Government of India proposes to set up a modern museum dedicated to the ‘PRIME MINISTERS OF INDIA”, covering all Prime Ministers. They have been predominant faces of the Indian Government. As head of the Council of Ministers, more importantly of its inner core, the Cabinet, the PM is mandated to lead governance and policy making. They have mostly made a great impact on the Indian polity over last seventy years of India’s independence. The institution of the Prime Minister has also come to represent the democratic legitimacy of the Indian State.
Since the institution of the Prime Minister is critical to Indian democracy, it deserves to be better explained. In fact, India’s democratic experience, unique as it is, has not been presented in the way it should be. On one hand the Indian Parliament has curated a museum highlighting its legislative experience and on the other, the Supreme Court has also established a museum depicting India’s legal heritage and the growth of our justice delivery system. It is high time that the story of India’s Executive, represented by the Prime Minister, is told.
It is unfortunate that the lives and works of many of our Prime Ministers has not been well documented. In fact many have received very little attention. While contributions of individual Prime Ministers have been different and obviously cannot be compared, it should actually be left to individuals to assess it; relevant facts, all at one place, will facilitate that process. This is what the proposed museum seeks to do. Through research and sensitive curation, this endeavour shall bring alive the personalities of our Prime Ministers.
You would agree that a regular brick-and-mortar museum with photographs on walls has their limitation. Static presentations routinely convey information, constrained as they are with finite wall space. This also implies that no building would be big enough to take care of future needs. Instead, if novel technological interface is used to present the story, the experience could be layered and lot more immersive. Holograms, virtual reality, interactive screens, augmented reality, multi-touch, multi-media, interactive kiosks, computerised kinetic sculptures, smartphone applications, QR code-based applications, AI etc., could substantially value add to the visitor experience. An added advantage would be the optimum utilization of space. Of course the personal memorabilia, connected artefacts, original documents and photographs will certainly find their merited space.
The Government is glad to invite your suggestions and ideas on how to enrich the content , based on which, display on each Prime Minister will be curated for this museum . Your suggestion could be thematic, technical, curatorial, based on contemporary history or technological interface. It could cover all the Prime Ministers in one sweep or individual personalities. The canvas is large and flexible, for we need your ideation to take this initiative forward. What is explained in the preceding paragraphs is just illustrative. You need not be limited by it.
The best suggestion/idea would be given a cash prize of Rupees Ten Thousands only.
Last date of submission is 29th April, 2018
