The Dogra Art Museum in Jammu, a custodian of the region’s rich cultural heritage, finds itself in a distressing state-not due to lack of collections or historical significance, but simply because of limited physical space. This constraint has denied it the benefits of the Union Ministry of Culture’s Museum Grant Scheme, which could have transformed it into a premier cultural hub. Despite being eligible under the scheme’s first component-the development of state-level museums-the Dogra Art Museum fails to meet the mandatory criterion of attracting one lakh annual visitors. The primary reason is glaring: a majority of its invaluable artefacts remain packed away, hidden from public view, due to insufficient display area. Since its temporary relocation in 2020 to the Army Headquarters building within the Mubarak Mandi Complex, following the launch of restoration work, the museum’s condition has stagnated. Unfortunately, the shift of its parent department from Tourism to Culture has done little to change this ground reality.
The Mubarak Mandi restoration project, sanctioned in 2019, was supposed to breathe new life into Jammu’s heritage epicentre. Yet five years later, the promise remains unfulfilled. Instead of completing one building at a time and putting it to effective use, all structures are caught in various stages of incomplete restoration-serving neither heritage conservation nor public engagement. An immediate, practical solution lies in shifting the office of the Mubarak Mandi Heritage Society, currently housed just above the museum, and reallocating that floor space to the museum. This low-cost measure would expand the museum’s display area without the risk of damage associated with relocating priceless artefacts. More importantly, it would allow the museum to bring its vast collection out of storage and into the public domain-crucial for achieving the visitor threshold necessary to qualify for central funding. With a cafeteria-cum-library soon opening in an adjacent building, visitor footfall is bound to increase, creating a timely opportunity to revamp the museum experience. However, unless the Government addresses the root issue-the stalled restoration of Mubarak Mandi-the museum and the cultural ecosystem surrounding it will continue to languish.
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