Gandhi Memorial Museum, Barrackpore in West Bengal was set up as an eastern regional Gandhi Museum in 1961 and it was opened for the public in 1966. Since that time it runs as a biographical Museum, based on life and activities of Mahatma Gandhi

1. Museum and Community Involvement:
A Case Study of Community Engagement Initiatives at
Gandhi Memorial Museum, Barrackpore
Presented by
Dr. Pratik Ghosh
Director-Secretary
Gandhi Memorial Museum
14, Riverside Road, Barrackpore, Kolkata – 700120, West Bengal
Website: www.gandhimuseum.in
Email – gandhimuseum.120@gmail.com

2. Community
A Community is a group of people living within the same
geographical area, sharing certain characteristics and
common interests, values, customs and beliefs.

3. Museum
A Museum Community consists of people who visit the
museum, live and work in its vicinity, are stakeholders to it,
or have donated or have collections within the museum.
community

4. Museum community
Participation
Participation is the level of involvement in museum activities
in the areas of ideas, material and in-kind contributions,
publicity, communications and exhibitions as provided for
within the museum policy

5. Community participation enables
museums to get access to the
community and become sustainable
through feedback, ideas, views, new
insights and relevance

6. ‘Museums work in close collaboration with the communities from
which their collections originate as well as those they serve’
Forms of Community Participation by
Museum
provided by
International Association for Public Participation (IAP2)

7. (For the Eastern Region it came up at Barrackpore in the year 1961 and
it was thrown open to the public on the 7th May, 1966)
Objectives
To collect, preserve and display materials connected with the memory
of the Mahatma Gandhi, disseminate his life, thoughts, activities and
programmes for public benefit through different museum processes
To actively involve the community in its programmes, the Museum has
developed separate Projects for Public Programmes and through these
projects, this museum has initiated several programmes that directly
involve the community

8. Collections of Gandhi Memorial Museum
Highlighting the Life, Activities & Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi
The Lantern used by
Gandhiji during
Noakhali
Village tour, 1946-47A photograph
Gandhiji with
Rabindranath Tagore
A portion of Mural Painting
The Letters written by Gandhiji,
by using both hands
Bengali Writings
of Gandhiji
A Painting on Gandhiji
at Spinning Wheel

9. View of Mural Gallery
 This gallery is renovated by redesigning new illumination and adding interactive
devices for visitor participation.
 The Mural Painting of this gallery will be the central exhibit at the proposed gallery.
This exhibit will contain a large disc with projection facility. Here the entire mural
painting will be placed along the periphery of the circular disc with 12 divisions.
Visitors can touch each division of the painting to get necessary information in the
form of video and text which will be projected at the central position of the disc.

10. This Gallery depicts the life and activities of Mahatma Gandhi and the memorable history of Indian
Freedom Movement. The story behind the history of Indian Independence has been presented by
means of 12 panels along with photographs and proper labels.
The relief painting on the Salt March lead by Gandhiji along with other Satyagrahis towards Dandi, is
another interesting exhibit of this gallery.
The incidents of Satyagraha Movement in South Africa and the eighteen (18) Communal Structures
for the welfare of the society which was constructed by Gandhiji, are also presented in this gallery
through digital flip books.
A life sized model of Gandhiji in fiber optics spinning the charkha sitting down in front of Sabarmati
Ashram is also exhibited there. The visitors could be overwhelmed by listening to one of Gandhiji’s
most favourite Ramdhun- ‘Raghupati Raghav Raharam’ which creates a great ambience of peace
prevalent in Sabarmati Ashram.

11. This gallery depicts Gandhiji’s
relations with undivided Bengal.
Gandhiji had a dynamic activity in this
province. It is very difficult to confine
his vastness within a small gallery. We
have tried to arrange his activities in
few subsections, viz. Santiniketan and
Rabindranath, Sodepur, and Noakhali,
etc. based on his important footmarks.
Through the
photographs and
write-ups, it is
evident that Gandhiji
had a very deep
connection with and
great respect and
appreciation for
Bengal and Bengalis.
Some materials like
Bed Cover, Wooden
Spoon, Palm Leaf
Bolepuri Topi, Desk,
Lantern, which were
used by Gandhiji in
Bengal, are also
displayed here.

