The Central Government has put a full stop in the Parliament on all the apprehensions and questions raised regarding the historical documents related to the country’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. There is often a discussion in political circles regarding the Prime Minister’s Museum and Library (PMML), earlier known as Nehru Memorial (NMML), whether with the change of name the history of the place is also being changed. An important information on this was given in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The government clarified that during the inspection of 2025, not a single document related to Pandit Nehru was found missing.
What was the whole matter?
Actually, this issue came to light when BJP MP in Lok Sabha Sambit Patra asked direct questions to the Union Culture Ministry. Opposition parties and historians have often expressed concerns that converting Teen Murti Bhawan (which was Nehru’s residence) into the ‘Prime Minister’s Museum’ could lead to the denigration of Nehru’s legacy or tampering with his documents. The purpose of Sambit Patra’s questions was to know whether there is any annual audit of the files and documents kept in the museum and whether any irregularities were found in the recent inspection?
Government’s answer in Parliament
Were some documents related to Pandit Nehru found missing during the annual inspection of PMML in 2025?
No, no document related to India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has been found missing during the annual inspection of PMML in the year 2025.
Were the documents removed illegally?
This question does not arise. Since no document is missing, the question of deletion is meaningless.
Has any policy been made for ‘Annual Audit’ of documents?
At present there is no system of ‘annual audit’ of documents in PMML. (However, there was an inspection in 2025, on the basis of which they said that the documents were safe).
What happened in the AGM meeting?
The minister also said that there was no discussion or decision regarding the unavailability of documents related to Nehru in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of PMML held in 2025, because everything is in its place.
Who runs it?
PMML Society is its main decision making body. Its Chairman is Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself and Vice Chairman is Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
Why is this issue sensitive?
To understand this news, it is important to know its history. This building was the official residence of Pandit Nehru. After his death it was converted into ‘Nehru Memorial Museum and Library’ (NMML) in his memory. For decades it remained solely the center of Nehru’s life and the history of modern India. The Modi government decided that this building should be a museum not just of one Prime Minister, but of all the Prime Ministers of the country till date. Under this, ‘Prime Minister’s Museum’ was built there. In August 2023, the name of NMML was officially changed to Prime Minister’s Museum and Library. Congress and opposition parties had alleged at that time that this was an attempt to erase Nehru’s legacy. In this background, the question of whether documents go missing or remain safe becomes very important.
