IGRMS Basa Jp

28Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

(National Museum of Mankind)A Museum with a Difference

Kishor K. Basa and G. Jayaprakasan

Concepts of Museum: A Historical OutlineA new museum movement began to evolve, world over, in the seventies of the

20th century, to re-assure that museums are entities of life and culture of the

common masses. Until then, these institutions were regarded, by and large, as

curio-centres of distinct values, presenting the efforts of an elite, or addressing

their issues and interests.

Although the British Museum was set up in 1753, ‘museum histories routinely

trace the origins of the modern museum back to 1793 in Revolutionary France’,

when the National Convention formally declared that the holdings in the Cabinet

du Roi and the Cabinet d’Histoire Naturelie were no longer the property of the King

but belonged to the entire French nation. The name chosen for these and other

new public collections of rare objects was Museum. The word ‘museum’ was derived

from a unique vocabulary of architectural design used in the construction of the

Hellenistic Musaeum of Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. (Lee, 1997). The

celebrated Musaeum was considered to be the seat of divine Greek ‘Musus’

(goddesses) with whom noble events of folk art, music, poetry, gaiety etc. were

associated. Musaeum was handled by a group of literary and scientific scholars

and supported by the Ptolemies. The reputation of the Musaeum as a venue of

knowledge and learning spread through the centuries and became a common

subject of interest to French scholars during the 18th century. Eventually, the

Latin term ‘musaeum’ was used in early modern France to describe the newly

formed institution ‘museum’.

In a way, museums were a product of the Renaissance, a product of an

aristocratic and hierarchical society which believed that art and scholarship were

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya 277

for a closed circle. In Europe and in most colonial territories, museums and art

galleries began at a time when the people who controlled them had a contempt

for the masses’ (Hudson 1977: 7). Many of the museums developed in the western

world in the 18th century had inherited this outlook, and remained as such for a

long. The ethnological museums ‘invented’ by European colonizers in the 19th

century, in course of their expeditions to the rest of the world, had presented

their collection of objects as either curio-items, or as proof of emphasis that the

culture of colonized communities were ‘inferior’ or ‘peripheral’ to the technological

achievements of Europe.

The seventies of 20th century was a decade of crucial developments in the

history of museums and museology all over the world. This was the period when

independent countries, including India, began to settle down. New nationalism

and cultural identities began to emerge among the liberated countries. In the

newly independent countries, the role of museums began to firm-up during this

period as important cultural centers for asserting national and regional identities.

In the 1971 General Conference of the International Council of Museums

(ICOM) held in France (at Grenoble), an African delegate from Benin, made a

statement with considerable heat and vigour. ‘Museums’, he said, ‘were not

integrated into the contemporary world and formed no real part of it. They were

elitist, and of no use whatever to the majority of people; in all countries, they

were obsolete; and they ought to disappear so that the public money could be

spent to better purpose’. There were many takers of this passionate statement.

The conclusion reached at the 1971 ICOM Conference was that the social,

economic and cultural changes occurring in the world, particularly in many under-

privileged regions, constitute a challenge to museology. The future historians of

museums and museology may well decide that 1971 was the year in which it

became obvious that there would have to be fundamental changes in the philosophy

and aims of museums, and that the traditional attitudes were inadequate and

obsolete in demonstrating the contemporary relevance of museum. It was felt

that a museum should mould the consciousness of the communities it serves,

link together the past and present. However, there was no suggestions that existing

specialized museums should be closed down or abandoned, but, to meet the

social needs, it was felt that there should be a gradual change in the outlook of

curators and administrators, so that a steady progress towards ‘integrated museum’

might be ensured. Integrated museum approach meant a realization that it exists

to meet the needs of people, not merely to preserve what the French call the

patrimone, the national cultural heritage’. (Hudson 1977:15).

Birth of IGRMS: Initial Ideas and ConceptsThe birth of ‘National Museum of Man’ in India was a sequel of these

developments. In the Calcutta session of the Indian Science Congress, held in

1970, Sachin Roy, President of the Anthropology and Archaeology Section,

278 Multiple Heritage: Role of Specialised Museums in India

emphasized the need of a ‘Museum of Man’ in India, in his presidential address.

Roy was a senior museum professional from India and was also an ICOM member

of that time. He had later (in 1972) published a book titled ‘Museum of Man in

India: Problems and Prospects’ and also made an appeal to the then Prime Minister

of India, to consider setting up a Museum of Man. His idea was holistic

presentation of human creativities in Museum, by adopting an inter-disciplinary

approach. It was recognized, by this time, ‘no single discipline was capable of

understanding ‘man’ through its single-lens glass’. He felt that an ‘integrated

museum approach’ would require co-operation between different types of

museums, research institutes and fusion of disciplines, viz. anthropological,

ecological, techno-economical, ideological, aesthetic, historical etc. ‘Museology,

to be worthy of that name must embrace and show itself capable of absorbing all

these different ways of looking at human activity. Many social scientists in India

have supported the emerging trend of the integrated approach.

