Great museums thrive on commitment to excellence, sustainability

Arcop Associates consortium’s successful bid has set the ball rolling for the world’s largest museum project, the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum. Combining North and South Blocks, the museum is part of the Central Vista project flanking Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. It will replace the archaic, poorly managed National Museum with 950 galleries spanning a staggering 1,17,000 square metres. This is expected to be a fast-paced initiative with a possible first-phase opening in late 2026 or early 2027.

The challenges ahead would include an assessment of adaptive use of heritage premises and curating collections associated with content requiring a deep understanding of India through the millennia, with its rich multi-ethnic, multi-lingual traditions.

Museums are souls of civil societies. As India awakens to a sweeping shift in its approach to cultural education, there is a renewed vigour in appreciating the significance of conserving and preserving its rich history, living traditions and intangible wealth of collective cultural consciousness. As the nation celebrates unifying values of freedom and liberty, the notion of pluralistic, secular, inclusive societies has never been more relevant in India’s history.

The fabric of civil societies is woven with threads of many colours that come together to transform tapestries into memories inspired by a celebration of our differences and the emotions that bind us. This intangible magic is what brings India to life and makes the seemingly impossible possible with its diverse population entwined in the values of equity, empathy, engagement, enjoyment and empowered experimentation.

India, with the world’s largest youth population, is witnessing effervescent optimism, the ability to take bold risks and think outside the box, stemming from a developing ecosystem that promotes resolve and resilience. The world is beginning to view India as a global generational birthplace of religions beyond yoga, with an in-built elasticity to absorb the crests and troughs of times. Almost every state across the country is investing in preserving its past as it aspires for a better and prosperous future.

When the notion of ‘museums’ was introduced in post-independent India, it was met with lukewarm interest and a high degree of scepticism. It was hard to justify the need for such an institution that largely seemed to stem from a Western construct. The explorers and their proxies were on a journey of discovery after declaring themselves as ‘civilised’. The discovery of ‘other’ civilisations was often viewed with the prejudiced lens of the pagan. Anything devoid of Christianity and aligned values was branded as savage, uncouth, uncivilised and primitive at its fundamental foundations. The systemic plunder and pillage of discoveries were conveniently traded for commerce, influence, power and amusement. The residual curios made it to cabinets of curiosity that became the building blocks of museums in India.

Stripped of context and curatorial rigour, the interpretive text seldom went beyond the estimated provenance of the artefacts. Sensitivity to burial rights, rituals and human remains received scant regard as was the disregard shown for the sacred and the divine. Interestingly, cross-cultural links were seldom explored, as was intangible heritage, including oral traditions. Curatorial priorities and edits often were tantamount to deliberate and inadvertent censorship with no prevailing, well-researched standards of inclusion and or exclusion of what was deemed appropriate for public consumption. The pedestals of the pagan were derided and robbed of the voices that vibrated through collective souls of the rightful custodians of lost and living civil societies.

Forgotten was the acknowledgement that even as Europe was emerging from the Dark Ages, it mirrored the same nomenclature of very advanced and sophisticated centuries-old cultures that they were merely beginning to be explored. India was no exception. It was a clichéd cacophony of contradictions peppered with snake charmers, idol-worshippers and half-clad ascetics.

Though India was repeatedly colonised for extended periods of time, what was remarkable was that every invasion was an infusion of the rich tapestry of culture that strengthened and solidified its fabric. One could call it not so much a collateral damage, but more of a collaborative advancement. Each layered influence, though geopolitically abhorrent, added a distinct flavour to the socio-cultural canvas. It touched every walk of life in the subcontinent—cuisine, music, arts, literature, science, theology, philosophy, architecture, trade, traditions, language and liturgical practices. The blending and osmosis were never turbulent and very rarely induced by force.

The ebb and flow of influences ensured empathetic engagement. So resilient was the core and so deep its roots that it was never under any palpable threat of extinction. The sense and sensibilities of cultural integration ensured sustainability in the truest form. As the fabric gave strength to shaping the pleats of perseverance and persistence of distinctive identities, the motto of unity in diversity became the rallying rationale of the union of India—an amalgam of princely states, bound by geography and genuine belief in rising above differences to aspire for a better tomorrow.

The Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum has the potential to surpass the finest institutions around the world. Size and speed alone will not position it on the pedestal. Great museums require an even greater commitment to excellence and sustainability. Capacity-building is at the core of its run-up to the phased opening and its ability to engage audiences. It would be naïve to expect overnight success.

National institutions have an intrinsic responsibility towards creating an ecosystem spurring research, fieldwork, curation, conservation, storytelling, education, outreach, immersion and interactivity, raising the bar beyond mediocrity. This requires careful thought to revise India’s museum policy, associated legal instruments, collaboration between state and Central governments, establishment of an AI-driven central repository and archival update of millions of artifacts requiring sustained long-term investment in cultural resource management. Planners and policymakers have to create a framework that stands the test of time and rises above political differences and short-term opportunism, truly resonating with Yuge Yugeen Bharat—timeless, eternal India.

The author is an India-born Smithsonian-trained museologist and Commonwealth scholar