Gandhi Heritage Sites - Writeups
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Manorville Mansion, Simla
Connection with Gandhiji
Gandhiji stayed in this house during his visits to Simla, the seat of the British Government during summer. The owner of the house, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, was a prominent leader in the national movement. Gandhiji stayed in this house for a total of 67 days from 1939 to 1945.
Background
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was a close associate of Gandhiji. She lived and worked close to him at Wardha Ashram. Manorville was her summer retreat but soon, it also became a centre of nationalist politics occasionally. Many prominent leaders stayed in this beautiful house. Gandhiji was one of them.
‘Nothing Equal to It’
• Gandhiji stayed in this house for the first time in September 1939.
• His longest stay here was in 1945 for 23 days during the historic Simla Conference which took place in the Viceregal Lodge.
• A room in the house was customized in tune with Gandhiji’s simple lifestyle. The balcony of the house provided a convenient place, from where he could address people.
• On seeing the view from this house, Gandhiji ‘murmured in a rapture’, ‘The world has nothing equal to it.’
- The Last Phase-1: p. 131
Digital Experience
Virtual Tour | Audio Guide App (Android) | Audio Guide App (iOS) | Architectural Documents
Site Address
Manorville Mansion
Boileauganj to Summer Hill,
Summer Hill,
Shimla,
Himachal Pradesh - 171 005
Contact
All India Institute Of Medical Sciences
Sri Aurobindo Marg,
Ansari Nagar,
New Delhi - 110 029
Phone: +91 011 2658 8500
Website: https://www.aiims.edu/en.html
Additional Details
1. After independence, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur became the country’s first Health Minister and gifted this house to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
2. Gandhiji’s reflection on Simla in a ‘Navjivan’ article titled ‘Five Hundredth Storey’ (1921).
3. A compilation of Gandhiji’s letters to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.
Copyright Information
Gandhi Heritage Portal by Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
