The Pune Accord memorial project has received approval from the Pune Municipal Corporation’s standing committee, with a proposal to build a full-length statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and develop a heritage site at the Yerwada Central Jail complex before the accord’s centenary in 2032.
The proposal was submitted by Nationalist Congress Party corporator Suhas Tingre. Standing committee chairman Shrinath Bhimale said the committee had approved it. The proposed memorial is intended to commemorate the agreement reached on 24 September 1932 after discussions involving Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Ambedkar and other leaders at a time of intense debate over the political representation of disadvantaged communities.
The proposal calls for the preservation of the jail’s Gandhi Yard and a historic mango tree. These elements would form part of a broader heritage development of the site, according to the report. The plan also includes the creation of a museum containing original documents, correspondence, photographs and newspaper records connected with the Pune Accord.
The Pune Accord followed the British government’s Communal Award and Mahatma Gandhi’s fast at Yerwada Jail. The agreement occupies an important place in the history of social justice and political representation. The proposed memorial would therefore combine a commemorative structure with an archival and museum component rather than being limited to a standalone statue.
The project’s implementation will require coordination between the Pune Municipal Corporation, the state government and the prison department because Yerwada Central Jail is under the control of the state government. The proposal has also called for a committee comprising historians, architects and heritage-conservation experts to plan the project’s funding, design and approvals.
A similar plan to establish a Poona Pact museum was discussed in 2007, during the 75th anniversary of the agreement. The latest proposal revives that objective and sets 24 September 2032 as the target for completing the memorial. The available report does not specify the project’s estimated cost, the proposed site area, the design brief, or the approvals still required from the state government and prison authorities.
The committee’s approval is therefore an administrative step towards the project and does not indicate that construction has begun. The next stages will involve coordination among the civic body, state government and prison department, along with decisions on the heritage plan, museum content, funding and permissions. The proposal has asked that the memorial be completed before the centenary date in 2032.
