AHEAD OF the first annual general meeting of its newly formed Society, the Prime Ministers’ Museum & Library (PMML) is learnt to have written to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, seeking “access” to the papers from Jawaharlal Nehru’s private collection which she had reclaimed in 2008. Sources said Sonia’s office has not responded to PMML’s communication.
Sonia’s office did not respond to an email sent by The Indian Express on the matter.
According to sources, the PMML, in its letter to Sonia, has “sought access to the papers for researchers”. The museum authorities have also asked her to donate any other important correspondence pertaining to Nehru that would help researchers’ understanding of modern Indian history.
At the last AGM in February last year, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as the Society’s vice-president — Prime Minister Narendra Modi is its president — a large part of the discussions centred around Nehru’s private papers in the PMML’s collection, of which 51 boxes were taken back by Sonia in May 2008.
There was a view among the members that the papers taken by Sonia should be recalled, and a consensus was reached to seek legal opinion on the “ownership, custodianship, copyright and the use of these archival collections”, since the papers were donated to the organisation by Indira Gandhi in 1971 (as the heir of the Nehru papers) and subsequently by Sonia.
According to PMML records, the papers reclaimed by Sonia in 2008 include letters exchanged between Nehru and Jayaprakash Narayan, Edwina Mountbatten, Albert Einstein, Aruna Asaf Ali, Vijaya Laxmi Pandit and Jagjivan Ram.
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On January 15 this year, the PMML Society and Executive Council were reconstituted with former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Nripendra Mishra, getting another five years as the organisation’s chairperson. There were several new entrants, including former Union Minister Smriti Irani, former NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar, retired Army Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and Sanskar Bharati’s Vasudev Kamath.
The first annual general meeting of the new PMML Society is scheduled to be held in a few weeks. Sources said the matter is likely to come up then, as a follow-up to the deliberations at the last AGM. Those aware of the proceedings said the communication to Sonia may pave the way for future action.
Meanwhile, ahead of the digitisation of its archives, the PMML has also written to the families and offices of all Prime Ministers — former and current — asking them to donate any important correspondence. So far, former Prime Minister Charan Singh’s grandson is learnt to have responded, conveying the family’s willingness to donate some documents and artefacts pertaining to his life and time.
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