Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya
The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya — also known as the National Museum of Humankind or Museum of Man and Culture — is the largest ethnographic museum in India, spread across approximately 200 acres on Shymala Hills in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. It depicts the story of humankind across time and space through open-air exhibits of traditional dwellings, tribal rock art, and extensive indoor galleries of material culture from across the Indian subcontinent.
At a glance
- Type
- National ethnographic and anthropological museum
- Period
- Established 1977; main campus developed from 1985
- Style
- Open-air museum with reconstructed traditional settlements; indoor galleries
- Location
- Shymala Hills, Bhopal 462013, Madhya Pradesh, India
- Coordinates
- 23.2321° N, 77.3755° E
Overview
Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS) is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Its mandate is to document, preserve, and display the cultural heritage of India’s diverse communities — particularly its scheduled tribes and rural populations — through artefacts, oral traditions, performing arts, and built reconstructions. The 200-acre campus on the wooded hills overlooking Bhopal makes it one of the most spatially ambitious museum complexes in Asia.
History
The museum was established in 1977, initially based in Nagpur, before relocating to its permanent site on Shymala Hills in Bhopal, where construction of open-air village complexes and indoor gallery buildings proceeded through the 1980s and 1990s. The institution was conceived as a living museum, one that would incorporate performing traditions, craft demonstrations, and oral archives alongside conventional object collections. It was renamed in honour of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi following her assassination in 1984. Today it houses more than thirty thousand objects and extensive audio-visual and documentary archives.
What you see
The open-air complex contains reconstructed traditional settlements representing communities from across India, each built using authentic materials and techniques by craftspeople from the respective communities. A prehistoric rock art site on the campus contains paintings attributed to Mesolithic period inhabitants of the Vindhya plateau. Indoor galleries display textiles, ritual objects, jewellery, weapons, musical instruments, and agricultural tools. Separate thematic sections focus on tribal India, coastal communities, Himalayan cultures, and nomadic groups.
Cultural significance
As India’s largest ethnographic museum, IGRMS serves as the primary national institution dedicated to the documentation and preservation of the country’s extraordinary cultural diversity. Its incorporation of living practice — through resident craft demonstrations, folk performance programmes, and oral history recording — distinguishes it from conventional object-focused museums and establishes it as a model for participatory heritage institutions worldwide.
Practical information
- Address
- Shymala Hills, Bhopal 462013, Madhya Pradesh, India
- Hours
- Tuesday–Sunday, approximately 10:00–17:30; closed Mondays. Check official website for current times.
- Admission
- Paid entry; check official website for current rates
Getting there
The museum is located on Shymala Hills in Bhopal, approximately 3 km from Bhopal Junction railway station. Taxis and auto-rickshaws are available from the station and from Bhopal’s city centre. Raja Bhoj Airport (Bhopal) is approximately 15 km away, with taxi and cab services available.
Sources & resources
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