The Shinde-Fadnavis government in Maharashtra is set to grant its consent to the Centre’s proposal to assume control of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s former residence in London, which has been converted into a museum, and transform it into an autonomous unit.
The 2,050 square feet G+2 storey residential property located at 10, King Henry’s Road in north London was acquired by the State government in 2015 for £3.2 million to turn it into a museum. The same year, it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and since then it has been accessible to scholars and academicians.
Recently, the Ministry of External Affairs has written to the State government expressing its desire to take over the control of the Museum stating “disparate foreign academics interested in securing control of the Museum in the garb of leading the Ambedkerites.’
The letter, a copy of which is in possession of The Hindu, further stated that the Centre has plans to enhance the Museum and establish it as an autonomous unit, with a Director appointed by the Indian government to oversee the operations. The Director would further report to the Director of the Nehru Centre, the cultural wing of The High Commission of India in the United Kingdom. The Centre was established in 1992.
“This would help turn the Museum operationally more active in promoting a broader understanding of Babasahed Ambedkar’s work including his views on nation-building, diversity, inclusion, institution-building, and decentralisation among others,” the letter stated.
The letter by Sandeep Chakravorty, MEA’s Joint Secretary (Europe-West), to Sumant Bhange, Secretary, Social Justice and Special Assistance Department, Maharashtra, also emphasises that autonomy “will prevent hijacking of the institution by forces inimical to our national interest.” “Such an approach will also being cohesion and focus in the working of this Museum through consultative programmes and activities.”
The Centre also proposes to involve the younger cohort of Indian students coming to London to pursue their higher education, especially those on Minister of Social Justice Scholarships. “This way the Museum may provide them a better perspective on Babasaheb’s vision,” it said.
Speaking to The Hindu, a senior official said that the State government is positive about the MEA’s request and they would soon write back to the Centre. “Both, the Chief Minister (Eknath Shinde) and the Deputy Chief Minister (Devendra Fadnavis) are aware of the development and have reacted positively. The file has been submitted for approval in the CMO,” the officer said.
At present, the Maharashtra government through the High Commission of India spends ₹1.5 crore for the maintenance of the property, which was home to Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, between 1921 and 1922 when he was a student at the London School of Economics.
In 2014, when the residential property went up for sale through an estate agent, the Federation of Ambedkarites and Buddhist Organisation (FABO) U.K. had written to the Indian government to urge them to purchase it as a historically important monument. Soon after getting approval from the Centre, the Maharashtra government purchased the house to ‘preserve it’, the officer said.
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar – grandson of Babasaheb Ambedkar – told The Hindu that he would support the Centre’s decision to take control of the museum as it is “normal and constitutional’.
“As such a State government cannot buy any property outside India, but they got it in 2015. Now that the Centre has requested for the possession of the property, the State should give its consent as it is constitutional,” he said.
