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Nehru Memorial Museum and Library to be renamed; Congress slams move as petty
The Union culture ministry said defence minister Rajnath Singh, who is Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society’s vice-president, presided over a meeting where it was resolved to change the name
The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society has resolved to rename the autonomous eponymous institution founded on the premises of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s official residence Teen Murti Bhavan after his death in 1964, the Union culture ministry said on Friday and prompted a sharp reaction from the opposition Congress and its allies.
In a statement, the ministry said defence minister Rajnath Singh, who is the society’s vice-president, presided over a special meeting where it was resolved to change the name to Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library Society. It added Prime Minister Narendra Modi mooted the idea of setting up a museum dedicated to all the Prime Ministers on Teen Murti premises in 2016. “The Executive Council, NMML...[at its] 162nd meeting...on...[November 25, 2016] approved the construction of the Museum of all Prime Ministers in the Teen Murti Estate. The project was completed and the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya was opened to the public on 21st April 2022,” said the statement.
It added the council later felt that the name of the institution under the culture ministry should reflect the present activities. “...[the institution] now also [includes] Sangrahalaya, depicting the collective journey of democracy in Independent India and highlighting the contribution of each Prime Minister in nation-building.”
It called the museum a seamless blend. “...[It] begins at the renovated and refurbished Nehru Museum building, now completely updated with technologically advanced displays on the life and contribution of...Nehru. Housed in a new building, the museum then goes on to tell the story of how our Prime Ministers navigated the nation through various challenges and ensured [the] all-round progress of the country.”
The statement said the institution recognises all Prime Ministers, thereby democratising the institutional memory.
It quoted NMML executive council chairman Nripendra Misra emphasising the Prime Ministers’ Museum expresses the nation’s commitment to democracy and that the institution’s name should reflect its new form.
The statement quoted Singh welcoming the proposal for the name change since the institution in its new form exhibits the contributions of all prime ministers from Nehru to Modi and their responses to challenges they faced. “Describing Prime Ministers as an institution and comparing the journey of various prime ministers to the varied colours of a rainbow ...Singh emphasized that all the colours of a rainbow have to be proportionately represented...to make it beautiful. Thus the resolution has given a new name, respect to all our previous prime ministers, and is democratic in content.”
In a tweet, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit out at the move, accusing Modi of attempting to distort, disparage, and destroy the name and legacy of the architect of the Indian nation-state. “Pettiness & Vengeance, thy name is Modi.” He added NMML has been a global intellectual landmark and treasure house of books and archives for over 59 years. “It will henceforth be called Prime Ministers Museum & Society. What won’t Mr. Modi do to distort, disparage and destroy the name & legacy of the architect of the Indian nation-state? A small, small man overburdened by his insecurities is the self-styled Vishwaguru.”
The Congress has been accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of undermining Nehru’s legacy of secular institution-building and conviction that India belonged to all its people.
Communist Party of India leader D Raja criticised the decision of renaming NMML as desperate. He said it was part of the attempts of BJP’s ideological mentor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to rewrite the country’s history. “The people of India know that the RSS had no contribution to the Indian [national] movement,” he said. “This is an attempt by them to rewrite the country’s history and insert themselves into the narrative.” He added they had no contribution to building the modern Indian nation-state. “Nehru was the country’s first Prime Minister and his contributions such as the decision to establish public sector enterprises and the Planning Commission are immense.”
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha said the move revealed the government’s trivial thinking. “Nehru was the first Prime Minister. He was the choice of Mahatma Gandhi...the architect of the Indian democratic state,” he said. “This government needs to realise that memory erasers do not work.”
Jha added even after Nehru’s death, the government feels threatened by his democratic spirit. “The government views Nehru as the last wall standing and protecting the interests of parliamentary democracy against majoritarian impulses.”
