Ahmedabad-based historian Rizwan Kadri has written to Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, seeking his assistance in getting back important documents related to Jawaharlal Nehru that were taken from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in 2008.
These papers, which include Nehru’s letters to prominent figures like Edwina Mountbatten, Albert Einstein, Aruna Asaf Ali, and Jayaprakash Narayan, were allegedly taken by a representative of Sonia Gandhi, who was the UPA chairperson at the time.
In his letter, dated December 10, Kadri referred to the minutes from the 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the PMML Society, which revealed that 51 cartons containing these papers were sent to Sonia Gandhi in May 2008.
“After this segregation was completed, all personal papers, as identified by Rajan and the PMML team working with him, were sent to Sonia Gandhi in 51 carton boxes on 05 May 2008 with the approval of the then Director, PMML. These included the letters relating to personalities, such as Jayaprakash Narayan, Padmaja Naidu, Edwina Mountbatten, Albert Einstein, Aruna Asaf Ali, Vijaya Laxmi Pandit, Babu Jagjivan Ram and Govind Ballabh Pant,” said the letter, reviewed by The Indian Express.
The meeting also addressed the missing documents, which were separated from Nehru’s personal and official papers by MV Rajan and the PMML team. In his letter, Kadri urged Rahul Gandhi to take action in preserving India’s historical heritage, either by helping return the papers, providing copies, or allowing digital access to them.
The historian highlighted the importance of these documents in gaining a complete understanding of India’s history.
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Earlier this year, the PMML Society, currently led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, discussed the status of these papers. While the issue had been raised in previous meetings, it was officially recorded for the first time in 2024, according to sources.
Kadri had also written to Sonia Gandhi in September 2024, asking for the return or digitisation of the papers to ensure they remain accessible for historical research. He repeated this request in his letter to Rahul Gandhi, underscoring the crucial role these documents play in documenting a key period in Indian history.
The PMML Society, which was set to end its term on November 4, 2024, has been given a two-month extension until January 13, 2025, by the Ministry of Culture.