Telangana unveils massive Ambedkar statue; here are other iconic statues

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao unveiled a 125-foot-tall bronze statue of BR Ambedkar in Hyderabad on Friday to mark the 132nd birth anniversary of the architect of the Indian Constitution. With the number of statues being built in India increasing, here is a list of some of the most iconic statues built in the last few years and serve as key tourist attractions.

In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Statue of Unity, the world's tallest statue, in Gujarat's Kevadiyat. The 182-meter-tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was inaugurated on his 143rd birth anniversary. Built at a cost of Rs. 2,389 crore, it is a tribute to Patel for his crucial role in integrating the princely states into the Indian Union after the partition of 1947.

In 2022, the 216-foot-tall Statue of Equality was unveiled by PM Modi in Hyderabad to commemorate the 11th-century Hindu saint Sri Ramanujacharya. The Rs. 1,000 crore project, which is located on a 45-acre complex, was funded by donations from devotees worldwide. Conceptualized by Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram's Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami, the statue consists of five metals: gold, zinc, silver, copper, and brass.

In January 2022, a hologram statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was unveiled at the India Gate in New Delhi to mark the freedom fighter's 125th birth anniversary. The hologram statue projects a 3D image of Netaji to create an effect of a hologram. A 30,000 lumens 4KW projector powers the futuristic statue, which stands 28 feet tall and 6 feet wide.

The statue of Ambedkar, which was unveiled on Friday, cost Rs. 146 crore to build. According to CNBC, the statue is located on the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake, on the outskirts of the newly built Secretariat. Prakash Ambedkar, Ambedkar's grandson, was reportedly invited as the event's chief guest.

Anil Ram Sutar sculpted the statue. He had also designed statues of Ambedkar at locations such as Lucknow and Noida, and he will also design another one in the United States (US). It was designed in collaboration with his father, renowned veteran sculptor Ram Vanji Sutar. The statue is made of bronze sourced from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.