NMML was in the news for the manner in which the BJP government pressured its director, Mahesh Rangarajan, to resign.

Last week, the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) was in the news for the manner in which the BJP government pressured its director, Mahesh Rangarajan, to resign.
On Friday, a phalanx of high-profile Ministers of the BJP government were in attendance at the centenary celebrations of Jana Sangh founder Deendayal Upadhyaya at the memorial dedicated to independent India’s first Prime Minister, which reverberated to the cries of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram,’ as senior RSS leaders looked on.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Mahesh Sharma spoke of the vision of the Jana Sangh leader and pledged their commitment to him. Mr. Singh and Mr. Jaitley did not miss an opportunity to make political points. To drive home the point of the Jana Sangh leader’s vision of ‘integral humanism’, Mr. Singh referred to communist leader Manabendra Nath Roy and said if there could be a debate on radical humanism, there should be one on Deendayal Upadhyaya’s integral humanism too. “If you can teach radical humanism in textbooks, why keep out integral humanism?” he asked.
Mr. Jaitley, on the other hand, wondered how Deendayal Upadhyaya in such a short time, could think of a political alternative when communism had held everyone in thrall worldwide.
Ms. Sumitra Mahajan spoke of the importance of a strong opposition for democracy to thrive and function.
Biopic cleared
The government is sparing no efforts to mark the day, and the year-long celebrations to follow all over the country with public service broadcaster Doordarshan and Lok Sabha TV in attendance.
The LSTV will be telecasting a 13-episode documentary beginning on Friday. On DD too, a biopic on Deendayal has been cleared for airing. With the Publications Division under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry publishing books on him, and as reported in this paper before, the government is slowly and surely making the Jana Sangh leader an influential part of mainstream discourse. Today’s event was the brainchild of the Culture Ministry.
On display in the museum foyer were photographs capturing the Jana Sangh icon, curated by the Deendayal Research Institute. A documentary on the leader whose life was mysteriously cut short in 1968 at the age of 51, was also on show.
The NMML executive council, in the coming days, will begin the search for a new director, sources in the Culture Ministry said.