About
To preserve and promote the artistic and cultural history of central Rajasthan and Marwar-Jodhpur through museum operation, architectural conservation and restoration, academic research, and patronage of the arts and music.
Royal Marwar-Jodhpur trust custodian of Mehrangarh Fort museum; patron of arts/music; produces Jodhpur RIFF (with Jaipur Virasat Foundation) and the World Sacred Spirit Festival.
Mehrangarh Museum Trust was established in 1972 by Maharaja Gaj Singh II, the 36th Custodian of Marwar-Jodhpur, who at the time placed his ancestral fortress, Mehrangarh Fort (originally founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha), at the disposal of the newly formed Trust, directing it to develop a museum within the fort itself. The Trust was formally registered with the Government of Rajasthan in 1974, and the Maharaja Man Singh Pustak Prakash Library, holding manuscripts in Sanskrit, Hindi and regional languages, was incorporated into the Trust in 1977. Once a largely locked and unused fortress, Mehrangarh Museum now receives over one million visitors annually, housing one of the best-preserved collections of Mughal-period fine and applied arts reflecting the historical ties between the Rathore rulers of Jodhpur and the Mughal court. Beyond the museum itself, the Trust operates the Mehrangarh Art Conservation Centre, conducting wall-painting, manuscript and object conservation both within the fort and for other Rajasthan heritage sites, and led the restoration of the 12th-century Ahhichatragarh Fort in Nagaur, recognised by UNESCO as a model of architectural conservation and later shortlisted for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The Trust also produces major cultural festivals, including the Rajasthan International Folk Festival (Jodhpur RIFF) and the World Sacred Spirit Festival.
Founding & Leadership
Initiatives & Portfolio
Nagaur; UNESCO-recognised model.
Sanskrit, Hindi and regional-language manuscripts.
Mehrangarh Museum Trust's significance lies in its integrated model combining museum operation, heritage conservation practice, academic research and major public festival production under a single royal-family-led institution, a scope of activity unusual even among India's other palace and fort museum trusts. Its adoption of a formal Conservation Master Plan, among the first in India, and its multiple international recognitions (UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award, World Monuments Fund Hadrian Award, Fassa Bortolo award) position it as a genuine centre of technical conservation expertise, not solely a heritage site operator. The Trust's direct role in reviving Jodhpur's cultural profile after independence-era reorganisation shifted national attention to Jaipur and Udaipur is also explicitly described by the Maharaja himself as a deliberate, sustained institutional project spanning museums, restoration and festivals together.