The 10th General Conference of the ICOM held at Copenhagen (Denmark)

in 1974 has recognised that ‘museums throughout are coming to regard themselves

less and less as self-contained professional units and more as cultural centres for

communities within which they operate’ (Hudson 1977). It was also resolved that

the museum must interpret the cultural needs of the community completely

independent of circumstantial factors, with an understanding of the problems

of the contemporary individual. In other words, the mandates of many museums,

which hitherto functioned as store-houses of artifacts or curio centres, had begun

to change as institutions for promoting cultural aspirations of the contemporary

communities.

Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India then. Personally,

she was very enthusiastic about new approaches as and when the scientific

communities were proposing any new project. ‘She was convinced that no linear

graphs on a progressive model could contain the dynamics of the plurality of the

cultural patterns. Neither the archaeological nor the anthropological model of

the 19th or early 20th century would suffice’ (Vatsyayan 2005). M.N. Srinivas, had

once (1988) remembered, while addressing a group of scholars in the IGRMS at

Bhopal, how intimately Mrs. Gandhi was interested on the IGRMS project. ‘At

that time’ Srinivas said, ‘Mrs. Gandhi was exceptionally busy. I inflicted a two-

page letter on her, and I never expected a reply. But I was surprised to receive a

reply within a few days from her. It shows how sensitive she was about this

project.

The letter was dated July 2nd, 1974. It read as follows:

I have received your interesting letter of June 29,1974. Your main suggestion of

having records of the many aspects of our cultural heritage is one which has been of

concern for me for years before I became Prime Minister. I had initiated some scheme

to collect costume, jewellery, folklore and I had asked the Ministry of Information

and Broadcasting as also the Chief Minister to make films of folk dances and other


rituals. As you perhaps know, I started a folk dance festival in the same spirit.

Unfortunately, none of these had been followed up as vigorously as they should

have been. Consequently, we have already lost a good deal. The suggestions you have

made on the last page are good ones. I think, it should be persuaded. The only

difficulty is that this year is one of the great financial stringency when every

programme is being cut to the very bone. However, the setting up a committee of

knowledgeable people will not need immediate finance, and can be considered. These

are my first thoughts. I shall write to you later on this.

(Mrs. Indira Gandhi)

July 2, 1974

On the advice of the Prime Minister, the Department of Culture, Government

of India, had asked the Anthropological Survey of India (An. S.I) to work on the

project since 1975 onwards and a nucleus Office was started from New Delhi in

March, 1977 for the project. During the same period a preliminary Plan Outline

of the proposed new Museum was published, after a series of meetings by experts.

The Plan-Outline was critical of the biasness of the existing conventional museums

in India. It said that the existing art and archaeological museums in the country

highlighted artistic traditions of India, and didn’t tell the story of evolution of

Indian civilization and about the varieties of cultural life in contemporary India.

The other types of museums dealing with natural history, science and industry

convey basic principles of their subjects, but tell very little of the man who has

created and developed civilizations. Therefore, the idea behind the ‘Museum of

Man’, would be to present an integrated vision of human life, not segmented

pictures determined by artificial disciplinary boundaries.

After a series of searches and deliberations at various levels, it was decided,

in 1978, to set up the ‘National Museum of Man’ (NMM) at Bhopal, the central

province of India. A site of about 200 acres offered by the State government of

Madhya Pradesh, at the ‘Shamla hills’, overlooking the main Bhopal lake, was

accepted and some portion of the site was occupied by early 1979. The Foundation

Stone of the new Museum was laid on 21st April, 1979, by the then Union Minister,

Dr. P.C. Chunder. By March 1985, the organization was renamed as ‘Rashtriya

Manav Sangrahalaya (RMS). Again in 1993, it was re-christened as ‘Indira Gandhi

Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), considering the seminal contributions

and involvement of the late Prime Minister in developing the Museum.

The museum-site at ‘Shamla hills’, is a very important geographical territory.

It is one of the chains of 31 hills in the Vindhyan range, infested with a large

number rock caves with evidence of pre-historic human settlements. The site

was once on a 30 mile long stretch of water, created by joining the streams of

river Kaliasot and Betwa, a water body which was drained in 30 years, after the

11th century dam constructed for creating it, was cut, in course of one of the war-

like engagements in the 16th century. Today Shamla hills is an oasis of heritage

related action and research initiatives. About a dozen cultural centres have come


up after the IGRMS began establishing. These include the renowned Bharat Bhawan

Multi-art complex, All India Radio and Doordarshan, the State Museum of Madhya

Pradesh, a Tribal Museum, Regional Museum of the National Council of Science

Museum and a large number of other educational institutions managed by several

NGOs.

Museum InfrastructureDevelopment of infrastructure for the new Museum was a major challenge. It

required heavy financial investments and manpower, dedicated scholars and

visionaries who could interpret the cultural bonds of the country. An Advisory

Committee set up in 1981, recommended that the Institution should be converted

into an Autonomous Body, to be managed by a group of subject experts from

different disciplines and representative officials of different ministerial

organizations. The recommendations were accepted by the Cabinet Secretariat

of Government of India and the Autonomous Society named ‘Rashtriya Manav

Sangrahalaya Samiti’ was registered under Registration of Societies Act, 1860, in

March, 1985, with the following major objectives to:

(a) Present, through exhibitions and educational programmes, an integrated

story of bio-cultural evolution of man with special reference to India,

highlighting the richness and diversity of its cultural patterns and the

underlying unity;

(b) Promote national integration;

(c) Take steps to salvage and preserve the fast vanishing aspects of Indian

culture;

(d) Act as a centre of research and training in museology of appropriate

kind and generate a new museum movement in different regions of India

to present and preserve variety of cultural life.

