THE INAUGURATION OF BIHAR MUSEUM BY CHIEF MINISTER NITISH KUMAR IS A WELCOME STEP. IT SHOWS THE PACE AND PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT IN BIHAR THAT HAS BROUGHT A NEW MUSEUM INTO EXISTENCE.

I VISITED THE LOUVRE MUSEUM IN PARIS AROUND FOUR YEARS AGO. IT IS CONSIDERED AS THE WORLD'S LARGEST ART MUSEUM AND IS A HISTORIC MONUMENT IN ITSELF. I HAVE ALSO VISITED OTHER MUSEUMS LIKE THOSE IN LISBON (PORTUGAL) - MUSEUMS THAT TOOK CENTURIES IN MAKING. THESE ARE VERY DEVELOPED MUSEUMS.

THE BIHAR MUSEUM HAS COME UP AS ONE OF THE LATEST. IT GIVES AN IMPRESSION OF A WELL-CRAFTED MUSEUM WITH BETTER DISPLAY, LIGHTING, PROJECTION OF ARTEFACTS - IDEAS THAT ORIGINATED FROM FOREIGN MUSEUMS. THE PROGRESS IN THE FIELD OF MUSEOLOGY HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN BIHAR MUSEUM.

THE CHIEF MINISTER HAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE BIHAR MUSEUM AND PATNA MUSEUM WILL BE INTER-CONNECTED FOR VISITORS AND WILL COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER. IT'S A GOOD DECISION. HE HAS ALSO SAID THE PATNA MUSEUM WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF AND DEVELOPED FURTHER. THIS WOULD BE HIGHLY APPRECIABLE, AND WELCOMED BY EXPERTS AND THOSE IN OUR FRATERNITY.

HOWEVER, PEOPLE ARE IN THE DARK ABOUT THE MANAGEMENT, UPKEEP AND SAFETY OF THE ANTIQUITIES AT BIHAR MUSEUM. IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER IT IS A GOVERNMENT MUSEUM, AN AUTONOMOUS MUSEUM, OR A PRIVATE ONE. IT HAS ALSO COURTED CONTROVERSY RECENTLY OVER THE SHIFTING OF MANY INVALUABLE ARTEFACTS FROM PATNA MUSEUM.

IN CALCUTTA, INDIAN MUSEUM, THE GOVERNMENT MUSEUM, AND ASUTOSH MUSEUM (IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA), AN AUTONOMOUS MUSEUM, EXIST WITH A CLEAR-CUT DEMARCATION ABOUT THEIR JURISDICTION, FIELD AND POWERS. WE DO NOT SEE THIS IN THE CASE OF BIHAR MUSEUM AND PATNA MUSEUM AND THE DEMARCATION BETWEEN THEM IS VERY DIM.

MUSEUMS ARE MANAGED, MAINTAINED AND ADMINISTERED KEEPING IN VIEW THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF SAFETY AND SECURITY. THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA HAS MADE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE INDIAN TREASURE TROVE ACT, 1878, THAT SAFEGUARDS ANTIQUITIES AND THINGS OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE TO MAKE IT MORE RIGOROUS FROM THE SAFETY AND SECURITY POINT OF VIEW.

THE STATE GOVERNMENT HAS ALSO PASSED THE BIHAR ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES REMAINS AND ART TREASURES ACT, 1976, BY WHICH PRIORITY WAS GIVEN TO THE PROTECTION OF ARTEFACTS. IT MAINTAINED THAT NO ANTIQUITY WILL BE REMOVED FROM ITS PRESENT PLACE WITHOUT NOTIFICATION BY THE GOVERNMENT. THESE PRINCIPLES ARE FOLLOWED IN NEIGHBOURING BENGAL, BUT ARE NOT PRACTISED IN BIHAR, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF PATNA MUSEUM.

IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES AUTONOMOUS AND PRIVATE MUSEUMS BECOME A GOOD SOURCE OF THEFT, SMUGGLING, AND USE OF ARTEFACTS TO DISTORT OR MISINTERPRET HISTORY. THERE HAVE BEEN THEFTS IN PRIVATE MUSEUMS IN BIHAR.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS THE STONE PILLAR WITH HINDU GODS AND RELIGIOUS MOTIFS THAT WAS HOUSED AT THE AUTONOMOUS ALLAHABAD MUSEUM. IT DISAPPEARED FROM THERE AND WHEN THE BABRI MASJID WAS DEMOLISHED, IT WAS FOUND IN THE RUBBLE.

THE GOVERNMENT IS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OF ANTIQUITY FROM ITS MUSEUM, BUT WHO WILL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE IF SUCH INCIDENTS HAPPEN AT AUTONOMOUS OR PRIVATE MUSEUMS.

WE HAVE SEVERAL EXAMPLES - THE BHARATPURA MUSEUM AND LIBRARY IN BIHAR FROM WHERE VALUABLE MANUSCRIPTS WERE STOLEN, BUT NOBODY WAS HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LOSS. THE MANUSCRIPTS, INCLUDING BABURNAMA, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, SURFACED IN IRAN.

HOWEVER, WHEN 18 IDOLS WERE STOLEN FROM PATNA MUSEUM, THE STATE GOVERNMENT IMMEDIATELY TOOK ACTION AND 17 OF THEM WERE RECOVERED.

THE BIHAR GOVERNMENT SHOULD COME OUT WITH A SPECIFIC PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND ADVERTISEMENTS ABOUT MANAGEMENT, SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURES AT THE BIHAR MUSEUM SO THAT THE PUBLIC IS AWARE ABOUT ITS INTERNAL STRUCTURE. IT SHOULD SAY WHETHER THE MUSEUM IS COVERED BY CENTRAL AND STATE ACTS RELATED TO ANTIQUITIES AND ARTEFACTS.

BIHAR MUSEUM WILL NOT HAVE STORIES ATTACHED TO IT WITH ANTIQUITIES LIKE THOSE THAT WERE STORED OR BROUGHT TO PATNA MUSEUM. WHEN YOU UPROOT A RICH MUSEUM LIKE THE PATNA MUSEUM, YOU UPROOT HISTORY. PEOPLE TALK ABOUT LACK OF SPACE AND IMPROPER DISPLAY AND LIGHTING OF ARTEFACTS AT PATNA MUSEUM BUT THEY SHOULD KNOW THAT THE MUSEUM WAS STARTED IN 1917 WHEN THERE WAS NO CLEAR CONCEPT OF ARRANGING, DISPLAYING, LIGHTING OF ARTEFACTS.

IT WAS NOT PRESENT WHEN ITS PRESENT BUILDING CAME INTO EXISTENCE IN 1928.

THESE CONCEPTS OF EXHIBITING HISTORICAL AND PRE-HISTORICAL OBJECTS STARTED IN THE 1940S WHEN MUSEOLOGY BECAME A SEPARATE DISCIPLINE.

PATNA MUSEUM HAS SEEN NATURAL, SPONTANEOUS, AND GRADUAL GROWTH AND HAS EARNED MUCH RESPECT AMONG HISTORIANS, RESEARCHERS, STUDENTS, AND EXPERTS. THIS HAS TAKEN SEVERAL DECADES. I JUST WANT IT SAVED AND ITS DIGNITY TO SURVIVE, AND HOPE THAT THE CHIEF MINISTER KEEPS HIS WORD ON IT. ELSE, AN INSTITUTION WILL BE LOST.

As told to Dev Raj