Edwina Nehru Letters: Edwina Mountbatten's daughter Pamela Hicks had seen some such letters. He has mentioned them in his book Daughter of Empire: Life as a Mountbatten.

The country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's personal correspondence with several prominent personalities including Edwina Mountbatten, Jayaprakash Narayan, Albert Einstein, Padmaja Naidu, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Babu Jagjivan Ram and Govind Ballabh has been in the headlines. New Delhi: For the first time, the Prime Minister's Museum and Library Society (PMML) has requested the Gandhi family to return the letters written by Pandit Nehru to prominent personalities. These letters were handed over to Sonia Gandhi in 2008 during the UPA rule. As many as 51 boxes of such letters were given to him.

Although it is very difficult to tell what is written in these letters, but there is some information about the correspondence between Edwina and Nehru. Edwina Mountbatten's daughter Pamela Hicks had seen some such letters. He has mentioned them in his book Daughter of Empire: Life as a Mountbatten.

Nehru-Edwina's letters?

Pamela has written that there was a deep relationship between her mother and Pandit Nehru. These relations developed only after Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, and his wife Edwina came to India in 1947.

According to Pamela, after seeing these letters, she felt that Pandit Nehru and her mother had a deep respect for each other. Edwina admired Pandit Nehru's intellect and sublime spirits. But at the same time, Pamela also expressed that although they had a close relationship, they did not have a close relationship as they rarely met in private. They were always surrounded by staff, police and others.

Similarly, Pamela has written that when Edwina was leaving India, she wanted to give an emerald ring to Nehru but she knew that he would not take it, so she gave it to Pandit Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi.

Pamela has also mentioned Pandit Nehru's farewell speech for Edwina in her book. Pandit Nehru had said in it, "Wherever you have gone, you have gone with solace, you have brought hope and encouragement... So no wonder the people of India love you and see you as one of their own and are upset that you are leaving?"

Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad has also written in his autobiography 'India Wins Freedom' that Edwina had a profound influence on Nehru. He wrote, "Jawaharlal was influenced by Lord Mountbatten, but more than that he was influenced by Lady Mountbatten. She was not only very intelligent but also very charming and friendly.

Why does PMML need this letter?

New Delhi: A member of the Prime Minister's Museum and Library Society (PMML) on Monday said he has asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to make widely accessible the collection of personal documents related to former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which were withdrawn from the then Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in 2008 at the behest of the then UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Rizwan Qadri, who teaches history at a local college in Ahmedabad, had in September written to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi seeking permission to grant physical or digital access to personal documents related to Nehru which he was in possession of, either physically, or digitally. The documents include records of correspondence between Nehru and other personalities, including Jayaprakash Narayan, Edwina Mountbatten and Albert Einstein, he said.

Nehru lived in Teen Murti Bhawan in central Delhi, which after his death became the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), which has a rich collection of books and rare records. The NMML Society, in its special meeting in June 2023, resolved to change its name to the Prime Minister's Museum and Library (PMML) Society.

In his letter to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Qadri also shared a brief note on the legacy of the erstwhile NMML located in Delhi's historic Teen Murti Bhavan and excerpts from the PMML's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on February 13, 2024.

"The PMML also informed the AGM that as per records, the personal documents of Jawaharlal Nehru, both in the pre-independence and post-independence periods, were transferred to the PMML in several tranches starting from 1971," reads the minutes of the meeting quoted in the document attached with the letter. He was acting on behalf of Nehru's legal heir Mrs. Indira Gandhi. She was indirectly the owner of these documents until her death in October 1984," he said.

"In the light of the presentation of the internal note, there were generally questions from several members about the legal status of a private document," the minutes of the meeting read. Accordingly, it was decided to seek "legal opinion" on issues such as ownership, guardianship, copyright and use of these archival collections. It is learnt that a significant collection of historical documents, including correspondence with notable personalities, was withdrawn from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in 2008 at the request of Sonia Gandhi. The collection consists of 51 cartons and is an important part of India's historical heritage.

In his letter to Gandhi, Qadri said the documents related to Nehru "provide invaluable insights into an important period of Indian history". "In 2008, a collection of these documents was withdrawn from the PMML at the request of Sonia Gandhiji, the then chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and now the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party," the letter said.

"We can understand that these documents can have personal significance to the Nehru family. However, the PMML believes that scholars and researchers will be greatly benefited by making these historical materials, including correspondence with personalities like Jayaprakash Narayan ji, Padmaja Naidu ji, Edwina Mountbatten, Albert Einstein, Aruna Asaf Ali ji, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit ji, Babu Jagjivan Ram ji, Govind Ballabh Pant ji among others," he said.

In his letter, Qadri has suggested cooperation in exploring possible solutions, which could include "discussing the possible return of the withdrawn documents to the PMML for proper preservation and access" and "facilitating the generation of high-quality digital copies of documents, which will allow researchers to access them while ensuring that the originals remain safe."

"As the leader of opposition, I urge you to take cognizance of this issue and advocate for the preservation of India's historical heritage. We believe that by working together, we can ensure proper preservation of these important historical documents for the benefit of future generations."