Indraprastha

Indraprastha is supposed to have been the capital of Pandavas the heroes of the epic Mahabharata and some say their capital was at the Purana Qila site built by Sher Shah Suri. There is nothing wrong with re-naming of roads, buildings, cities etc but firstly there must be a valid reason and secondly, they must not be done so frequently that people are left guessing what’s going to be its next new name. Like many years ago Curzon Road was named Kasturba Gandhi Marg and took years till people finally started calling it that, otherwise the first name which would come to mind was Curzon Road. But obviously, it should have been changed by removing the British Lord’s name, keeping it would have shown a colonial mindset. But then the new name to be used by the masses and the other forgotten takes years. Rajpath’s name has been changed to Kartavya Path, a correct move though a bit late, and one does not know by when it will become popularly used because even now people keep using “Rajpath” as the road down which they see the parade on our Republic Day. The present case is that of a renowned institution in Delhi known as the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society in Delhi. Known as one of the most prestigious research centers in the academic circles in Delhi, on the face of it there does not seem to be any reason to change its name kept after the first Prime Minister of the country Mr. Jawahar Lal Nehru. Now it is to be changed to Prime Ministers' Museum and Library Society because that is being built at the same premises as Teen Murti House. The move has created a lot of bitterness among Congress leaders as they took it as an attempt to just remove the name of Nehru altogether, while the BJP’s counter was that prestigious national institutions cannot be named after the members of only one family or “dyanasty”. The Congress tries to see in this move the central government forcing its diktat on people and institutions. The BJP says that the name would be changed to Prime Ministers' Museum and Library Society. A special meeting of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society chaired by its vice president also the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh put his assent on the move. Congress has called foul and decried BJP for its pettiness "cheap mentality and dictatorial attitude". Though the BJP is crying hoarse that the decision of making the building serve as a memorial for all the Prime Ministers of India is the correct one. The sprawling Teen Murti house should not be used for displaying the work done by a single prime minister that belonging to the Gandhi dynasty. Many Prime Ministers and leaders have contributed to the growth of the country, but we seem to be overly emphasising what the Gandhi dynasty (Nehru, Indira and Rajiv) have done, is the complaint of the BJP. But the historical fact is that the Nehru-Gandhi family as Prime Ministers held the reigns of the country for the largest portion of time since Independence. You may have political differences with Nehru, but you cannot grudge him the fact that he was the first Prime Minister of India and laid the foundation of the country in the early years. It would have looked better if the Prime Ministers museum had been made elsewhere having no conflict with the existing Nehru Memorial Museum and Library which was a stand-alone institution. The idea of having a Museum for Prime Ministers to showcase their contribution to the country is an extremely good idea of the BJP, if it is going to go beyond party politics and showcases the Indian prime ministers objectively and their contributions to the nation without any kind of partiality or one upmanship. But at the outset itself if you say the Prime Ministers Museum built at Teen Murti Bhavan will necessitate the removal of the name of the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru then your motives and interests are likely to be questioned. What would have been wrong with Prime Ministers Museum had it been made at a different place on a much grander scale leaving the existing institution and structure of NMML which is already dedicated to someone else. Though BJP president is supposed to have said that PM Sangrahalaya is an effort beyond politics but the way BJP has gone about doing it, by trying to erase Nehru’s name in NMML by creating the Prime Minister’s Museum at Teen Murti, for many clearly smacks of politics. Congress leader Gaurav Vallabh has criticised the government for its “petty” mind. He has stated, "They think that removing the name of Jawaharlal Nehru from the board will diminish his personality. People of the country consider Nehru ji as the architect of modern India. I would like to remind Modi ji about a statement by Vajpayee ji - 'chhote mann se koi bada nahi ban payega'. You are displaying your petty mindset before the country. You will remove Pandit Nehru's name from the board but how will you remove him from the hearts of the people?" If BJP’s only grouse was why NMML only focused on Jawaharlal Nehru it was plainly because he was the first Prime Minister that is why his residence was made into a memorial dedicated to him soon after his death, and had continued as such for many decades. Now making a Prime Ministers Museum is fine but why should it be in conflict with NMML which has been in existence for decades. Actually government should let it continue to be dedicated to the first Prime Minister. That is exactly what is being done with the new Prime Ministers Museum seamlessly continuing with the NMML and the government pointing out that Nehru is getting a better display at the new Museum. But the question is that the name of place will not have “Nehru” anymore and that is precisely the point. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s contribution to India and the world particularly in establishing a modern democratic nation with scientific temper and secular credentials is something which cannot be denied. Most of the internationally renowned institutions of the country were established by him. If he had a moribund, narrow, insular attitude as the first Prime Minister of the country we would not be seeing the kind of India we are seeing today. Just because more than 70 years have passed we should forget the fact that Nehru’s far sighted vision and non-aligned attitude helped the country to hold its own for the first few decades of the newly independent country. The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library will henceforth be known as the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library but it will take years for it become part of the common parlance. Till now Connaught Place is called Connaught Place by most people despite it being officially re-named as Rajiv Chowk years ago. Despite the fact that it is the name of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, third son of Queen Victoria. The NMML building was during the British period the residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the British armed forces in India called Flagstaff House. Just a year after Independence in August 1948, it became the official residence of Jawaharlal Nehru. On November 14, 1964, Nehru’s 75th birth anniversary President S Radhakrishnan dedicated the Teen Murti House to the nation. In the new Prime Ministers Museum, Nehru has been showcased in a high-tech display of his life and contributions.

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