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Museum in New Delhi, India

The National Museum in New Delhi, also known as the National Museum of India, is one of the largest museums in India. Established in 1949, it holds a variety of articles ranging from pre historic era to modern works of art. It functions under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The museum is situated on Janpath. The blue–print of the National Museum had been prepared by the Gwyer Committee set up by the Government of India in 1946. The museum has around 200,000 works of art, mostly Indian, but some of foreign origin, covering over 5,000 years. It also houses the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology on the first floor which was established in 1983 and has been a university since 1989, running master's and doctoral level courses in art history, conservation and museology.

In 1946, the idea of building a National Museum for India was proposed by the Gwyer Committee. Sir Maurice Gwyer, the former chief justice of India and vice chancellor of Delhi University, headed the committee. One of the members of the committee was Sir Mortimer Wheeler, then heading the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), who is often cited as chief initiators of the National Museum as he advocated for the museum's development although reports indicate that he was concerned with unifying ASI site museums under the umbrella of a museum's branch rather than setting up a new museum. The roots of the National Museum begin with an exhibition of Indian art and artefacts organized by the Royal Academy of Arts, London. The exhibition went on display in the galleries of Burlington House during the winter months of 1947–48. This Exhibition of The Art of India and Pakistan in London was arguably the first exhibition sponsored by the British government which gave Indian artefacts the status of high art. Before its return to India, with Jawaharlal Nehru's support, it was decided that these important collections should be showcased here upon their return so that they could be enjoyed and appreciated by the people of India. At the close of the exhibit, requests were released to the loaning museums and collectors, urging them to surrender object ownership to what was to become the National Museum. When the decision was taken to make a permanent National Museum, the exhibits were first displayed in the state rooms of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (then called Government House) on August 15, 1949, and the rooms were formally inaugurated by C. Rajgopalachari, Governor General of India. Until the mid 1950s, it essentially remained a permanent version of the temporary exhibit – consisting of the same pieces, and remaining in the state rooms. In 1955 building began on the new current location of the National Museum at Janpath. However, when the National Museum was ready in 1960, the statue of Buddha and the Rampurva Bull were retained at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the request of Jawaharlal Nehru. Since its inception, the National Museum owed much of its original structure and organization to the example of the Indian Museum, Kolkata, as some of its first curators were former employees of the Indian Museum, such as C. Sivaramamurti, even though the National Museum aspired to displace the historic position the Indian Museum had come to acquire as the largest and grandest museum in India. She joined the National Museum on 8 August 1960 and continued to hold its charge for six more years. She was one of the advocates of cultural democracy who believed that art should be available to everyone—and held firm convictions about the crucial role that museums could play in this endeavour. In her installations for the National Museum, this desire for secularisation and democratisation was effected through the presentation of sculptures in classic white cube spaces with minimal contextual information. It was her 'visual storage' display system, minimalist teak pedestals, air conditioning vents, track lighting, and large glass cases with staggered risers for visual variety which led to the museum acquiring international recognition and the museum in its working still reflects her image. She instructed carpenters to build display cases and Eamesian type couches, cabinets and cases that reflected modernist, uncluttered lines. Such elements produced the perfect streamlined stage for a performance of the modern by viewing audiences. Harmonious colour schemes, dramatic, dim lighting, cushions of space around eye level objects, and the occasional leafy plant for a visual pause, all contributed to the creation of a modern museum.

The current building of the National Museum was designed by the architect Ganesh Bikaji Deolalikar, and the foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on May 12, 1955. Once the building was ready, the new museum was inaugurated by Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Vice President of India, on December 18, 1960. It stands today on the plot of land earmarked in Edwin L. Lutyens' plan for the Imperial Museum and was occupied by a small Museum of Central Asian Antiquities that housed the important collection of the explorer Sir Aurel Stein. The National Museum Institute, which is on the first floor of the museum and has a "deemed to be university" status, will be shifting to a new campus in Noida. Most famous among the objects is the Dancing Girl made in Bronze, which belongs to the early Harappan period, Skeleton excavated from Rakhigarhi in Haryana, Terracotta images of Mother Goddess and Clay Pottery. Apart from these the gallery has Sculptures in Bronzes & Terracotta, Bone Objects, Ivory, Steatite, Semi Precious Stones, Painted Pottery and Jewellery items. Many seals are also on display which has been discovered during numerous excavations and were probably used for trading purposes. These seals depict bulls, elephants, unicorns, tigers, crocodiles, and unknown symbols. On one of the seals, there is the depiction of Pasupati that has been interpreted as proto Shiva. The gallery attempts to present the vibrancy of human civilization in India at par with the contemporary civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt and China. When one of the major sites of the Harappan civilization, Mohenjo Daro, was excavated in the 1920s, archaeologists deposited its important finds first in the Lahore Museum, and then these were moved to Delhi by Mortimer Wheeler in anticipation of the construction of a Central Imperial Museum there. At the time of the Partition, the issue of ownership of these objects arose and eventually the two countries agreed to share all the collections equally, although this was sometimes interpreted in literal sense, with several necklaces and girdles taken apart with half the beads sent to Pakistan and half retained in India. Of the two most celebrated sculpted figures found in Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan asked for and received the steatite figure of a bearded male, dubbed the 'Priest King', while the National Museum of India retained the bronze statuette of the 'Dancing Girl', a nude bejeweled female. the Chattramukhi Shivlinga, the Bodhisattva, and the Jain votive plaques.

