The National Gandhi Museum or Gandhi Memorial Museum is a museum located in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

showcasing the life and principles of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. The museum first opened in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, shortly after Gandhi was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

in 1948. The museum relocated several times before moving to

Raj Ghat Raj Ghat is a memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi, India. Originally it was the name of a historic ghat of Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad). Close to it, and east of Daryaganj was ''Raj Ghat Gate'' of the walled city, opening at ''Raj ...

, New Delhi in 1961.

History

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January 1948. Shortly after his death, collectors began searching India for anything of importance about Gandhi. Originally the personal items, newspapers, and books related to Gandhi were taken to Mumbai. In 1951, the items were moved to buildings near the Kota House in New Delhi. The museum moved again in 1957 to a mansion. In 1959, The Gandhi Museum moved for a final time to Rajghat, New Delhi next to the

Samadhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

of Mahatma Gandhi. The museum officially opened in 1961, on the 13th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, when Dr. Rajendra Prasad, then

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...

, formally opened the new location.

Library

This library at the Gandhi Museum plays a dual role of showcasing Gandhi's work to the public and also serving as a place for general study. The books are divided into two sections, those written by or about Gandhi and books on other subject matters. There are currently over 35,000 books or documents in the museum's library. The library also has a collection of 2,000

periodicals A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also exampl ...

in both English and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

chronicling the life of Gandhi.

Gallery

The National Gandhi Museum Gallery has a large number of paintings and personal items of

. The most notable items in the collection are a

Satyagraha Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone wh ...

woodcut by Willemia Muller Ogterop, one of Gandhi's walking sticks, the shawl and dhoti worn by Gandhi when he was assassinated, one of the bullets that were used to kill Gandhi and his urn. The Museum also displays some of Gandhi's teeth and his ivory toothpick. Galleries of the museum are martyrdom gallery, commemorative gallery, art gallery where arts made on Gandhi is open for viewing. Museum also includes a general photo gallery. Gandhiji Leading Salt satyagrah

Special Exhibitions

In addition to the museum's Gandhi based permanent collection, the museum also showcases other exhibits mainly dealing with the history of India. Most exhibits are based on Indian political leaders, and peace movements, though major world events also have collections.

References

External links