Nehru may share space with all PMs at Teen Murti

A committee set up by NMML has recommended two sites within the complex for the proposed museum: a vacant land behind the present museum, and the office of the the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, which has Congress president Sonia Gandhi as chairperson and party MP Karan Singh as vice-chairman.

While NMML is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, the Fund, set up in 1964 to promote research on Nehru, is a private trust and houses some rare archives related to Nehru. If the museum comes up where the Fund office is now located, one of the most important institutions related to Nehru will have to be shifted out of NMML.

The idea of the museum was mooted several months ago by topmost authorities in the government. Subsequently, NMML set up a four-member panel to identify the sites. The panel, headed by Prasar Bharti chairperson and NMML Executive Council member A Surya Prakash, has academic Kapil Kumar, professor Makhan Lal and an architect as its members.

There is a proposal to have a museum of prime ministers of India at NMML. We have suggested two sites to the NMML Executive Committee, which has sent the report to the Ministry of Culture,” Prakash told The Sunday Express.

The committee also noted that since NMML is a heritage building in a sensitive area, the proposed museum will require the approval of several authorities before construction begins. Also, since visiting heads of the states are likely to visit the proposed museum, security will be a concern.

Academic Kapil Kumar, who said that he has “resigned from the committee” in protest against the appointment of Shakti Sinha as NMML director, confirmed that the idea of a museum for prime ministers within the NMML premises was discussed in the panel. “I attended a meeting that was held to identify the land at NMML. One (of the proposed sites) was behind the building, another was the office of the Nehru Memorial Fund. I don’t know what happened later,” he said.

Several meetings have taken place between officials of NMML, CPWD and the Culture Ministry since then. The CPWD, NMML officials said, have even surveyed and measured the two sites.

Rejecting the notion that the proposed museum is an attempt to dilute Nehru’s legacy, Prakash said, “The museum will house the legacy of every prime minister. The intention is not to dilute but enhance the legacy of Nehru.”

Another official said, “Every move of this government is seen with suspicion. We are remodeling Nehru Museum. You notice the current state of the NMML and visit it after remodeling and then see who actually loves Nehru. There is no question of diluting Nehru’s legacy”.

In an earlier interview with The Indian Express over the changes in the NMML, MoS Culture Mahesh Sharma had said that according to the NMML Constitution, “it should be used to showcase the life of Nehruji and those who had contributed to the freedom struggle or building modern India. Thousands of people have contributed to the making of modern India. But the Congress believed that it’s only for showcasing Nehru or his family. We have democratised the NMML.”