Statue of Equality

Statue of Equality
Location Prabhadevi, Dadar, Mumbai
Height 150 feet
Beginning date November 2015[1]
Dedicated to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

The Statue of Equality[2][3][4] is a 150 feet statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar[5] at Ambedkar memorial proposed for the Indian city of Mumbai.[6][7][8][9]

History

Ambedkar Memorial Mumbai was announced by Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh as on 18 August 2012. It is to be situated on old Indu Mills land in Dadar.[10]

Ambedkar Memorial

Foundation stone

On 11 October 2015, foundation stone of Memorial was laid by Prime Minister of India[11] Narendra Modi. Work of memorial was to start in November 2015.[12]

Structure of memorial

The main entrance to the structure would be from the adjacent Cadell Road with SKS Marg as secondary access point. The memorial will be linked with Chaitya Bhoomi for easy movement of crowds. The memorial will cost ₹425 crore (US$63 million) at 12-acre erstwhile Indu Mill land. Its main attraction will be a 25,000 sq ft stupa around a pond. A dome-like structure with 24 stone ribs will be in the middle of plot. There will be an Ashoka Chakra covering the memorial structure. There will also be a proposed 39,622 square feet interactive museum displaying several aspects of Ambedkar’s life. The memorial will have a facility to park around 400 vehicles.[13]

Stupa

the stupa would be the most expensive part at ₹110.95 crore (US$16 million). Stupa will be of 40 metres (140 feet) height and a circumference diameter of 80 metres (110 feet) will have a ribbed ceiling thus resembling the Buddhist Chaityas. An eight-tier bronze canopy representing the Buddha’s eight-fold path at the top of the stupa in a built-up area of 2,400 square metres with a lotus pond at the foot of the dome.[14]

Vipassana hall

There is also proposed Vipassanā (meditation) hall at the memorial with a seating capacity of 13,000 people.[15]

Gallery of Struggle will also be there to depict momentous events associated with the life and work of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar alongside a library spread across 50,000 square feet.[16]

Controversy

After laying of foundation stone event of memorial, Ambedkar's family (Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's grandsons Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar and Anandraj Ambedkar) and Maharashtra Ambedkarities leaders were not satisfied with memorial design. Some had concerns over the practical details of the design while others thought the memorial was not befitting the stature of Dr. Ambedkar. Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar pressed for memorial to have a “think tank institution”, an intellectual centre of international standards for scholars across the globe come for intellectual activity as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was an intellectual giant who contributed to many fields different many ways. Anandraj Ambedkar also suggested a design to the State government which was not considered as his design consisted of a 360-feet tall statue of Dr. Ambedkar, Statue of Equality. The design right now looks more like a joggers’ park than a memorial. Leaders demanded government to set up a technical committee of experts on Buddhism, reputed architects from different Buddhist countries, and well-known people from the construction industry before finalising the memorial’s design with inclusion of a State of Equality (a larger-than-life sculpture of Ambedkar facing the ocean like the New York City’s Statue of Liberty) so to form an impressive part of Mumbai’s skyline and should be the first thing that visitors landing in Mumbai lay their eyes on.[17][18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Work on Ambedkar memorial to start from November".
  2. ↑ TNN (2 January 2012). "Statue of equality should come up at Indu Mill site: Ambedkar". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Govt dithers even on 'statue of equality' plan". dna. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "A year on, state govt yet to pick designer for Ambedkar memorial".
  5. ↑ Sports (10 October 2015). "PM Modi to be briefed on how Ambedkar Memorial will look". The Indian Express. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Ambedkar memorial: Statue taller than that of Liberty sought". Indian Express. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
  7. ↑ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-02/pune/30580928_1_entire-land-memorial-years-acres
  8. ↑ http://www.yourspj.com/statue-of-equality-diversion-from-objective/
  9. ↑ http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-govt-dithers-even-on-statue-of-equality-plan-1662960
  10. ↑ "Indu Mills land in the city for the memorial of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar before December 6, the death anniversary of the late leader.".
  11. ↑ PTI (20 October 2015). "PM Lays Foundation Stone of Ambedkar Memorial, Sena Stays Away". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  12. ↑ India, Press Trust of (7 October 2015). "Work on Ambedkar memorial to start from November". Business Standard News. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "PM Modi to be briefed on how Ambedkar Memorial will look.".
  14. ↑ "Ambedkar memorial on 12-acre Indu Mill land.".
  15. ↑ "Work on Ambedkar memorial to commence in November". I am in DNA of India. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "PM Narendra Modi Lays Foundation Stone of Ambedkar Memorial in Mumbai". NDTV.com. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  17. ↑ Rashid, Omar (11 October 2015). "Ambedkar family not satisfied with memorial design". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "Ambedkar memorial design fails to impress Dalit leaders - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/ambedkar-memorial-design-fails-to-impress-dalit-leaders/#sthash.brcoe6p0.dpuf". External link in |title= (help)
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