October 11, 2025
The Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (PMML), formerly the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), maintains a significant Oral History Project that serves as a repository of interviews with people who have closely witnessed or participated in India's modern history.
Here is a summary of the project's key features:
Objective and Scope: Conceived in 1966, the project initially focused on recording the recollections of individuals connected with India's great leaders, political events, or movements. Over time, its scope expanded to include subjects concerning overall national development, such as the economy, foreign policy, art, culture, sports, and institution building.
Scale: As of the latest report, the PMML has conducted nearly 1,372 interviews. Of these, 988 have been transcribed, edited, and prepared in book form.
Prominent Interviewees: The repository includes a diverse range of personalities, such as:
Indian Leaders/Witnesses: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Acharya J.B. Kripalani, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, I.K. Gujral, V.P. Singh, and former CJI Ranjan Gogoi.
Scientists: S. Chandrasekhar and Prof. Satyen Bose.
Foreign Personalities: Louis Mountbatten, Willy Brandt, Mrs. Martin Luther King, and Faiz Ahmed Faiz (interviewed on their association with Jawaharlal Nehru or the Indian national movement).
Subject Coverage: The interviews cover a wide variety of historical milestones, including the partition of Bengal, the First World War, Satyagraha campaigns, social reform movements, the growth of trade unions, the socialist movement, and the events leading to the partition of India.
Accessibility and Use: The Oral History Division is a major resource for researchers, historians, and students working on modern Indian history. The interview transcripts are made available for consultation in the Reading Room of the Manuscripts Section of the PMML.
Historical Role: The PMML emphasizes that while oral history alone is not a primary source, it provides a solid foundation when combined with other archival sources for research
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