Dhubri/Guwahati, Jan. 12: The directorate of archaeology, Assam, today requested the state government to take immediate steps to stop the auctioning of a hookah presented by Mughal Emperor Jahangir to the royal family of Gauripur almost 400 years ago.

The 24-carat gold hookah, weighing 1.5kg and studded with diamonds and pearls, whose value at present is estimated to be Rs 20 crore, is scheduled to be auctioned in Calcutta this week.

"Today we requested the state government to take immediate steps to stop the auction of the hookah. We have submitted all documents regarding the history and preciousness of the artefact," said Ranjana Sharma, deputy director-cum-registering officer of the directorate of archaeology, Assam. She also said that cultural affairs minister Bismita Gogoi showed "great concern" over the issue.

She said under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, not a single antiquity can be sold without being registered in the state it belongs to and the hookah has not been registered. Even if an antique is registered in the state it belongs to, the purchaser needs to register it again to claim his/her legal ownership, he added.

Organisations like the All Assam Students' Union and All Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union also requested the Assam government to take steps to bring the artefact back to Assam and preserve it.

A member of the royal family said the hookah was gifted to Bijni prince Parakhit Narayan by Jehangir in 1635. Centuries later, differences arose over the family property, including the hookah, and a case was filed in Calcutta High Court in 1960. While the other movable and immovable property of the royal family was divided through mutation in the mid-1990s, differences over the hookah could not be resolved. The hookah was initially kept in the locker of Allahabad Bank in Dhubri and subsequently shifted to Calcutta. It had since been in the custody of Calcutta High Court.

When contacted, a member of Gauripur Raj family, Probir Coomar Barua (son of Raja Prakritish Chandra Barua, a renowned elephant expert and brother of cine doyen Pramathesh Chandra Barua), told The Telegraph over phone from Calcutta that he had also heard about auction of the hookah on January 14 and 15 but was not sure whether it would take place at all "since there is controversy regarding the auction".

A source in Gauripur Raj family said the court was convinced about the claim being made by the family members over the past 60 years that the hookah should be auctioned and the value shared among them.

Sharma said, "Only recently we celebrated the 13th death anniversary of Pratima Pandey, the queen of Goalporia lokgeet and the creator of the most beautiful/precious folk songs of Assam, and today we are going to sell our heritage from the family she belonged to. This should be stopped immediately."

All Assam Students' Union general secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi said the Assam government should take initiatives to obtain and preserve the hookah with permission from members of the royal family.

All Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union adviser Biswajit Ray said the hookah should not be auctioned as it might go out of the state forever.

"Since it is an ancient object of antique value, the Assam government should take the responsibility of preserving it in the state museum," Ray said.