Patna: There has been strong protests at the Bihar government’s plan to bulldoze a portion of the iconic Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library in Patna, a repository of 21,000 rare manuscripts and more than 250,000 printed books in Persian, Arabic, Urdu, English, Turkish and many other languages.
Protests have erupted following the Bihar government’s proposed plan to construct a 2.20 kilometer four-lane flyover to decongest traffic flow on Patna’s Ashok Rajpath road along which this iconic library is located.
The 130-year-old heritage structure opened in 1891 also finds its mention in UNESCO’s Memory of World Register on heritage. In 1969, the Indian government declared this library as an “Institution of National Importance” through a bill passed by the Parliament.
No objection
Last week, a team of officials from Bihar State Bridge Construction Corporation headed by its chairman Pankaj Kumar Pal visited the library premises and reportedly asked the library authorities to give their “No objection” over the proposed partial demolition plan, triggering virtual panic.
As per the report, the government plans to carry out a partial demolition of the reading hall named after the then Viceroy of India Lord Curzon who visited the library in 1905. “We are not against any development but development at the cost of such an important institution is not justified,” library’s director Dr Shayesta Bedar said. She added the century-old library had been attracting researchers and scholars from across the globe.
Prominent historian and library’s former director Dr. Imtiaz Ahmad too has expressed disgust over such a move of the government. “I am shocked that a proposal to bulldoze our heritage has been submitted,” Ahmad said.
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), non-profit organization founded with the objectives to spearhead heritage awareness and sensitize the people about pluralistic cultural legacy, has even made a formal appeal to chief minister Nitish Kumar to save the heritage structure being bulldozed. It also threatened to move the court if the government didn’t pay heed to their appeal.
According to the statement issued by the INTACH, Khuda Baksh library is a “heritage of Indian culture” which was visited by eminent persons like Mahatma Gandhi, Lord Curzon, scientist CV Raman, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Dr Rajendra Prasad, and APJ Abdul Kalam in the past.
“The heritage building shouldn’t be destroyed, even partially. We will urge the people to come forward to save this building,” said JK Lal, chief of Patna chapter of INTACH.
Book lover
Avid book reader and former Indian Police Service (IPS) official Amitabh Kumar Das has shot off a letter to the government urging the latter to stop demolition of the building. “As a book lover, I am shocked to know the proposed plan of the government to demolish portions of the library. This should not be done since it is a heritage for the entire human population,” Das wrote in his letter to the government.
Located on the banks of the Ganges, the iconic library was opened for public in October 1891 by Khan Bahadur Jhuda Baksh with 4,000 manuscripts of which he inherited 1,400 from his father Maulvi Mohammad Baksh. Now this library has more than 21,000 rare manuscripts and 25,000 books.
The library’s eclectic collections include the Tarikh-e-Khandan-e-Timuriyah, a lavishly illustrated text about the history of Taimur and his descendants (of which the only extant copy is with the library), a copy of Lord Byron’s Ode to Napoleon in which two additional stanzas have been added in what is considered to be Byron’s own handwriting, a sword of Nadir Shah, and a miniature copy of the Quran that is 2.5 mm wide.
It also has books belonging to Mughal period that have handmade paintings showcasing the life and culture of those times and amazing manuscripts showcasing excellent calligraphy skills written on palm leaves.
