Bangalore:
A massive 3-ton, 13-feet high bronze statue of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, claimed to be the tallest in India and costing Rs. 1.25 lakhs were installed before the Vidhana Soudha here on July 23. The statue stands on a well-chiseled marble pedestal. Chief Minister Gundu Rao, who will unveil it on Aug. 19, must be thanked for readily conceding the demands of the Karnataka Dalit Action Committee for renaming the Vidhana Veedhi as Ambedkar Road and for installing an Ambedkar statue before the Vidhana Soudha.
He has also granted holiday on the Ambedkar Jayanti – April 14. Besides, he has agreed to give a piece of land in the centre of the city to put up Ambedkar Bhavan and a handsome grant for the Dalit Sahitya Akademy. All these concessions to the Dalits have led to serious heart-burning among communal Hindus. A standing proof of this is the damage they did to the Ambedkar Road name-board. They filed a writ before the High Court against renaming the road. Some members questioned in the legislature the Government’s decision to install Ambedkar statue before the Vidhana Soudha. According to them, only the statue of Kengal Hanumanthaiya, a former Chief Minister who built the Vidhana Soudha, should be installed. The controversy will increase. All over India, Ambedkar statues are being attacked and damaged. And Bangalore will not be an exception. Since Ambedkar is the symbol of the rising Dalit power, it will not be tolerated by the pro-Gandhi high castes who own the properties and privileges. A clash between Ambedkar and Gandhi is inevitable. We welcome such a clash.
