Another Ambedkar statue was unveiled in Ratnagiri. Cameras flashed, politicians posed, and hashtags poured out.
Another ₹200 crore marble monument to celebrate the man who fought for equality, while the same system quietly ignores his dream of education, justice, and dignity for all.

india doesn’t need another Ambedkar statue.
India needs Ambedkar’s mind — not just his monuments.

🪙 1. The Cost of Symbolism — ₹1,800 Crores and Counting

In the last few years alone, governments across india have spent close to ₹1,800 crores on Ambedkar statues:

• Mumbai — ₹1,080 crore

• Telangana — ₹146 crore

• Bengaluru — ₹200 crore

• Vijayawada — ₹400 crore

That’s nearly ₹1,800 crore of taxpayer money turned into stone, bronze, and political symbolism — while the ideals these statues represent remain buried in bureaucracy.

Dr. Ambedkar wanted libraries, not landmarks.
He built the Constitution — not a cult.

📚 2. Ambedkar Dreamed of Education, Not Elevation

Imagine if even half that money was used to:

• Build fully-funded government schools open to every caste and religion.

• Set up scholarships for Dalit and tribal students in premier universities.

• Fund free coaching for civil services, law, and medicine for underprivileged youth.

Ambedkar’s revolution began in classrooms, not construction sites.
He didn’t want his face carved into stone — he wanted his people carved out of oppression.

💸 3. If Statues Were Tax Rebates

At India’s average income tax rate (10–15%), ₹1,800 crores could have meant a ₹10,000–₹15,000 rebate for 1.2–1.8 million taxpayers.
That’s real relief for a stressed middle class.
But instead of refunds, the government offers us photo ops.

Statues don’t pay bills.
Statues don’t fund schools.
Statues don’t teach empathy.

They only fund headlines — and election backdrops.

🧱 4. The Great indian Statue Industry

Let’s face it — building statues is the perfect government project:

• No deadlines.

• No accountability.

• No metrics of success.

• And a guaranteed ribbon-cutting moment with photo ops and slogans like “Nation’s pride unveiled.”

Every time a leader lays a foundation stone, they’re building a monument — not to Ambedkar, but to themselves.

🗳️ 5. The Political Appropriation of a Revolutionary

Ambedkar stood against the establishment — every establishment.
Today, every political party is fighting to own him, quote him, and sculpt him —
while conveniently ignoring his ideas of economic reform, social justice, and secular rationalism.

He fought casteism.
Our politics today feeds on it.
He fought religious exploitation.
Our leaders weaponize it.

We turned his rebellion into rhetoric and his philosophy into PR.

🕯️ 6. From Constitution to Construction — The Fall of a Vision

The man who wrote India’s Constitution wanted every indian child, regardless of caste or creed, to have equal access to opportunity.
Instead, we’re building 100-foot tributes to remind ourselves we’ve done nothing to fulfill that dream.

It’s tragic irony — the tallest Ambedkar statue in the world stands in a country where millions still live in caste-segregated colonies.

🧠 7. If Ambedkar Were Alive Today…

He wouldn’t attend these inaugurations.
He’d probably file a PIL against them.
He’d ask —

“Why are my people still dying in sewers while my statues touch the sky?”

Ambedkar’s real tribute isn’t in metal — it’s in merit, literacy, and justice.

⚖️ 8. The Real Legacy

It’s easy to worship a man.
It’s harder to walk his path.

Dr. Ambedkar built institutions — not idols.
He wanted thinkers, not blind followers.
And today, the greatest insult to his memory isn’t forgetting him —
It’s remembering him for the wrong reasons.

🚨 FINAL TAKE:

india doesn’t need more Ambedkar statues.
It needs Ambedkar’s schools, scholarships, and social courage.

Every rupee spent on stone is a rupee stolen from a child’s future.
And that’s not homage —
That’s hypocrisy carved in marble.