12. Diorama Gallery on different life events of Mahatma Gandhi
Exhibits of
Diorama Gallery
 Diorama 1 – A Fateful
Journey from Durban to
Pretoria
 Diorama 2 –
Champaran Satyagraha
 Diorama 3 –
Quit India Session
 3D Relief Painting on
Childhood of Gandhiji
 Wall Painting on
Swadeshi Movement
 A Spinning Wheel,
supposed to be used by
Gandhiji in Bengal
 Hand Spun Threads
by various National
Leaders of our Country
including Gandhiji

13. An audio visual room having seating capacity is set up in the
Sangrahalaya to provide the facility of showing films and
other related activities. Different educational films on
Gandhiji and the history of Indian freedom movement are
screened regularly here.

14. Well Organized Library for Interested
Readers & Research Scholars
No. of Books : 12,000
Journals Subscribed : 22
Journals Complimentary : 10
Daily Newspapers : 3
No. of Members : 680
Reading Room
Stack Room
To supplement the presentation and for interested readers and research
workers the Museum maintains a well-organized library with around
twelve thousand volumes at present on Gandhiji, Gandhi lore and allied
subjects. We have all the journals edited by Gandhiji.
The online catalogue of the collected books of the library has been prepared by
using the KOHA Software and through the server of Bengal Library Association
it is presently uploaded in museum’s website :
http://www.gandhimuseum.in/url/library.html

16. Students
Youth
Scholars
Senior
Citizens
Women
and
Under Privileged People
Participation of Students
Participation of Youths
Participation of Scholars
Participation of Senior Citizens
Participation of Women

17. (Remembering the Contributions of the Freedom Fighters)
1st Phase - Plan to arranged the
programmes for local
school students
2nd Phase - Plan to arrange the
programmes for suburban
and rural schools in North
24-Parganas and later in
other districts.
3rd Phase - Plan to arranged the
programmes for selective
urban schools.
4th Phase - At the end of the year a
common workshop would
be arranged for the selected
students who did better
performance in the previous
programmes in their
schools
In such type of participatory programmes students can get a better
opportunity to share their ideas not only with their classmates but also with
other students of different schools at the same level
Outcome

18. An Innovative and Interesting Programme for the Youth -
Gandhian Thought Course
(Started from the year of 1996)
Target Group: The Young people who are not Gandhian constructive workers but
are interested in the phenomenon of nonviolence and Gandhi, with
a comprehensive syllabus concerning Mahatma Gandhi’s life,
activities, philosophy and programmes for projection and
dissemination of Gandhiji
Such type of programme would provide an intensive acquaintance with this growing
field of knowledge and orient its recipients with the truths, goals, values,
institutions, and processes of the new society to which the course leads us

19. This museum organizes
Workshops, Seminars,
Symposiums, etc. for the
Scholars to project and
disseminate Gandhian
thought and to focus on the
present condition of the
country and our
responsibility and duty on
this behalf.
The Gandhi Museum had
instituted from the year of
1997, an Award in the name
of Mahatma Gandhi, entitled
‘Mahatma Gandhi Memorial
Award’ to be given every year
to a Personality who has
dedicated his or her life for
Gandhian cause or nobler
society-enriching works or
activities.

21. Programmes for Active Participation of Women
Opening a Training Centre for Women
Objects
To develop the technical skills and managerial capability through some
practical oriented training courses like Food making and processing,
Tailoring and Cutting, Fabric and Batik print, Jute products making,
Grooming and Personality Development, etc.
Outcome
Such type of programmes would also assist in capacity building of the
women, raising their technical skills and managerial capability,
accounting and management skill, general confidence, interactive
capacity, creativity and raising their social and political status.

22. This activity has started by the
Sangrahalaya since the financial
year 2015-16. The Sangrahalaya
reaches the several institutions
of rural areas of various
districts of West Bengal and set
up temporary exhibitions on
various topics related to
Gandhiji at there and several
documentaries on Mahatma
Gandhi, Freedom Movement of
India as well as cultural and
environmental issues are
presented. An audio-visual quiz
on Mahatma Gandhi and his
contribution to our country is
conducted for the students. The
winners of the quiz are given
prizes.

23. English Publication
Bi-lingual quarterly journal –
‘Gandhi Sambad’ / ‘Gandhi News’
Bengali Publication

24. Facebook Account of Gandhi Memorial Museum
(www.facebook.com/gandhisangrahalaya)

26. ThankYou