Individual experts from the fields of anthropology, archaeology, museology,

folk art etc. were nominated to the governing councils of the Museum for specified

durations, and representative officials of the central government in the ministries

of Culture, Home Affairs, Tribal Development, Environment, as also from the

State Government of Madhya Pradesh were inducted. The main source of funding

for infrastructure development and education activities were to come from the

central Ministry of Culture, and the Minister-in-Charge of the Ministry of Culture

designated as the President (ex-officio) of the Governing Samiti. The Secretary

to the Ministry of Culture, GOI would act as ex-officio Chairman of its Executive

Council.

When the Site was occupied for infrastructure development, the landscape

was barren, rocky and devoid of any vegetation. There was no water sources in

the campus, nor any link road to approach the public ways outside. The campus

was to be landscaped within these constraints. Development of Infrastructure


included: (a) creating roads and pathways to approach the different pockets of

the vast area of the campus spilled with rocky terrains and hillocks (b) providing

water supply and electricity to different corners, (c) landscaping the different

areas according to the conceptual need, (c) developing internal security system,

(d) constructing office buildings, guest house and dormitories for visiting scholars

and professionals, and, of course, (e) developing various open-air and indoor

exhibitions, as per the conceptual plans. It was a challenging task.

Over a the span of about 25 years since the institution was established in

Bhopal, commendable work have been done in the area of infrastructure

development, though much need to be done in coming decades. The campus was

landscaped to represent prototypes of different ecological regions of the Indian

sub-continent viz. deserts, coasts, hills, the rivers and the culture of communities

adapting these ecological regions. The depleted soil cover was partially restored,

and plants from different ecological zones were planted. Internal road and electric

networks were developed, and water source was also tapped to a limited extent.

Facilities for different working units, exhibitions, and performing art theatres

were also created. Over 20,000 cultural artifacts, and nearly one lakh books and

journals in different languages were collected. On the basis of documentation of

activities, both in the Bhopal and other parts of the country, as well as collections

from other sources, about 3000 hrs of audio-video records of different facets of

Indian cultures are there in the audio-video achieve. A Southern Regional Centre

was established by accepting the offer of a heritage building in Mysore (Karnataka)

in the year 2000.

IGRMS ExhibitionsDevelopment of suitable exhibition spaces to display the artifact collections are

the primary goal of any museum, and the IGRMS was no exception. But, unlike

other National Museums, which were set up to house certain collections in

possession, this Museum began not with any artifact in possession, but with

certain ideas only. Therefore, the task of the museum curators were onerous; do

a collection and create appropriate environment for its display, besides the normal

job of classification and documentation. It was decided that the IGRMS would

be developed predominantly as an open-air museum, and the indoor museum

would function as extension units to various outdoor exhibitions.

The theoretical concepts of the Museum initialized at various levels, needed

to be translated into a realizable plan for setting up the exhibitions. Certain

broad themes were formulated at conceptual level. After prolonged discussions

and deliberations at various levels, it was decided to present the cohesive life

cycles of various Indian communities living in different eco-climatic zones of

the country. These include those of tribal hamlets, the coastal Indian region of

the lengthy sea coasts, Himalayan region, river valleys, desert and arid zones

etc.


Tribal Habitat was the first open air exhibition complex designed to be

developed on the south-eastern hill top of the campus. Unique dwelling types of

architectural marvels from different tribal communities were selected to represent

from the Gangetic plains of Uttaranchal, lush green forest areas of North-east

India, the arid region of western India, plateau region of central India, hilly tracts

of eastern India, the Nilgiri (blue-mountain) tracts of south western India etc.

The initial set of about ten habitats were re-erected, and the Exhibition was opened

for public in January, 1988. Presently, there are over thirty house-types, youth

dormitories, shrines and other centres of cultural interactions clustered together

in this section . These dwellings represent the Warli community of Maharashtra,

Kutia Kondh, Saora and Gadaba communities of Orissa, Rathwa and Chodhri

tribes of Gujarat, Boda Kachari, Mishing and Karbi tribes of Assam, Agaria and

Bhil communities of Madhya Pradesh, Kars and Rajwars of Chhattisgarh, Santal

tribe of Jharkhand, Jatapu tribe of Andhra Pradesh, Bhumij from West Bengal,

Tangkul and Kabui Nagas from Manipur, Chakhesang Naga of Nagaland, Reang

tribe of Tripura, Toda and Kota communities of Tamilnadu. The most striking

feature of this Exhibition is that the exhibits are life-size dwellings built by the

different tribal communities themselves, based on their traditional ground plans

and architectural patterns. The materials which are traditionally used for

construction in their respective regions, were specially transported to Bhopal for

creating the replica. Select groups of tribal artisans were invited to Bhopal to re-

