Gandhi Memorial Museum, established in 1959, is a memorial museum for

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

located in the city of

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, India. Known as Gandhi Museum, it is now one of the five Gandhi Sanghralayas (Gandhi Museums) in the country. It includes a part of the blood-stained garment worn by Gandhi when he was assassinated by

Nathuram Godse Nathuram Vinayak Godse (19 May 1910 – 15 November 1949) was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. He was a Hindu nationalist from Maharashtra who shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point blank range at a multi-faith prayer meeting in B ...

History

Years after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, in 1948 an appeal was made to the citizens of India nationwide to build memorials for him. With the help of contributions from poor and rich citizens of India, a trust was established for this cause, the

Mahatma Gandhi National Memorial Trust The National Gandhi Memorial Trust ( hi, गाँधी स्मारक निधि) also called the Gandhi Qaumi Yaadgar Fund, is a memorial trust run by the Central Government of India established to commemorate the life of Mahatma Gandhi. ...

. This museum was inaugurated by the former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

on 15 April 1959. Gandhi Memorial Museum in Madurai comes under the Peace Museums Worldwide selected by the United Nations Organisation (UNO). The palace of

Rani Mangammal Rani Mangammal (Mangamma)(died 1705) was a queen regent of the Madurai Nayak kingdom (in present-day Madurai, India) during the minority of her grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha in 1689—1704. She was a popular administrator and is still wide ...

was renovated and converted into the museum. It is near the Madurai Collector Office.

Collections in the Museum

The museum has an original letter written personally by Gandhiji to Narayanan Satsangi of Devakottai. A congratulatory message sent by Gandhiji to freedom fighter and poet Subramania Bharati is also preserved in this museum. Another interesting letter is the one written by the Mahatma Gandhi to Adolf Hitler addressing him as "Dear Friend".

India Fights for Freedom

A special exhibition on "India Fights for Freedom" with 265 illustrations depicts the history of the Freedom Movement.

Visual Biography of Gandhiji

Located in a quiet place, this memorial of Gandhi contains a "Visual Biography of Bapuji" containing photos, paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, quotations and selected copies of his letters and renderings. This section contains 124 rare photographs depicting various phases of Gandhi from his childhood days until being taken to the

crematorium A crematorium or crematory is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also b ...

. The pictures displayed here are carefully selected making viewers remember the importance of a national leader, who lived his life as an example to all.

Relics and Replicas

This section contains 14 original artifacts used by Gandhi. There is a blood stained cloth used by Gandhi on the day of his assassination, although it is also said that this is only a replica and not the original. It is conserved inside a vacuum glass box, making viewers remember the importance of that day in the history of India.

References

External links

* http://www.gandhimuseum.org/ * http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/in-search-of-gandhis-footprints/article3941622.ece

{{coord, 9.929923, 78.138593, display=title Museums in Tamil Nadu Museums in Madurai Buildings and structures in Madurai Tourist attractions in Madurai Gandhi museums