Hon'ble Ministers, Hon'ble previous Chief Minister, Mr.  Kenneth, Griffith , Mr.  Gautam, friends, brothers and sisters,   

I am very much honoured and delighted to have been given this opportunity of unveiling Babasaheb's statue at Valod this morning.  Valod is a far away place, far away from Delhi and from the cities of India but it is where the real, the original people of India live.  It was thrilling to see the tribal dances on the occasion of the unveiling ceremo ny.  I think, I felt the heartbeat of India, in their dances.  These dances showed the vitality of the common people of this country and what makes India tick, what makes India flourish, go forward, is this vitality of the millions of the common people of this country. 

It is also the down to earth commonness of the adivasis, of the dalits and the poor people of India that unites our diverse, our great country.  The unity of India lies in the common culture, common sentiments and the aspirations of the ordinary people of this country.  That is why this unveiling ceremony has been a very significant event.  Babasaheb Ambedkar's statues are being erected all over India, in the villages, in the towns of India.  I do not think the statue of any national leader of India is so popular as that of Babasaheb Ambedkar.  Why is it so?  It is because Babasaheb Ambedkar represents the people of India.  He represents the resurgence, he represents the upheavels of social justice for the people of our country. 

Why is he venerated and why his statues and portraits are installed all over India and why every type of politician belonging to every party is compelled to venerate him is because he represents this social upheavel, this social revolution that his ideals and his work have unleashed in our country from one end to the other.  You know that Babasaheb stood for the elimination of caste system.  He held that there can be no equality, there can be no progress for India unless this system is absolutely rooted out. 

He fought for the abolition of untouchability.  He fought for the education of all the people of India, particularly the oppressed sections, he fought for the education of women.  While doing so he was aware of one thing, he was aware that unless the poorer sections, the dalits and adivasis have political power in their hands they would have lost the key to their upliftment.  He was, therefore, very keen that the dalits, the adivasis should join politics in an organised way so that they can have a due share in the power that rules this vast country.  But above all he felt that neither education nor politics would really bring sustainable development and real respect to them unless there is a social reconstruction of this vast land, unless the age old Hindu society is reformed, unless its inequalities and distinctions are abolished. 

Therefore Dr.  Ambedkar stands for these ideals and that is why he is being venerated today and he will be venerated even more in the future as the social revolution in this country moves forward.  But as you know, Dr.  Ambedkar was a believer in peaceful methods.  He wanted the social revolution in this country to take place through peaceful methods, that is why he provided in our Constitution not only the great principles of equality and democracy but he also provided an electoral and constitutional mechanism by which the ordinary people can come to the political helm of affairs in this country. 

There is one thing more I would like to say about Babasaheb.  He was not just the leader of dalits, adivasis, of this community or that.  He was a leader of India and he was one who believed in the unity of India with great passion and sincerety.  While introducing in the Constituent Assembly the Draft Constitution he appealed to every political party in this country just as India in the past lost because of its caste and religious differences. 

Today there is the danger of various political party fighting each other and forgetting the unity of this country.  He added that he was prepared to shed the last drop of his blood for defending the unity and independence of India. It is, therefore, such a great man that we have honoured today.  There are people from abroad here, Mr.  Griffth from wales, I know, and I sympathise with you.  As a student I know how the Welsh were very kind to me.  Mr. Gautam himself has organised the Ambedkar Memorial Trust in London and I had the opportunity to attend the reception meeting of that memorial trust when I visited London over a year ago. 

I know how well organised they are and how they are propagating the teachings and memory of Babasaheb Ambedkar.  This is being done because Ambedkar is a leader of India.  At the same time he is the leader of the oppressed sections of mankind everywhere.  This is the real significance of Babasaheb Ambedkar.  He was a great liberator of mankind, a great liberator of the oppressed sections of the people in India and everywhere in the world.  Today having had the good fortune to unveil his portrait I would like to add my voice, I would like to pay my homage to his great man, to this great statesman, to this great human being who has worked and sacrificed for the well being and upliftment of the ordinary people of India.  Thank you very much.

Thank you