construct their dwellings and create a genuine ambiance within and outside their

dwellings. To create the ambiance, the concerned tribal groups did their own

home-work by surveying their regional hamlets to understand the intriguing

patterns of structural designs, placement of house-hold objects in each locations

within and outside the house, collect the sacred plants ritualistic objects to be

planted outside the house-types. The community groups came to IGRMS

representing different categories of performers i.e. brick makers, carpentry

technicians and even priests to sanctify their house-types. They act as ambassadors

of their community groups. Once the house is re-erected, they would explain to

the Museum staff how to document the myths and legends of their community

origin, the different ritual forms, the importance of space distribution, and their

culinary traditions. They would teach the museum staff their traditional ways of

structural conservation and other feed-backs for maintenance and upkeep. In a

way they take over the role of curators of the exhibits, and the museum personnel

were trained how to explain their customs and traditions to the visitors. From

time to time they would visit the campus to oversee the arrangements in each of

their house-types. The museum staff would also visit the hamlets of these tribal

groups, document their festivities and craft traditions, to display these elements

in the house-types.

Today, ‘Tribal Habitat’ is one of the important exhibition premises, spread

over in about forty acres of land, which attracts a large number of visitors to the


Museum. For researchers engaged in architecture, tribal art and religion,

conservation techniques, graphic art, as well as administrative planners the Tribal

Habitat of IGRMS is a laboratory for various practical experience.

Taking note of the success of ‘Tribal Habitat’ experience, more and more

similar open-air exhibitions were created to depict the life and culture of Indian

coastal communities, the people living in desert region of western India, and also

the lengthy stretch of Himalayan region. In developing the exhibits in these

exhibitions, methodology adopted was similar to that of the Tribal Habitat

Exhibition.

Coastal Village open-air exhibition set up in about 20 acres land, represents

dwelling units and related material cultural objects from different coastal parts of

India; viz. Gujarat, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. These are

typical traditional house-types, representing lifestyles and cultural identities of

Indian coastal communities. Some eco-friendly structures exhibited in this complex

reflect the socio-economic situation of inhabitants, like the ‘Arapura’ (wooden

cottage), and ‘Palliyodam’ (snake-boat) from Kerala, are the main attractions for

visitors.

Desert Village open air exhibition represents typical dwelling-types from

Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. A dwelling complex of Rajputs in this exhibition highlights

the process and degree of their adaptation with environment. Various ethnographic

objects displayed inside the dwelling units depict their life-ways and subsistence

strategies.

One of the interesting and unique items in the Himalayan Village is the typical

stone building - Kothi – a dwelling complex from Shimla re-erected in the campus.

The imposing entrance gate known as Parol or Paraud constructed to protect and

lend beauty to the courtyard is a reminder of the culture and ecology of the

terrain of the Himalaya region. The Choukat, another house-type from Uttaranchal

is said to be earthquake resistant variety.

The IGRMS is fortunate to have about 30 odd painted rock caves within its

campus. These have been transformed into an open-air exhibition titled Rock

Art Heritage. Perhaps IGRMS is one of the few Museums in the world which has

shelters of the Prehistoric Man in its premises with paintings drawn by the pre-

historic dwellers. These are valuable assets not only for researchers but also for

inquisitive general visitors to the IGRMS campus.

The Exhibition Mythological Trail depicts compositions as reflected in myths

and legends of various folk and tribal communities. These are crafted in different

media of terracotta, wood, stone, iron etc. Crafts of various artisan groups,

incarnations of folk deities and traditional paintings form the main attraction of

the exhibition. A 12 ft. tall iron gate with decorative carvings, representing the

origin and technology of iron-smithy (done by Lohars from Bastar), forms an

imposing structure of this exhibition.


The IGRMS has been emphasizing on collection and documentation of tradition

based technologies from different parts of the country. Based on the field experience

to different remote villages in India, a new open air exhibition titled Tradtional

Technology was developed and opened for visitors in March, 2008. This exhibition

presents the knowledge or wisdom practised by indigenous communities in the

utilization of locally available resources to fulfil their sustained way of living. Some

of the note-worthy exhibits, in this open air exhibition, are Meitei Thim Shungba

(traditional salt making technology of Manipur), Gangugu (traditional oil expelling

technology of Andhra Pradesh), Ganna Charkhi (traditional technology of sugarcane

juice extraction process practised in Chhattisgarh), Tirahi (typical oil expelling

technology), Gharat, Tui-Changshu, Edullumota (traditional water management systems

adopted in Uttaranchal, Manipur, and Andhra Pradesh respectively) etc.

