Syllabus: 

GS2: Statutory, Regulatory and various Quasi-judicial Bodies.

Context: 

Recently, the issue of former PM Nehru’s private papers was discussed at the annual meeting of the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (PMML) Society.

More on the News 

• The Society has decided to take legal action to make Congress leader Sonia Gandhi return Jawaharlal Nehru's private papers, which she took from the museum in 2008.

• In the annual meeting, there was a broad consensus that Nehru’s papers are a national treasure and should be returned to the museum as the rightful place to preserve his legacy.

• Last year, the PMML decided it would no longer allow future donors of private papers of famous people to set unlimited conditions on when the material can be made public.

Private Papers

• The papers provide an invaluable and accurate account of these personalities' lives and times, compiled from individual collections donated by families, institutions, universities, private donors, and official records.

• These papers, covering both pre- and post-Independence periods, were sent to the NMML in several batches starting from 1971. 

• The transfer was arranged by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund (JNMF) on behalf of Nehru’s legal heir, Indira Gandhi, who reportedly remained the owner of the documents until her death in October 1984.

• The collection includes important papers of national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Maulana Azad, Bhikaji Cama, and Charan Singh.

• Recently, it received documents of former Himachal CM Shanta Kumar, including letters to PM Modi on issues like Article 370 and One Nation, One Election.

• It also holds the papers of environmentalist Sundarlal Bahuguna and freedom fighter-author Yashpal, showcasing their personal and revolutionary contributions.

Declassification Rules of Prime Ministers’ Museum & Library (PMML)

• Under normal circumstances, permit only a five-year embargo from the date of receipt of any new papers. In rare cases, this window can remain shut for up to 10 years at most.

• In India, the Public Records Rules, 1997, cover the declassification of all kinds of records and correspondence. 

• For official records, the Rules say that the responsibility for declassification rests with the respective organisations and that records should ordinarily be declassified after 25 years.

• However, the 1997 Rules don’t lay down sweeping powers for papers owned by private individuals and families, access to which is voluntary, either by means of donation or sale of these documents in some cases.

Prime Minister’s Museum and Library (PMML) Society

• It was formally inaugurated on November 14, 1964, as the Nehru Memorial Museum, dedicated to India’s first Prime Minister. 

• The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) has officially been renamed as the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (PMML) Society with effect from August 2023. 

• PMML is a leading autonomous institution in New Delhi focused on advanced research in modern and contemporary Indian history, with vast archival collections. 

• It functions as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

• PMML holds India’s largest collection of private papers from around 1,000 key figures of modern Indian leadership.

• PMML is governed by its Society under the Ministry of Culture, with the President and Vice-President nominated by the Central Government.

• As India’s foremost academic centre on modern history and political evolution, it also serves as a repository of national memory, shaping public discourse and democratic thought.