Rajagopalachari, Edwin Lutyens
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that the statue of British architect Edwin Lutyens at Rashtrapati Bhavan will be replaced with a statue of Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor-General of independent India.Speaking during his monthly radio program Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi said: “There is also a statue of British architect Edwin Lutyens at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Now, this statue will be replaced by a statue of Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachari).”Prime Minister Modi said that even after independence, statues of British officials remained present at Rashtrapati Bhavan, while many Indian leaders were not given a place there.He said that the country is moving away from symbols of colonial rule and adopting symbols associated with Indian culture. The Prime Minister recalled that during the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ he spoke about the ‘Paanch Pran’ of the Red Fort and stressed the need to stay away from the colonial mentality.He also announced that a ‘Rajaji utsav’ will be held on February 23, when a statue of Rajagopalachari will be unveiled in the central courtyard of Rashtrapati Bhavan. An exhibition on Rajagopalachari will also be organized from February 24 to March 1 as part of the event.
Edwin Lutyens, along with Herbert Baker, designed several major buildings in New Delhi, including the Rashtrapati Bhavan, North Block, South Block and India Gate. Part of the capital is also known as Lutyens’ Delhi in recognition of his work.
