{"id":733304,"date":"2024-06-24T15:11:03","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T09:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traveltriangle.com\/blog\/?p=733304"},"modified":"2024-06-24T15:11:03","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T09:41:03","slug":"visit-swaraj-bhawan-museum-to-witness-the-traces-of-indian-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traveltriangle.com\/blog\/swaraj-bhawan-museum\/","title":{"rendered":"Visit Swaraj Bhawan Museum To Witness The Traces Of Indian History"},"content":{"rendered":"

The building at 1 Church Road has changed many names from Mahmud Manzil to Motilal Nehru’s Anand Bhawan to the Indian National National Congress’ Swaraj Bhawan, the Nehru family’s residence until 1930. The Swaraj Bhawan Museum <\/strong>is managed by the ‘Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund’ and has been open to the public since 1970. It has 42 rooms and several memorabilia, including a charkha used by Mahatma Gandhi, photographs of the Indian freedom movement, personal belongings of the Nehru family and an underground room that is said to have been used occasionally for meetings.<\/em><\/p>\n

History Of The Building<\/h2>\n

The present-day Swaraj Bhawan Museum has been an important structure in the fight for independence. Several sessions of the Congress Working Committee have been held here, attended by numerous stalwarts of the independence struggle. Before knowing its contribution to the history of India, you should know how this house has had a history of its own.<\/p>\n

1. Mahmud Manzil<\/h3>\n
\"A<\/div>\n

Image Source: Shutterstock <\/a><\/p>\n

The building at 1 Church Road, which has been known as Swaraj Bhawan for the longest time and houses the Swaraj Bhawan Museum today, was originally called Mahmud Manzil. It was constructed in 1871 for Syed Ahmad Khan, the 19th century Indian Muslim leader and prominent educationist at the behest of William Muir, then Lieutenant Governor. Originally, the house was called Mahmud Manzil, named after Syed Ahmad Khan’s son then, it was later occupied by Syed Mahmud, who lived here as a tenant at the time when he became the Justice of the Allahabad High Court.<\/p>\n

Finally, in 1900, this building and the estate attached to it changed ownership and were purchased for Rs. 19,000 by Pandit Motilal Nehru, then a prominent lawyer who went on to become one of the first names of the independence struggle. He ended up naming this house Anand Bhavan (or abode of happiness).<\/p>\n

Must Read:<\/strong> Must Visit Places In Allahabad <\/a><\/p>\n

2. Anand Bhawan<\/h3>\n
\"Anand<\/div>\n

Image Source: Shutterstock <\/a><\/p>\n

When Motilal Nehru made the purchase, the house was in complete disrepair, but the estate was huge. An extensive series of renovation work was carried out over the next decade. Nehru frequently visited Europe to buy the furniture he needed for his palatial mansion. He turned the mansion into an unreal yet veritable palace, described as an elaborate replica of an English country estate bifurcated between East and West, with an entourage of almost a hundred people living in the house.<\/p>\n

Motilal named the house Anand Bhavan (or abode of happiness). After it was donated to the Indian National Congress in 1930, the Nehrus built another house next to it and named it Anand Bhavan, while this house was renamed to its present name.<\/p>\n

3. Swaraj Bhawan<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/div>\n

Image Credit: Justin Jude Francis for wikimedia commons <\/a><\/p>\n

Ironically, at the housewarming party in 1871, Sir William Muir hoped and expected that this large palatial home in Civil Lines of Allahabad would go on to become the cement holding together the British Empire in India. But in the strangest turn of events, the house was bought by none other than Motilal Nehru in 1900, and this estate went on to become a cradle to the Indian Freedom Struggle and nurtured it to ultimately destroy the British occupation of India. Motilal Nehru was a prominent member of the Indian National Congress Party, who also served as the Congress President twice, and owing to this, a number of noted leaders and party activists would visit the Nehru House.<\/p>\n

Following the rise of Motilal’s son, Jawaharlal Nehru, the mansion virtually became the centre of the Indian independence movement. It was informally the headquarters of the All India Congress Committee in the decade of 1920s before it was donated by Motilal Nehru to the Indian National Congress in 1930, to serve as the party’s official headquarters in the region. And the house was now renamed Swaraj Bhavan (or abode of freedom). A number of sessions of the Congress Working Committee have been held here, attended by numerous stalwarts like Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit to name a few.<\/p>\n

Suggested Read:<\/strong> Museum of Illusions in India <\/a><\/p>\n

4. Swaraj Bhawan Museum<\/h3>\n
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Image Credit: juggadery for wikimedia commons <\/a><\/p>\n

This building has not only witnessed the historic independence struggle, but it also functions as a museum today, carrying forward and spreading the legacy of our freedom fighters.<\/p>\n

Attractions Of The Museum<\/h2>\n
\"Allahabad\u2019s<\/div>\n

Image Credit: juggadery for wikimedia commons <\/a><\/p>\n

Presently, the Swaraj Bhawan Museum has a lot of interesting features to boast like:<\/p>\n