Origin: The National Museum of India traces its distinguished origins to 1947–48, when an exhibition of Indian art at London’s Burlington House, later displayed at Rashtrapati Bhavan , won immense acclaim. Spanning treasures from the Indus Valley Civilization through the Islamic rule during medieval era, it stirred the resolve for a permanent institution safeguarding India’s cultural heritage. In 1949, the museum was inaugurated by C. Rajagopalachari, then Governor-General of India. Initially accommodated within Rashtrapati Bhavan, its growing significance soon warranted a new home on Janpath, where Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone in 1955. By 1960, architect Ganesh Bhikaji Deolalikar’s monumental creation opened, offering the world a magnificent repository of India’s timeless history, artistry, and civilization.
Architecture: National Museum consists of three floors. girdled by red sandstone and buff-hued façades that harmonize with the capital’s wider urban vocabulary. The plan follows a semi-circular arc around a central open court, lending both symmetry and expansiveness to the galleries. Its interiors were conceived to balance solemnity with accessibility, ensuring that the exhibits occupy pride of place, undistracted by excessive ornament. The first (ground) floor is dedicated to sculptures and prehistoric artefacts. Second floor houses manuscripts, miniature paintings, and antiquities. The third-floor displays a surprise, pre-Columbian art from America, and a musical instrument collection. Most groups of exhibits are arranged chronologically.
Collections: There are many items deserving special interest and attention but few like massive carved elephant from the Shunga period, relics of the Buddha which were discovered only in 1972; a bust of Lord Vishnu (भगवान विष्णु) found at Lal Kot (लाल कोट) the first Delhi); the Babur Nama manuscript, written by the first Mughal ruler himself; the memoirs of Jahangir; an illuminated Mahabharat (महाभारत); the collection of miniature paintings, particularly the jewel-like examples from the Mughal period; Mayan terracotta from Mexico; and Inca metalwork from Peru cannot be missed. The collections of the National Museum are vast, varied, and ever-expanding, embracing disciplines as diverse as archaeology, anthropology, decorative arts, epigraphy, and numismatics. The breadth of its holdings is often considered unparalleled in South Asia.
Among the most captivating is the gallery dedicated to the Indus Valley Civilization (सिंधु घाटी सभ्यता - 3300–1300 BCE). Objects excavated from Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Kalibangan, Lothal, and other ancient sites bear witness to a sophisticated urban culture. The famous dancing girl of Mohenjo-daro, a bronze statuette of astonishing vitality, epitomizes the creative spirit of this prehistoric world. Beads, pottery, seals, and terracotta figurines complete the tableau of a civilization both enigmatic and refined. The museum’s galleries dedicated to the Maurya, Shunga, Kushan, and Gupta dynasties illuminate India’s classical age. The polished sandstone Lion Capital of Ashoka, India’s national emblem, resides here as a beacon of imperial statecraft and Buddhist piety. Gupta bronzes, serene in expression, reveal the flowering of sculptural finesse between the fourth and sixth centuries.
The Buddhist galleries transport visitors to the world of Sanchi, Amaravati, and Gandhara, where stone reliefs narrate the life of the Buddha and the universal message of compassion. Sculptures from Mathura and Bihar testify to the efflorescence of Jain artistic traditions, resplendent with intricate carvings and profound symbolism. The Manuscript Section (पांडुलिपि अनुभाग) is a bibliophile’s paradise. Illuminated texts in palm leaf and paper, written in scripts ranging from Sharada to Persian Nastaliq, open windows onto India’s scholastic traditions. The celebrated Geet Govind (गीत गोविंद) manuscripts, with their lyrical poetry accompanied by exquisite miniatures, are among its crown jewels.
The collection of miniature paintings (लघु चित्रकला) is considered one of the finest in the world. From the obscene Mughal ateliers to the lyrical Rajput and Pahari schools, the paintings span themes of romance, Hindu scriptural stories, portraiture, and nature. The folios of the Hamzanama, with their fantastical narratives, exhibit Akbar’s patronage. India’s celebrated traditions of craft and textile (शिल्प और वस्त्र) artistry are amply represented – Kashmiri shawls, Benarasi silks, Bidriware, ivory carvings, and Mughal jade testify to an unbroken lineage of craftsmanship. The Costume and Jewellery (पोशाक और आभूषण) Gallery dazzles with ornaments wrought in gold, enamel, and precious stones, echoing centuries of aesthetic refinement. Coins minted by dynasties from the Mauryas to the Mughals narrate political and economic history through imagery and inscriptions. Swords, daggers, matchlocks, and armour from different eras conjure the valour of India’s martial traditions.
Of particular note is the section dedicated to Central Asian antiquities, comprising manuscripts, textiles, paintings, and artefacts collected during Sir Aurel Stein’s expeditions. These relics, hailing from the Silk Road oases, underscore India’s historical interconnections with the wider Asian world.
The National Museum is not merely a storehouse of relics, but an active centre for scholarship and conservation. It houses laboratories for scientific preservation, conducts research projects, and regularly organizes lectures, seminars, and educational programmes. A specialized Library with over 60,000 volumes serves students and scholars alike, ranging across art history, archaeology, anthropology, museology, and conservation science. Furthermore, the museum frequently mounts special exhibitions in collaboration with foreign institutions, thereby fostering cultural diplomacy. To walk its galleries is to embark upon a pilgrimage through time – from the enigmatic seals of Harappa to the gilded manuscripts of the Mughals, from Buddhist stupas to Rajput palaces, from Central Asian scrolls to tribal masks.