Ram Vanji Sutar (born 19 February 1925) is an Indian sculptor. He designed the ''

Statue of Unity The ''Statue of Unity'' is the world's List of tallest statues, tallest statue, with a height of , located in Narmada River, Narmada valley, near Kevadia in the state of Gujarat, India. It depicts Indian politician and Indian independence mov ...

'' which is the world's tallest statue with a height of 182 metres (597 feet), exceeding the Spring Temple Buddha by 54 metres.

Personal life

Sutar was born in a

Vishwakarma Vishvakarma or Vishvakarman (, ) is a craftsman deity and the divine architect of the Deva (Hinduism), devas in contemporary Hinduism. In the early texts, the craftsman deity was known as Tvastar and the word "Vishvakarma" was originally used a ...

family, on 19 February 1925, in the village of Gondur, in Dhule district of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. In 1952, he married Pramila.

Career

Sutar designed the ''

'', the tallest statue of the world located in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. He also erected the 45-foot tall Chambal monument, as well as a bust of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

which was copied and sent to other countries. He designed the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in a seated position, located at the Parliament of India. A larger replica of the same was made by him at the

Vidhana Soudha Vidhana Soudha (also spelled *Vidhāna Saudha*, lit. "Legislative House") is the seat of the Karnataka Legislature in Bengaluru, India. Completed in 1956, it houses the bicameral legislature comprising the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and t ...

. He is also the designer of the 108-ft tall

Kempe Gowda Kempe Gowda I (27 June 1510 – 1569) locally venerated as Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda, or commonly known as Kempe Gowda, was a governor under the Vijayanagara Empire in early-modern India. He is famous for the development of Bengaluru Pete in th ...

statue at the

Bengaluru International Airport Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving Bengaluru, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Spread over , it is located about north of the city near the suburb of Devanahalli. It is owned and operated by ...

. Brisbane's Indian community commissioned a statue of Gandhi, created by Ram V. Sutar and Anil Sutar in

Roma Street Parkland Roma Street Parkland covers 11 hectares in the centre of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Roma Street Parkland is adjacent to the former Brisbane Transit Centre and the Roma Street railway station from which it takes its n ...

, It was unveiled by

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

, then Prime Minister of India in 2014.

Awards

In 1999, he received the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

and later in 2016,

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

from the Government of India. In October 2018, Sutar received the

Tagore Award The Tagore Award is an award given in commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) for cultural harmony. Established in 2011 by Government of India, it is given for outstanding achievement in ...

for cultural harmony of 2016. He was chosen for

Maharashtra Bhushan The Maharashtra Bhushan is a highest civilian award presented annually by the Government of Maharashtra, Government of Maharashtra State in India. When the Shiv Sena (1966–2022), Shivsena- BJP alliance came to power in 1995, it proposed to inst ...

, the state government's highest civilian award. Maharashtra's Chief Minister

Devendra Fadnavis Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis (born 22 July 1970) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 5 December 2024 with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as his deputies, and previously held this positi ...

informed the legislative assembly on 20 March 2025.

Works

File:Hitopadesha.jpg,

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

Arjun Rath Monument at

Brahma Sarovar Brahma Sarovar () is a man-made tank in Kurukshetra, in the state of Haryana, India. It is 3600 feet long, 1500 feet wide, and 45 feet deep. Hinduism lays emphasis on taking bath for internal and external purity. Most religious sites hav ...

. Bronze statue, by Ram V. and Anil R. Sutar, 2008. File:Statue of Unity in 2018.jpg, ''

'', Narmada district. Bronze, 2018 File:Side view of Mahatma Gandhi statue in Vidhan Soudha.jpg, Statue of

Vidhan Soudha Vidhana Soudha (also spelled *Vidhāna Saudha*, lit. "Legislative House") is the seat of the Karnataka Legislature in Bengaluru, India. Completed in 1956, it houses the bicameral legislature comprising the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and t ...

. Bronze, 2014 File:PM unveils the 108 ft bronze statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda.jpg, ''

Statue of Prosperity The ''Statue of Prosperity'' is the statue of the founder and architect of the city of Bangalore, termed widely as 'Nadaprabhu' Kempe Gowda (1510 - 1569), constructed at the Kempegowda International Airport, in Devanahalli of Bengaluru. It was ...

'', Kempegowda IA,

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. Bronze, 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutar, Ram V 1925 births Living people 20th-century Indian male artists 20th-century Indian sculptors Artists from Maharashtra People from Dhule People from Dhule district Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Indian male sculptors Indian men centenarians