Dhaka: India is set to turn its former colonial seat of government in New Delhi into what could become the world’s largest museum, reflecting 5,000 years of the nation’s cultural heritage.

The Central Secretariat on Raisina Hill, designed by British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker and inaugurated in 1931, long served as the hub of India’s government. While the South Block housed the prime minister’s office and key ministries, the North Block accommodated home and finance departments. After independence in 1947, the buildings continued as the seat of power but struggled to keep up with the demands of a modern state, forcing ad hoc conversions of corridors and stairwells into offices.

As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s $3 billion Central Vista Redevelopment Project, ministries are now relocating to the new Kartavya Bhavan complex. A new parliament building opened in 2023. With the Secretariat gradually vacated, Modi has confirmed plans to repurpose it as the Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum – meaning “everlasting India” in Sanskrit.

The museum will span 950 rooms and house 25,000–30,000 artefacts, replacing the nearby National Museum in Delhi. No completion date has been announced, but construction could begin soon, cementing India’s ambition to build the world’s largest cultural institution.

-B