Historian, author, and member of the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML) Society, Rizwan Kadri, has written to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, requesting that she either return the personal papers of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, provide copies of them, or grant digitised access.
As reported by ANI, Kadri said that ’51 boxes’ containing Nehru’s records were retrieved by Sonia Gandhi’s office from the PMML, previously known as the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML).
“I have written a letter to Sonia Gandhi and asked her to return the private letters of Nehru that were taken by her office, as she was the family’s representative and donor…51 boxes were withdrawn from there in 2008…The collection that was withdrawn includes Jayaprakash Narayan, Babu Jagjivan Ram, the Edwina Mountbatten collection and several other collections,” Kadri told ANI.
He further raised concerns if there was something objectionable in the letters and what was the motive for taking the papers back. “The collection once donated cannot be withdrawn but this is withdrawn…What was the motive behind withdrawing the letters exchanged between Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten? This was donated by the original donor to the institution…Was there any objectionable thing in that? What was the motive for taking this collection back,” he said.
These records must remain accessible to ensure a comprehensive understanding of our nation’s history.
The historian and author noted they have demanded the papers to ensure a comprehensive understanding of our nation’s history. “In the letter written to Sonia Gandhi, I have asked her to return this to PMML or give us a copy of it…I am confident that this was done in good faith to protect these invaluable documents, but historians like me are keenly interested in tracking them,” Kadri said.
