The ancient world and Oriental studies should have been the domain of Asiatic Society. Instead it has branched off to disciplines beyond the original scheme of things.

For example, Tagore studies and folk culture have been introduced, but not to extend the horizons of research and investigation. It was done to oblige a powerful functionary whose area of specialisation happens to be the two disciplines.

Rules are bent with impunity for the benefit of those close to the ruling clique in the institute. Now that the party in power in this state has a stranglehold over the institute, and its functionaries have infiltrated its very core, anything goes.

The Society has, for example, published a book on the controversial Gaudiya Nrtya ? an attempt by one of the favoured ones to prove that Bengal had a classical dance form lost in antiquity, which she has revived through diligent research. Even if its validity is accepted in theory, it would need, says dance critic Sunil Kothari, geniuses like Kelucharan Mahapatra and Sanjukta Panigrahi to be universally accepted as a classical form.

?The library cannot stock books on 17th century politics. It is an irreparable loss,? stresses reputable scholar Sukumari Bhattacharji. ?Now rich fellowships go to the undeserving. So the quality of scholarship has gone down,? she adds.

The problem with Asiatic Society, as with other premier institutes such as Bangiya Sahitya Parishat, is that they are dominated by coteries of academics and politicians who are forever in strife in the hope of seizing power and enjoying the fishes and loaves of office. Culture is the commodity that they prey upon, and they seem to be least bothered that scholarship suffers most.

They want their fingers in every pie ? from distributing largesse in the form of scholarships to things as petty as awarding commissions to tradespeople whose services are necessary to the institute. This quite naturally creates a vicious circle that kills serious research.

Quite interestingly, Pradeep Bhattacharjee, working president of the Congress, has been a council member of Asiatic Society since last year. As if in keeping with the ties of the two parties at the Centre, this year Atish Dasgupta, the finance minister?s brother, has been nominated as a council member.

The intellectual bankruptcy of Asiatic Society is reflected in the physical appearance of the building at 1 Park Street. The old building and the incongruously tall annexe may look clean from outside, but inside it is quite unkempt. In spite of the new building being centrally-airconditioned and though functionaries sip nothing but mineral water.

Valuable paintings have been left to rot for so long that they look as if paint has been scraped off them. The ones in the staircase are portraits of Hastings and the Daniells duo. The closed circuit TV is kaput.

Furniture and equipment are dumped all over and the reprographic section, too, seems to double as a godown. The institute has 78 valuable paintings, but amateurish drawings, including one of Mother Teresa, adorn the corridor next to the general secretary?s office.

The library and office are so cramped that people loiter around all the time. The same with the Humayun Kabir hall, particularly now that the Society has 1,000 new members, although it does not have infrastructural support to accommodate them.

The general secretary says the chief minister has offered him three options for the additional 10,000 sq ft that Asiatic Society requires. The National Museum will restore the paintings at an estimated Rs 33 lakh.

An art gallery will be set up in the old building. He admits that Rs 10 lakh has already been wasted on the Encyclopaedia Asiatic. Instead of eight volumes, only two will be published. All manuscripts will be digitised at a cost of Rs 80 lakh. If only money could be turned into intellectual property.