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National Museum,
New Delhi as we see it today in the majestic building on the
corner of Janpath and Maulana Azad Road is the prime museum
in the country. The blue-print for establishing the National
Museum in Delhi had been prepared by the Gwyer Committee set
up by the Government of India in 1946. When an Exhibition of
Indian Art consisting of selected artefacts from various museums
of India, sponsored by the Royal Academy (London) with the co-operation
of the Government of India and Britain, was on display in the
galleries of Burlington House, London during the winter months
of 1947-48, it was decided to display the same collection under
a single roof in Delhi before the return of exhibits to their
respective museums. Accordingly, the exibition was held in the
state rooms of the Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi in 1949, and
it turned out to be a great success. In turn, the event proved
responsible for the creation of National Museum. On the auspicious
day of the 15th August, 1949, the National Museum was formally
inaugurated by the Governor-General of India, Shri R.C. Rajagopalachari,
and it was announced that till a permanent building for housing
the National Musuem was constructed, the Museum would continue
to function in the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The Government also felt
to retain the exhibits on show to form the holdings of the National
Museum and the plan was sent to all the participants of London
exhibition. It continued to be looked after well by the Director
General of Archaeology until the Ministry of Education, the
Government of India declared it a separate institution to grow
in its collections that were sought painstakingly. It received
several gifts but artefacts were collected mainly through its
Art Purchase Committee. In the meanwhile, the foundation of
the present building was laid by Pt. J.L. Nehru, Prime Minister
of India, in the 12th May, 1955 and the new building where works
of art were displayed elegantly on scientific lines, was handed
over to Museum authorities in June, 1960. The Museum was formally
thrown open to the public on December 18, 1960. And it is now
within the administrative control and fully financed by the
Department of Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Government of India. The Museum has in its possession approximately
2,00,000 works of exquisite art of diverse nature, both Indian
and foreign and its holdings cover a time span of more than
five thousand years of our cultural heritage. While the splendid
chronological display of selected art objects in the various
galleries, screening of educational films related to art and
culture, guided tours, gallery talks by the experts, special
lectures and training programmes, facilities for photography
and access to the reserve collection and library for the study,
and advice on identification of art objects have brought immense
laurels to the Museum. The conservation laboratory had made
its existence felt even in other countries. |
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