Iftikhar-ul-Awwal (2003) 'Our Cultural Heritage and Museums', published in The New Nation (Bangladesh), March 5, 2003

7/22/2019 Iftikhar-ul-Awwal (2003) 'Our Cultural Heritage and Museums', published in The New Nation (Bangladesh), March 5

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Our Cultural Heritage and Museums

Professor Dr. Iftikhar-ul-AwwalDirector General, angladesh !ational Museum

The article was published in The New Nation (Bangladesh), March 5, 2003

It was also published in the Sustainable e!elop"ent Networ#ing $rogra""e, Bangladesh (SN$) website%http%&&www'sdnbd'org&sdi&news&generalnews&March2003&05032003&eature'ht"*+ur20-ultural

Bangladesh e"erged as a so!ereign state in ./.' It has a territor1 o nearl1 5,000 s4uare "iles,and a population o about .0 "illion' This "a#es Bangladesh one o the world6s "ost densel1populated areas' Most o the terrain is relati!el1 lat l1ing in the deltaic plain o $ad"aMeghna7a"una ri!er s1ste"' The onl1 signiicant uplands are in the northeast and southeast o thecountr1' The land is co!ered with a !ast networ# o ri!ers, their tributaries or"ing a "a8e ointerconnecting channels' In the southwest lies the Sundarbans, the biggest "angro!e orest inthe world with its a"ed 9o1al Bengal Tigers'

Bangladesh has a rich cultural heritage dating bac# to at least ourth centur1 B'-' +!er thecenturies, the region had been under the swa1 o the I"perial Maur1as and :uptas and laterunder the $alas, Senas and -handras who ruled ro" about the eight centur1 ;'' till thebeginning o the thirteenth centur1 ;'' Musli" ascendanc1 in the region was then establishedb1 the Sultans and the Mughals' nortunatel1, the e?ploiti!e polic1 and do"ineering posture o @est $a#istan soonco"pelled its eastern wing to declare a war against its western wing in ./.' The nine "onthsglorious @ar o Aiberation let to a new countr1Bangladesh'

So"e gli"pses o the countr16s histor1 and heritage "a1 be discerned ro" the ruins that re"ainscattered o!er "an1 sites in Bangladesh' ;rchaeological e?ca!ations at Mahasthan, situated about

eight "iles north o Bogra town on the ban# o Carato1a ri!er, led to the disco!er1 o an ancientcit1$undranagar or $undra Dardhana which is oten reerred to in preMusli" inscriptions,epigraphic records and literar1 wor#s' The Maur1as possibl1 ounded the cit1 in the third centur1B'-' It was the pro!incial "etropolis successi!el1 during the rule o the Maur1as, the :uptas, the$alas and "inor #nown or un#nown d1nasties' The disco!er1 o punch "ar#ed and cast coppercoins point to co""ercial interactions o the people within the cit1 and with other regions in andaround' ;"ong reco!ered anti4uities are ound beautiul buttons, eardrops, nose studs, se"iprecious stones, tapestries, terracotta igures and to1s, rings, bangles, etc'


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terracotta pla4ues, cowries, a hoard o ;rab coins in a s"all potter1 and drin#ing cups' $aharpuris now a part o the @orld


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(d) The nu"ber o speciali8ed "useu"s is also in the increase' or e?a"ple, there is now $ostalMuseu" in ha#a (./E5)H ;ir orce Museu", ha#a (./E)H BM; Museu", Bhatiari (.//3)H$olice Museu", ha#a (.//5)H Mariti"e Museu", -hittagong (.//5)H B9 Museu", ha#a(.//)H ;rtiller1 Museu", -hittagong (.//)H ha#a -anton"ent Bangabandhu Museu" (.//E)'

(e) The spirit o our great Aiberation @ar has led to the establish"ent o a nu"ber o liberation

war "useu"s' =?a"ples% Aiberation @ar Museu" at -o"illa (./)H DiFo1anghan, Bogra (.//5)HAiberation @ar Museu", ha#a (.//)H DiFo1ghata, M1"ensingh -anton"ent (.///)'

() Aocal "useu"s are also being established to collect, preser!e and displa1 obFects "ainl1 o theregion' =?a"ples are% -halan Beel Museu", Natore (./E), and 9angpur Museu" (./E2)'

(g) =stablish"ent o "useu"s through indi!idual eorts is on the increase' =?a"ples are% 9oc#sMuseu", $anchagarh (.//)H >lat 9ana6s Mini Museu", ha#a' Most o the pri!ate collectionso Boldha Museu" (established in ./25) set up b1 Ga"indar Narendra Nara1an 9o1 -howdhur1are now in the National Museu"'

(h) The inade4uac1 o science and technolog1 based "useu"s is "ost regrettable' The onl1

science "useu" o the countr1The National Science and Technolog1 Museu" is located at;gargaon, ha#a' Though the "useu" started elsewhere in the ./06s, it shited its presentlocation in ./E' The National Natural


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Documents

Iftikhar-ul-Awwal (2003) 'Our Cultural Heritage and Museums', published in The New Nation (Bangladesh), March 5, 2003