Reflections on 'Statue of Social Justice' in Hometown on the Eve of Republic Day

If I have to talk about anything timely, I may have to mention about the January 26th Republic day back home in India. The last two posts saw a pattern - some unknown person or a force is behind something going in the world around us. Or we may have to stop assumptions or imaginations and live in reality. But reality is the father of the imagination or imaginations fully matured, coming of age will become reality. Living in imagination for so long, playing with the unknown for very long will eventually come to maturity someday. This is the pattern which was seen in the last two posts on some of the events of humongous proportions. Even I am completely unaware of how it unfolded. This is more realistic when you work from a higher platform like U.S., the work from where common people beneath receives with lasting impression or effect. Keeping aside the U.S. factor, somethings will not be determined by the place of work. The essence of this post is one of those. This is about the republic day of India in reality which is observed on January 26th every year, the person behind it and something else in imagination.

There are humongous statues built in India in the past decade. I cannot name everyone but some of those are Statue of Unity, Statue of equality etc. India is visibly and extremely attached to these statues and the men behind them. Republic day commemorates the enactment of the constitution of India, which occurred on January 26, 1950. The focus is more on the constitution of the nation which came into force since 1950. It was written beautifully by B.R..Ambedkar. No one has given more accurate direction, a bedrock of directives and an architectural framework to the nation more accurately than Ambedkar. He has given a set of rules and principles to a puzzled India which stood at the crossroads of twentieth century after emerging out of a lengthy colonial rule. The greatness of a nation lies in producing these gems of personalities who would serve it with all humility whenever it is required. Anyone can be good, brilliant and genius but to be great, it requires a certain pedigree which India feeds aplenty to a number of its sons. To note, Ambedkar is the author of the constitution which India holds with a lot of regard and sanctity.

In the samelines, cut to the recent episode, the nation's biggest statue of Ambedkar or the “Statue of Social Justice” was inaugurated in my home city of Vijayawada on 19th January 2024, just a week before republic day. While I am looking at my home city with some expectations, they came up with the tallest statue of the person centric to the Indian constitution, not in 1950s, 60s or 70s but in 2024 after nearly 75 years. It has been imagined at the location in 2020 and came to reality in 2024. The location is a public ground called Swarajya Maidan where I had very fond memories during my entire childhood - playing cricket to buying vegetables in farmers market to attending exhibition etc. This popular ground has become the foundation for the world’s tallest statue of a person who authored the constitution and a champion of social justice,  promoting backward classes etc. Greatness breeds greatness and this statue at this city,  location should give inspiration to many a men and women who gives direction to the nation for many years to come. Incidentally, I took up blogging as a pastime very near in my home back then. I later moved to Hyderabad and the cross roads of the place holds a Ambedkar statue as well, albeit in a smaller size.

The difficult times of the present and the winds of the present times require us to fallback on the person who gives direction and who steers us to a destination which is great for every passenger. There is nothing out of place in adulating and glorifying a person who became a central figure of all our lives. It makes some sense in the heroic worship by erecting a towering statue to the gigantic great by my own set of people in my home town. I knew, without thought this will not be taken up. They see a major celebration in every minor effort of the person and if the effort is the workmanship of constitution, nothing will be spared in the collective resolution to build the tallest statue. It is these efforts which turn the ordinary persons into extraordinary souls pervading the air of the nation. Everyone felt and thought, few acted upon and brought it into a living reality by giving life to the representation of the chief architect of the nation. Our silly thoughts, words, actions and writing will be turned into sanctimonious, sacred and sacrilegious constitutional duties by the emergence of an iconic monument. This will be sown in the society and everyone who feels an awe by looking at the monument will act in the wonderful environment created by it. This environment will itself create a great direction for all of us.

Coming to the specifics, the Statue of Social Justice is the tallest Ambedkar's statue in the world. The Statue of Social Justice is 125 feet tall and is built on an 81-foot plinth, giving a total height of 206 feet. It is the fourth tallest, and the second tallest standing statue in India. The Statue of Social Justice is among the top 40 tallest statues in the world. The second-tallest Ambedkar statue, which is 175 feet, is situated in neighbouring Hyderabad. The statue has been built in 18.81 acres (7.61 ha) in the Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Smriti Vanam in Vijayawada at a cost of ₹404.35 crore. The dazzling 125-foot bronze statue was installed on an 81-foot pedestal made with Kala Chakra Maha Mandala Buddhist architecture to make it attractive in its sky-high posture. The structure's foundation, reinforced by 539 piles, each extending 30 meters deep, provides a sturdy and resilient base. Incorporating design elements such as shear walls, inclined slabs, and beams with a 50-degree tilt not only enhances its structural integrity but also contributes to the distinctive aesthetic appeal of the monument. The statue of Ambedkar represents the importance of equality and liberty along with social justice.

Incidentally, the second tallest Ambedkar statue was inaugurated in the neighbouring Hyderabad few months back in April 2023. Both the Telugu state governments are vying with one another to build tallest statues of Ambedkar which even the great person might feel small infront of the attention given. Any height for Ambedkar from the side of government and anything for Ambedkar. To reiterate, even Ambedkar himself will feel minute about his own self when compared to the gigantic image these governments have for him. These blown up statues of yesteryear giants coming to life in the present times reveals the greatness of these personalities. It is never too late to learn about the truth and acknowledge it with some form of commemoration.

Statue of unity, statue of equality and statue of social justice - to name it, the nation has all the virtues covered required to treat the ills within, raised in gigantic form in the last decade. There can be many more which I may be unaware but the awareness brought by the worship of these monuments is truly widespread to reinforce the qualities within the national populace conscience. This will shape and put them in the direction imagined by the forefathers buried deep in the soil. The strict adherence to their realm of work is the smallest token of gratitude we can give to them.

Coming to the picture of reality vs assumption, we have navigated through the imagination and see visible trends of reality on the ground succeeding the imaginative forces of the society. This is an important progress and development to become real and visible rather than hidden, underlying and imaginary. Even if not absolutely apparent outside, my online blog posts reveals this pattern which is a good progress. Coming to the U.S. embrace for its constitution and statues, I feel there isn’t much affinity and attachment as my own set of people have for the same. But this nation can also travel in the similar direction, by giving constitutional direction to its population who search for purpose in life. As we can see, there is definitely a great deal of work underway to add strength to their living. I had already mentioned about most of the ills in this space from gun violence to impending climate change to indifference in absorbing migrants to healthcare reforms etc. If at all these are acted with a weight behind these words, this in itself will herald a great future and give a good direction to the U.S. and the world.