Inserting it on report for the primary time that then UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, had deputed a consultant to remove an enormous a part of “donated” Jawaharlal Nehru papers from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in 2008, one of many organisation’s current members has written to Congress MP and Chief of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, looking for his assist in the return of these essential paperwork.
Ahmedabad-based historian Rizwan Kadri mentioned in his letter to Gandhi that these papers pertain to Nehru’s correspondence with Edwina Mountbatten, Albert Einstein, Aruna Asaf Ali and Jayaprakash Narayan, amongst others, and that the NMML Society (now Prime Ministers Museum & Library, or PMML), had mentioned this broadly throughout their final Annual Basic Assembly in February this 12 months.
First reported by The Indian Categorical, the PMML Society had mentioned the standing of the papers in Sonia Gandhi’s custody in its AGM in February, following which it was determined {that a} authorized opinion can be sought. Though the members had raised the difficulty of the lacking Nehru papers a number of occasions earlier, in accordance with sources, this was the primary time within the 2024 AGM that the minutes clearly talked about the then UPA chairperson taking away 51 cartons from the donated papers.
In his letter to Rahul Gandhi dated December 10, 2024, Kadri additionally talked about the minutes of the mentioned AGM. “PMML additional knowledgeable that as per report, in March 2008 MV Rajan visited the PMML to segregate Non-public Papers and papers associated to authorities from the Jawaharlal Nehru (SG) Papers,” he wrote, citing the AGM minutes.
“After this segregation was accomplished, all private papers, as recognized by Rajan and the PMML staff working with him, have been despatched to Sonia Gandhi in 51 carton bins on 05 Could 2008 with the approval of the then Director, PMML. These included the letters referring to personalities, corresponding to Jayaprakash Narayan, Padmaja Naidu, Edwina
Mountbatten, Albert Einstein, Aruna Asaf Ali, Vijaya Laxmi Pandit, Babu Jagjivan Ram and Govind Ballabh Pant,” mentioned the letter, reviewed by The Indian Categorical.
“Because the Chief of the Opposition, I urge you to take cognisance of this challenge and advocate for the preservation of India’s historic heritage,” Kadri wrote. An e-mail questionnaire despatched to Rahul Gandhi’s workplace by The Indian Categorical didn’t elicit any response.
Earlier, in a letter to Sonia Gandhi, dated September 9, Kadri — among the many 29 members of the PMML Society headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — had mentioned that it’s “essential that these data stay accessible to make sure complete understanding of our nation’s historical past”. He had requested Sonia Gandhi to both return the papers, present copies, or supply digitised entry. There was no point out of the particular particulars of the AGM or of what the mentioned correspondence lodged in 51 cartons was about.
The event comes simply days after the current PMML Society was given an extension of two months. The time period of the Society was alleged to expire on November 4. Via an order on the day, the Ministry of Tradition prolonged the time period until January 13, 2025, to coincide with the tenure of the PMML Govt Council.
Looking for Rahul Ganghi’s “collaboration on preserving India’s historic paperwork on the PMML”, Kadri’s letter mentioned, “The ‘Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund’ generously transferred personal papers of Jawaharlal Nehru to the PMML in 1971. These paperwork present invaluable insights right into a vital interval of Indian historical past. In 2008, a set of those papers have been withdrawn from the PMML, on the request of the then chairperson of the ‘United Progressive Alliance’ (UPA) and current ‘Congress Parliamentary Occasion’ (chairperson) Smt Sonia Gandhiji.”
“We’d be glad about your collaboration in exploring potential options,” it mentioned, suggesting that this might embody “discussing the potential return of the withdrawn paperwork to the PMML for correct preservation and entry”, or “facilitating the creation of high-quality digital copies or scans of the paperwork, which might enable researchers to entry them”.
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