Sometime ago, the protagonists of the separate Telangana state vandalized statues of Thyagaraja, Annamacharya, Sir Arthur Cotton, Salivahana etc because they did not belong to the Telangana region. Potti Sree Ramulu's statues were repeatedly vandalized during the agitation. When this happened I had posted that the culture of putting up statues should be given up since we don't seem to be in a position to respect those great people who are a part of our history, tradition and culture. Some reactions to this on Facebook were that I was being extreme in my thinking and that one should not cite instances such as the ones mentioned above to make a case against putting up statues of great people.
Now at two places in Coastal Andhra, Amalapuram and Dhowleswaram, statues of Ambedkar have been vandalized. In one instance the statue had its head decapitated. Mercifully, some of the offenders were caught but what was amazing is the reason that they gave for their act of vandalism. Apparently the culprits are fans of matinee idol Mahesh Babu and they found that a poster of his film "Businessman" had been defaced. In an act of revenge they vandalized Ambedkar. The perpetrators of the offensive act also claimed that their anger was heightened since they were inebriated. This is to me is an indication of two things. The first is that we have not yet learnt to value our heritage and respect great people who have contributed to Indian independence. The second is that we are still very much casteists at heart. I make this point emphatically because across the length and breadth of India, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's statues are vandalized at the drop of a hat. Those who vandalize his statues are presumably from the upper castes and I can openly throw down the gauntlet and say that these people are not even the equivalent of one cell in the body of the great man. How can we forget that despite having come from a deprived and oppressed section of society the great man went on to do a PhD from the University of Columbia in 1918 (hope the date is right) something that many or most upper caste people will find to be most daunting even today. What is sad is vandalizing of statues has become a part of "settling" political scores and that is why I have once said that we have goonocracy actively supported by plutocratic politicians.
Yet again I take this opportunity to argue that we should stop putting up statues of great people. At the Khairatabad junction in Hyderabad there are statues of Mokshagundam Vishweshwaraiah and P Janardhan Reddy. One is in perennial state of neglect while the other is illuminated. I guess I need not say much more. Former Chief Minister YS Rajashekhar Reddy's son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is putting up statues of his late father at every possible place in Andhra Pradesh. He is sowing the seeds for future discord. It is only a matter of time when someone will vandalize those statues and street fights between different political groups will start, bandh calls will be given, examinations postponed and normal life disrupted. In Uttar Pradesh Mayawati has spent more on putting up her own statues than on anything else. Again she is also ensuring that politics of statue vandalism will continue to be alive and kicking. Another reason why I am vociferously against putting up statues is because they are not maintained. Most of them are unrecognizable with dust and bird droppings all over them. Our leaders like Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi and Potti Sreeramulu need to be respected, not left to the elements. If we really respect our great people create museums of Ambedkar at Pune (in fact there is one already), Gandhi at Sabarmati, Nehru at Teen Murti House and so on. Those who really respect these people and want to know about them will make the trip to those places. They will then earn the respect of the educated and not the contempt of the brainless and lumpen elements of an increasingly schismatic society.
P.S: Not proof read. Errors may please be excused.
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