MELBOURNE, 21 December 2022: A bust of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, has been formally installed at the University of Melbourne’s, Australia India Institute (AII), Barry Street, Carlton on 17 December 2022.
The bust was donated by the Melbourne-based Ambedkar International Mission (AIM) to the AII in 2018, to celebrate Dr. Ambedkar’s life as a social reformer, jurist, the political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, and served as Law and Justice minister in independent India’s first cabinet of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
For his pioneering work in drafting the Constitution of India, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is known as the father of the Indian constitution.
A ceremony was held on the occasion in front of the bust with speeches delivered by many members of the AIM, including Dr, Rupali Moon, Pramod Kamle, Sunil, Dr. Parag Moon, Dr. Vaibhav Gaikwad, Pooja Dhende, and Vipul Sankade.
The underlying sentiment echoed by all speakers was that the bust of Dr. Ambedkar will serve as an inspiration for everyone who is fighting for social justice and an equitable society.
A media release from the AIM says, ” The ceremony was also attended by representatives from The Humanism Project (Deepak Joshi), Australia India Institute (Dr. Karen Barker) and noted academic Dr. Ian Woolford (La Trobe University) who spoke about the symbolic importance of having Dr. Ambedkar’s bust in Melbourne and said that the true challenge was to follow the ideals and principles of Dr. Ambedkar in our lives.”
