• Prime Minister Narendra Modi would unveil a 216-foot statue of Ramanujacharya, an 11th century saint and a social reformer, in Hyderabad on February 5.

• The statue, described as the ‘Statue of Equality’, is located in a 45-acre complex at Shamshabad on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

• It is to celebrate the 1,000th birth anniversary of the saint.

Who was Ramanujacharya?

• Ramanujacharya was a philosopher, social reformer and one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism.

• His philosophical foundations for devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement.

• Born in 1017 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, Ramanujacharya 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.

• He opened the doors of temples to all people, including those subjected to extreme discrimination. He remains a timeless icon of equality for social reformists around the world.

216-foot statue

• The foundation stone for the project was laid in 2014.

• The inner sanctorum deity of Ramanujacharya is made of 120 kg of gold to commemorate the 120 years the saint walked this earth.

• The outdoor 216-foot statue would be one of the tallest statues in a sitting posture. The statue is made of ‘panchaloha’, a mix of five metals — gold, silver, copper, brass and zinc.

• The complex has identical recreations of 108 Divya Desams, the 108 ornately carved Vishnu temples mentioned in the works of the Alwars, mystic Tamil saints.

• The 54-foot high base building named ‘Bhadra Vedi’ has dedicated floors for a Vedic digital library and research centre, ancient Indian texts, a theatre, an educational gallery and a robust multi-language audio tour detailing many works of Ramanujacharya.

• The Rs 1,000-crore project was funded entirely by donations from devotees globally.

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