Nehru Memorial Museum and Library restructuring Nehru Fellowships
NEW DELHI: The director of the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Shakti Sinha, is reworking the institution associated closely with the Nehru-Gandhi family. The NMML is opening its doors to all thoughts and discourses, including on uniform civil code, demonetisation and simultaneous polls. The first major move at NMML, however, will be to rework the Nehru Fellowships that NMML offers annually.
The fellowships, the eligibility and procedure have been contentious for years now. The petitions committee of the Lok Sabha has been seized of the matter since 2006 after a complaint of Prof SP Singh. Sinha told ET that he intends to broaden the ambit of the Nehru fellowships to bring in more than just those operating in and around Delhi.
“We want the fellowships to be more participative, open to scholars and researchers from all over the country instead of keeping it Delhi-centric. I have already discussed with the executive committee that we need do away with such restrictions. We are in the process of devising the fellowship scheme very carefully as we also want to be absolutely correct legally.
There is a background of complaints. We are seeking legal advice and hope we can take this ahead soon after,” Sinha told ET. On allegations of ‘denehruvisation’, Sinha maintained that Nehru does remain very important but it is not just about Nehru. “Nehru remains very important.
When you see the revamp of the museum, you will see more of Nehru than before. But NMML is not only Nehru. We are also now looking at contemporary India and its issues. And NMML has been very open to all. Yes, the monopoly of few must change. Which does not mean we are only calling people who are identified with the government. Shashi Tharoor has been here recently for a talk, as has Sumit Ganguly. I don't think anyone will see them as pro-government.
Any well-reasoned point of view is welcome, rabble rousing by no one is,” Sinha said. Sinha’s takeover began with an exhibition on former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Among talks that followed were an oral history of the Cellular Jail in Andamans, where VD Savarkar was jailed, and seminars on caste hegemony. The Centre’s agenda has also found voice and audience at NMML.
Last November, a seminar was held on ‘one nation, one election’.
The fellowships, the eligibility and procedure have been contentious for years now. The petitions committee of the Lok Sabha has been seized of the matter since 2006 after a complaint of Prof SP Singh. Sinha told ET that he intends to broaden the ambit of the Nehru fellowships to bring in more than just those operating in and around Delhi.
“We want the fellowships to be more participative, open to scholars and researchers from all over the country instead of keeping it Delhi-centric. I have already discussed with the executive committee that we need do away with such restrictions. We are in the process of devising the fellowship scheme very carefully as we also want to be absolutely correct legally.
There is a background of complaints. We are seeking legal advice and hope we can take this ahead soon after,” Sinha told ET. On allegations of ‘denehruvisation’, Sinha maintained that Nehru does remain very important but it is not just about Nehru. “Nehru remains very important.
When you see the revamp of the museum, you will see more of Nehru than before. But NMML is not only Nehru. We are also now looking at contemporary India and its issues. And NMML has been very open to all. Yes, the monopoly of few must change. Which does not mean we are only calling people who are identified with the government. Shashi Tharoor has been here recently for a talk, as has Sumit Ganguly. I don't think anyone will see them as pro-government.
Any well-reasoned point of view is welcome, rabble rousing by no one is,” Sinha said. Sinha’s takeover began with an exhibition on former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Among talks that followed were an oral history of the Cellular Jail in Andamans, where VD Savarkar was jailed, and seminars on caste hegemony. The Centre’s agenda has also found voice and audience at NMML.
Last November, a seminar was held on ‘one nation, one election’.
