The Union culture ministry on Wednesday issued a clarification through its official X account stating that no papers related to India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, are missing from the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML), because it knows their “whereabouts”.
The reference is to 51 cartons of papers transferred by the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library to Sonia Gandhi, the UPA chairperson, in 2008.
Last year, BJP leader and MP Sambit Patra alleged that on May 5, 2008, 51 cartons of “significant documents” were sent from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (as it was then called) to Sonia Gandhi’s residence. Patra said the documents had originally been donated to the institution by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund in 1971.
He also details from the government on whether any Nehru papers were found missing, whether they had been illegally removed, and whether any individual had been identified as responsible. He also asked if the PMML’s governing body had discussed the issue during its annual meeting.
In a written reply to Patra, Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that no documents related to Nehru were found missing during the annual inspection of the PMML this year. He also said that the annual general meeting of the PMML in 2025 did not take any decision regarding the non-availability of documents linked to Nehru.
{{/usCountry}}In a written reply to Patra, Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that no documents related to Nehru were found missing during the annual inspection of the PMML this year. He also said that the annual general meeting of the PMML in 2025 did not take any decision regarding the non-availability of documents linked to Nehru.
{{/usCountry}}Following the parliamentary reply, Congress MP and party general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh posted the government’s response on X and asked whether the BJP would issue an apology. “The truth was finally revealed in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Will there be an apology forthcoming?” Ramesh wrote.
Instead, on Wednesday, the ministry of culture clarified that the papers were indeed with Gandhi.
The ministry said that in April 2008, M.V. Rajan, acting as a representative of Gandhi, formally requested that all private family letters and notes of Nehru be returned. Acting on this request, the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library transferred 51 cartons of Nehru papers to Sonia Gandhi .
The ministry said PMML has remained in correspondence with Sonia Gandhi’s office since then regarding the return of these papers. It cited letters sent by the PMML on January 28 and July 3 this year . “Therefore, Nehru Papers are not ‘missing’ from PMML as their whereabouts are known,” the ministry added in its clarification.
The ministry said that the documents relate to the first prime minister of India and form part of the nation’s documentary heritage. It said these papers are not private property and that their custody with the PMML, along with access for citizens and scholars, is essential for research.
According to Patra, the papers included correspondence between Nehru and several prominent figures, including Edwina Mountbatten, Jayaprakash Narayan and Jagjivan Ram. The BJP MP alleged that the transfer of these documents raised questions about ownership and access to historical records.
The Congress has consistently maintained that there was no illegality involved and that the government’s own records show the papers were transferred following a formal request. The party has argued that the issue is being raised for political reasons.