New Delhi: The new building and premises of the Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial at 26, Alipur Road will be as much a celebration of the life and works of B.R. Ambedkar, the father of the Indian constitution, as of Buddhism, the religion he adopted and propagated.
Due to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 13, the memorial has now been given the shape of the open constitution book. Situated opposite the Old Secretariat building, where the first sitting of the legislative council was held in 1913 after the British moved their capital to Delhi, the building has come up at the place where Ambedkar breathed his last – or achieved mahaparinirvan – on December 6, 1956.
Ambedkar, also the first law minister of India, had moved to these premises in 1951, having taken it on rent from the then Raja of Sirohi. After his demise, the property was purchased by the Jindal family of Jindal Steel and Power Limited. They demolished the earlier building and construed a new one. The premises were later acquired by the Centre during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee rule and converted into a memorial in 2003.
Inauguration amidst Dalit anger
The work on the new memorial was started in July 2016 and has been completed in about 21 months. For the Modi government, the inauguration also comes at a time when it is facing widespread criticism for ignoring the rights and demands of Dalits.
Statue of Buddha made with Vietnamese white stone
The past month has also seen a new alignment amid Dalit forces, especially in the wake of the Supreme Court order that redefined how cases could only be registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and people arrested therein only after completion of an initial investigation. This had led to Dalit protests across the country and several lives were lost in the ensuing violence and police firing.
The opposition parties have found in this episode an opportunity to attack the Modi government for its failure to protect lives and rights of Dalits by allowing the dilution of the law. They have also criticised it for numerous incidents of violence against Dalits under Modi’s rule.
Be it the Rohith Vemula case, the Una flogging incident in Gujarat or the Saharanpur violence in Uttar Pradesh, the Samrau violence in Rajasthan, or the Bhima-Koregaon violence earlier this year, there have been numerous instances which have exposed these fault lines.
In this light, the inauguration of the remade memorial is being seen by many in the BJP as an opportunity to project itself as a pro-Dalit party, despite what examples from the ground may say. This will be the second inauguration of a building dedicated to Ambedkar in Delhi in less than six months.
In November 2017, Modi had inaugurated the Ambedkar International Centre at Janpath Road here, just two days ahead of polling in Gujarat, where Dalit anger had been on the boil. This time, the inauguration of the national memorial comes at a time when the BJP is trying to stake a big claim on the Dalit icon, having already added ‘Ramji’ to his name in Uttar Pradesh.
A tasteful monument
The political posturing apart, the memorial has been done up tastefully.
Right in front of the main entrance stands a replica of the Ashoka pillar at Sarnath. According to Rajesh Bhandari of Shilpam, Jaipur, the pillar has been made of Ashtadhatu or an alloy of eight metals, with bronze as the primary one.
Exhibition on Ambedkar’s last journey is the mainstay of the lower level
On the sides are located replicas of the stone pillars at Sarnath, made of Jaisalmer stone and slightly yellow in colour.
The wall on the side of the entry to the basement has been decorated with golden hands which depict the various mudras.
The lower level of the two-storied building has an exhibition gallery, where days spent by Ambedkar on the premises have been illustrated. With newspaper clippings of the day, his last days and journey have also been captured vividly.
A huge bronze statue of Ambedkar stands at the centre of the upper level.
The new memorial has several state-of-the-art features as well. It has a double-sided projector on the lower level which will project images constantly on two huge screens. The screens have been hung from the double ceiling.
Further down the corridor, there is an idol of Buddha made of Vietnamese white stone and is about 8.5 feet high. The drape around him shows that it has been made in the Gandharva style.
One side of the basement level has been dedicated to the drafting of the constitution by Ambedkar, as chairman of the Drafting Committee. It records the proceedings of the committee and the exhibition has several important photographs of leaders who had played a crucial role in securing independence for the country.
The upper level has a huge bronze statue of Ambedkar and nearby there is a life-size statue of his which shows him sitting under a banyan tree.
Another side of this hall segregates the life of Ambedkar into the multi-faceted person that he was: founder of the constitution, someone who adopted Buddhism and worked for its promotion, freedom fighter, politician, champion of rights of the Dalits and more.
There is also a section dedicated to the personal life of Ambedkar, which talks about how he lost his wife.
The most fascinating feature will, however, likely be a life-size robotic Ambedkar, the upper portion of which moves. Dressed in a navy blue suit with a red tie, Ambedkar in this exhibit is also shown speaking.
In all, there are 27 exhibits on both the levels of this sprawling 7,374 square metre monument, which also hosts a themed garden and a meditation hall.