JSW Group partners with Assam Government to set up World-Class Heritage Museum in Guwahati

New Delhi, September 1, 2025: The JSW Group has partnered with the Assam government to set up a state-of-the-art museum in Guwahati. The world-class museum will house the Vrindavani Vastra, the 17th-century devotional textile created under the guidance of Srimanta Sankardev and preserved at the British Museum.
 
The British Museum has consented to loan the Vrindavani Vastra for public exhibition in Assam in 2026–27, where it will remain for 18 months.
 
The Assam government has allotted land at the Sericulture Farm, Khanapara, Guwahati, for the construction of the museum, which will be fully funded by the JSW Group. The museum will be designed with climate-control systems, conservation protocols and international museological standards to ensure the safe display of the Vastra.

After the Vastra’s exhibition concludes, the facility will continue as a world-class heritage exhibition space for Guwahati, enabling the city to host international cultural showcases and exhibitions of global significance.

Sangita Jindal, Chairperson, JSW Foundation, said, “The Vrindavani Vastra is a priceless treasure of Assam and India’s collective cultural heritage. I vividly remember seeing this magnificent textile at the British Museum’s facility in Reading, UK, and feeling the deep devotion and artistry it embodies.”

She added, “It is my unstinted commitment to support the Assam government in bringing the Vastra home so that the people of Assam can experience this part of their spiritual and artistic legacy in person.”

The JSW Group is honoured to partner with the Assam government in building a befitting museum that will safeguard the Vastra under global standards while creating a lasting world-class cultural institution in the city of Guwahati, she further added.
 
The Vrindavani Vastra, a 17th-century silk textile woven under the spiritual guidance of Srimanta Sankardev, is a sacred artefact depicting the early life of Lord Krishna in Vrindavan, representing the cultural and devotional identity of Assam. The Vastra measures approximately 9.5 meters in length and two meters in width, making it one of the largest surviving devotional silk textiles of its era.
 
Abin Chaudhuri, Architect of the Proposed museum, said, “Designing a museum for the Vrindavani Vastra is both an honour and a responsibility. Our vision is to create a space that balances reverence and modernity and where the architecture itself pays homage to the textile’s devotional essence while providing the most advanced conservation facilities.”

Beyond housing the Vastra, this museum will also give Guwahati a world-class exhibition venue that can host international exhibitions, bringing the global arts community closer to Assam, he added.
 
The initiative was recently announced by Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who welcomed the JSW Group’s commitment as a vital step in realising a long-cherished cultural aspiration of the people of Assam.