National memorial at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s
Birthplace, Mhow (Ambedkar Nagar), unveiled

15 April 2008

The celebration of the 117th birth anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the great social reformer and principal architect of India’s republican Constitution, at his birthplace, Mhow (Madhya Pradesh), turned out to be memorable. An impressive national memorial in honour of Dr. Ambedkar, called the Bhim Birthplace Memorial, was unveiled by Shri L.K. Advani, Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha), at a function in Mhow (Ambedkar Nagar) yesterday.

Over 100,000 people from various parts of Madhya Pradesh and the rest of the country, especially Maharashtra, converged at Mhow near Indore. (It was renamed ‘Ambedkar Nagar’ by the NDA government.) Shri Madandas Devi, Sah Karyavah of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was also present on the occasion.

The credit for erecting the national memorial goes to the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh headed by Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Although Mhow is the birthplace of Dr. Ambedkar, the previous Congress governments never cared to build a befitting monument. The foundation stone for the project was laid on 14 April 1991 by Shri Sundarlal Patwa, who headed a BJP government in Madhya Pradesh. The succeeding Congress government, which ruled the state for ten years, neglected it completely. Work on the project started in right earnest only after the BJP returned to power in 2003.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Advani said: “We have a long and hallowed tradition in India of viewing the place of birth or mahanirvaan of a great soul as a sacred place. India has three places that have been made holy by their association with the life of this Maha Maanav: the first is Mhow, which is Dr. Ambedkar’s Janmabhoomi; the second is Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur, where Dr. Ambedkar embraced Buddhism along with tens of thousands of his followers; and the third is Chaityabhoomi at Dadar Beach in Mumbai, where his Samadhi has been erected. According to me, all the three places — Janmabhoomi, Deekshabhoomi and Chaityabhoomi — are worthy of being considered as pilgrimage centres.”

Advani remarked that, of the three places, Mhow had somehow not received the kind of national and international visibility which the other two places have got. “I therefore congratulate the Government of Madhya Pradesh and Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan for having erected this grand memorial to honour the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar at his birthplace.”

Shri Advani described Dr. Ambedkar as “by far the best example in modern times that a man attains greatness through his karma (work) and not through his janma (birth). His personality was a combination of colossal scholarship and equally colossal social activism.”

Recalling that Dr. Ambedkar had “rightly said that political freedom is incomplete without social and economic freedom”, Shri Advani observed: “His mission for social equality and social justice is still incomplete. It must be continued with commitment and vigour until the goal is achieved.” He reminded the audience that samata-yukt and shoshan-mukt samaj (a society based on equality and free from exploitation) is one of the five foundational principles of the BJP.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Chauhan described the memorial of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as an article of faith. “It was our duty to complete this project. We have decided to take up beautification work here, and also start a light-and-sound programme based on the life and teachings of Dr. Ambedkar. Permanent Dharmshalas would be constructed for the pilgrims coming to Ambedkar Nagar, which would be an important place on country's pilgrimage and tourism map. The state government would organise Ambedkar Mahakumbh here every year.”