Suhaas Putta : Week 8

The image of a statue, surrounded by a vast landscape that is built out of expensive marble and granite, has a very different reflection upon people. Reflecting upon the piece by Amit Sinha and Rajat Kant, I believe that the vast gardens and towering statues do very little to the cultural wealth of the state and its people, I would further claim that the money could have been better utilised in social upliftment programs of the state. The scale and the rigidity around the architecture shows the true intentions of the state. Yet, there cannot be an absolute critique of the same, as there is nothing inherently criminal in trying to create a landmark that the masses can associate with. In Mayawati's own words, she is trying to simply state the identity that has only been suppressed over the years. 

'Ambedkar’s relentless and bitter struggle against Gandhi on the question of the recognition of the ‘Untouchables’ as a separate minority left its mark on their collective destiny at several levels.' And this too is tackled brilliantly in the piece by Nicolas Joul. He through his very fluid deliberations, evoked the imagery of how Symbolic Means have unquantifiable impact on Dalits. 

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