As the name suggests, this gallery exhibits artefacts from the Gupta dynasty (4th–6th centuries CE). The art of the Gupta period presents a high watermark in Indian art. Ceramics, Pottery, Furniture, Textiles, Glassware, Metalware and Jewellery are a few included under Decorative Arts. The Decorative Arts section is divided into two galleries.

This gallery gives a glimpses of three collections of the museum – Ivory, Jade and Ceramics. The Ivory group has several Hindu and Christian religious figures. The Jade section showcases the utilitarian objects, while the glazed tiles and blue white pottery are in the Ceramic group. The gallery also has two interesting themes – Thrones of India, and Games and Leisure in the Past. The theme of thrones shows the evolution of the seat of power. From the low flat seats of antiquity to the modern armed chair, the journey of the throne is a fascinating story. An intricately carved Home Shrine and some metal Hindu and Jain (small seats for keeping idols for home shrines) are also present. The Jewel studded throne of the King of Varanasi is one of the best examples to show Power. The Games section has Rattles, Yo Yo, Gamesman of Chess and Chaupar. Tops made of different materials with different designs are also exhibited. These artifacts combine the aesthetic and artistic elements to everyday objects used for games. The Jade Collection of the museum has interesting objects from the Mughal period.

This gallery has artifacts from the proto historic period to the present day. The variety, quality and media did increase with the taste and status of different generations and the process is on even today. This gallery exhibits Metalware, Jewellery and Wooden objects. Most notable among the wooden objects are the Vahana on display.

The museum comprises over 14,000 manuscripts and texts, of which about 1000 are illustrated. The gallery displays 1669 coins along with five replicas of coins, five measuring vessels and some couries and ratties that were used in ancient times as weights and measures. It has almost all Indian coins from the earliest bent bar, punch marked coins to those of Indian Pot with Seated Monkey States, British India and post independence coins. The entire history of Indian coinage from about 6th century BCE to the beginning of the 21st century is exhibited. There are various dioramas depicting various techniques of coin production. These coins can be considered rich and authentic source of information on various aspects of Ancient, Medieval and Modern Indian History. The objects are primarily from before Christopher Columbus's discovery of North and South America, including objects from Mexico, Peru, Maya, Inca, North West coast of America, Panama, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

The Anthropology Department of National Museum has a collection of objects of ethnographic interest that has been acquired over the years through exploratory expeditions as well as valuable gifts from private collections. The Ethnic Art gallery exhibits examples of tribal and folk art as part of a larger heritage.

This gallery exhibits arms from the Stone Age up to the Modern Age. The collection comprises edged weapons, projectiles, smashing weapons, sacrificial and ritual weapons, firearms, armour for men and animals, ornamental and war accessories. The collection is predominantly Mughal in addition to Maratha, Sikh, Rajput arms which are also well represented.

A Gallery with over 200 objects ranging from a wide geographical and social spectrum, acquired from private collectors was added to the museum on 6 February 2014. Various objects on display are a palanquin from the Santhal community, scroll paintings from West Bengal, textiles such as Phulkaris from Punjab and bronze sculptures from Bastar, besides terracotta works and basketry. The gallery is a rich representation of art from various parts of India.

The National Museum, in collaboration with UNESCO, National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) and Saksham, launched a new permanent gallery for Persons with Disabilities in the year 2015 which features tactile replicas of 22 objects from the collections of the museum as well as an audio guide, ramps and descriptive labels in Braille; the gallery encourages visitors to 'touch' and feel the objects on display. 'Anubhav: A Tactile Experience' ensures a conducive space and exposure to the objects for the differently abled. The gallery was conceived and developed by Rige Shiba, Assistant Curator under the overall guidance of Vijay Kumar Mathir, Curator with assistance from Vasundhra Sangwan. The Replicas exhibited in the space have been made by the National Museum Modeling department headed by Hemant Tomar and his colleagues and the gallery has been designed by Amardeep Labana,

On the basis of nature of grants and exercise of control, the National Museum comes within the purview of Central Government of India. It was initially looked after by the Director General of Archaeology until 1957, when the Ministry of Education, Government of India, declared it a separate institution and placed it under its own direct control, following this shift the museum began to significantly increase both its staff and its collections using funds from the Art Purchase Committee.

