India is witnessing a cultural renaissance of unprecedented scale and scope. While the government is spearheading heritage-inspired initiatives with high-impact museums, monuments, destinations, research institutions, nature parks and art galleries, to name a few, the private sector contributions in this realm are blossoming at an exponential pace too. This movement is both magical and much-needed in its manifestation, as the nation aspires for a better future, rooted firmly in its rich cultural heritage.
The verve and exclusive vision of some of these initiatives have often faced scrutiny and proverbial sciatica of complex nerve endings teetering between the zero-sum game of inaction and activism. As a politically divided nation ponders over the elusive uniting values of secularism, free speech and democracy, the notion of pluralistic inclusive societies has never been more relevant than any time in India’s modern post-colonial history. While it is tempestuous to be swayed to the left or right of the liberty bell, it is vital to acknowledge that ultimately the gong rings the tone it is meant to produce in resonance with the greater good embedded in Ambedkar’s wisdom in crafting of the Constitution for an incredibly diverse India.
With 22 official languages and 3,000 dialects, India tops the list of one of the most ethnically diverse nations on earth. The birthplace of world’s major religions like Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism, it has welcomed Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism and Judaism through the millennia. Home to 1.25 billion, it is a highly complex and evolved society of contradictions, where the material and the metaphysical human aspirations strive to find the mirage of moksha or enlightenment through pluralistic paths of ecumenism. According to the 2011 census, 79.8 per cent of the population of India follows Hinduism; 14.2 per cent, Islam; 2.3 per cent, Christianity; 1.7 per cent, Sikhism; 0.7 per cent, Buddhism; and 0.4 per cent, Jainism, along with adherents to other faiths.
Privately-funded museums are tapping into unexplored content areas such as the Indian Music Experience, Museum of Art and Photography, Humayun’s Tomb Museum, Meenakari Museum, Abhay Prabhavna-Firodia Institute of Jain Philosophy & Culture, Museum of Utensils, Museum of Indology, Museum of Trees, Shankar’s International Dolls Museum, Museum of Temple Architecture, Museum of Solutions, Sudha Cars Museum, Mayong Central Museum of Tantra and Black Magic, Calico Museum of Textiles, Human Brain Museum, Arna Jharna-Thar Desert Museum, Paldi Kite Museum, Pukhauti Muktangan, Uruswati Museum, INS Kurusura Submarine Museum, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, The Brij, et al.
As with any developing nation, selective inclusion and exclusion of interpretive content is a challenge, especially in the absence of clear policy and metrics of authentication and or validation. Described as a ‘wounded civilisation’ by V.S. Naipaul, India has faced erosion of roots for centuries. In the ideology-induced cacophony of crises, confusing, often conflicting communication and lack of clarity, it behooves leadership to rise above chaos to refocus on values of peace, prosperity and progress.
A renewed focus on indigenous knowledge, cultural festivals, temple restoration and public-private partnerships to establish museums and cultural institutions aims to reclaim India’s living heritage. Many of the monuments, forts, palaces, holy sites, caves, mountains, rivers, temples, synagogues, mosques and shrines and unconventional places of worship continue to offer lived experiences in a continuum of traditions and rituals. Visitors to India and the domestic travellers find the experiences more engaging and memorable than visiting traditional museums, where interpretive content overwhelmingly lacks rigour and veracity.
A renewed focus on indigenous knowledge, cultural festivals, temple restoration and public-private partnerships to establish museums and cultural institutions aims to reclaim India’s living heritage
While Article 25 guarantees the freedom of conscience, in addition to the freedom to profess, practice and propagate religion to all citizens, Article 29 mandates that there could be no discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, language and status. From the time of Grace Morley, who relocated from San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to head the National Museum in Delhi in 1960, Museum Policy is in need of a paradigm shift that addresses growing gaps guiding principles, ethics, best practices, infrastructure, financial accountability, legal protections, capacity building, leadership and the ecosystem of mandates that may require and facilitate the involvement of other allied departments, such as education, public works, tourism, science & technology and content stakeholders.
The fabric of civil societies is woven with threads of many colours that come together to transform tapestries into memories inspired by creative collective resolve of celebration of our differences and the emotions that bind us as one people. This intangible magic is what brings the notion of vasudhaiva kutumbakam (world is one inclusive family) to life and makes the seemingly impossible, possible. What makes Bharat great is an India synonymous with equity, empathy, engagement, enjoyment and empowered experimentation with excellence.