Legal History Museum of GNLU is a visual journey into the India's past where Indian laws were enacted and practiced in time and space. The museum is one of the most important landmarks in the journey of GNLU and is not merely a piece of infrastructure but a living epitome of the historic past. The Museum comprise evolution of Legal History of India of more than 2500 years, development of law and Judicial Institutions in Ancient, Medieval and Modern time comprising codification of civil and criminal law. These all will sealed in pictographically mode.
The Museum is unique in its approach to deal with the history of development of precedence in India, where role of Dharmashastras, Smritis, Sutras, Neetis and commentaries on them, Muslim Law Codes like Fiqu-i-Firozshahi and Fatwa-i-Alamgiri, role of House of Lord and House of Commons of England, role of Law Commission of India in development of modern legal structure and Constituent Assembly debates and allied legal developments in pre and post independent era are preserved and displayed in a static as well as digital form.
With an aim to preserve and decimate education on legal heritage to the civil society at large GNLU has Legal History Museum. The Museum is one of its kinds and is the first Legal History Museum in Asia. Legal History Museum of GNLU is a visual journey into the Indian past where Indian laws were enacted and practiced in time and space. The museum is one of the most important area of GNLU infrastructure where collection of history of Dharma is preserved.
The Legal History Museum is aiming to represent the development of civilization in India by exhibiting artifacts of Legal Heritage. One can understand here the History of 5000 years civilized has given us a rich heritage of diversified religious, beliefs, languages, scripts, arts and cultures. Each change or division in history has been recorded in each categories given above and ultimately resulted in growth judiciary and administration of justice in this country.
Before we proceed further it is important for all of us to understand the definition of 'Museum' and also its character, duty and purpose. The International Council of Museums (ICOM) provides us a most exhaustive definition on the following lines.
According to the ICOM Statutes, adopted during the 21st General Conference in Vienna, Austria, in 2rds the end of the 20th century in Europe and America and some parts of South East Asia. ICOM (International Council of Museums) played a vital role in developing the concept of Universal Museum for world community. The main objective was to re-unite all like-minded countries on a single platform and also to encourage them to develop a universal approach towards the preservation of a common cultural heritage to be shared with the world irrespective of physical and economic barriers.
It has been observed that most of our traditional cultural museums and Institutions were created in different times for different audiences than the ones they now to have to serve. In the past, exploration, mapping, collecting and preserving cultural goods were of major importance, while today museums are required to connect with society and represent the people they serve. It is now a fact that our museums are an integral part of society and their sustainability depends on the patronage of members of society. The museum is a cultural as well as social space. It is also a meeting space for individuals and communities to engage in dialogue and exchange of ideas. Being a platform for free experience, it is imperative that museums be inclusive. Museum education is therefore important for social inclusion and community engagement.
The Great Trial of Mahatma Gandhi 1922 is one of the most important cases in the history of Indian law. The trial took place in Ahmadabad Circuit House and it lasted for 100 minutes. It is one of the cases which could be considered instrumental in earning him the title of Mahatma from the people. In the Trial, Mahatma Gandhi was sentenced imprisonment of 6 years under charges of sedition under IPC (1860) Section 124-A for writing and publishing 3 articles for offence against the government in Young India. The exhibit of the Diorama of The Great Trial of Mahatma Gandhi 1922 is made up of Fiber plastic. It induces the life size sculptures Mahatma Gandhi as well as of the people that witnessed the Great Trial of Mahatma Gandhi in 1922.
Sculpture are essential part of Indian civilization; a culture that dates back to ancient times and has flourished uninterrupted to the present. It is fundamentally important to India's nearly one billion Hindu adherents. Consecrated images and forms of the divine serve as the focal point for devotees to worship, meditate on, or otherwise communicate with Hinduism's innumerable deities and demigods.
Sculpture Gallery features a unique collection of sculptures of the God-Goddess, Yaksh- Yakshini and decorative carved part of temple pillars in sandstone, red sandstone and marble material. Covering a period of about 10th century to 20th century AD from Gujarat and Rajasthan. This sculptures are donated by Mrs. Shilpa Patel.
The collection of Indian Court Photographs Portraying the Judicial History of the cities of India. Past and Present Courts of Indian Cities shows their cultural and heritage legacy . Copy of the Members of Constituent Assembly, Delhi Durbar Court, Chamber of Princess, Gandhi Trial are the valuable part of photo collection of museum
Collection of the 10 photographs are donated by the Hon'ble justice Shri. Mukesh Shah, High Court of Gujarat.
The documents date from the 19th century through British India Period and are in Hindi, Rajasthani dialects, Urdu, Persian, Gujarati, Malayalam and other languages. The documents themselves appear to cover many aspects of official life of these states: decrees by local government officials, requests and petitions to the court, commercial permits, trade documents, land dispute documents, court affidavits (sometimes bearing thumb-prints and/or signatures), etc. Almost all the documents are one or two pages in length and bear the colorful imprint of the seal of a given princely state government.
