Re-imagining museums in India

What is the issue?

There is a transformational shift in our approach to preserve and promote our rich heritage.

There is a shift from a museum-centric approach to a cultural spaces approach.
Also we have started to build museums for specific purposes rather than relying on general purpose museums.
We have started to look at museums with a whole-of-government approach as well to ensure that museums provide a wholesome experience.

Cultural space approach focuses on integrating the culture into our lives rather than to position them in museums.
India is a continuously inhabited civilizational states that continues to thrive.
The festivals we celebrate, the deities we worship, the food we eat, and the dance and music performances we appreciate are all a testimony to our civilizational ethos.
Therefore our art, culture and heritage should be continuously witnessed and integrated in our day-to-day activities rather than viewing it in museums.

Reinstating the brought back stolen heritage from other countries in their original place rather than displaying it in a museum wherever feasible.
The idol of Goddess Annapurna was returned to its rightful place at Kashi Vishwanath temple, Varanasi.
Embedding the art and our civilisational heritage in contiguous places such as the new Central Vista Project transcending standalone buildings.

These museums have unique content and a definite purpose ensuring that rich material is on display and the overall experience is wholesome.
Some of the specific purpose museums established are as follows
10 tribal freedom fighter museums to recognise the role of over 200 tribal freedom fighters in various revolts and uprisings against colonial rule.
Birsa Munda museum launched in Ranchi during the first Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas on November 15 2021.
Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya inaugurated on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti.
The museum is a tribute to every Prime Minister of India since independence. It showcases the contributions they made and the challenges they faced in their tenure.
Statue of Unity - In tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Statue of Unity in October 2018, which also contains a museum that chronicles the various facets of Patel.
Biplobi Bharat museum in Kolkata.
Arms and armour museum at the Red Fort.
A gallery on Gautama Buddha in Delhi.
A museum on Jammu and Kashmir.

The whole of government approach focuses on providing a wholesome experience to all stakeholders.
The aim is to portray a rich and diverse blend of the cultural, religious and scientific achievements that our civilisation has witnessed over the years.
These museums do not just lie under the control of the Ministry of Culture.
For example - Railway museums, the crafts and textiles museums, and the food museum.
25 science cities, centres and museums under the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) backed by an MoU with CSIR.
NCSM is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture.

Use of Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
Widen public access through modernisation and digitisation of collections and exhibitions.
Ministry of Culture organised a first-of-its-kind Global Summit on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’ in February 2022.
Learnings from the summit are incorporated to devise a blueprint for the development of new museums.
An Indian Institute of Heritage is set up as a world class university to address these challenges in due course of action.

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