'Nehru’s Letter To Edwina Mountbatten In Sonia Gandhi's Custody': PMML Member Writes To Rahul Seeking Return

In a surprising turn of events, a member of the Prime Ministers Museum & Library, or PMML, has written to Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi seeking return of letters written and received by former PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, which are reportedly in the custody of Sonia Gandhi. According to an Indian Express report, in 2008, Sonia Gandhi assigned a representative to remove a significant portion of the 'donated' Jawaharlal Nehru papers from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), now known as PMML.

The documents include Nehru's correspondence with Edwina Mountbatten, Albert Einstein, Aruna Asaf Ali, Jayaprakash Narayan, Vijaya Laxmi Pandit, Babu Jagjivan Ram and Govind Ballabh Pant, said Ahmedabad-based historian Rizwan Kadri in his letter to Rahul Gandhi. Although PMML members had previously raised concerns about the missing Nehru papers on multiple occasions, it was during the 2024 AGM that the minutes explicitly recorded the former UPA chairperson’s removal of 51 cartons from the donated collection, reported the IE.

In a letter dated September 9, addressed to Sonia Gandhi, Kadri emphasized the importance of keeping these records accessible to support a thorough understanding of the nation's history. He urged Sonia Gandhi to either return the papers, share copies, or provide digitized access to them.

BJP Slams Congress

BJP MP Sambit Patra on Monday slammed the Congress over the issue. Speaking to ANI, Patra said what was in those letters that the Gandhi family did not want the nation to know. "In this memorial, initially, only Nehru ji's historical records were present, including all the letters Nehru ji had written to global leaders. Later, it came to light that there were 51 cartons containing letters Nehru ji had written to Edwina Mountbatten, JP Narayan, and many other leaders. In 2008, when Sonia Gandhi was the UPA chairperson, she visited the memorial one day and took all these letters with her," he said.

"People want to know what Nehru ji had written to Edwina Mountbatten. When the decision was made in 2010 to digitize all these documents, why did Sonia Gandhi take these letters before the digitization could happen? What was in these letters that the Gandhi family did not want the nation to know?" said Patra.

Nehru Memorial To PM Museum 

In a special meeting of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society in June 2023, it was decided to change its name to Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library Society. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mooted the idea of setting up a museum dedicated to all the Prime Ministers of India on Teen Murti Premises, New Delhi in 2016. 

The Executive Council, NMML had in its 162nd meeting held on 25-11-2016 had approved the construction of the Museum of all Prime Ministers in the Teen Murti Estate. The project was completed and the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya was opened to the public on 21st April 2022.