Read all about it: Papers declassified by Raj Bhavan
MUMBAI: By 1948, JRD Tata thought that the Taj Mahal Hotel had seen its
best days and he wanted to build a new hotel nearby, where the yacht
club stands. He wrote to then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, asking
for that patch of land. But the government wanted it for a naval mess.
(Left)
(Left)
A telegram addressed to the governor of Bombay, announcing the death of King George V in 1936.
“The existing Taj Mahal hotel is nearly half a century old and will not
serve the purpose of a hotel for more than five or 10 years,” Tata
wrote, in a letter dated April 10, 1948, and signed as ‘Jeh’, the pet
name by which he was familiarly known.
This letter is among several historical documents declassified by
the governor’s office and now available as part of a public archive.
“In today’s age of knowledge revolution and right to information, I thought Raj Bhavan should also open up its vast treasure of information relating to Maharashtra to the people...,” governor K Sankaranarayanan said, via email to HT. “The archives wil also help bridge critical gaps in information on issues of public interest.”
The archival
“In today’s age of knowledge revolution and right to information, I thought Raj Bhavan should also open up its vast treasure of information relating to Maharashtra to the people...,” governor K Sankaranarayanan said, via email to HT. “The archives wil also help bridge critical gaps in information on issues of public interest.”
From the archives: Paranoia of beggars and much more
MUMBAI: More than 5,000 documents and files dated from 1930 to 1991 have
been declassified and made accessible as part of a public archive
inaugurated last week at Raj Bhavan.
These documents include a treasure of historical oddities, such as a 1943 note from the general administration department to the governor’s secretary, outlining the menace of beggary and emphasising increased punishment for beggars. “As soon as the beggar profession know that we mean business, it will melt away from Bombay,” the document states.
These documents include a treasure of historical oddities, such as a 1943 note from the general administration department to the governor’s secretary, outlining the menace of beggary and emphasising increased punishment for beggars. “As soon as the beggar profession know that we mean business, it will melt away from Bombay,” the document states.
There are letters from an Indian Mauritian requesting some part of
the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi after his death, so that “the Indians of
Mauritius may also pay their homage”.
There is the genesis of the Jehangir Art Gallery, which Cowasjee Jehangir proposed to set up at a cost of Rs2 lakh or Rs3 lakh in 1945. A previous proposal from a businessman called Fyzee Rahamin to set up a gallery in Malabar Hill in 1944 had been set aside by the government on account of war. On the matter of the gallery, the chief secretary to the state government rues the flaws of the municipal body in a letter. “If the offer is accepted it should be as a state concern and not a municipal enterprise since the Bombay municipality is utterly incapable of handling the institute as it ought to be handled,” it says.
There is the genesis of the Jehangir Art Gallery, which Cowasjee Jehangir proposed to set up at a cost of Rs2 lakh or Rs3 lakh in 1945. A previous proposal from a businessman called Fyzee Rahamin to set up a gallery in Malabar Hill in 1944 had been set aside by the government on account of war. On the matter of the gallery, the chief secretary to the state government rues the flaws of the municipal body in a letter. “If the offer is accepted it should be as a state concern and not a municipal enterprise since the Bombay municipality is utterly incapable of handling the institute as it ought to be handled,” it says.
The archival
project was launched three years ago with Rs 26 lakh set aside for this purpose.
To access the documents at the archive, apply in advance for an appointment by writing to archives.rajbhavan@gmail.com
To access the documents at the archive, apply in advance for an appointment by writing to archives.rajbhavan@gmail.com
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