A statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was installed in 2021 at Othiyathur village in Gangavalli Taluk, Salem district.
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The statue portrays Dr. Ambedkar seated with one leg crossed over the other. On the day it was installed, members of the socially dominant caste mentality lodged a complaint with the police, preventing the statue from being unveiled. As a result, the statue was covered and remained concealed.
In this situation, on the night of 12 July 2026 (Saturday), local youth removed the covering and unveiled the statue.
Following the unveiling, news spread rapidly throughout Sunday, creating considerable public attention.
Subsequently, members of the socially dominant caste mentality once again filed a complaint at the Attur Police Station demanding that the statue be covered. Acting on this complaint, the police attempted to cover the Ambedkar statue. However, the youth of the village stopped them and questioned:
“Our village has a statue of Kamaraj and a statue of Rajiv Gandhi. Then why is there an attempt to cover only the statue of Dr. Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution of this country?”
Following this, stone-pelting reportedly occurred between the two groups. The police dispersed the crowd using a baton charge, and cases were registered against more than fifteen youths, who have since been remanded to prison.
The district functionaries of the Dravidar Kazhagam in Attur, Salem, are requested to formally approach the District Collector and the police authorities and urge them to facilitate the unveiling of the statue of the architect of the Constitution of India. If no satisfactory outcome is achieved, the organization will proceed with the next phase of its actions.
Is the issue really that the statue depicts Dr. Ambedkar sitting with one leg crossed over the other? Or is it that some believe there should not be an Ambedkar statue at all?
Is this not itself an expression of upper-caste dominance?
We urge the Government of Tamil Nadu— which states that it regards Periyar and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as its ideological leaders—to intervene in this matter and ensure that Dr. Ambedkar’s statue is fully unveiled and made accessible to the public.
NB: As mentioned is the Statement, the Salem district level functionaries of Dravidar Kazhagam met the District Collector on 23rd July 2026 and gave a petition to make due effective efforts, unveiling the statue of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar as installed in its original posture.
