A team from India has finalised the purchase of a home where B R Ambedkar – regarded as the father of the Indian constitution – lived during his student days in London. Ambedkar, a champion of underprivileged people in India, spent a year at a three-story town house on King Henry’s Road in north London in 1921-22 when he was a student of the London School of Economics (LSE).
This is a historical moment for us because it is not just a house but has the emotions of all Indians attached to it. This has been a very fruitful visit and we expect the formalities regarding the purchase to be completed by the end of May,’ said Rajkumer Badole, a minister of social justice and special assistance in Maharashtra state.
Badole, accompanied by another minister Dilip Kample and Maharashtra’s principal secretary Ujjawal Uke, also initiiated talks on establishing an Ambedkar Chair at LSE involving two new scholarships for Indian students. “An informal proposal to set up a chair in memory of Babsaheb Ambedkar has also been discussed with LSE, in return for which the university could offer to cover tuition fees for two Indian students looking to study there,” said Badole.
The Indian high commission in London is following up both initiatives following discussions between the delegation and India’s deputy high commissioner to the UK, Dr Virander Paul. The estimated cost of the London property, to be borne by the Maharashtra government, is expected to be between £ 3.2 and 4 million.
The building, which already has a memorial blue plaque dedicated to “Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Indian Crusader for Social Justice,” will require some essential repair work after which the Maharashtra government plans to open it to the public as a memorial-cum-museum.
Among some other proposals under consideration are to use one of the floors as a transitory residence for Indian students who arrive in the UK to study. “During our meeting with Ambedkarites and other community leaders in London it has been heatt-warming to see the support for this project. This will be an important memorial that will take concrete shape over time,” Badole said.
The 2,050 square foot residential property in London went up for sale through an estate agent last year. The Federation of Ambedkarites and Buddhist Organisation (FABO) UK wrote to the Indian government to urge them to purchase it as a historically important monument.
The decision of Maharashtra to purchase the home was cleared by the Narendra Modi led government, with the state Cabinet giving its final nod to the proposal in February this year.
The purchase process, which will now lead to an independent survey of the property before it can be finalised, coincided with the 124th birth anniversary of Ambedkar on April 14.
