Saving glorious heritage objects from thieving, smuggling out and destruction

Fourteen artifacts were reported as stolen during March last year from the Shahbag National Museum . The objects included ten elephant tasks. The ivories were over 150 years old and obtained from the elephant stable of the Bhawal jamindar family. Needless to say, the ivories from the tasks, apart from their antique value, can be sold for a huge amount of money in the underground market. This must have been the major incentive for the thieves. The other four objects were mummified birds which also have high antique value and can be sold for a fat some of money. Although over a year has passed since the incident, no trace of the stolen objects has been found. The museum authorities have not even started legal action for the recovery of these as if time itself will sort things out. It should be obvious that without some kind of insider cooperation, meaning the staff of the museum, such pilferage is very difficult. This has been not the only such theft or attempted theft of valuable artifacts. In 2007, it was arranged to send 187 pieces of many centuries old artifacts from Bangladesh for exhibition at the Gime museum in France. The museums from which these were obtained include the Barendra Museum in Rajshahi and the Mainamati Mueseum in Commilla. Everything was arranged when hordes of heritage conscious people lined the streets of Dhaka and declared their vow that the objects could be transported to the airport only over their dead bodies. Only such resistance and grim determination of the ones opposed to the move, discouraged the government at that time from going ahead with the plan. The protesters had rightly apprehended that the artifacts, once sent, could be copied and only the copies could be sent to Bangladesh and passed off as the real ones after the exhibition. There had been such ill records of museums in Europe and specially in France . But despite this halted move to sweepingly rob us of our glorious heritage objects, at least two of the thirty- four objects that were earlier sent to France, were lost on the way. It is still not known whether the remaining thirty-six which were sent back to Bangladesh after display, whether these are genuine or copies. Other notable incidents of theft from our museums were reported in 1981,1982, 1991 and 1995. Apart from these, other thefts on a lesser scale continue to be reported from time to time. Media reports suggests that the management of some of the major museums of the country did not even put numbers against all the artifacts or did not set up proper inventories and do not engage in regular check-ups to ensure that none is missing. ' Man does not live for bread alone' as the adage goes which means that there are cultural and civilisational sides to man's existence which distinguish him from the lower animals. If satisfying only basic needs of living meant total fulfillment or the only ends for human beings and their societies, then there would not be so much human endeavours noted throughout human history to make and build artifacts, monuments and other icons of civilisation. Thus, all human societies that had a civilised past, tend to preserve with pride and zest the surviving relics or symbols of their past as their precious heritage. Bangladesh as a country is a relatively new one, but it had been pulsated by civilisations that can be traced back to not only hundreds of years but thousands of years. But how many Bangladeshis know today that they are descended from people who were next to none in the ancient world. Bangladeshis now marvel at modern ocean going ships that sail to this country . But there was a time when shipbuilding here was world famous. So famous that Bangladesh made vessels in the Chittagong region were found utilised by the Spanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar that determined the fate of England. Again, the history books say that when Alexander the Great came down south in the Indian subcontinent in his quest to subjugate all of it, he was frustrated from further advance by the knowledge of the great king of Gangaridi which was the name of the kingdom of which today's Bangladesh then physically was a part. The king had a vast army with thousands of war elephants that frightened even the world conqueror in taking up the gauntlet against him. Then there are memories of the world famous Muslin cloth that used to be made at Sonargaon near Dhaka. Traders from Europe in those days of wooden ships braved the long voyage to this part of the world to lay their hands on this finery for use by the nobility in their countries. It is stated in the annals that a piece of Muslin fifteen yards long could be squeezed into the space of a matchbox. This should give an idea about how uniquely fine the cloth was in that period. These are but a few of the examples to underline the historical depth of Bangladesh and its heritages. The ancient but crumbling structures signifying life and culture of those days of yore still stand in many places of the country and form collectively our national heritage. They range from the prehistoric time to Bhuddist and Hindu eras to the Islamic one. Many of them have been brought under some kind of control and supervision by the Ministry of Culture and are being preserved and maintained. However, the maintenance and preservation activities are minimal in most cases and decay and destruction from natural forces and human interferences are threatening them with complete disappearance . There are historical and archaeological sites of significance which have not yet been blessed with any form of official recognition whatsoever and, therefore, the question of their preservation as heritage has not even started. This tragic neglect of our proud heritage is indeed a sad one. The process needs to be reversed with the government allocating greater funds for heritage preservation and the relevant ministry taking much greater initiatives to include all heritage objects and sites under its control and for their proper preservation. Reports appeared sometime ago on the activities of two organisations dedicated to protecting the heritage of old Dhaka. They called for declaring the four hundred years old Shakharibazar area in old Dhaka as a heritage site. Indeed, there are countries where whole areas are being protected for their heritage value and even modernisation and rebuilding activities are forbidden there to retain the original characteristics for heritage lovers and tourists. The proposal to preserve Shakharibazar can be considered. But we believe that there are also many other old buildings and sites in old Dhaka and other places of Bangladesh that would be similarly deserving special preservation efforts as our heritage. According to press reports, the Mahastangarh archeological site at Bogra in northern Bangladesh which was believed to bear the oldest signs of ancient civilisation in the country, till recently, where relics of the ancient Bhuddist civilisation were dug up and sought to be preserved, appeared to be under a threat from encroachers and stealers. Recently, reports were also noted about the relics of the capital of Issa Khan who was an independent ruler and dared the might of the Mughals in the sixteenth century, getting obliterated from neglect and human interference. A leading vernacular daily carried a report about the similar fate of Bara Katra and Chota Katra in a part of old Dhaka. These two hopelessly encroached and ruined buildings are among the few still remaining structures from the time of the rule of the imperial Mughals in Dhaka in the sixteenth century . The Ministry of Cultural Affairs apparently tries to maintain these sites. But such maintenance activities are not satisfactory. The centuries old bricks and other artifacts get gradually removed by the encroachers . Besides, there are many heritage sites that deserve recognition as so and their taking over by the ministry for preservation. But this is not being done. Therefore, the imperative is two-fold. Firstly, ensuring absolutely that the sites over which the ministry has controlling rights would be absolutely secured with proper official actions. Secondly, a serious effort needs to be made to identify thoroughly 'all' the sites of historical, cultural or archaeological interests in the country and to quickly bring them under government's care for their proper preservation and maintenance. A recent report drew attention to excavation works at Narsingdi district where the vestiges of an ancient civilisation that predates even Mahastangarh, were found . The excavation works here need to progress with care and the dug up relics will need to be protected very carefully indeed. Everywhere in Bangladesh nowadays, a building spree is noted. Old buildings and structures are making way to high-rise buildings. Human greed is making deep inroads into what were once held as symbols of the glorious past to be preserved for progeny, for their proud remembrance and for this nation to know how deep are its roots in civilisation and culture. But mundane needs and the lust for wealth are leading to cruel demolition of these vestiges of the past and making the nation poorer indeed from the cultural and aesthetic perspectives. Government in Bangladesh today is seen engaged in many works. When it is doing so much work, it can add another one to its task list and this would be the enactment of proper laws to ensure the preservation of the nation's heritage from all types of thieving , encroachment and destructions. And the law will need to be backed up by a proper enforcement machinery in support of its objective.