Headlines
Maharashtra cabinet's nod to buy Ambedkar's London home
Mumbai, Feb 3
The Maharashtra cabinet here
Tuesday gave its approval to a government proposal to buy a house in
London where B. R. Ambedkar lived in the 1920s.
"Historical
memories of an internationally acclaimed personality like Ambedkar are
associated with this house, which is of great importance to the country.
That's why the Maharashtra government has decided to buy it," Chief
Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.
The deal to buy the historical
property, considered a coup of sorts by the state government, was
finalised Jan 24, by the state's Education Minister Vinod Tawade in
London.
The property, expected to cost the state exchequer around
Rs.40 crore, is likely to be thrown open as an international
museum-cum-memorial by April.
Tawade said all formalities will be
completed over the next couple of months and it will be inaugurated as
an Ambedkar Memorial April 14, coinciding with Ambedkar's 124th birth
anniversary.
The 2,050 sq. feet home is situated in a residential
area at 10, King Henry's Road, NW3, where the architect of the Indian
Constitution lived as a student of the London School of Economics in
1921-1922.
The state government swung into action after the home was put up for sale through an estate agent last year.
Tawade,
after speaking to Fadnavis in Switzerland, met representatives of the
Federation of Ambedkarites & Buddhist Organisations and the Indian
high commission officials to crack the deal last month.
He added
that the memorial would inform the people about Ambedkar's life, works
and contribution to the country's freedom struggle and subsequent public
life.
Around six months ago, the house where a plaque indicating
its historic importance is displayed, was put up for auction by the
owners.
The auction notice created a furore among various Dalit
and Ambedkarite groups around the world who demanded that the state or
central government intervene in the matter as the home had a historical
significance for all Indians.
Political parties across the
spectrum have hailed the state government's move, terming it as the
right decision to preserve an important chapter in the Indian history.
However,
Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar earlier expressed his reservations
at the state government's proposal to buy the London property.
"Since
we are his legal heirs, the government should first consult us in the
matter," the Dalit leader and chief of the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh,
had said when the state government first mooted the proposal to buy the
home around five months ago.