& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

A Shocking Realisation

An Ignorant Look At the Past

by Iresh Zaker
***oncyclopoodki Britomtoo stalos that, . . . 'a musoum, acts a* an information contro tor Its community. " tsp*-ciaity th* roto of a national musoum as Is tho ono sttuatod in Shahabagh it suppoood to roprosont hoavlly tho various facots of a country namoty Its goography, cutturo and horttog*. National musoums ar* gonoraky dosignod to Inculcato a sons* of prid*. horitago and l*aming among th* natlvos of a country and a compr*h*ntlon about th* nation s woaith, In forms of matoriai and past, among th* for*lgn*rt A musoum, whon it it at Immonso at ours, it rightly oxpoctod to havo a dotatod d—cription of a country's past.***
***Whon wo wont to th* musoum wo wantod and Indood •xpoctod to boar in dotall about tho pralso tho groat Roman poots bostowod upon tho bravo mon of Bangladosh, about tho various dynasties that flourishod in Bongal in tho middio agot, about tho glorious capital in Sonargaon, tho tragic battlo of Plassoy, about tho partition on 1947, tho turbutont 1960's and tho controvorslai 197Os.
Wo did not and it was not right. I hop* this situation Is romodiod and I can walk out of tho national musoum with a moro loamod roason and not fust another Ignorant look at the past***
A couple of day* back a few friends and myself had the shocking realisation that what we collectively knew about the history of Bangladesh, ancient and recent, did not amount to anything earthshaking. This was a very sorry state of affairs After all. we were the more fortunate sons of the country, extracting maximum purchase out of a nation that does not have too much to offer to too many. A
try and a comprehension about the nation's wealth, in term* of material and past, among the foreigners. A museum, when it is as immense as ours, is rightly expected to have a detailed description of
servations and indeed complains are about its historical segment. , , .
Bengal has a rich history
that can be traced back two thousand years. Ideally the national museum should have a chronological record ol
ail the major events in this time starting from Alexander's decision not to invade Bengal in 327 AD, and leading up to the 1990 revolution against the autocratic regime then in
sharing the imagination, being , in most cases unillustrated and unelaborated upon.
Even the hall contain the : pictures of the great men and women of Bengal are insuffi-; cient. Firstly there are no pictures of rules before Nawab Sirajudowia. Secondly there is nothing on the lives and works of those whose pictures are on display. The only parts of our history adequately represented in the na-
resultant sense of shame or duty, whatever it may have been, generated among us a strong yearning to educate ourselves.
Choosing the situation for the genesis of our self teaching programme, posed a small problem. History book* provided an adequate option but were not too much us novices. So we decided on an easier and less stressful point of embarkation, the museum.
The encyclopaedia Britannica states that, ... "a mu seum, acts as an information centre for its community." Especially the role of a national museum as is the one situated in Shahabagh is supposed to represent heavily the various facets of a country namely its geography, culture and heritage. National museums are generally designed to inculcate a sense of pride, heritage and learning among the natives of a coun-
a country's past. It should demonstrate all the major transformations and upheavals a country has gone through.
For example, after a through visit of the national museum of Bangladesh, a history lover should learn as much about Ibn Battutu's visit to Bengal in 1346 as the ruins of Mynamati. A child should be as aware of the tragic battle of Plasaey in 1757 as much as he or sbe'is about our War of Independence in 1971. An American should comprehend the glory of our once Rampant Muslin industry as does the success' of our extant textile factories.
In a nutshell the national museum of Bangladesh should provide a through lesson on. Bangladesh, its present and it» past Having visited the museum, for the purpose of gaining a greater knowledge of our history, most of my ob-
power.
Lives of the great people who have graced the land should he chronicled, people line Srigyan Atish Dipankar, Bankim Chandra and Begum Rokeya. But alas, all these are absent. Present in display are but fragments of our glorious past. Sterhies dating back to the second to eight centuries, scriptures and wall inscriptions created during the Muslim rulership in the 1400s and unillustrated displays of the archaeological findings of Mynamati and Ma-tiastangar provide an insufficient but tantalizing insight into the history of Bangladesh.
Seeing these displays one achieves a sense of ancient heritage and the desire to learn, becomes immense but so does the disappointment on realising that here isn't the scope to learn. The relies can only serve the purpose of
tional museum are the War of- 1971 and the language' movement of 1952.
Apart from this, there is very little one can learn.
This situation is obviously very unsatisfactory .When we went to the museum we wanted and indeed expected to bear in detail about the Craise the great Roman poets estowed upon the brave men of Bangladesh, about the various dynasties that flourished in Bengal in the middle ages, about the glorious capital in Sonargaon, the tragic battle of Plassey, about the {>artition on 1947, the turbu-ent I960's and the controversial 1970's.
We did not and it was not right. I hope this situation is remedied and 1 can walk out of the national museum with a more learned reason and not nisi another ignorant look at the past (Special thanks _ to l.irem and Munir).