New Delhi: The name of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society -- founded on the premises of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s official residence Teen Murti Bhavan after his death in 1964 -- is being changed to Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library Society, the Union culture ministry said on Friday.
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The announcement immediately sparked a political row, with the Congress calling it a “petty” act and an attempt to distort, disparage, and destroy the name and legacy of Nehru, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slamming the party’s reaction as a classic example of “political indigestion”.
“In a special meeting of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society, it was resolved to change its name to Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library Society. The special meeting was presided over by defence minister Shri Rajnath Singh who is the vice-president of the society,” said the ministry statement.
The decision came a year after the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, or prime ministers’ museum, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The statement said that the NMML executive council in 2016 approved the construction of the museum of all PMs in the Teen Murti Estate, and the project was opened to the public on April 21, 2022. “The executive council subsequently felt that the name of the Institution should reflect the present activities,” the statement added. “It recognises all the Prime Ministers, thereby democratising the institutional memory.”
{{/usCountry}}The statement said that the NMML executive council in 2016 approved the construction of the museum of all PMs in the Teen Murti Estate, and the project was opened to the public on April 21, 2022. “The executive council subsequently felt that the name of the Institution should reflect the present activities,” the statement added. “It recognises all the Prime Ministers, thereby democratising the institutional memory.”
{{/usCountry}}It quoted NMML executive council chairman Nripendra Misra emphasising that the prime ministers’ museum expressed 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 as the institution in its new form exhibited the contributions of all PMs, from Nehru to Modi. “Describing Prime Ministers as an institution and comparing the journey of various prime ministers to the varied colours of a rainbow ...Singh emphasised 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,” the statement said.
The announcement immediately sparked a political row.
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 said.
He added that NMML was 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.”
In the past, the Congress has accused the BJP of undermining Nehru’s legacy.
Communist Party of India leader D Raja termed the decision of renaming NMML as “desperate”. He said it was part of the attempts of the BJP’s ideological mentor, the 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.”
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha said the move revealed the government’s thinking. “Nehru was the first PM. 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.” Reacting to Congress’ remarks, BJP president JP Nadda on Friday said that the party’s inability to accept that there are leaders beyond “one dynasty” is a classic example of “political indigestion”. In a series of tweets, Nadda said, “Classic example of political indigestion -- the inability to accept a simple fact that there are leaders beyond one dynasty who have served and built our nation”.
Every prime minister has been given respect in the prime ministers’ museum and the section relating to the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, has not been altered, he said. “In the PM Sangrahalaya, every PM has got respect. Section relating to Pandit Nehru hasn’t been altered. On the contrary, it’s prestige has been enhanced,” Nadda said. “For a party which ruled India for over 50 years, their pettiness is really tragic. It’s also the reason people are rejecting them,” Nadda said.
The prime ministers’ museum is an effort “beyond politics”, Nadda asserted and alleged that the Congress lacks “the vision to realise this”.