Photo of an under-construction Ambedkar statue in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, is being falsely shared as from China

A photo (here, here and here) of an under-construction Ambedkar statue is going viral on social media, with claims that a 450-foot-tall bronze statue of B.R. Ambedkar is being erected in China, touted as the tallest and most expensive bronze statue in the world. Let’s examine the truth behind this claim.

The archived post can be found here.

Claim: A 450-foot-tall bronze statue of B.R. Ambedkar is being installed in China.

Fact: There is no evidence of a 450-foot Ambedkar statue being built in China. The viral photo actually shows the Vijayawada statue under construction in 2023, which was inaugurated in January 2024. Union Minister Ramdas Athawale clarified that only some parts of the 450-foot Ambedkar statue being built in Mumbai are imported from China, not the statue itself. Hence, the claim is FALSE.

To verify the claim, we conducted a reverse image search on Google, which revealed that the statue in the viral photo is actually the Ambedkar statue under construction in Vijayawada as of 2023. According to the report, the 125-foot-tall statue was built by the Hyderabad-based company KPC Projects Limited. Reports also noted that the Andhra Pradesh government had approached Chinese companies during the planning phase of the statue’s construction.

Furthermore, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale clarified that certain parts of the 450-foot bronze Ambedkar statue (comprising a 350-foot statue and a 100-foot pedestal), currently under construction in Mumbai, are being imported from China. Once completed, this statue will become the second-tallest in India, after the ‘Statue of Unity’.

Additionally, a keyword search found no evidence of any Ambedkar statue being built in China. The statue seen in the viral photo was inaugurated in January 2024 in Vijayawada and has no connection with China.

To sum up, the photo of the under-construction Ambedkar statue in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, from 2023, is being falsely circulated as if it were from China.