Statue of Bal GangadharTilak awaits AMC's approval for installation.
How many Amdavadis know that the real name of their favourite midnight feasting spot in Manek Chowk is Tilak Maidan? Or that the ever popular Relief Road was named Tilak Marg, way back in 1956? Historian Dr Rizwan Kadri is among a handful of people from the city who acknowledges the actual names of these prominent locations in Ahmedabad. Not just that, he even has a bust of freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak at his residence in Paldi. The statue awaits AMC’s approval for installation at Tilak Maidan since 2010.
Lokmanya Tilak’s 1916 speech in Ahmedabad was a key reason behind naming it after him. Speaking about the relevance of Tilak Maidan, Kadri said: “He (the Lokmanya) passed away on August 1, 1920 and a commemorative service was held at Jama Masjid in the city. Following this, it was decided to rename the area outside Maneknath temple as ‘Tilak Maidan’ to honour the great leader.”
In 2010, Kadri had visited the leader’s family in Pune, while researching two of his books. There, Tilak’s great grandson, Dr Dipak Tilak, had given him the fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) bust made by the Mumbai-based sculptor, Suhas Bahulkar.He then brought it to Ahmedabad. Following this, Gujarat assembly speaker, Ashok Bhatt, along with Kadri had gone to the traders and shop owners of Manek Chowk to garner support for installing the statue there.
“The traders had been very positive and even agreed to foot the expenses of the bust’s upkeep once it was installed,” said Kadri.
Kadri, under the aegis of Maninagar Shri Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, and with the support of Bhatt, had sent a proposal to the AMC standing committee, requesting the statue’s installation in April 2010.
However, he recalls, there had been objections to creating an island in the centre of the chowk, as it would lead to traffic issues. “But we had never specifically demanded placing the statue in the middle of the chowk. So, Bhatt came up with the idea of placing it in a proposed police chowky, which was to replace a non-functioning parab (water-hut) there,” he said. Their cause was greatly impacted when, in 2010, Bhatt passed away. The bust has since been at Kadri’s residence. He has now found support from BJP leader at AMC, Mayur Dave, and plans to put before the standing committee a fresh proposal for the bust’s installation, he said. He even delayed the launch of his books, hoping for it to coincide with the statue’s unveiling, which is yet to happen.
Asked about seeing such a proposal, AMC commissioner, Guruprasad Mohapatra, replied in the negative. “I took office in July 2011, a year after the proposal’s date and have never come across it since then,” he said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}