Visitors take a look at archives at the exhibition at Darbhanga House in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Residents interested to know about the establishment of Patna University could do well to visit Darbhanga House.

The heritage structure, to be precise the library of the varsity’s postgraduate department of history, is hosting a two-day exhibition to mark the department’s diamond jubilee. It started on Wednesday.

On display at the exhibition are several archives related to the university. The Bihar State Archives has for the first time organised the exhibition at Patna University.

Some of the striking archives include sanctioned orders of the Government of India for the college at Patna, Calcutta Gazette, 1863 (January-April 1863) and construction of Patna University buildings (Government of Bihar, Education Department, General Branch B-Proceedings of 1954, No. 677, File No. 1/V2061-54).

An archive on the sanctioned orders of the Government of India for the college at Patna (Patna College) carries an official notification. The document states: “Notice is hereby given, that the first sale of opium, the provision of 1861-62, will be held at the Exchange Hall on Monday, January 5, 1863, at 11am, and will comprise 3,300 chests vis., Bihar Opium 1,860, Benares 1,440. The general conditions of the sale now advertised will be the same as usual. They may be ascertained by reference to the notification issued on November 8, 1862, and published in the government and exchange gazettes or on application at the office of the board of revenue…”

Another archive deals with rough estimates for constructing a chemistry laboratory and science lecture room at Patna College.

Visitors to the exhibition can also know more about the establishment of a medical school, which later on became a medical college in Patna in 1874, proceedings of a meeting of Bihar school of Engineering held on February 8, 1898, a bill to establish a university in Patna in 1915, a bill to establish and incorporate a university in Patna and others.

Former head of department of history Y.D. Prasad inaugurated the exhibition on Wednesday.

The head of the history department, Bharti S. Kumar, former head of department Ajoy Kumar Singh and former inspector-general and alumnus of the department Umesh Kumar Singh, Imtiaz Ahmed, the director of Khuda Bakhsh Library, director of Bihar State Archives Vijay Kumar and former head of history department Dr Kameshwar Prasad were also present.