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India’s cultural renaissance: Yuga Yugeen Bharat takes shape
The grand plans for the Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum underline and spotlight a historic transformation that has been under way for some time in India.
EAM Dr S JAishankar and Herve Barbaret of France. / X@DrSJaishankar
India’s Ministry of Culture has just announced a landmark partnership with France to develop the “Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum” as a world-class cultural institution and a global cultural landmark.
The initiative is a part of the transformational and sometimes controversial Central Vista Redevelopment Project in New Delhi, and will create an iconic museum in the North and South Blocks. The inspiration for the museum can be found in some of the key tenets of Prime Minister Modi’s “panchpran” or five vows, which include removing markers of colonial heritage and fostering pride in national history.
France’s Muséums Développement Agency will share ideas and best practices to transform British-era landmarks into a museum that will reflect India’s culture and history, and become “… an inspiration for the remaking of Bharat” in the lofty words of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
France's "Grands Projets" initiative was launched during the presidency of François Mitterrand and aimed to modernize Paris to showcase France’s cultural and architectural heritage by renovating and enhancing the iconic architecture in the city to bring it into the modern age. Perhaps the most impactful result of this initiative was the rejuvenation and modernization of the Louvre Museum, which attracted controversy in the beginning, especially for the I.M. Pei-designed glass-and-metal pyramid built as the entrance to the museum, blending modernity with historic architecture.
That glass pyramid was once called an “atrocious” design by the French daily Le Figaro, but it is now almost on par with the Eiffel Tower as one of the quintessential images of Paris for tourist pictures and postcards.
The Central Vista Project has been a key initiative aimed at revamping the political heart of New Delhi, including British colonial-era monuments and government buildings such as Parliament House and Rashtrapati Bhavan which was formerly the Viceroy’s House, as well as the Secretariat Buildings. This part of New Delhi’s central administrative area is also often pejoratively referred to as “Lutyens Delhi” after the British architect, Edward Lutyens, who designed many of the boulevards, sandstone buildings, and gardens for the British Raj between 1911 and 1931.
Paralleling the controversies around the "Grands Projets" initiative in Paris, the Central Vista project has attracted criticism from art and architecture critics and preservationists, and lawsuits from India’s opposition parties. It took a Supreme Court of India decision to finally clear the way for the project including the construction of a new Parliament building.
The mindset underpinning the project is encapsulated in the words of the architect of the Pragati Maidan complex, that India “… cannot let history shackle us from upgrading infrastructure …”.
The Central Vista project aims to give a facelift to Lutyens Delhi to emphatically highlight a new self-confident world power, proud of its heritage and history, emerging from the centuries long shadow of being ruled by foreign invaders, including Greeks, Arabs, Turks, Mughals, and culminating in the British Raj. Even the renaming of many of the historic roads and boulevards is intended to give the same message.
One of the most notable and symbolic changes was the renaming of Rajpath as “Kartavya Path” or “Path of Duty”. Rajpath is a name that literally brought back memories of the British Raj and was originally named "Kingsway" after King George V, who visited Delhi during the Delhi Durbar of 1911 when British India’s capital was moved from Kolkata to the city. It is a ceremonial boulevard that runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan on past Vijay Chowk, India Gate, the National War Memorial and through to the National Stadium and hosts the Republic Day Parade in January.
It is notable that Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the new Central Vista on May 28, 2023, which coincided with the 140th birth anniversary of Veer Savarkar, and the ceremony included the unveiling of a portrait of the freedom fighter inside the new building to which all MPs paid tribute. It also happened to be the day after the death anniversary of Pandit Nehru, and some decried the timing as being a commentary on the rightward shift in Indian democracy.
Notwithstanding all the controversies and debates, the grand plans for the Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum underline and spotlight a historic transformation that has been under way for some time in an India that is proud of its civilizational past and confident about its future.
The world-famous museums of Washington DC such as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian located in and around the National Mall attract tourists from across the world. Likewise, we can hope that the new National Museum in New Delhi along with many other iconic venues in India’s capital will also become magnets for citizens and tourists, and showcase Incredible India’s incredible history.
The author is a Chicago-based columnist and investment professional.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New India Abroad)
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