PM MODI INAUGURATES ‘STATUE OF EQUALITY’
(The Quiver) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the 216-feet ‘Statue of Equality’ commemorating the 11th-century Bhakti Saint Sri Ramanujacharya in Hyderabad’s Shamshabad.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the statue is made of ‘panchaloha’, a combination of five metals: gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc and is among one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting position, in the world.
Know about Sri Ramanujacharya
Saint Ramanujacharya was born in 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu to mother Kanthimathi and father Asuri Kesava Somayaji.
According to the ancient scriptures, he lived for 120 years, a claim which is questioned by modern scholars and experts. In the early 11th and 12th centuries, the saint is said to have travelled across the length and breadth of the country to promote equality and social justice.
Sri Ramanujacharya worked tirelessly to promote the idea of equality in all aspects of living including faith, caste, and creed. He also appealed for the protection of nature and its resources like air, water and soil.
He made education accessible to those who were the most deprived in those days and came up with the concept of ‘Vasudhaiva kutumbakam’, which means that all universe is one family. His teachings inspired ancient poets like Annamacharya, Bhakt Ramdas, Thyagaraja, Kabir, and Meerabai.
He opened the doors of temples to all people, including those subjected to extreme discrimination. He remains a timeless icon of equality for social reformists around the world
The inauguration of the statue is part of the ongoing 12-day celebrations of his 1,000th birth anniversary.
