- Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden
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The Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden ("National Dalit Inspiration Place and Green Garden") is a memorial in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned by Mayawati, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and inaugurated on 14 October 2011.[1]
The park was built at a cost of
685 crores.[2] The Mayawati government expects to recover the cost from ticket sales.[3]The memorial includes a mini-museum known as the Rashtriya Dalit Smarak ("National Dalit Memorial") and a green expanse built on an area of 82.5 acres along the banks of river Yamuna.[1] The Rashtriya Dalit Smarak is spread over 33 acres of land, and includes the statues of 15 Dalit icons, including Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram and Mayawati herself. It also has 24 18-feet high sandstone statues of elephants, the symbol of Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).[4]
The monument is dedicated to the Dalits, and has been constructed to honor the "unparalleled struggle of these stalwarts towards the struggle for social transformation".[5]
In October 2009, the Supreme Court of India had ordered the Mayawati government to stop the construction work, amid concerns that the project might not be eco-friendly as it is located near the Okhla Sanctuary. In December 2010, the court okayed the project.[6]
Since the memorial also featured her own statues, Mayawati was accused of being megalomaniac, and was criticized by the Indian National Congress for wasting the tax-payers' money.[4] Mayawati's BSP dismissed the allegations, and stated that her statues were erected because Kanshi Ram's will requests that his statues should be constructed next to the current President of BSP. Mayawati also accused the Congress of being "anti-Dalit".[4]
References
- ^ a b Arpit Parashar (2011-10-25). "Maya’s dream park is far from complete". Tehelka. http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws251011MAYA_PARK.asp. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
- ^ "Mayawati to inaugurate 685-crore Noida memorial park today". NDTV. 2011-10-14. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/mayawati-to-inaugurate-685-crore-noida-memorial-park-today-141006. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
- ^ "Head of India's poorest state opens £10 million theme park dedicated to her family". The Telegraph. 2011-10-14. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/8827368/Head-of-Indias-poorest-state-opens-10-million-theme-park-dedicated-to-her-family.html. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
- ^ a b c Preetika Rana (2011-10-18). "Dalit Park: Boon or Bane for Mayawati?". Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/10/18/dalit-park-boon-or-bane-for-mayawati/. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
- ^ Dipankar Ghose (2011-10-13). "Maya park dedicated to ‘victims of iniquitous social order’". Indian Express. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maya-park-dedicated-to-victims-of-iniquitous-social-order/859246/. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
- ^ "India court okays Dalit leader Mayawati's statues park". BBC. 2010-12-03. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11910895. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
See also
- Ambedkar Memorial, Lucknow
Categories:- Dalit monuments
- Buildings and structures in Uttar Pradesh
- Monuments and memorials in India
- Memorials to Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
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