Dr BR Ambedkar is one of the most revered and important historical figures in contemporary India, being one of the main architects of the Constitution. He was responsible for the institution of an extensive systems of social welfare and affirmative action for millions affected by caste discrimination.
During his stay in London, when he was a student at the London School of Economics, he stayed at 10, King Henry’s Road, from 1921-22 for 13 months. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government under the UK government has now granted permission for the change of use of 10 King Henry’s Road, London, and conversion into a museum.
There is no other museum dedicated to an Indian figure in London. The museum, when established, will help showcase the glorious life of Ambedkar — the forever champion of civil rights and social equality.
It was here that he worked on his thesis 'The Problem of the Rupee', which was later influential in the setting up of the Reserve Bank of India. The blue plaque outside the building reads 'Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, 1891-1956, Indian Crusader for Social Justice lived here 1921-1922'.
Considering the significance of the house and its close association with one of the founding father figures of modern India, on the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the then government of Maharashtra purchased the house in 2015 in order to establish a memorial museum to Ambedkar. Modi himself inaugurated the memorial on November 14, 2015. In the visitors’ book, the Modi wrote, "This is the sacred spot where Dr Ambedkar pursued his quest for knowledge, overcoming all the difficulties and the barriers placed before him. I bow to the great man who worked ceaselessly for the oppressed sections of society”.
Efforts were then put in place to convert the house into a full-fledged museum. However, an enforcement notice issued on November 16, 2018, by the London Borough of Camden denied the change of use of the building to a museum citing planning control.
Under instructions from Modi, the Maharashtra government filed an appeal against the notice, an inquiry on which was then held during September-October last year.
The report on the basis of which the decision was taken, while talking about the importance of Ambedkar as a historical figure and his association with the building, also highlighted the visit of Modi to the building in 2015 and the fact that he alluded to Ambedkar and to the house while addressing both Houses of Parliament in London.
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