UP Govt Out to Replace Everything with Hindutva Icon Deen Dayal Upadhyaya

In a series of attempts to saffronize the public space in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government has asked the District Magistrate of Agra to replace a statue of Ambedkar with that of Deen Dayal Upadhyay in the premise of the Agra Municipal Corporation.

Ajay Kumar Agarwal, the Deputy Director, Directorate of Culture, Uttar Pradesh, has written a letter to the District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police of Agra informing them to take steps to pave the way for the removal of Ambedkar's statue and installation of a statue of the Jan Sangha ideologue.

“Directions have been issued to replace the older of the two life-size statues of Ambedkar with that of Deen Dayal Upadhyay in the premise of Agra Municipal Corporation,” says the letter a copy of which is with NewsClick.

Agarwal's letter gives reference to one of the local BJP MLA Jagan Prasad Garg, who proposed that one of the two statues of Ambedkar be removed and replaced with that of the Hindutva icon.

Garg had last month written a letter to Chief Minister Adityanath requesting that there were two statues of Ambedkar and one of the two should be removed and replaced with Upadhyaya's.

Agra has been a Dalit stronghold because of leather and shoe industry, which is dominated by Dalit workers. The two statues of Ambedkar in Municipal Corporation signified that symbolism of Dalit strength.

Agarwal's letter also asked the two senior officials to ensure that the installation takes place without any disturbances in law and order. It asked the two officials to send an affidavit assuring that law and order will not be disturbed during the installation of Upadhayay's statue.

The news is yet to break in the state, but it may not be a great move. Given the anger of the Dalits towards the ruling party and the huge gap between Dalits and the BJP, the Dalit groups are not likely to take this move of removal of Ambedkar's statue very positively.

Premnath Dingra, a senior leader of Dalit Mukti Morcha told NewsClick that the outfit would mobilise Dalits in Agra and different parts of Western Uttar Pradesh to protest against the proposed move.

“If the state government wants to install a statue of its own ideologue it is free to do so. But removing a statue of Ambedkar is shocking and hurtful for Dalits across the country. It is a question of Dalit Asmita. We will not remain silent. We will make it a major rallying point,” said Dhingra.

“We will first mobilise the Dalits to organise protests against the decision of the Adityanath government to remove Ambedkar's statue. We will hold protests in every district headquarter. Besides that, we will also petition the local District Magistrate, the Commissioner, the Governor, the National Commission for Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe and the President of India against the proposed anti-Dalit decision. This will hurt the sentiments of the Dalits and may not be a sensible decision to do,” he added.

The BJP MLA Garg whose proposal was accepted by the Yogi government said that he was “extremely happy”. “I am happy that a statue of Deen Dayal Upadhyay is being installed in Agra. I will make sure that it reaches its final conclusion,” he said.

The removal of Ambedkar's statue for installation of that of Upadhyay will not be the first time that his statue is being installed. After Yogi Adityanath government came to power, the statues of Upadhyay are being installed across the state. This is one among the several decisions that have been taken by the Adityanath government in order to install Deen Dayal Upadhyay as a prominent figure in history and culture of the country.

Adityanath in his third Cabinet meeting in April last year decided that the Agra airport will be renamed as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Airport. In February, which marks the death anniversary of the Jana Sangh founder, he installed a statue of the Hindutva icon in Lucknow.

Both Adiyanath and Governor Ram Naik inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs. 400 crore in Mathura where lies Nagla Chandrabhan, the native village of Upadhyay. They also inaugurated a statue of the Hindutva icon in Mathura. 

The State government, in one of the first moves, after taking over the reins of the State from Samajwadi Party, decided to turn the birthplace of the Hindutva ideologue, into a tourist spot. The State Tourist Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi visited the district and said that the government wanted to make the ancestral village of Upadhyaya one of the major tourist attraction in the state. They even renamed Mughalsarai Nagar Palika as Deendayal Nagar and Mughalsarai Railway Station as Deendayal Upadhyaya station.

Immediately after taking over last year, the BJP government announced that it will include a chapter on BJP ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya in the curriculum of UP Secondary Education Board. Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad had discussed a proposal in this regard after it’s approval by the state government, the chapter on Upadhyay will be taught to students of Class IX and above. The chapter is likely to be included in the subject of Civics.