India, April 12 -- Rising above the waters of the Arabian Sea off Mumbai's west coast will be a towering tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar, a giant who shaped modern thought, steered the making of the Constitution, and led the movement for Dalits.

The colossus - a 350-feet statue on a 100-feet pedestal - will be a bronze-clad likeness of Ambedkar called the 'Statue of Equality'. It will anchor an entire complex on nearly 5 hectares of what was once mill land on the Dadar coastline.

Next door is Chaityabhoomi, where Ambedkar's ashes are preserved, and where lakhs of followers gather on Mahaparinirvan Diwas, his death anniversary, on December 6, every year.

Ahead of Ambedkar's birth anniversary, on April 14, HT visited the under-construction mem...