Veethi Sankul-Indoor Museum was constructed in about twelve thousand

sqm. area with spacious exhibition halls, a reference library, indoor & outdoor

auditoriums and other miscellaneous facilities, and dedicated to the nation in

March, 2005. The structure is unique in its architecture, constructed on a rocky

terrain incorporating difficult levels of the sloppy land. The various exhibition

halls and auditoriums have been constructed on approximately 16 levels. The

structure is covered with Dholpur sand-stone, and the flooring is made with

Kota stones. Approximately 7000 sq.mt. floor area is utilized for exhibitions, in

10 galleries. These are named as:

Gallery 1 : Human Evolution and Variation: Presenting the landmarks of process

of human evolution in different stages through models, photographs,

charts, sketches etc. Emphasis has been put on the Narmada-man

discovered at Hathnora in Madhya Pradesh which indicates India as

one of the theatres of human bio-cultural evolution;

Gallery 2 : Human Odyssey–Depicting material cultural objects on settlement

patterns, subsistence and aesthetic activities of hunter-gatherers,

shifting cultivators, pastoralists, peasants and ethno-medicine

practitioners in India;

Gallery 3 : Longo Jatra–A festival of the Koitor life style and festivities of Gond

tribes of Central India;

Gallery 4 : Mandwa Gohri – envisages holistic presentation on the Bhil tribes of

Western India;

Gallery 5 : Ethnic Art:–Presents the ethnic art of selected folk and tribal

communities from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan etc.;

Gallery 6 : Belief Systems, Cosmology and Rituals–Presents ritual objects,

photographs, masks, memorial pillars, paintings etc. to narrate

cosmology, belief systems and rituals of different communities;

Gallery 7 : Music & Performing Traditions–presents music traditions of various

communities.


Gallery 8 : Masks–Varieties of traditional masks collected from different parts

of India are displayed.

Gallery 9 : Textile & Culinary Traditions–traditional architecture, textile tradition,

traditional technology and culinary traditions are displayed.

Gallery 10 : Reserve Collection & Research Gallery–A representative collection of

about 4,000 objects from the Museum’s artifacts store of over 20,000

objects (till 2008) are on display in a big hall on the lower ground

floor. This is one of the few museums where a significant number

of specimens from reserve collections is on display for informed

visitors.

An important aspect of these galleries are the active involvement of different

community groups from different parts of the country in developing the exhibits,

and its presentation in appropriate environment. Another special feature is the

life size displays and visitor friendly approaches for visitors’ convenience.

Museum Education and Salvage ActivitiesThe Museum began to organise different kinds of education programmes since

1985 onwards. Different Museum Education activities were designed to develop

programme packages. These are in the form Travelling Exhibitions on different

themes of traditional art and community knowledge systems; organizing ‘Do and

Learn’ participatory training Programme for interested persons on various

traditional art forms; Organising Seminars/ Camps and Workshops to disseminate

information on bio-cultural evolution of mankind and celebrate the cultural

diverisities and national integration.

The first Travelling Exhibition-Yatra (The Journey of mankind) began its

journey to Delhi in January, 1986, as part of the annual meet of the 73rd Session

of Indian Science Congress. This exhibition was an attempt to present, in a

miniature form, the bio-cultural evolution of mankind and the patterns of

contemporary cultures in India in the form of a living-museum display. For

example, a model of an Agaria hut was built and a few Agaria artisans from the

remote Bastar area of Madhya Pradesh were invited to demonstrate their traditional

skill of iron smelting practice. Science Congress specialists interacted with these

tribal artisans and appreciated their technology.

Construction of an exhibition-structure-Avritti Bhawan–for organizing

periodical exhibitions was completed by early 1990, and the first periodical

exhibition Vastu Prasang started at Shamla Hills in May 1990. The IGRMS hosted

a series of periodical exhibitions, and national seminars in Bhopal.

Paradigm Shift: Primacy to Communities and Museum as a FacilitatorThe structure and functions of the Museum began to take definite shape after it

became an autonomous organization in the year 1985. Sachin Roy had envisaged


in his concept paper (1972) that a full-fledged ‘Museum of Man’ should have

major sections knitted together of geology, zoology, prehistory, physical

anthropology, social and cultural anthropology, folk and tribal arts, human

geography, economic and social development disciplines. ‘The concept, he said,

‘does not mean a multipurpose museum of the twenties (20th century) which was

a conglomeration of different departments, each opening its own separate shop

under a single huge roof ’ (Roy: 1972, 27-28). The Plan-Outline on the National

Museum Man (NMM), published by the Director, Anthropological Survey of

India (1977) had demanded the need of setting up a new kind of museum with

emphasis on putting objects in the living human context, and of portraying the

general flow of life of the common people, shaped by socio-economic forces in

the historical perspectives, apart from noting the high water marks of creativity

in different historical periods. It also stressed the need to develop integrated

vision of human life rather than segmented pictures, determined by artificial

boundaries of different disciplines.

In 1987, two years after the Museum was converted into an Autonomous

Organisation, a Project Report was prepared during the tenure of R.S. Negi as

Director, which listed a perspective plan of display in the indoor galleries and

outdoor exhibitions, under three broad themes of human evolution, variation,

and patterns of culture. It stressed inter-institutional collaboration, research and

collection of objects from fast vanishing or changing communities. This Project

Report and the perspective plan were discussed in the 4th meeting of the Executive

Council on 25th July 1987 which resolved on a committee of experts to discuss

and rewrite the Project Report. In a comment (1994) on the developments in the

Museum from mid-1987 to 1993, it was pointed out by K. S. Singh, former

Director-General of Anthropological Survey of India and National Museum of

Man that, designed originally to explore the anthropological, biological, linguistic

and cultural dimensions of all the people of India in a holistic manner, and the

evolution of their civilization, the Museum was reduced to a tribal museum,

stressing the tribal material only. However, it may be stated that the active

involvement of the tribal communities in making the open-air exhibition on ‘Tribal

Habitat’ certainly makes a departure from the traditional concept of museum

and display.

