Museums in India that are Set Up by Extraordinary People

With unique antiquities and artefacts to bizarre things, Indian museums are a bank of collectables by different institutes and personalities. These museums are often visited by history buffs, students, curious minds and even the common man to embrace the value they hold. And if you are one of them and have a question in mind as to who were the people who actually set up these places. Here is an article to fuel your curiosity.

1. Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad - Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan Salar Jung III

The Salar Jung Museum was established in 1951 and is located in Hyderabad. The major portion of the collection of the museum was acquired by Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, popularly known as Salar Jung III. In the absence of any direct descendants of Salar Jung III, the Government of India appointed a committee to administer the Salar Jung Estate. The museum has a collection of over 46,000 art objects, over 8,000 manuscripts and over 60,000 printed books that form the collection. This collection has been divided into Indian Art, Middle Eastern Art, Persian Art, Nepalese art, Japanese Art, Chinese Art and Western Art. The Indian Art collection consists of miniature paintings, modern paintings, bronzes, textiles, ivory, jade, bidri ware, arms and armour, stone sculptures, wood carvings, metalware, and manuscripts.

2. Shankar's International Dolls Museum, Delhi -  K. Shankar Pillai

Shankar's International Dolls Museum in Delhi has one of the largest collections of costume dolls anywhere in the world. It was set up by the renowned political cartoonist K. Shankar Pillai in 1965 after he was given a doll as a gift from the Hungarian ambassador. Shankar started with 1000 dolls and now the museum hosts more than 7000 costumed dolls from 85 countries including the UK, Africa, Hungary, Japan, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Africa and other Asian countries. There are also 150 types of Indian costume dolls, which are created at the Indian workshops. There are Kabuki and attractive Samurai dolls from Japan, beautiful Flamenco dancers from Spain, and a Women's Orchestra from Thailand along with Kandy Pehara from Sri Lanka.

3. Jaisalmer War Museum, Jaisalmer - Lieutenant General Bobby Mathews

Jaisalmer War Museum in Jaisalmer, otherwise known as JWM, is a museum that pays homage to the brave soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces. The Indian Army's Dessert Corps developed it under Lieutenant General Bobby Mathews. It was inaugurated in 2015 by Lieutenant General Ashok Singh, the then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Command. It was particularly set up to showcase the Indian Army's bravery and sacrifices during the 1965 Indo-Pak War and the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

4. HAL Aerospace Museum, Bangalore - Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

HAL Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum was established by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The museum displays a varied collection of aircraft models, fighter planes and helicopters. It also houses a reference library, aircraft simulators, a mock air traffic control tower and an aeromodelling club.

5. Sulabh International Museum Of Toilets, Delhi - Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak

Sulabh International Museum of Toilets in Delhi was established in 1992 by the social reformer Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the Sulabh Sanitation Movement and recipient of the Stockholm Water Prize and Padma Vibhushan. This museum offers a unique glimpse into the history of sanitation. The museum exhibits meticulously display the progression of toilet systems from the third millennium BC through the end of the 20th century, offering visitors a chronological journey through five thousand years of sanitation history.

6. Nizam's Museum, Hyderabad - Mir Osman Ali Khan

The H.E.H. The Nizam’s Jubilee Pavilion Trust founded the Nizam's Museum in Purani Haveli in Hyderabad in 2000. The Nizam's Jubilee Pavilion Trust was established in 1957 as a nonprofit organization. The seventh and final Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, constructed the Jubilee Pavilion Hall in 1936 as a place to keep the presents and mementoes sent to him for the anniversary of his 25-year reign. The exhibits, which include a tiny silver reproduction of the Jubilee Hall, a writing box with mother-of-pearl embellishments, a three-tier gold tiffin box encrusted with diamonds and rubies, and the golden throne used for the silver jubilee celebrations, speak of the vast collectibles of the Nizams. 

7. Madya Pradesh Tribal Museum, Bhopal - Revati Kamath

The Tribal Museum was established in 2013 in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal. Designed by Revati Kamath, the pioneer of 'mud architecture' in India, the museum celebrates the beliefs, folklore, art, and, mythological and spiritual narratives of the Bhils, Gonds, Bharias, Sahariya, Baiga, Kol, and Korku tribes. Spanning seven acres, the museum is an ode to the lives, art, aesthetics, and philosophies of Adivasis, who constitute 30% of Madya Pradesh's population.

8. Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum, Ahmedabad - Shri Kasturbhai Lalbhai & Jain Acharya Muni Punyavijayji

Shri Kasturbhai Lalbhai, a well-known Ahmedabad-based industrialist, and Jain Acharya Muni Punyavijayji jointly established the museum in 1956 as the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Institute of Indology. This museum, which is a part of the LD Institute of Indology, has around nine halls devoted to different types of art or historical legacy, and it holds a rich collection of ancient and medieval Indian art treasures, such as stone, marble, bronze, woodcarvings, and 75,000 Jain manuscripts. Muni Punyavijayji donated his personal collection of manuscripts, bronzes, and paintings. Along with ancient coins, copper and stone statues, and artwork, the collection also includes the oldest known carved figure of the god Rama, a sandstone, carving from Madhya Pradesh dating back to the 6th century AD.