Gandhi Memorial Museum, Madurai

Gandhi Memorial Museum, established in 1959, is a memorial museum for Gandhi located in the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India. Known as Gandhi Museum, it is now one of the five Gandhi Sanghralayas (Gandhi Museums) in the country. It includes a part of the blood-stained garment worn by Gandhi when he was assassinated by Nathuram Godse.HistoryYears after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, in 1948 an appeal was made to the citizens of India nationwide to build memorials for him. With the help of contributions from poor and rich citizens of India, a trust was established for this cause, the Mahatma Gandhi National Memorial Trust. This museum was inaugurated by the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 15 April 1959. Gandhi Memorial Museum in Madurai comes under the Peace Museums Worldwide selected by United Nations Organisation (UNO). The palace of Rani Mangammal was renovated and converted into the museum.Collections in the museumThe museum has an original letter written personally by Gandhi to Narayanan Sathsangi of Devakottai. A congratulatory message sent by Gandhi to freedom fighter and poet Subramania Bharati is also preserved in this museum. Another interesting letter is the one written by the Mahatma to Adolf Hitler addressing him as "Dear Friend".India Fights for FreedomA special exhibition on "India Fights for Freedom" with 265 illustrations depicts the history of the Freedom Movement.