The Maharashtra government will buy the three-storey bungalow in London where B.R. Ambedkar lived while pursuing higher studies in the London School of Economics during 1921-22. The 2,050-square foot house on 10, King Henry Road, NW3 will be converted into a museum-cum-memorial. The bungalow’s price is put at Rs. 40 crore.
The decision, seen as an effort to reach out to the Dalits, was announced on Saturday after Education Minister Vinod Tawde visited the house and spoke to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is in Davos to attend the World Economic Forum summit.
After Mr. Fadnavis gave his approval, Mr. Tawde met representatives of the Federation of Ambedkarites & Buddhist Organisations (FABO) and Indian officials to finalise the deal.
The “legal and international formalities” were expected to be completed in the next couple of months, Mr. Tawde said. He hoped to convert the bungalow into a memorial by April 14, the Ambedkar birth anniversary. Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, welcomed the move. “It’s a great thing by the BJP government. The Congress has a lot to explain now why it couldn’t do it during its tenure,” he said. Mr. Ambedkar, who leads the Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh, suggested that the government use the house as a hostel for students from Maharashtra in London for education.
Dr. Ambedkar lived there while pursuing higher studies in the London School
of Economics
during 1921-22
