PM Modi Inaugurates 216-Feet Tall Statue Of Sri Ramanujacharya In Hyderabad

The Statue of Equality was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Hyderabad on Saturday in honour of 11^th century Hindu saint Sri Ramanujacharya.

PM Modi tweeted about it prior to the inauguration saying that the 216-foot-tall statue is a “fitting tribute” to Sri Ramanujacharya, whose sacred thoughts and teachings inspire us.

At 5 PM, I will join the programme to inaugurate the ‘Statue of Equality.’ This is a fitting tribute to Sri Ramanujacharya, whose sacred thoughts and teachings inspire us. https://t.co/i6CyfsvYnw

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 5, 2022

The statue is made up of “panchaloha” or five metals, namely, gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc. It is one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting position in the world at a height of 216 feet.

The Statue of Equality is mounted on a 54 feet high building named “Bhadra Vedi”. The building houses a digital library and research centre, ancient texts, a theatre, an educational gallery with works and philosophies of Sri Ramanujacharya.

Ramanujacharya, the Vaishnavite saint advocated equality with many attributing the idea of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ or ‘The world is one family’ and its propagation to him.

Notably, the inauguration of the statue is part of a 12-day celebration of Sri Ramanujacharya’s 1,000^th birth anniversary. The statue was conceptualized by Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami of Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram.

The foundation stone for the statue was laid in 2014. The statue is located in a 45-acre complex on the outskirts of Hyderabad and the nearly 1,000 crore project was funded entirely by donations from devotees globally.