts to create greater awareness about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Israel,” he added.
The Consul General praised Chhatrapati’s “good governance, courage and religious tolerance”, saying these qualities continue to “inspire generations”. Revach said the statue would serve as a “powerful symbol” of India-Israel relations, and would be historically meaningful given the ties between Maharashtra and the Indian Jewish community.
CM Fadnavis unveils the statue of Shivaji Maharaj at Navi Mumbai airport
Meanwhile, Maharashtra CM Fadnavis unveiled the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the Navi Mumbai International Airport on Shivrajyabhishek Din or the coronation day of the Maratha king.
The 20-feet tall bronze statue was installed at the airport, which began operations in December 2025. “I am confident that every traveler arriving or departing from this international airport will draw inspiration and energy from Maharaj’s image, statue and memorial,” Fadnavis said.
