Why Ambedkar’s statue has been barred from the Madhya Pradesh High Court

“I will fight till my last breath to have his statue installed,” said Vishwajeet Ratoniya in quiet anger. “Ambedkar struggled to give us a better life. He is our messiah. I am willing to sacrifice my whole life for him.”

The high court lawyer was talking about a 10-foot-tall graphite sculpture of Bhimrao Ambedkar that was meant to be erected in the compound of the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Gwalior bench on May 14. Instead, it has been gathering dust in a room on the outskirts of the city after a group of upper-caste lawyers blocked its installation.

“We never opposed the temple in the court compound,” said Dharmendra Kushwah, another high court lawyer. “Then why are the upper castes opposing Ambedkar’s statue? He is god for those who were not allowed to enter temples or drink water in this country.”

Ratoniya and Kushwah are not the only ones charged up. The statue of Ambedkar – long hailed as the framer of the Indian Constitution – has split the bar down the middle. Dalit and backward-class lawyers are rallying to get the sculpture placed at the entrance of the court. But upper-caste lawyers have been pulling out rules and conventions to try to block the move....

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