The new museum was built in India and is set to become the largest museum in the world. The Yuga Yugen Bharat National Museum (YYBNM) will be delivered in partnership with France, with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the existing secretariat building and replacing the National Museum as the national museum. The project spans 117,000 square meters and has 950 rooms that can display between 7,000 and 8,000 artifacts at a time.
The scheme is part of the wider Central Vista redevelopment project, first announced in May 2023. Yybnm is poised to light our journey towards a progressive and inclusive future. ”
He added: “We redefine the cultural experience by celebrating diversity, promoting inclusion and amplifying community voices, far beyond the traditional ideas of the museum.
“This iconic institution not only celebrates India's timeless heritage as a cradle of democracy, but also encourages generations to inspire them by bridging the past, present and future with a powerful story of modern India.”
However, there are concerns that the BJP, the ruling India party, will try to use it in museums to “rewrite history.”
Wire reported in March that there was “lol consultation” and that the development was an attempt to “reconstruct the Indian past in a way that is rings with the BJP's Hindutuba template, and an effort to reduce the vast plural forms of Indian cultural heritage to one shade.”
Several redevelopment projects are underway in Delhi. This includes the demolition of the country's hall of fame and the addition of a new museum to the teenage Murti dedicated to the Indian Prime Minister.
The Art Newspaper reported in February that Yybnm's estimated budget had not been announced, and the latest India Union Budget released on February 1st did not mention the project.
However, the government said it has allocated 450 million rupees (£3.8 million) to develop the museum.
Officials say the cash is linked to “expenditures on activities related to the Museum Grant Scheme, the promotion scheme for the redevelopment of the scientific culture of the Kedarnath project in Vadnagar and the National Experience Site Museum.”
