India’s First Sunken Museum opens at Humayun’s Tomb Complex

On July 29, 2024, India’s first underwater museum opened its doors at the well-known Humayun’s Tomb complex in New Delhi. 

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Culture Minister, reportedly gave the museum’s official opening. The museum features approximately 500 artifacts, many of which are being shown to the public for the first time. The museum provides insights into the life of Mughal emperor Humayun and the rich legacy of the Nizamuddin region, drawing inspiration from local ‘baolis,’ or water tanks.

The museum was created by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in association with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) after twenty-five years of conservation work on the 300-acre site, which also includes Nizamuddin Basti, Sunder Nursery, and Humayun’s Tomb. 

Views of Mughal miniatures, manuscripts, coins, textiles, and other artifacts will be available to museum visitors. In addition, the museum has an immersive exhibit with a 270-degree screen that provides virtual tours of the gardens and monuments of the World Heritage Site. It also has an animated display that shows how Humayun’s Tomb has changed over the last 500 years.

The 46th meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee was held in New Delhi at the same time as the museum’s opening. The museum is now accessible to the general public, providing a fresh way to discover India’s rich cultural legacy. 

Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

New Delhi’s magnificent example of Mughal architecture, Humayun’s Tomb, is a well-known historical and cultural site. Empress Bega Begum, the Mughal Emperor Humayun’s wife, constructed it in the middle of the sixteenth century. The Taj Mahal’s design was inspired by Humayun’s tomb.

This tomb was a major departure from previous Mughal architectural styles and the first garden-tomb in the Indian subcontinent. The building is well-known for its magnificent front made of red sandstone, its elaborate white marble inlays, and its exquisite Persian-style garden design, which alludes to the paradise garden. Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a tribute to the Mughal era’s innovative architecture and rich cultural legacy in addition to acting as the emperor’s final resting place.