A further ‘conceptual approach’ was developed by a Programme Committee

under the chairmanship of J. Swaminathan, then President, RMSS and presented

in the 16th meeting of the Executive Council (1992). This note questioned the

conventional approach of ethnological museums, tied to only tribal and analogous

cultures, and to the portrayal of remnants of such cultures with an underlying

assumption that these were ‘dead’ or ‘dying’. It asked for a synchronic view of

different cultures, with an accent of the temporal and spatial continuum of the

world of culture. It also asked for depiction of man’s relationships with other

human beings, with time and space, nature and culture, allowing for a to and fro


movement within and between these themes. This conceptual approach was

adopted by the Executive Council and S. Navlakha was engaged to detail this

approach into a report for discussion.

Navlakha’s report (1994) stressed the need for presentation of multiple

perspectives eschewing a privileged epistemology including non-privileged voices;

to describe not only past but also present; not only others, but also ourselves; to

decentralize, destabilize and decolonize essentialist and reductionist narratives of

culture; to transcend cognitive and non-cognitive fact value distinctions, and to

offer a dialogical, relativist, open ended view of culture. The report warned against

mixing culture and biology in the depiction of evolution, and suggested description

of different culture-scapes, based on literate and pre-literate modes of subsistence,

as synchronic rather than chronologically fixed points. The report also stressed

the need for putting the historic periods, specially the last two three centuries,

and mostly, the 20th century in the context of intellectual history of mankind,

with a focus on modernity, ancient literary civilization (India), oral traditions,

architecture, settlement and livelihood styles, and relationships with environment,

on community structure, socialization and distribution patterns and on aesthetic

value and creative expression.

A comment on this report was about the difficulty of translating abstract

ideas into three dimensional realities and about the need to carryout the task as

an in-house exercise. The INC-ICOM National Chapter meet held in the Museum

in 1994 together with several members of the Governing Committee suggested

updating the concept and programme content, and the 18th meeting of the

Executive Council desired the Director, IGRMS, K.K. Chakravarty, to detail the

ideas of the concept and display.

Chakravarty, in his initial notes pointed out that until then (1994) the

discussions on the concept was confined to the Museum’s task of indoor and

outdoor exhibitions, and not explored the ways and means whereby the major

objectives of the RMS Samiti to be achieved, apart from the exhibitions. He

stressed the need to look into tangible and intangible elements of traditional

knowledge systems including solution for problems of health, nutrition, man’s

relation with plants and animal, and to take exhibitions and salvage initiatives to

remote parts of the country. The IGRMS should widen its spectrum of activities

to demonstrate simultaneous validity of various cultures; the aesthetic quality of

local resource based traditional architecture, technologies, arts, crafts and the eco-

friendly conservation practices cherished and transmitted by the communities.

The IGRMS, through its display and field programmes, should caution the people

against unprecedented destruction of ecology. It should propagate the ability of

folk and tribal communities to recognize, codify, classify, present and use their

knowledge in harvesting the natural resources; their instinct to respect the tone

and rhythm of nature and their perception of community rights and obligations.

It should play a catalyst role between rural communities and the different academic


and administrative institutions of the Govt. for providing local inputs into the

developmental plans.

Chakravarty’s notes were discussed in the Samiti meeting on 11th June, 1997.

The members agreed that the objectives of the institution and the scope of its

activities were very much different, and much wider than those of a conventional

Museum. The members of the Samiti felt that the Museum should deepen its

initiatives in revitalizing and presenting the variety and plurality of local knowledge

systems and histories; in demonstrating the simultaneous harmony and diversity

of the Indian languages in creative expression; in stressing the multi-linear process

of bio-cultural evolution, away from the Euro-centric unilinear views; in

dissemination of the knowledge and information among students; in protecting

community rights, and in strengthening involvement of disadvantaged and

vulnerable sections of the society in the Museum programmes.

These resolutions paved the path for a major emphasis in spreading out the

Museum activities which were hitherto confined, more or less, to a configuration

of conventional museum, though not wanted as such. In this regard, the 9th Five

Year Plan period (1997-2002) was a turning stage in the history of the IGRMS.

The ‘Outreach’ activities of the Museum surged out to different corners of the

country. The Government, by recognizing the role of IGRMS as a catalytic agent

for revitalizing various life enhancing community traditions, enhanced the financial

allocations of annual budgetary provisions considerably. The Museum established

direct contacts with different segments of folk and tribal communities in different

eco-climatic zones, and organized special thematic exhibitions on environmental

values and life enhancing traditions, and also interactive workshops to promote

the different traditional art forms and traditional knowledge systems of the

communities. The ‘Outreach’ activities of the Museum received further boost

during the 10th Plan period (2002-07), in terms of increased financial support

from the government, to do more and more interactive community related

programmes. The Museum has continued to follow the twin-strategies of ‘taking

museum to communities and bringing communities to museum’, in order to translate the

new perception into action. Some of the significant achievements under this

programme were as follows.

