On Wednesday morning, the country woke up to news that Dr BR Ambedkar’s house had been vandalised, the CCTV had been smashed, plants destroyed and the accused had also thrown stones at the windows. While nobody inside was hurt, Ambedkar’s grandson Bhimrao Ambedkar filed a complaint with the police and one person has been detained.
The house, named ‘Rajgruha’ houses a museum, Ambedkar’s large collection of books, his ashes and several other artefacts linked to the man who drafted the Indian Constitution. Which is why the act of vandalism horrified and angered many who took to social media about the event. Many said that while his house has been vandalised, nobody would be able to do anything to destroy his ideas and ideals. “Dr Ambedkar's ancestral house in Maharashtra has been vandalised by Goons! You all can guess who might have been behind this cowardly act. They can smash his statues and house, but his idea of rebellion against Brahmanical terrorism will never be subdued! Long Live Dr Ambedkar!” one Twitter user wrote.
“This house has a special place in the hearts of Ambedkarites. We all highly condemn this act and urge the #MahaVikasAghadi to investigate this attack,” another wrote. “First they came for his statue and now they are targeting his house. Certainly dead Ambedkar is more dangerous than ambedkar being alive,” was another tweet on the incident.
Popular Tamil director Pa Ranjith also took to social media to voice his displeasure at hearing the news, “I condemn the heinous act of vandalizing Babasaheb Ambedkar's #Rajgruha. Nowadays illicit minded forces are thinking of demolishing the legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar just like how #Brahmanism started to demolish #Buddhism in India. But both these things will never happen. #JaiBhim!”
Popular writer Meena Kandasamy also condemned the vandalisation and called for a Twitter storm to bring attention to the incident, “First they vandalised Ambedkar's statues wherever they could. Next they arrested Dr Anand Teltumbde for his Ambedkarite ideas. Now they vandalise Dr Ambedkar’s residence Rajgruha. Join the twitter storm. #RajgruhaStandsTall. Demand punishment for the casteist Manuvadi fanatics.”
Several student groups also condemned the incident, the Ambedkar Students’ Association of TISS Mumbai said, “Rajgruha is not mere the structure of bricks, it's abode of millions of hearts. Ambedkarite Student's Association, TISS Mumbai condemns this insensitive act and demand for the strict action against the culprits at the earliest. #RajgruhaStandsTall.” Some also called for additional security to be provided to Prakash Ambedkar.
While the police have said that the person they’ve detained might have been mentally unstable or a drug addict, but some people accused the police of often giving this explanation, Kandasamy also took to Twitter to say, “Whenever there are attacks on anything that symbolises Dr Ambedkar or is associated with him in any manner, police have some very convenient answers. They will say the person desecrating a statue is mentally disturbed. This time the police version is that its a drug addict.”
