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Maharashtra to install life-size Ambedkar statue at Japanese Buddhist centre soon

It is part of an initiative with the Wakayama Prefecture to boost state tourism.

Dr B R Ambedkar will soon find a place in Koyasan, a revered Buddhist centre in Japan. The Maharashtra government is set to install a life-size bronze statue of the architect of the Indian Constitution on the premises of Koyasan, located 1,000 metres above sea level atop Mount Koya.

The installation of the statue of the Dalit icon, who converted to Buddhism, is being undertaken to mark the 1,200th year of Koyasan, said an official of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). It is part of an initiative with the Wakayama Prefecture to boost state tourism.

“They will have a commemorative ceremony between April and May. The Wakayama authorities wanted Dr Ambedkar’s statue as part of that commemoration. The statue, being crafted in India, is about 50 per cent ready and will be completed by the end of March. We will airlift it in April, and set it up on a pedestal there,” an MTDC official, who did not wish to be named, said.

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The 6-foot-two-inch tall statue, which will stand on a four-foot pedestal, has Ambedkar in his characteristic pose — with a book in one hand and the other hand raised. It is being made by a private company at its foundry in Sindhudurg.

State Tourism Secretary Valsa Nair Singh, who is also the managing director of MTDC, said, “The initiative is part of the Memorandum of Understanding that MTDC signed with the Wakayama Prefecture in 2013. This will be one of the first statues of Dr Ambedkar outside India.”

Festive offer

The statue will stand in an open-air atmosphere in a university on the Koyasan premises, an official said. While the statue itself will cost roughly Rs 25 lakh, the state government will bear an overall expense of about Rs 44 lakh. This includes the cost of the statue, the pedestal, airlifting and other charges. “The land on which the statue will stand has been offered free of cost to us,” an official added.

The initiative comes days after the state government put forward a request and convinced the central government to purchase a London property where Ambedkar lived as a student in the 1920s.

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Anandraj Ambedkar, grandson of the iconic leader, said such initiatives will go a long way in spreading his work and teachings. “But it is sad that while the entire world understands his significance, our own country itself doesn’t respect Dr Ambedkar the way he should be. Even after pursuing for many years, we still don’t have his memorial at Indu Mills.”

Besides the installation of the statue in Koyasan, the MTDC has opened an office in Tokyo, and the Wakayama Prefecture has an office in Aurangabad. Further, there would be displays of Ajanta and Ellora at Wakayama and vice versa.

First uploaded on: 22-01-2015 at 03:45 IST
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