New Delhi: The Lok Sabha has requested its Members to ‘consider depositing material which they have in their possession like Private correspondence, Notes, Articles, records, Manuscripts, Speeches, Memoirs, Diaries, Relics, Art pieces, Mementos, Personal belongings and collections, Paintings, Photographs or any other material of archival/historical value connected with their career and activities as Parliamentarians and freedom fighters, in the Parliament Museum & Archives for permanent preservation and display.’
The Secretary-General appealed to the members through a circular that mentioned that ‘The material will enrich the Parliament Museum & Archives and be useful for research work.’
At present, the Parliament Museum and Archives have 732 books on/by Members of Parliament. The Photo Archives to has a collection of 19,979 photographs relating to Parliamentary events and passport size photographs of Members of Parliament from 1st to 17th Lok Sabha including two hundred photographs of Freedom Fighters lodged in Cellular Jail during the freedom struggle.
According to this circular “all these photographs have been digitized and can be retrieved with the click of a mouse through the software available in the branch. Seeking the cooperation of Members the circular added “If desired, the material received would be returned after making necessary copies. Any secretarial assistance in sorting out and listing the material will be made available to Members.”
The circular added that “books and photographs are available in Parliament Museum & Archives for reference. The Parliament Museum & Archives undertakes acquisition, storage and preservation of precious records, historical documents and articles connected with the origin, growth and functioning of parliamentary institutions and the Constitution of India. These objects, which are part of our national heritage are collected, scientifically treated, and preserved for the benefit of posterity.