Museum on Indian electoral history inaugurated in Delhi

A new museum to showcase the election history in India since the country's Independence was inaugurated here on Tuesday.

The museum inaugurated by Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi (CEC), showcases more than a hundred archived photographs, maps and references, describing the electoral journey of the country under the supervision, direction and control of the Election Commission of India, till now.

The CEC was accompanied by Election Commissioners Achal Kumar Joti and Om Prakash Rawat. The museum is situated on the premises of the Chief Electoral Office, Kashmere Gate.

According to the Election Commission, the museum was established to create a learning place to study India's electoral legacy, to peep into it's gold standard electoral management and to learn about democracy.

"It takes us down the memory lane of election process in the largest democracy of the world. In the electoral process section, it covers all the stages of elections and it's connections with the voters in today's time. An interesting section presents the transformation from ballot box to the Electronic Voting Machine and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in our elections," said a statement from the poll panel, describing the new museum.

"The use of indelible ink is highlighted through exhibits which suggest that this is now being used in more than 25 countries in the world. An interesting segment is of the pre-independence election material put up by Delhi Archives, where electoral roll of 1923 is on display," the statement added.

During the occasion, a dedicated section on Gandhi's idea of democracy was also inaugurated by the CEC, curated by the National Gandhi Museum.

An exhaustive photo gallery, audio-visual display unit, election quiz and voters pledge are some of the other attractions of the centre.

--IANS

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