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'Sad': Great-grandson of Rashtrapati Bhavan architect Edwin Lutyens over statue removal
A bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first and only Indian governor general of independent India, has replaced that of Lutyens at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Great-grandson of Edwin Lutyens, the architect of Rashtrapati Bhavan whose statue at the presidential palace has been replaced with a bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, expressed his sadness over the development, sharing a throwback picture with the now-gone structure.
His remarks come as President Droupadi Murmu on Monday unveiled a bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first and only Indian governor general of independent India, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
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The bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, situated at the Grand Open Staircase near Ashok Mandap, has replaced the bust of Edwin Lutyens.
Matt Riddley, who is the great-grandson of Edwin Lutyens, said in a post on X, "Sad to read that the bust of Lutyens (my great-grandfather) is to be removed from the presidential palace he designed in Delhi. Here I am with it last year. I wondered at the time why his name had been removed from the plinth."
According to President's official handle on X this initiative is “part of a series of steps being taken towards shedding the vestiges of the colonial mindset and embracing, with pride, the richness of India's culture, heritage, timeless traditions and honouring those who served Bharat Mata with their extraordinary contributions.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that the "Rajaji Festival" will be celebrated in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday with the unveiling of the statue of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari.
During the 131st 'Mann Ki Baat' episode, PM Modi said that the nation is leaving what he described as symbols of slavery behind and beginning to relate to the Indian culture.
"During the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, I spoke of the 'Panch-Pran' from the Red Fort. One of them is freedom from the mentality of slavery. Today, the country is leaving behind the symbols of slavery and has begun to value symbols related to Indian culture," he said, as quoted in a news agency ANI report.
A lawyer and intellectul among many other things, C Rajaopalachari was born on December 10, 1878, in Madras Presidency. He is regarded as an early political comrade of Mahatma Gandhi, who left his legal practice to join the Indian National Congress and later participated in various protests against the British Crown.
Most popularly, Rajagopalachari agitated against the Rowlatt Act, non-cooperation, and the Civil Disobedience movement.
He was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Madras on a Congress ticket. He was part of the sub-committee on minorities and was conferred with the Bharat Ratna in 1954.
(with ANI inputs)
