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Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Statue of Equality, a gigantic statue of Ramanujacharya, on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

 

Who was Ramanujacharya?

• Born in: 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
• He is revered as a Vedic philosopher and social reformer.
• He travelled across India, advocating equality and social justice.
• He revived the Bhakti movement, and his preachings inspired other Bhakti schools of thought.
• He is considered to be the inspiration for poets like Annamacharya, Bhakt Ramdas, Thyagaraja, Kabir, and Meerabai.
• He appealed for the protection of nature and its resources like air, water, and soil.
• He wrote nine scriptures known as the navaratnas, and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures.
• He is credited with establishing the correct procedures for rituals performed in temples throughout India, the most famous being Tirumala and Srirangam.

 

Why is it called the Statue of Equality?

• Ramanuja was an advocate of social equality among all sections of people centuries ago.
• He encouraged temples to open their doors to everyone irrespective of caste or position in society.
• He propagated the concept of “vasudhaiva kutumbakam”, which translates as “all the universe is one family”.
• He travelled across India for several decades, propagating his ideas of social equality and universal brotherhood from temple podiums.
• He embraced the socially marginalised and condemned, and asked royal courts to treat them as equals.
• He spoke of universal salvation through devotion to God, compassion, humility, equality, and mutual respect, which is known as Sri Vaishnavam Sampradaya.
• Ramanujacharya’s social philosophy was designed to cross the boundaries of the caste system and to embrace the whole of humanity.
• He liberated millions from social, cultural, gender, educational, and economic discrimination with the foundational conviction that every human is equal regardless of nationality, gender, race, caste, or creed.
• His 1,000th birth anniversary is celebrated as the ‘Festival of Equality’

 

Where is the statue located?

• The 216-foot-tall statue, is located in Hyderabad.
• The statue was proposed and designed by Chinna Jeeyar.

 

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/ramanujacharya-statue-of-equality-explained-7754236/