The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust Key Issues and
Operational Areas, Major Activiities & Achivements
Operational Districts:
Operational States:
AchieveMents: The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust was set up to create the worldââ¬â¢s first Partition Museum, and that has now been established at Town Hall, Amritsar. Unlike other countries which have commemorated their difficult events, this is the first Museum of its kind in India. The Museum has received the full support of the Government of Punjab. It was recently inaugurated by the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab , Shri Sukhbir Bada,l and subsequently at a separate function, the Honourable Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley and the Chief Minister , Punjab, Shri Parkash Singh Badal and other dignitaries appreciated the work of The Arts And Cultural Heritage Trust in setting up the Museum.
The Museum is housed at the grandly-built historic Town Hall in Amritsar. The Partition of India was a cataclysmic event in which more than 18 million people in 1947 crossed the newly demarcated border leaving behind their homeland forever. Many lost their loved ones and their lives. Yet there has never been been any place to commemorate their experience and detail the Partition. This Museum is dedicated to those who lost their homes forever , but is meant to preserve their memories for future generations.
The Trust has also been doing a series of awareness raising events at various places. The more significant ones were at the India International Centre, India Art Fair and the India Habitat Centre in Delhi, as well as events in Chandigarh and Punjab. These were meant to gather oral histories and also to display the large amount of exhibits related to 1947 gathered by the Trust. The Trust has painstakingly gathered a lot of material from India and abroad ââ¬â-including artworks, sculpture, private and public documents , personal memorabilia, etc.
The Museum at Amritsar is attracting national and international attention from Partition survivors and their families, academics, authors, universities, media and students. In particular, Partition survivors from the rural areas have given very appreciative feedback that their experiences have been recorded and preserved.
The Partition Museum is part of a historic circuit, which begins at the Golden Temple and covers the Jallianwala Bagh as well as the Wagah Border. The entire area around Town Hall has been developed as a walking plaza and is a heritage zone for tourists. Over one lakh visitors come to the Golden Temple daily and large numbers are also visiting the Partition Museum.
We have tied up with leading academic and research institutions in our effort to become a comprehensive archive on the Partition of India, to encourage further study and research.
Once the Museum in Amritsar is fully established, the Trust will seek to set up a similar Museum in West Bengal.
