The National Museum in Delhi is on its third and final phase of expansion

A grey arch and a timeworn white building stand apart amid the rubble of bricks next to the National Museum on Janpath in New Delhi. Until a few months ago, this space was the official address of the custodian of the country’s heritage, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Except for the white building, which was built in the 1940s and is under consideration for heritage status, the museum authorities recently demolished adjoining structures, which, too, were occupied by ASI officials who have since moved to their new headquarters —  Dharohar (Heritage) Bhawan.

A foundation stone in these locked premises mentions December 18, 2017 as the date of bhoomi pujan (a Hindu worship to mark the start of a construction project) and the inauguration of the third — and final phase — for expansion of the National Museum. Officials say the building was planned to be built in phases to finally give it an octagonal shape. But to fit the museum’s original design, structures that were once home to the ASI had to be razed down entirely and rebuilt. As maps of the original plan suggest, roughly a quarter portion remains to be added for the completion of the building.

The museum, which was announced at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1949, found its permanent address at Janpath in 1955. Its first phase was inaugurated in 1960 and the second was completed in 1989. 

While it has over 200,000 exhibits, it currently displays six to seven per cent of its collection. The remaining is exhibited on a rotational basis or in temporary exhibitions. Museums around the world tend to display between five and 10 per cent of their artefacts. The final phase of expansion will allow the National Museum to display another three to four per cent of the treasures, says its director B R Mani.

As it looks to grow its capacity to display exhibits, the museum is also revamping certain galleries within and mulling over extending some to the new buildings that will come up in the adjacent space now filled with construction debris. There are also plans to open new galleries on the premises of the iconic Red Fort. Four galleries, including the one on Central Asian antiquities and textile, are getting refurbished.

“We can have four to five galleries in the next two years,” says Mani. “Those under textile, Central Asian art or Western art are under consideration for developing in the next year. This material is currently lying in other galleries, such as the arms gallery.”

One of the galleries that is being revamped

The National Museum has 29 permanent galleries, of which 17 are open. Mani adds that there are proposals for opening new galleries in areas like manuscript. 

At the Red Fort, three buildings that served as barracks in the colonial era will house the museum’s new galleries relating to the medieval period that witnessed Mughal rule. 

The National Museum Institute, which is on the first floor of the museum, is also making way for more galleries. The institute, which has a “deemed to be university” status, will be shifting to a new campus in Noida.

The erstwhile ASI structures that have been razed include about 30 rooms, which had come up in the 1960s to coincide with the first centenary of the government agency. Mani says the museum is trying hard to get a decision in its favour as government committees assess whether the old building is of heritage value and, therefore, can be a listed property, which could disallow any construction work.

The paradoxical prospect of a museum demolishing an antiquated building aside, officials suggest a revised strategy could be a necessity. A likely option is to develop an archaeological sculpture garden on the place vacated by the ASI. 

Sanjib Kumar Singh, curator and spokesperson of the museum, is for having a space for Central Asian antiquity among the galleries at the site. “Central Asian antiquity is our most prized collection. It is the rarest in the world,” he says. “And although the content is foreign, the subject is ours — that is Buddhist. We will add a couple of more Central Asian galleries.”

He adds that the four galleries that are being revamped would be opened to the public by the middle of this year. The museum plans to unveil its galleries at Red Fort, too, this year.