subject: Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum, a tribute to a great leader [print this page] Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum, a tribute to a great leader
The Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum in New Delhi is dedicated to the memory of India's great Prime Minister who was tragically assassinated in 1984. The site of the museum is the vast yet unpretentious residence which she occupied during her tenure as Prime Minister. It was in the gardens of this residence that she met her untimely death at the hands of her own bodyguards.
The museum displays an absorbing selection of images depicting the public and personal lives of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Nationalist movement. The selection of photographs reveals the highlights of the life of India's late leader from childhood days to her final years. The visitor to the museum will be able to catch a glimpse of her study and living room through a glass partition, exactly as she kept them. Also on display are personal belongings of Mrs. Gandhi and the bloodstained sari that she wore on the day she was killed.
The garden where Mrs. Gandhi was felled has been meticulously preserved, with the entire area where she took her last steps enclosed in a transparent framework which gives it a magical ripple-like effect. The exact location where Mrs. Gandhi fell has been indicated and the visitor can actually see the dried blood marks on the site.
The guest would do well to read one of the very last writings of the great Indian leader, most likely written the day before she was shot, which is prominently displayed. The extract shows her devotion and love for her nation and its citizens, and her determination to work steadfastly for their benefit in spite of the troubles she faced with her life constantly in danger.
Another notable aspect of the museum is its display of exhibits dedicated to the memory of Indira Gandhi's son Rajeev Gandhi, himself a Prime Minister of India and assassinated at an even more untimely age in a bomb blast in 1991. The display includes the singed clothes and shoes he was wearing at the time of his death. As Rajeev was a talented trained photographer, quality images of his happiest times may be seen by the visitor.
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