Taking Museum to the CommunitiesTo spread awareness on the importance of man-environment relations a new

traveling exhibition ‘Sacred Groves of India’ was created for circulation in different

parts of India. This exhibition depicts various methods adopted traditionally by

different communities in conserving bio-diversity. The exhibition travelled from

place to place from time to time. The Museum has simultaneously started intensive

field programmes among various community groups, to document, preserve, and

disseminate their eco-specific knowledge on management of natural resources.

A series of such interactions have generated rich data and artifacts, besides a


good collection of varieties of plant-species. Two pockets of the IGRMS campus

in Bhopal, have been developed into ethno-botanical gardens with prototypes of

sacred grove shrines, as seen in Bihar, Chhattisgarh (Sarna), Kerala (Kaavu),

Maharashtra (Devrahati), Manipur (Umanglai), Meghalaya (Maw-bukhar), Rajasthan

(Oran), Tamilnadu (Kovil-Kadu).

To promote the traditional practice of health care system and its efficacies and

continued vitality in advanced conditions, national level interactive workshops of

tribal medicine-men and exhibitions of their practices were organized in different

regions, and a directory of such medicinal practitioners was published.

To promote the literary traditions of ‘marginalised’ communities workshops were

organized at Kalimpong and Takna (West Bengal), Arakku Valley (Andhra

Pradesh); Guwahati (Assam) etc. Workshops of Pandits were organized at Himachal

Pradesh for transmission of traditional texts associated with Tantrik system of

prognostication and healing, written in ancient and vanishing script.

Inter-regional cultural exchange programmes of artisan communities and performing

artists were organized, with special focus on the North-eastern communities, to

provide them platforms to interact with the cultures of other parts of the country.

This was necessary to reduce the ethnic tension gripping in different pockets of

North-east India. Purvottari-festival of artisan communities of the eight North-

eastern States is organised in a North-eastern State annually.

To promote traditional arts and crafts of folk and tribal craftsmen Interactive

workshops, meets of different community groups were organized across the

country, (Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat,

Tripura, Tamilnadu, Orissa, Tamilnadu etc.). In collaboration with the Kollam

District Administration and Tourism Department of Kerala, Paramparya festival

of traditional artisans and craftsmen were organized at Kollam, with participation

of over 500 tribal and folk artisans from different parts of India. Later similar

events were organised at Edakkal, in collaboration with the Wayanad District

administration in Kerala.

To document and promote the importance of traditional water management

traditions workshops were organized in Gujarat and Budhelkand area of Madhya

Pradesh.

It also supports at various levels in organizing seminars and symposiums to

motivate the research scholars for exchange of ideas and new thesis. A three tier

networking has been built up with different state/central government

organizations, non-government agencies and individual experts engaged in the

exploration and replenishment of local knowledge and techniques of communities.

Bringing Communities to MuseumA number of collaborative programmes are being organized, to motivate the

different section of communities in appreciating the cultural diversity and national

integration. Some of them are as follows:


Balrang-An annual festival of School children, is organized in the Museum

campus, every year, in collaboration with the School Education Department of

Madhya Pradesh State government, for two days. On the first day, the State level

(Madhya Pradesh) competition of creative performances are held, emulating the

richness and diversity of the regional folk music, dance, painting, folk drama etc.

by the school students of Madhya Pradesh. Also functions of the Judiciary (Bal-

Nyalaya), Journalism, Theatre, etc. are staged, to strengthen the democratic values

of the country among the children. On the second day, national level competition

of folk-dance of different States of India are organized in which about 500

students from 16-18 States have been participating. In this event, thousands of

school children take part in different events. A ‘Mini-India’ exhibition is organized,

by the children from local schools of Bhopal, focusing the regional varieties of

cuisine traditions, exhibits of important land-marks in the history of India’s cultural

identity. Different Government organizations like, Archaeological Survey of India,

Museum of Natural History etc. would also participate with their periodical

exhibitions, to promote awareness on the children on the importance of India’s

heritage, both man-made and natural. Children’s literature exhibition are also

organized by the National Book Trust.

Celebration of Regional Cultures of India is an important annual event of the

IGRMS, started in 2006 with Sikkim festival in the IGRMS campus. Subsequently,

Tripura Festival (2007), Punjab Festival (2008), Assam Festival (2008) have been

organized. The main features of this event are: (i) exhibition, showcasing different

aspects of heritage of that State, (ii) craft-mela, (iii) ethnic food and (iv) performing

art presentation. During the programme, the visitors to the Museum get exposed

not only to the products of different arts and crafts of the selected region presented

by a large delegation of State representation, the visitors also derive pleasure in

knowing about the language, dress, etiquette etc. of the guest artists. The local

visitors throng in for purchase of varieties of food items cooked by the guest

artists. By this programme the intangible cultural heritage of different States are

showcased for respecting the culture of other regions. A notable aspect of this

programme is the collective involvement of concerned communities, i.e. Punjabi,

Assamese etc. in Bhopal.

