New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI) From his birthplace in Mhow to his London residence, and from stadia and railway stations to colleges, hospitals, and statues across India and abroad — memorials around the world stand as a testament to B R Ambedkar’s enduring legacy as the architect of the Constitution.
His birthplace Mhow near Indore (Madhya Pradesh) is now known as Ambedkar Nagar. Mhow hosts a a memorial — Bhim Janmabhoomi — sanctified to Ambedkar. The state government then established this grand memorial on Ambedkar’s 100th birth Anniversary in 1991.
Two other significant places named after him are his “Deekshabhoomi” in Nagpur, where Ambedkar embraced Buddhism along with tens of thousands of his followers; and Chaityabhoomi at Dadar Beach in Mumbai, where his samadhi has been erected.
The world’s tallest statue of Ambedkar, also known as the “Statue of Social Justice,” is located in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. The statue stands 206-feet tall and is part of the Dr B R Ambedkar Smriti Vanam (Memorial).
The tallest statue of Ambedkar outside India was formally inaugurated in the US’ Maryland in 2023. The 19-feet tall “Statue of Equality” has been made by renowned artist and sculptor Ram Sutar, who also built the statue of Sardar Patel (Statue of Unity) in Gujarat.
The Columbia University in US, the Koyasan University in Japan, Simon Fraser University in Canada and London School of Economics in the UK are among the universities across the globe where statues of Ambedkar have been installed.
Other countries which have established statues of Ambedkar are Azerbaijan, Hungary, Mauritius, Melbourne (Australia), Vietnam and Thailand.
Several universities in India are named after him including Dr BR Ambedkar University in Delhi, law universities in Haryana’s Sonipat and Rajasthan’s Jaipur, open university in Gujarat and Telangana, Social Sciences University in Madhya Pradesh and universities in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The Number 10 on the King Henry Road in London is now a tourist attraction. Ambedkar’s home for two years between 1921-22, the house was converted into a memorial in the honour of the Dalit icon and formally inaugurated in 2015.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had recently announced to name all hostels to be built for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students in every district of the state after Babasaheb Ambedkar.
The Ambedkar National Congress is a political party formed in Telangana. The party strives for the rights of Dalits. Mohammed Kazam Ali Khan is the founder and the president of ANC.
The Ambedkar Samaj Party and Ambedkarite Party of India are among political outfits named after him.
Located in the national capital, Dr Ambedkar Stadium is a football stadium inaugurated in 2007 and has a capacity of 35,000. Another stadium is coming up in Ayodhya, and it is named after Ambedkar.
The international airport in Nagpur is known as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport.
A stretch of road in east Delhi’s Patparganj has been named after Ambedkar and a national memorial dedicated to Ambedkar was also inaugurated in 2018 at 26, Alipur Road here, on the eve of his birth anniversary.
The Kannauj Medical College is also set to be renamed after Ambedkar. Several hospitals and medical colleges are also named after him including in Delhi, Tripura, Karnataka (Bangalore), Uttar Pradesh (Noida), Chhattisgarh, Amravati and Mumbai (Maharashtra), among others.
Dr Ambedkar International Centre on Delhi’s Janpath was set up in 2017 as a Centre of Excellence for study, research, analysis and policy making in the field of socioeconomic transformation.
A railway station in Mhow, monorail station in Mumbai and metro stations in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, are also named after him. PTI GJS GJS TIR TIR
