LONDON, May 3: Indian High Commissioner to the UK Gaitri Issar Kumar paid joint tribute to B R Ambedkar, the key architect of India’s Constitution and Lord Basaveshwara, the 12th-century Indian philosopher and social reformer in London.
The 889th birth anniversary of Lord Basaveshwara was celebrated here, and floral tributes were paid to B R Ambedkar at the Basaveshwara statue in London on Monday.
The Lambeth Basaveshwara Foundation which organised the event has adopted a practice to jointly celebrate Lord Basaveshwara and B R Ambedkar because of the conceptual relationship between the two great men after Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi unveiled the statue of Lord Basaveshwara and the Museum of Babasaheb B R Ambedkar on the same day, on November 14, 2015.
The Minister for Kannada and culture, Sunil Kumar, was scheduled to attend this event but was unable to attend.
In a statement, he applauded the efforts of The Lambeth Basaveshwara Foundation for highlighting the conceptual relationship between Lord Basaveshwara and B R Ambedkar in their struggle to eradicate untouchability and caste discrimination.
The heads of the two important leading UK-based Kannada organisations, Kannada Balaga and Kannadigaru UK, Dr Sneha Kulkarni and Ganapati Bhat, were present on the occasion.
Kannada Balaga and Kannadigaru UK have been actively promoting Kannada culture and heritage in the UK for the last 39 & 17 years, respectively. Members of the Indian and Kannada diaspora also paid their tributes.
Basaveshwara (1134-1168) was an Indian philosopher, social reformer and statesman who attempted to create a casteless society and fought against caste and religious discrimination.
Basaveshwara pioneered the idea of Democracy in the 12th century, and B R Ambedkar was the key architect of India’s Constitution.
Basaveshwara and Ambedkar were great economists, Basaveshwara was in charge of the treasury of King Bijala, and Ambedkar was a graduate of the renowned London school of economics.
Basaveshwara statue is the first statue to be unveiled by an Indian Prime Minister in the U.K. And also the first conceptual statue approved by the British Cabinet in the vicinity of the Parliament.
Ambedkar House in London was brought by the Government of Maharashtra and converted into a museum. This is where he lived while acquiring higher education in London from 1921-to 1922. (PTI)
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