Chennai- The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, urging immediate action following a complaint by activist S. Vengatesan from Neelam Cultural Center. This complaint has once again brought to light the issue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's statues being enclosed in iron cages, a practice unique to his memorials in Tamil Nadu. Activists argue that this is a glaring symbol of discrimination, as statues of other leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Periyar remain unshackled.

Vengatesan Sivakumar, an activist with the Neelam Cultural Center, lodged a formal complaint with the NCSC regarding the iron cages placed around Ambedkar’s statues. Speaking to The Mooknayak, he stated, “I have been working for the last seven years with Neelam Cultural Center, traveling across Tamil Nadu to provide education and legal assistance to oppressed communities. During this journey, I noticed that an iron cage was placed around a statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution. This feels like an attempt to discredit him. Authorities cite security and law-and-order concerns, but this justification is unacceptable. Instead of caging the statues, CCTV cameras should be installed to protect them.”

Responding to his complaint, the NCSC has decided to investigate the matter under its constitutional powers granted by Article 338. In its notice to the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, the commission has demanded an action-taken report within 15 days.

Why Are Ambedkar’s Statues Caged?

The issue of caged Ambedkar statues is not new. Author of the book ' Uncaste' and an advocate Karl Marx Siddharthar identifies five key reasons behind this practice:

Society remains narrow-minded and backward.

The general will of Tamil Nadu society is inhumane and immoral.

Fraternity is not truly practiced in our democracy.

There is a lack of political unity.

Legal awareness in the state is insufficient.

Activist and content creator Vidhya Senthamizhselvan, who has extensively documented Ambedkar’s statues, traced their history in India. The first Ambedkar statue was established in Kolhapur on December 7, 1950, while he was still alive.

In Tamil Nadu, it was Dalit leader Gnanasekaran of the Dalit Freedom Movement who initiated the installation of the first statue in Madurai in 1987. However, in the 1990s, caste riots and subsequent law-and-order issues led to concerns over their safety.

In a documentary produced by Vidhya, veteran Dalit leader Thol. Thirumavalavan, MP from Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), explained that during this period, then-Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi convened a meeting of various caste association leaders.

The government decided to implement new regulations concerning statues, including requiring official permissions, bronze construction, and protective fencing maintained by those who initiated the statues' installation. While these measures applied broadly, activists argue that in practice, only Ambedkar’s statues are placed inside cages.

A Violation of Constitutional Values?

Activists strongly believe that caging Ambedkar's statues is an outright violation of Article 15 of the Indian Constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on caste, creed, religion, gender, or domicile. “Babasaheb, the architect of our Constitution, is himself subjected to discrimination posthumously. This is the greatest irony,” says Vidhya Senthamizhselvan.

Karl Marx Siddharthar points out that Tamil Nadu ranks fourth in terms of Scheduled Caste population in India. With SCs making up 20.1% of the state's population and STs 1.1%, one out of every five persons in Tamil Nadu belongs to the Scheduled Caste community. Yet, he argues, the general will of Tamil society remains deeply discriminatory. “Fraternity, the man to man relationship which is the true spirit of democracy—the idea that every human being should be treated as an equal—is absent in our social structure,” he adds.

Jaibhim Shanmugham, an Ambedkarite activist who established a statue in Kadambattur, Tiruvallur district, expresses his frustration: “Every time I see an Ambedkar statue in a cage, my heart pounds with rage. The cage is not for security; it represents societal foolishness and deep-rooted caste prejudices.”

Dalit rights activist and author Shalin Maria Lawrence emphasizes that Ambedkar’s statues are not just inanimate symbols but a representation of the identity and ideology of marginalized communities.

She points out that the state has very few Ambedkar statues, particularly in the southern and western regions where dominant caste groups reside. In these areas, attempts to install Ambedkar statues often lead to resistance or riots. Furthermore, the few existing statues frequently become targets of vandalism by dominant caste groups.

“These statues are regularly vandalized—miscreants throw human feces, cow dung, and other filth at them. This hostility reflects the deep-seated hatred towards Dalits, for whom Ambedkar is a figure of liberation. Instead of placing these statues behind iron bars, the government should install CCTV cameras to monitor and protect them.”

Activists and leaders continue to demand that the Tamil Nadu government take decisive action. The question remains: if Ambedkar’s statues alone require cages for protection, what does this say about the state’s social fabric? If the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) truly respects Babasaheb Ambedkar, as it claims, will it uncage his legacy and ensure that he receives the honor and respect he deserves?

Frequent Attacks on Ambedkar Statues Across India

On 26 January this year, a man attempted to vandalise a life-sized statue of B.R. Ambedkar, adjacent to the Golden Temple, in Amritsar, Punjab. When images were circulated showing him climbing atop the statue with a hammer, there was widespread condemnation. The Punjab police invoked sedition charges against the accused under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

On December 23, 2024, unidentified miscreants vandalised Baba Sahab's statue in Ahmedabad city which triggered a protest.

The Constitution’s replica displayed in a glass box outside Parbhani railway station in Maharashtra was damaged on December 10, 2024.

On 12 September, 2024, a statue of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar installed in Bahadurpur village under Fefna police station limits of Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district was desecrated by some unknown persons, police said on Thursday. Angered over the incident, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leaders staged a protest and raised slogans, after which a new statue was installed there.

On 23^rd January 2024, Kalaburagi city in Karnataka experienced a surge of spontaneous and widespread protests following the disrespectful act of desecrating the statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.