A social media post requesting the Modi government to unearth the time capsule buried by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in front of the Red Fort back in 1973 is being shared widely. The post which shares an image of the Indira Gandhi holding a metal capsule also claims that she hid some important public documents in the capsule. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Request the Modi government to unearth the time capsule buried in front of the Red Fort by former PM Indira Gandhi in 1973.
Fact: Following the silver jubilee of the Independence, former PM Indira Gandhi had buried a time capsule called Kalpaatra in front of the Red Fort on 15 August 1973. However, the move attracted much criticism over the contents of the capsule and subsequently, the Janata government on 08 December 1977 exhumed the time capsule. The contents of the capsule were placed in the Parliament library for MPs inspection and multiple discussions took place over the content. However, the content is not made public and as of now, there are no records of what was in the capsule. A 2012 RTI request with the PMO to furnish the content buried in the time capsule did not yield any result. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
In view of providing the forthcoming generations with information about India’s achievements and important events of Indian history, on the account of the first 25 years of India’s independence, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 15 August 1973 buried a time capsule in front of the Red Fort. As claimed by the then government, the capsule contains documents which depicts the achievements and important events of Indian history. The Indira Gandhi government named this time capsule Kalpaatra and the task of drawing out significant happenings from the past is assigned to the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR).
However, the move drew much criticism, with opposition parties alleging that documents merely exalted Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Following the criticism, the Janata government under the leadership of Morarji Desai on 08 December 1977 exhumed the time capsule buried by Indira Gandhi.
As per the Parliamentary debates of those times, the contents of the time capsule were made available in the Parliament library for the MPs to have an inspection.
Also, extensive debates over the contents of the capsule were held in the Parliament. Records of Parliamentary debates related to the time capsule, before and after unearthing it can be viewed here, here and here.
According to these debates, there was a demand to make these documents public. However, as of date, these documents are not made public. Moreover, there is not much information regarding the whereabouts of the capsule following its exhumation.
As per news reports back in 2012, academician and writer Madhu Purnima Kishwar sought information about the time capsule from the PMO through an RTI application. The PMO, however, in its reply claimed claimed that it had no record of the time capsule.
Kishwar then approached the Central Information Commission, to which the commissioner ‘directed the PMO to make a renewed search for any available records on the subject and if necessary, they can take up the matter with the National Archives and the ASI to know if they have any such records.’
To sum it up, the Silver Jubilee time capsule buried in front of Red Fort by Indira Gandhi was exhumed by the Janata government, back in 1977.
