Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya (Museum of Prime Ministers) on Thursday, April 14. The museum is located inside the Nehru Museum building at Teen Murti Marg in Delhi. The total span of the museum is 15,600 square metres and the cost of construction was Rs 271 crore.
The exhibits of the museum highlight the achievements as well as the controversies that took place during the tenure of the 13 former Prime Ministers of India. One will have to pay Rs 100 for tickets if purchased online, Rs 110 for offline tickets and foreigners will be charged Rs 750.
Let us learn more about the ideation, exhibits and the controversy surrounding the newly-inaugurated museum.
Whose idea was it?
The idea for the formation of the museum was driven by Prime Minister Modi. The main reason behind its formation was to honour the contribution of all the prime ministers of India toward nation-building. It was approved in the year 2018.
What's in the museum?
Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya (Museum of Prime Ministers) includes technology-based interfaces and has 7.5 hours of immersive curated content. The latest technology includes levitation, robotics hologram, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), multi-touch, multimedia, interactive kiosks, computerised kinetic sculptures, smartphone applications, interactive screens and so on.
There are a total of 43 galleries. Barring a picture of PM Modi at the beginning of the new block inside the Nehru Museum building, exhibits on all former 13 PMs, starting from Lal Bahadur Shastri and ending at Manmohan Singh, are on display. There is no segment on PM Modi. At the entrance of the museum, one can spot a 3D-printed National Emblem rotating in the air. The museum can accommodate about 4,000 people at a time.
A little more about the details of the exhibits...
The exhibits highlight the achievements as well as other details of the tenures of 13 former PMs of India.
Jawaharlal Nehru’s exhibit has glimpses from his living room as well as bedroom in addition to his memorable speeches. Lal Bahadur Shastri's exhibit includes segments on Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan policy, the Tashkent Agreement and his speeches on AIR (All India Radio).
Indira Gandhi’s exhibit is about the 1971 war, the emergency, Pokhran 1 and insurgencies in Punjab and Assam.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s exhibit tells us about a section dedicated to Operation Shakti, Golden Quadrilateral, his bus ride to Lahore and so on.
What are the sources of information for the exhibits?
The sources for information are Prasar Bharati, Doordarshan, Film Division, Sansad TV, Ministry of Defence, Toshakhana of Ministry of External Affairs, media reports as well as families of Prime Ministers.
Who attended the inauguration ceremony of the museum and who did not?
Union Culture Minister G K Reddy; Ministers of State for Culture Meenakshi Lekhi and Arjun Ram Megwal, Chairperson of the Executive Council of Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Nripendra Mishra as well as the family members of several former PMs including Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai, PV Narasimha Rao, Charan Singh and so on. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Gandhi families were absent.
What's the controversy surrounding it?
Teen Murti Bhawan was the residence of first PM of India Jawaharlal Nehru. When it was found that the museum will come up on the same campus, there were allegations that this was an attempt to dilute the legacy of Nehru. Dr Manmohan Singh even wrote to PM Modi regarding the same.
There were also allegations of plagiarism when it comes to the design.
