CHENNAI : Chennaites will have a date with history on Independence Day when the first flag of Independence will flutter again in the museum of Fort St George.“We will hoist the same flag made of silk which was hoisted in 1947 to mark independence,” said K Moortheeswari, Archaeological Survey of India, museum branch, southern region.The plan is to have a freedom fighters’ gallery at the museum as a mark of respect to those who took part in the struggle. The museum will display the uniforms and medals issued to Indians by the British during the Raj era, Moortheeswari said.She requested people to contribute anything they might have that is connected with the freedom struggle. She said the ASI was looking for letters, photographs and any records related to that period. Those who are willing to donate any material can contact Moortheeswari at 25671127.She said the ASI was planning three additional museums in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to City Express on the sidelines of the International Museum Day celebration at Fort Museum on Friday, she said that the southern region currently had eight ASI museums — four in Andhra Pradesh, one in Kerala, two in Karnataka and one in Tamil Nadu.“We are planning to expand to display more artifacts and have identified two places. They are the sculpture shed at Vellore which has more than 1,000 antiquities and the sculpture shed near the main guard gate near St Joseph’s college in Trichy,” she said without revealing where the third museum would come up.A pictographic account of museums in the world under the title ‘World Museums – A Glance’ was inaugurated by Education Secretary T S Sridhar on the occasion.Moortheeswari said that this expo brought world archaeology under one roof to make people aware of the rich art and culture of various civilisations. The collections are from various museums with rare artifacts in their possession. The expo will remain open to the public till May 31.“Currently we have covered 400 museums and soon artifacts from all 900 museums will be on display,” she said.Moortheeswari said the ASI was planning to host 24 events in its eight museums in the southern region to celebrate the 150th anniversary of its inception. She said there were plans to display one antiquity each month to increase footfalls.
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