"Glorious Gujarat and Legacy of Law Gallery"
Gujarat is known for being rich in history and traditions. It’s Karma Bhoomi of Lord Shri Krishna and was an important territory of Ashoka the Great. It is the land of Gandhi and Sardar, who played the unparalleled role in India’s National movement and integration. There are number of legal aspects of Gujarat available in archives, present day system and day to day practices of people. This all provides a magnificent understanding on law, judiciary and customs of Gujarat.
Here, GNLU being the National Law University of Gujarat, makes a humble attempt to showcase this aspect of Gujarat in form of Glorious Gujarat and Legacy of Law Gallery which displays the cultural and legal significance of Gujarat in the history of India by covering various aspects of law, morality, customs, education and judicial system imbibed in the soil of Gujarat.
The cultural significance and ethical virtues which enshrines in the legal history and customs of Gujarat are thematically designed and displayed in 10 Panels;
Gallery aims to make its visitor aware about the legal heritage of Gujarat in swift, easy and effective manner so that it becomes memorable, interesting and easy to understand vibrant Gujarat through its legacy of law.
"The Courage to Remember: The Holocaust 1938-1945"
"The Courage to Remember" travelling Holocaust exhibition from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, featuring exclusive historical photographs that cannot be seen anywhere else in the world, offering unique insight into the holocaust. The six million Jews and millions of others, including gypsies, slaves, and political dissenters, mentally ill and infirm were murdered by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. The Nazi policy of racial hatred moved with relentless cruelty from hateful propaganda to mass murder, culminating in the extermination of European Jewry and culture. The magnitude of brutality, the remorseless cruelty, and the cold industrial character of mass murder during the Holocaust are unique.
"Section on International and Comparative Law" (under development)
The Section is exclusively design to display evolution of law and judicial activities in various countries across the globe. This section depicts contribution of Indian judges at International level, East Asian Tribunal, International Administrative bodies and legal history of 51 countries.
"Museum Heritage Festival 2018"
The Legal History Museum of Gujarat National Law University had celebrated the Museum Heritage Festival from October 1st to 10th 2018. In pursuance to the development of the museum and to bring awareness about the museum collection and activities Museum team have covered all the functions of the museum such as documentation, conservation, exhibition, education and research. The Master students of Museology of the Faculty of Fine Arts from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda were part of this festival as interns. They have helped in the exhibition designing of the upcoming section Glorious Gujarat and Legacy of Law, conservation of stone sculptures of the museum. They had helped in giving guided tour of the students of Delhi Public School Ahmedabad. It also included a study visit to Adalja Stepwell. During this Festival the museum had also invited experts in museum and heritage field to give lectures to the students on how Law can be connected to the society by the means of museum.
"Retrieved Antiquities of India from Abroad by Government of India"
This exhibition in collaboration with ASI was organized in April 2017 was an attempt to promote awareness about archaeological heritage and sensitizing people about its preservation and management through showcasing the antiquities in photographic form, retrieved by ASI and describe the historical value of the antiquity, its physical journey from stealing, smuggling and retrieving back.
"The Roerich Pact. History and Modernity"
The exhibition is part of a world project of the International Centre of the Roerichs (ICR) the International Roerich's Heritage Preservation to promote the Roerich Pact. The exhibition showcased the Himalayan landscapes by Nicholas Roerich created during his Central Asian Expendition that attest to the loftiness of spirit and sense of mission. It was exhibited by GNLU in 2015
"African in India-A Rediscovery"
Travelling Exhibition "African in India-A Rediscovery" featuring reprints of paintings, and written documents from the collection of different museum in association with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts-Delhi and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the New York Public Library was exhibited in 2014
Library
Baggage Counter
Food and Drinks
Child Care
Facilities for disable people
Parking
Photography
Shri. O. P. Kohli
The Hon’ble Governor of Gujarat,
Gujarat.
Shri. Rajendra Trivedi
Minister of State Sports, Youth & Culture and Yatradham.
IGNCA –Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts,
New Delhi.
Nawab Sidi Mohammed
Reza Khan of Sachin.
Mr. Sergey Borovik
Counsellor Russian Embassy,
New Delhi.
Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha
Chief Justice of Bangladesh.
Mr. Rajiv R. Bhagat
IGP. CID. IB, Gandhinagar.
Justice Mukesh Shah
Gujarat High Court.
Mr. Khushroo Kalyanwala
Director of CEPT Archieves, CEPT Ahmedabad.
Mrs. Shilpa Patel.
Chetna Desai
UNICEF.
Sharaila Ray
Consultant UNICEF SJED.
Chaitanya CBSE School
Lekhawada, Gandhinagar-381241.
Mr. V. P. Patel
Director, Gujarat State Judicial Academy.
Delhi Public School East.
Jerry Jose
Mumbai.
LT Arun S Takhar
Indian Navy.
Asmiral Sanjoy Roy.
Nuagan Waiyaki
Nairobi, Kenya.
Lt Cdt Sreekumar B Mekket
Indian Navy.
Convener, Legal History Museum
(On Deputation (ICSSR, New Delhi))
Mobile:+91-8128650866
E-mail: rsharma@gnlu.ac.in
Attalika Avenue, Knowledge Corridor, Koba,
Koba (Sub P. O.) Gandhinagar-382426, Gujarat, INDIA
Phone +91- 7923276611/12
