"Ambedkar was a great Indian, we are humbled and proud to be on premises of his home": All-party delegation led by Ravi Shankar Prasad pays tribute in London

India Gazette

3 days ago

London [UK], June 2 (ANI): An all-party Indian delegation, led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, paid tribute to BR Ambedkar at the Ambedkar Museum in London on Sunday, describing him as a 'great Indian and a social reformer.' Prasad noted that the Indian government had purchased the house where Ambedkar once lived, and the Indian High Commission now maintains it, along with four other sites associated with his legacy, recognized as 'Smriti Sthal.'
Speaking to reporters, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, 'We are pleased to be here. Dr Ambedkar lived here for two years in London. The government has bought this house, and the Indian High Commission maintains it. We offered flowers to him. He was a great Indian. All five places related to him are maintained as 'Smriti Sthal'...We are happy to be here. My respect for Dr Ambedkar as he was a great social reformer.'
Former Union Minister MJ Akbar said Ambedkar's vision of a new social order and respect for every individual, challenging inconsistencies and inequalities of traditional social hierarchies, remains one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century.
Speaking to ANI, Akbar said, 'Dr Ambedkar's vision of a new social order and respect for every individual, challenging inconsistencies and inequalities of our traditional social hierarchies, I think, remains one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. Today, we feel humbled and proud that we are on the premises of the home where so much of his achievement was conceived before it was brought into practice. He is one of the great people of modern India and the least we can do to pay homage to him is remember him each day.'
AIADMK MP, M Thambidurai, called BR Ambedkar a 'great man' and stated that the delegation is pleased to come here to pay its respects to Ambedkar. He noted that India is running a government based on the constitution created by Ambedkar.
On paying tribute to Ambedkar, he said, 'A great opportunity as a delegation to come over here. At the same, you have the opportunity to see the memorial place of Dr. Ambedkar. He studied here, spent his time, his knowledge and everything, helped India to frame the constitution and also to uplift the suppressed people. He is a great man. In that way, we are, at the opportunity, happy to see that as a delegation, they have come over here, and it is our bounden duty to come and see the memorial in this place, and also pay our respect to Dr. Ambedkar. Therefore, the constitution has given every right, equal rights. But, India is running the government based on the constitution, democratic way, which our Ambedkar had created. But we are seeing unfortunate things happening in Pakistan, which they are not at all following the constitution and the democracy, which is an unfortunate thing.'
Indian High Commission in London said that the all-party delegation recalled that one of the most outrageous examples of Pakistan-abetted and directed terror began in Mumbai on 26 November 2008, on the anniversary of the adoption of our Constitution on that day in 1949, the drafting of which was led by Babasaheb Ambedkar
In a post shared on X, the Indian High Commission in London stated, 'All Party Delegation visited Ambedkar Museum in London and paid tributes to Dr. B R Ambedkar on the 75th anniversary of the entry into force of the Constitution of India. In commemorating Babasaheb's leadership and vision, they also recalled that one of the most outrageous examples of Pakistan-abetted and directed terror began in Mumbai on 26 November 2008, on the anniversary of the adoption of our Constitution on that day in 1949, the drafting of which was led by Babasaheb Ambedkar. They emphasized the resolve of Indian democracy to confront and defeat terrorism in all its forms.'
https://x.com/HCI_London/status/1929212579509104975
Earlier, India's High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, briefed the all-party delegation on India-UK ties, highlighting the strong diaspora ties and shared challenges in countering terrorism following the Pahalgam terrorist attack and Operation Sindoor.
'The All-Party Delegation was briefed by team @HCI_London led by HC @VDoraiswami on India-UK bilateral relations, highlighting the strong diaspora ties, and shared challenges in countering terrorism in light of #PahalgamTerrorAttack and #OperationSindoor.'
https://x.com/HCI_London/status/1929120003250684279
An all-party delegation, led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, arrived in London on Saturday (local time) as part of India's global outreach program to convey the country's firm stance against terrorism.
The delegation landed in the United Kingdom after completing visits to France, Italy, and Denmark, where they engaged with government officials, diaspora, and other stakeholders to raise awareness about India's zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism.
Upon their arrival, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, 'We are here in London. We will keep our stance on terrorism effectively, here. We believe that we will get that support here as well, the way we have received the support in those three countries.'
The Indian delegation, led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, includes BJP MP Daggubati Purandeswari, Samik Bhattacharya, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress MPs Ghulam Ali Khatana and Amar Singh, former Union Minister MJ Akbar, and Ambassador Pankaj Saran is in Copenhagen.
The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in France, the UK, Germany, the EU, Italy and Denmark. (ANI)