An important annual event has been started by IGRMS from 2006 onwards,

titled ‘Shaswati’ - on the Women and Cultural Heritage. In that year, a national workshop

of women artisans (Sarjana), a national seminar on Gender and Museum (Vidushi),

first national festival of women instrumental musicians (Prathama), and an

exhibition on the invisible role of women in the preservation and promotion of

cultural heritage (Bhumika) were organized. While in Sarjana about 150 women

artisans participated for ten days representing different craft traditions of India,

Prathama was a unique cultural festival where 13 celebrated women instrumentalists

performed in five evenings. They include Yogmaya Shukla (Tabla), Sikkil Sisters

(Flute) etc. The exhibition, Bhumika, goes beyond the dichotomy of essentialist


and constructivist approach to gender studies. It challenges the stereotypical image

of woman as confined to home and hearth by emphasizing the role of women in

various subsistence activities. It celebrates the triumph of creativity of the subaltern

woman amidst the dreary drudgery of daily life. The display of kitchen with

utensils of different communities implies multiple cultural heritage as well as

hybridity.

Umang: Special programme for vulnerable groups is organized annually in order to

enable differently abled persons and children to visit indoor museum galleries.

Since 2006, the World Disabled Day (December 3) is celebrated in collaboration

with the Department of Social Justice Government of Madhya Pradesh. On that

day, an awareness rally is organised in the City of Bhopal for the cause of differently

abled people. Special arrangements are made for the differently abled children to

visit IGRMS exhibition galleries on that day and present their special items cultural

programme. Some children who brought laurels for India in the Special Olympic

in China were felicitated, in 2007. Provisions for ramps and wheel chair have

been re-created. Labeling on Braille has been done for the benefit of blind visitors,

to understand the cultural dimensions of displays in the galleries.

Parvarish: an innovative project was started for slum children with the initiative

of an NGO ‘Oasis’ whose objective was to introduce museum as a school of

learning in a non-formal manner. The students were taught in a non-formal manner

in the IGRMS open air exhibition for two days a week. Other museums also

participated in it including Regional Museum of Natural History and Regional

Science Centre.

These activities received commendable response, and acknowledged at various

fora that the IGRMS has already broken certain barriers of the conventional

museum functioning, and that it has laid a new track for a new museum movement.

ConclusionTo conclude, the typical features of IGRMS are highlighted as follows. While

museums generally are set up to house an already available collection, for IGRMS

the concept came first and collection followed. The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav

Sangrahalaya has lived a vigorous life of more than three decades, transcended

some barriers of museum in a conventional sense, and laid new tracks by working

in collaboration with folk and tribal communities all over the country for

preservation of their bio-cultural identities and their self respect. It has established

bridges among different regions and communities in the country, and tried to

achieve the goal of national integration by establishing contacts with the youth,

women and disadvantaged groups. Within its modest resources, the IGRMS has

tried to affirm the fact that the Indian communities, which have lived in harmony

for thousands of years, may have the answer for human survival in an age when

there is apprehension of bio-cultural extinction. By emphasizing traditional

knowledge system IGRMS does not like to romanticize it as a changeless essentialist


entity, rather tries to bring out elements of culture as input in sustainable

development. Traditional water management, sacred groves are some examples.

Understood in these perspectives the statement that IGRMS is a Museum with a

difference in India is not a mere cliché.

ReferencesAnthropological Survey of India 1977 National Museum of Man: A Plan Outline. Calcutta.

Basa, K. K. & Jayaprakasan G. 2007 Srinivas and National Museum of Mankind in M.N. Srinivas:

The Man and His Work, Rawat Publications, Jaipur.

Chakravarty, K. K., n.d., Concept Note on Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal

(unpublished, prepared in 1998).

Hudson K., 1977 Museums for the 1980s : A Survey of the World Trends, UNESCO, London, Paris and

Macmillan Press Ltd.,.

Lee, Paula Young 1997 The Museum of Alexandria and the formation of the ‘Museum’ in

eighteenth-century, France, The Art Bulletin.

R. M. S. 1987 Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya: Project Report (Unpublished, prepared in March 1987).

Roy, Sachin 1972 Museum of Man in India: Problems and Prospects.

Vatsyayan K. 2005 Souvenir on Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal.


Fig. 27.1: Toda Habitat in the Tribal Habitat Open Air Exhibition

Fig. 27.2: An Overview of the Coastal Village Open Air Complex


Fig. 27.3: Welcoming the Arrival of the Snake Boat from Kerala by theMalayalee Folks of Bhopal

Fig. 27.4: An Overview of the Veethi Sankul Indoor Museum


Fig. 27.5: Prof. M. N. Srinivas being honoured by Thiru Muthicane,a Toda Tribal Leader in IGRMS Campus

Fig. 27.6: Agaria Tribal People demonstrating Traditional Iron SmeltingTechniques in IGRMS Campus


Fig. 27.7: Chakesang Naga Artists Performing in front of theirTraditional House in IGRMS Campus

Fig. 27.8: Do and Learn Programme


Fig. 27.9: Visit of Differently Abled Children to Veethi Sankul Indoor Museum

Fig. 27.10: A Priest from Kerala ritualizing the Sacred Grove ofKerala in IGRMS Campus


Fig. 27.11: Tribal Healers’ Workshop

Fig. 27.12: Women Artisans displaying their creativities inShashwati Programme in IGRMS Campus

IGRMS Basa Jp

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