The National Gandhi Museum in Delhi, an independent body which collects, preserves, and displays Mahatma Gandhi’s records, has approached the Tamil Nadu government with a proposal to revive the Gandhi Mandapam as a memorial, which would truly reflect the memories of the Mahatma, his visits to Tamil Nadu, and his interactions with the people in the State.
“Our proposal is to have a photo exhibition of Mahatma Gandhi’s visits to Tamil Nadu and focus on the relationship the Mahatma had with the Tamils. There are numerous records and hotographs, which have captured the details of all his 20 trips to Tamil Nadu.
“We have approached the State government and we are informed that the proposal would be positively considered,” says A. Annamalai, Director of National Gandhi Museum.
The items in the present Gandhi Mandapam were originally transferred from the Gandhi Illam in the Rajaji Hall in Omandurar Government Estate on Anna Salai.
“Although they were transferred, the mandapam was either not used properly or has been misused and we want to change that,” he says.
But, will the mandapam have original artefacts and personal belongings of the Mahatma like in the Gandhi Museum in Madurai?
“We will start with the photo exhibition first and if there are specific requests from the Central or State government, we will surely consider requests for transferring original artefacts, since it would involve issues of safety and security,” says Mr. Annamalai.
School Education Minister K. Pandiarajan said he had personally visited the Museum in Delhi where he observed artefacts in Tamil such as patras from various forums from Karaikudi and Thanjavur given to the Mahatma.
