Museum a virtual walk through history

NEW DELHI: High-tech tools to allow people to click selfies with their favourite Prime Ministers and take virtual walks with them. A virtual time machine that recounts India’s nuclear journey. An automated pen to customise a letter from the visitor’s favourite PM. These are all part of a new museum dedicated to the country’s 14 prime ministers that was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on Thursday.

At the entry of the museum are portraits of all the leaders, with late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru on one side and PM Modi on the other. The first gallery contains snippets from India’s freedom struggle, with Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose featured. This is followed by a section on Indian Presidents.

The section of the museum housing the selfie points and automated pen, among others, is called Anubhuti. It also offers quizzes on each leader and the option to listen to speeches made by the PMs from the ramparts of the Red Fort. The winding corridors that scale some of the galleries contain several key milestones in India’s journey since 1994. The PM’s journeys are captured by detailed videos and several letters written by them.

A climb up the stairs leads to an elaborate section on Lal Bahadur Shastri, wherein many of his personal artefacts — a vase from Tashkent, his badminton racket and chakra — are on display. On the left is former PM Gulzarilal Nanda. Each PM has been accorded a gallery marking the challenges and the achievements of their tenure. For example, the abolition of the privy purses, defence acquisitions and the nationalisation of banks find a mention in Indira Gandhi’s gallery, as do the Emergency, the unrest in Assam and Punjab.

The Morarji Desai gallery showcases the leader’s commitment to the freedom of the press. It talks about the formation of the Janata Morcha and the declaration of Emergency, referring to how the leader was detained for 19 months.

For Rajiv Gandhi, the screens focus on his development of computers and bringing in of telephones, kickstarting the technological revolution. The three peace pacts signed during his tenure find mention — in Punjab, Assam and the Mizo peace accord.

For VP Singh’s gallery, a key highlight is his effort in implementing the recommendations of the Mandal Commission, which called for quotas for Other Backward Classes. In Chandrashekar’s gallery, his 2,000 km-long Bharat Yatra, wherein he tried to connect with the masses, is highlighted.

Narasimha Rao’s contribution to the liberalisation of the Indian economy forms the mainstay of his story. The missile programme launched during his term, coupled with the passing of the Panchayat Raj Act are other events.

HD Deve Gowda is touted as the harbinger of a new age of Indian television. The Representation Of People (Amendment) Act 1996 that made it illegal to insult the national flag and the Constitution is stressed upon.

IK Gujral’s doctrine, where he argued for good faith dealings with certain countries and said all disputes would be settled in a peaceful manner, forms the mainstay of his gallery. He is described as “a politician who was a gentleman first”.

For Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the victory over Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil war finds pride of place. Vajpayee is also credited with introducing the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (education for all) and building highways to connect the four major Indian cities.

Manmohan Singh’s gallery starts off with his satellite programme. It also mentions the Unique Identification Authority of India, Singh’s foreign policy initiatives, the 2010 commonwealth Games and the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

ANI Visitors at the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya in New Delhi.