Statue of Equality


The Statue of Equality or the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial is a monument under-construction dedicated to B. R. Ambedkar, the 20th-century Indian intellectual and the father of the Indian Constitution. The statue will be located in Mumbai city in the Indian state Maharashtra. The statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar will be in total height, including a pedestal. The Ambedkar statue will be the third tallest statue in the world after the Statue of Unity and the Spring Temple Buddha.

History

It is to be situated on property formerly owned by National Textile Corporation known as Indu Mills in Dadar. The land is now owned by the government of Maharashtra. The foundation stone was laid on 11 October 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Construction proper was to start in November 2015, but the project had not been assigned to a construction contractor, due to only one bid being submitted back then.
On March 10, 2018, newspapers in India reported that the contract for the construction of the statue had been awarded to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group at a cost of Rs. 783 crores.

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 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 Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar's life. The memorial will have a facility to park around 400 vehicles.

Stupa

The stupa would be the most expensive part at. It will be tall with a circumference of. It 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.

Vipassana Hall

There is also a proposed Vipassanā Hall at the memorial with a seating capacity for 13,000 people.

Gallery of Struggle

The Gallery of Struggle will depict momentous events associated with the life and work of Ambedkar, alongside 50,000 square feet library.

Controversy

After the foundation stone was laid, some members of Ambedkar's family—his grandsons Prakash Ambedkar and Anandraj Ambedkar—together with Ambedkarites leaders from Maharashtra said they were unhappy with the design of the memorial. Some had concerns over the practical details of the design while others thought the memorial was not befitting the stature of Ambedkar.
Prakash Ambedkar pressed for the memorial to have a "think tank institution", an intellectual centre of international standards for scholars across the globe come for intellectual activity as his grandfather 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 his grandfather, 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 finalizing the memorial's design with inclusion of a State of Equality so to form an impressive part of Mumbai's skyline and should be the first thing that visitors see when landing in Mumbai.