Located at the Teen Murti complex in New Delhi and built at a cost of Rs 271 crore, the new museum will shed light on the lives and contributions of all 14 prime ministers of the nation
The Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 14 April, coinciding with BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary. News18
India is a land of vast and complex history. To celebrate this, the country houses some of the most popular museums across the world.
On 14 April, India will add to her museum list when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya, also known as Museum of Prime Ministers, on the 131st birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.
We take a look at this new offering and here’s what one can expect from it.
About the Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya
Located at the Teen Murti complex in New Delhi, the government said the museum has been developed to create awareness about all 14 prime ministers of the country with ample space for future leaders as well.
A News18 report has said that the museum will include the erstwhile Nehru Museum, which has a technologically advanced display on the life and contributions of Jawaharlal Nehru. A number of gifts received by him from all over the world but not exhibited so far have also been put on display in the renovated Block I.
Also read: How renaming Nehru Memorial Museum is another nail in the coffin of colonisation
Set up with an aim to sensitise and inspire the younger generation about the leadership and vision of all prime ministers, the museum will showcase the contribution of all our prime ministers.
“The guiding principle has been to recognise the contribution of all the Prime Ministers in a non-partisan manner,” the government said in a press release.
The building area is 10,491 sq metres and incorporates sustainable and energy conservation practices. As per the government, no trees were cut while constructing this museum.
The logo of the building is the hands of people holding the Chakra, symbolising the nation and democracy.
Built at a cost of Rs 271 crore, the museum will provide information on India’s freedom struggle, to the making of the Constitution. It will also tell the story of how each of the country’s prime ministers navigated the nation through various challenges during their respective tenures.
The information will be offered in an interesting and fun manner through cutting-edge technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and interactive screens. Several holograms will also be used at the museum.
Officials in the Ministry of Culture said that the content at the museum has been acquired on perpetual licence. Doordarshan, Film Division, Sansad TV, Ministry of Defence, Indian and foreign media houses, toshakhana of Ministry of External Affairs have also provided content and information that will be displayed at the museum.
Furthermore, personal gifts and memorabilia such as felicitations, medals, commemorative stamps as well as records of speeches given by the former prime ministers will also be housed at the museum. Officials said that they had reached out to the families of the prime ministers to source personal information.
The information will be offered in an interesting and fun manner through cutting-edge technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and interactive screens. Several holograms will also be used at the museum. News18
Controversy over the museum
When the museum was first announced in 2018 by the Narendra Modi government, the Congress alleged it was an attempt to dilute the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru, whose memorial was established at the site of his long-time home Teen Murti Bhavan.
In fact, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had then written a letter to Narendra Modi, urging him not to “change the nature and character” of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in New Delhi and let it remain “undisturbed as it is”.
Reacting to the news, the then NMML Director Shakti Sinha questioned the motive behind the letter. He had said, as per a PTI report, “The Teen Murti estate has shrunk in size, a planetarium unrelated to NMML (has been set up), some land was also given to Delhi Police. If none of this negatively affected Nehru’s legacy, how can a celebration of India’s democracy, in the establishment of which Nehru had an important role, be so negatively seen.
“In fact after the museum comes up we will have a lot more information on Nehru than we have now. I don’t understand why this should make people uncomfortable?” he said.
Besides Manmohan Singh, Congress leaders such as Jairam Ramesh, Mallikarjun Kharge, Karan Singh and historian Nayanjyot Lahiri, alogn with economist Nitin Desai had opposed the museum.
Another controversy over the museum erupted in November 2018 when an architect claimed that his designed had been copied for the new structure.
Architect Raj Rewal had claimed that the design of the Museum of the Prime Ministers of India (Museum of PMs) had been plagiarised from his design of the library block of the State University of Performing and Visual Arts in Rohtak.
According to the Indian Express, in a letter to Nehru Memorial Museum and Library director Shakti Sinha, Rewal’s company had said the Ashoka Chakra on the slanting roof of proposed design was a “rip-off” of his design.
However, Sikka Associates Architects, who are behind the design of the museum, called the allegation of plagiarism “baseless”.
With inputs from agencies
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