UPSC Articles
Statue Of Equality
Part of: Prelims and GS-I History
Context: Indian Prime Minister 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, Ramanujacharya is revered as a Vedic philosopher and social reformer.
- He travelled across India, advocating equality and social justice.
- Ramanuja 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 went on to write nine scriptures known as the navaratnas, and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures.
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 at a time when people of many castes were forbidden from entering them.
- He took education to those who were deprived of it.
- His greatest contribution is the propagation of the concept of “vasudhaiva kutumbakam”, which translates as “all the universe is one family”.
News source: IE
