PM to inaugurate Ambedkar memorial tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Dr Ambedkar national memorial here tomorrow on the eve of the Dalit icon's birth anniversary.

The memorial at 26, Alipore Road here was dedicated to the nation by the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in December 2003.

This is the place where Ambedkar had breathed his last on December 6, 1956.

Modi had laid the foundation stone of the memorial on March 21, 2016.

The memorial has been given the shape of a book. The museum at the memorial intends to create a detailed experience of Ambedkar's life and and his contribution to India through extensive use of static media, dynamic media, audio-visual content, and multimedia technologies.

A meditation hall has also been created. Toran Dwars, a Bodhi Tree, a musical fountain, and facade lighting are other important elements of the memorial, a statement said.

Hitting out at political parties for politicising the legacy of B R Ambedkar, Prime Minister Modi had earlier this month said that no regime had honoured the Dalit icon like his government had.

The PM's remarks had come close on the heels of widespread violent protests over a Supreme Court verdict putting in place "safeguards" to prevent the misuse of a law to prevent atrocities against SCs and STs.