Mhow (Madhya Pradesh): On the eve of 75 years of raising of the Infantry School and to commemorate the Vijay Diwas, the country's first Infantry Museum opened to the general public on December 16, 2022. The world-class museum has been set up under the aegis of The Infantry School, Mhow with the intention of showcasing the Infantry with the theme line
INFANTRY: THE ULTIMATE.
Lt Gen PN Ananthanarayanan, SM, Commandant, The Infantry School, Mhow extended an invite to esteemed veterans and civilian dignitaries to witness this ceremonial milestone. The project was conceived in July 2003 as a national-level training hall cum research centre. The museum gives a glimpse of the history of the Infantry from 1747 to 2020 depicting the rich heritage, glorious past and supreme sacrifice of our valiant soldiers preserved in statues, murals and photo galleries.
The construction of this museum has been in the works for a decade. The Infantry Museum is designed as a Living Concept Museum wherein the details are updated regularly. The building is being developed segment-wise as per the overall plan, so that experience from developing each segment is utilized to place artefacts, props, statues, exhibits and displays inside and outside the museum building in a more deliberate and integrated manner. This three-storey building of the museum has been built on two acres of land. It has 17 rooms which display the history and evolution of the Indian Infantry since 1747 in chronological order in 30 theme zones. As of now, only the ground floor is open for the visit. Here the history of the Battle of Plassey 1757, Battle of Saragarhi 1897, Battle of Buxar, Indo-Pak War 1965 and 1971 as well as the history of Shivaji and Subhash Chandra Bose have been preserved.
The first online ticket was booked on a big screen as part of the inaugural ceremony, following which the souvenir shop inside the museum was opened. Citizens who wish to visit the Museum will be able to book online through the website of MP Tourism (MPT) and by logging on to the website www.infantrymuseummhow.com. It will take about two and a half hours to see this museum. Provisions for souvenirs have been catered for in order to make the trip memorable for the visitors. The endeavour behind opening the museum to the general public is to stir up a spirit of nationalism and to motivate youth to join the armed forces.