The first wave of collecting for the National Museum started in 1948 and which lasted around 1952, drawing heavily on scholars like V. S. Agarwala, Moti Chandra, Rai Krishnadas, Karl Khandalavala and their personal relationships with private collectors. Funding for mass collecting was granted by Parliament from 1947 but this first acquisition period is marked by lack of descriptive detail, quantifiable data, parameters surrounding the criteria of selection. O. C. Gangoly (1881–1974) sold a group from his collection of paintings to the National Museum in whose foundation he states he played a role. He further avers that he encouraged other fellow collectors to bequeath their collections to the National Museum but was not always successful. Collections of Burjor N. Treasurywalla (d. 1947) also resides in the National Museum, about which Gangoly says almost nothing except that it was large and important. He does emphasize how he was involved in the purchasing of the collection itself except that it was likely that Khandalavala, a relative of Treasurywallla, played a greater role.

Beside the galleries, the museum also has an auditorium with a seating capacity of 250 people. A brief film introducing the museum and its collections is screened in the auditorium regularly. Film shows on art, history and heritage are also screened.

The National Museum has started a special project to digitize its collection of objects in order to make it available for visitors to see online. This process involves digitization and storage of museum collections in a collection management system named ‘JATAN’. JATAN is a virtual museum builder software, that enables creation of digital collection management system for Indian museums and is deployed in several national museums across India. Its objective is to make a digital imprint of all the objects preserved in museums and help researchers, curators and other people interested in the field which has been designed and developed by Centre for Development of Smart Computing (C DAC) Pune. The digital imprints (of preserved objects and monuments) created using the JATAN software are integrated in the national digital repository and portal for making them accessible to the public. The National portal and digital repository for museums of India provides an integrated access to theme based collections and artefacts (in terms of sculptures, paintings, manuscripts, weapons, coins and numerous other categories of artefacts) irrespective of the physical and geographical locations of museums. Centre for Development of Smart Computing has also developed "Darshak", a mobile based application aimed at improving the museum visit experience among the differently abled. It allows real time museum visitors gather all details about objects or artefacts simply by scanning a QR code placed near the object.

National Museum has volunteered objects from its collection on the Google Art Project which is a non commercial initiative of Google through the Google Cultural Institute. More than hundred objects have been photographed and their descriptions are available on the Google Art Project website under the name of National Museum, New Delhi, which has given a high reach to online visitors for the collection. The Google page of National Museum will be populated further by adding other pertinent collections from National Museum on it.

In 2010, in the first study of its kind, UNESCO presented a report which rated the National Museum along with other seven museums, as badly maintained, poorly lit and having incorrect signs. In a response by the then Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment and Tourism, Selja Kumari in a written reply to Parliament said that the ratings and findings of the report were invalid since the no. of surveyors was inadequate.

Although in its early stages, another project for which the site proposed for redevelopment constitutes the most iconic part of India's capital city, Central Vista Redevelopment Project, the National Museum is one of the buildings listed in the tender as some of these buildings approaching the end of their "structural lives" while those that are around a 100 years old, like North and South Blocks, are not "earthquake safe".

An exhibition titled "Indo Siam Connect: Tracing The Indian Heritage in Thai Art and Living Traditions", was organised by the Museum, in association with the Royal Thai Embassy, at the erstwhile Buddhist Gallery of the Museum, from 28th February to 31st May. It was organised to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between India and Thailand. The exhibition, presented transcultural notions reflected by the Indo Siam connections as seen in the multifaceted aspects of religion, texts, visual art, architecture, textiles and performances, highlighted how both the countries share a glorious longstanding historical, cultural, and religious milieu since ancient times, which continue to flourish till the present day. This exhibition presented thematic variations by showcasing the chronological progression, and the diverse visual elements, which show the continuing and dynamic cultural and artistic relationships shared by the two countries. The connection between the two nations was traced through the idea of navigation, orientation and mobility of people, goods, and belief patterns, which facilitated in the processes of cultural transmission and localization of icons, texts and artistic activities. Consequently, it led to the formation of sanctified cities as a representation of powerful statecraft and kingship. These were based on the concepts of the unified cosmological symbolism, divine patronage and spiritualism, marked by the creation of prominent architectural edifices, including temples and stupas. This proliferation of cultural exchanges, evident in the quest for spiritual awakening and learning, led to the dissemination of symbols, rituals, yogic practices oral traditions and belief systems. This visual journey highlighted all these various strands through the wealth of the different varieties of exhibits on display. There were almost a hundred and fifty objects on display that emphasized on aspects of the shared heritage and artistic linkages of Indo Thai spheres from ancient to modern times. The exhibition located the fundamental and prominent role India has played throughout the waves of cultural dissemination, and the displayed objects collectively brought forth a historical narrative that has been part of an India consciousness for centuries.