New Delhi: The controversy over the functioning of the prestigious Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in Delhi has reached the Prime Minister Office (PMO), which is making waves among top Indian scholars.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a group of 57 scholars requested him to set in motion steps required to revive the NMML. The group included names such as Rajmohan Gandhi, Sunil Khilnani, Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Ramachandra Guha, Nayanjot Lahiri, Sumit Sarkar, Krishna Kumar, Partha Chatterjee, Sugata Bose, Joya Chatterji, Nivedita Menon, Rukun Advani, Mahesh Rangarajan and Mushirul Hasan.

In their letter, the scholars said, “Until 1990, the NMML was a world class centre of scholarship and research and a worthy memorial to Jawaharlal Nehru, the great democrat and scholar after whom it was named. In recent years, however, the institution has been trapped in a culture of apathy and mediocrity.”

The scholars said that the library has suspended its publication programme, acquisition of rare manuscripts and oral histories have come to a standstill. It has also abandoned its principled non-partisanship by opening its door to political use and misuse.

The scholars requested prime minister to “end the nepotistic tenure of consultants, induct into the executive council of NMML three or four respected scholars, and encourage the executive council to restore the NMML to its position as India’s pre-eminent centre of dispassionate scholarship in humanities and social sciences”.

They also demanded that once the present director Mridula Mukherjee’s term ends in August, her successor must be chosen through an open, transparent process.

When contacted in Bangalore, historian, social scientist and writer Ramachandra Guha, one of the signatories to the petition, told reporters, “quote the petition because it contained the complete scenario”.