The forthcoming Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum, advertised as the world’s largest museum, will feature eight thematic divisions that portray the story of India over the last 5,000 years.
The new museum, which will be housed in the North and South blocks in the heart of the country’s capital, would encompass an area of 1.17 lakh sqm and will have 950 rooms distributed across a basement and three storeys, according to officials.
On the occasion of International Museum Day on May 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a virtual tour of the planned museum following the opening of a three-day International Museum Expo at Pragati Maidan in Delhi.
On Wednesday evening, PM Modi presented the new name, Bharat Mandapam, for the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) complex, which was built at a cost of around 2,700 crore with a campus area of approximately 123 acres.
PM Modi declared the Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum during his inaugural speech.
According to organisers, the museum would include “eight thematic segments” and will highlight India’s rich civilisational history spanning over 5,000 years.
According to the senior official, the segments broadly include ancient Indian knowledge, ancient to mediaeval, mediaeval, mediaeval to transition phase, modern India, colonial rule (when the Dutch, British, Portuguese, and others came to India), freedom struggle, and the 100 years from 1947 onwards, including the vision ahead. It is a “forward-looking museum,” he added.
Meenakashi Lekhi, Union Minister of State for Culture, has stated that the current National Museum building will become part of the Kartavya Path and its annexes. On May 12, 1955, first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the cornerstone for the current National Museum building.
The Kartavya Path, formerly known as Rajpath, is a ceremonial axis that connects India Gate to Raisina Hill.
