NEW DELHI: The Modi Government is holding a mega event in the name of Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar on March 21 amidst allegations of caste insensitivity following the death of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the event at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi where he will lay the foundation stone for a state-of-the-art memorial for Ambedkar.
“The government has decided to build a suitable memorial for the architect of our nation in Alipur where Babasaheb had breathed his last,” a government official told Express. The government is hoping to strike an emotional chord with Dalits through this memorial, as the place is considered “sacred” to his followers. “We have envisioned a beautiful structure with a dome on the top which will house the relics of Dr Ambedkar,” said the official.
It will have a photo gallery, replicas of Bhim Janambhoomi (Mhow), Deeksha Bhoomi (Nagpur), Rajgraha and Chatiya Bhoomi (Mumbai), a meditation hall with seating capacity of 13,000 and audio-visual wing.
This will be the fourth Ambedkar memorial inaugurated by the PM. At the event, he will give the Ambedkar Memorial lecture and inaugurate a web portal featuring complete works of Ambedkar in multiple languages.