PM Memorial asks Rahul to return Nehru's personal letters; 'why the censorship?' mocks BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has found fresh ammunition to hit out at the Gandhi family, it seems. This matter involves the personal letters written by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and which are now in the custody of Sonia Gandhi.

The Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (PMML) has written a formal letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urging him to return Nehru's personal letters, which were allegedly given to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi during the UPA regime.

These historically important letters, which were initially entrusted to the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (now PMML) by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial in 1971, were packed into 51 boxes and dispatched to Sonia Gandhi in 2008.

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Historical documents

PMML member Rizwan Kadri's letter dated December 10, 2024, asked Congress MP Rahul to return the original letters that are with Sonia Gandhi or provide photocopies or digital copies. A similar request was made to Sonia Gandhi in September, said news reports.

This collection of letters is important since it includes correspondence between Nehru and prominent figures such as Edwina Mountbatten, Albert Einstein, Jayaprakash Narayan, Padmaja Naidu, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Babu Jagjivan Ram, and Govind Ballabh Pant, among others.

For safekeeping

Further, Kadri pointed out in his letter that Nehru’s private papers were given by former PM Indira Gandhi to the PMML since 1971 "for safekeeping rather than an outright gift".

Citing the minutes of a 2008 meeting, he said that Sonia Gandhi took away 51 cartons of the donated papers.

As the letters "provide invaluable insights into a critical period of Indian history", the PMML wanted the letters to be sent back to be kept in the institution’s archives.

Pointing out that they understand these documents may hold personal significance for the ‘Nehru family’, he underscored the importance of these historical materials being made more “widely accessible” and how that would greatly benefit scholars and researchers.

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After the PMML's letter came to light, the BJP quickly had ammunition to hit out at the Gandhi family. In a post on X, BJP IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya questioned the motive behind protecting the former PM's personal correspondence.

Malviya said what he found "particularly intriguing" is "what might Nehru ji have written to Edwina Mountbatten that warranted such censorship?"

And, he wanted to know whether Rahul Gandhi would act to recover these letters.