Ministry of Culture organised the Closing Ceremony of the commemoration of ‘125th Birth Anniversary of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru’ at the Auditorium of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library here today. One of the aims of the Ministry of Culture is to commemorate the lives of eminent personalities who played an important role in the history of India. As part of this programme during 2014-15, the Ministry celebrated the 125th Birth Anniversary of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the First Prime Minister of Independent India for his contribution in the national movement and as the first Prime Minister of our country. Shri Rajnath Singh, Chairman of the National Implementation Committee for this Commemoration, was the Chief Guest for the Closing Ceremony. In his address, he said that we have gathered here to celebrate the success of democracy in independent India as Pt. Nehru had a great contribution in strengthening the democracy in our country. He recalled how Pt. Nehru took upon himself the tremendous responsibility of steering our newly born nation when it was liberated from the foreign domination. He called Nehru a visionary and a leader who understood that a Government based on democratic principles was the need of the hour. He further elaborated how Nehru by setting India on the path of democracy nurtured democratic institutions such as Parliament, a multi-party system, an independent judiciary and a free press.
The function began with inauguration of an exhibition on “Jawaharlal Nehru and his Legacy”. The exhibition portrayed, above all, the early life of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, his ascendency in the Indian National Movement, his imprisonment, the books written by him, his close relation with Mahatma Gandhi, his Prime Ministership, his vision of Asia and Africa and his contribution in the development of scientific institution in the CountryShri Narendra Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Culture in his welcome address said that his Ministry aims to commemorate the lives of eminent personalities who played an important role in the history of India. Prof. Lokesh Chandra, Chairman of the Executive Council of the NMML, recalled the all-round contributions of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and said that Nehru Ji dedicated his life for the cause of the motherland. He further informed the audience that the Ministry of Culture organized a host of activities during the commemoration period.
An International Seminar on “Re-thinking the Nehru Legacy: The Long 20th Century” was organized in which a number of leading scholars participated. A Nehru Portal was developed in which information on the life and work of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, a selection of his personal papers, photographs, videos and audios all in digital form besides digital version of the sixty one volumes of Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru were made available during the year for the benefit of scholarly community and general public. The NMML also organized two workshops on the subjects ‘Nehru’s World’ and ‘Nehru’s India’. A number of prominent scholars presented papers followed by discussions of high order. Besides, the NMML organised exhibitions on subjects such as “The First Union Cabinet”, “Towards Purna Swaraj: The Lahore Congress”, “The Making of Discovery of India”, “Asian Relations Conference, 1947”, “Asian-African Conference, Bandung, 1955”, “New India and the First IIT”, “Chandigarh: The City of Hope”, “Nehru and Large Dams”.
Completion of the Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru Project being undertaken by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund is one of the approved activities of the commemoration. During the commemoration year, nine volumes covering the period 1st January, 1960 to 30th November, 1960 have been brought out. Up-gradation and modernization of the Nehru Museum is another approved activity under the commemoration and has been initiated. While keeping the architectural integrity of the building intact, displays, exhibits and images are being drawn on modern methods of display. To mark the occasion, a film on “Jawaharlal Nehru: Science and Development” was screened. This film portrayed the establishment of scientific institutions during his Prime Ministership such as Indian Institute of Science, Central Drug Research Institute, Botanical Institute and National Chemical Laboratory, big dams such as Bhakra Nangal Dam, Tungabhadra Dam and Hirakud Dam and besides Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Rare Earth Factory and a number of Steel Plants.