Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 24: Taking a strong note of the missing of rare artifacts from Sri Pratap Singh (SPS) Museum here, Department of Tourism and Culture has convened a meeting of the officers on December 26 at Jammu to ascertain and find out the reasons about the missing of the artifacts.
The meeting is going to be chaired by Commissioner/Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Atal Duloo. Besides Duloo, the meeting would be attended by Special Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Deputy Director, Archives, Archaeology and Museums- Jammu, Deputy Director, Archives, Archaeology and Museums-Kashmir, Curator SPS Museum, Srinagar and Consultant, Department of Tourism and Culture.
Sources told Excelsior that the higher ups of the Department of Tourism and Culture have taken a strong note of the missing of the artifacts.
“It is not the first time that artifacts are missing from the SPS Museum. This has been going on for the past three decades now. First theft at the SPS Museum took place in 1977 and since then the incidents of theft have been reported from time to time. Twenty eight rare objects are missing from this Museum and scores others have been loaned to various institutions in the country,” said the sources.
Some of the items stolen from the SPS Museum include a manuscript of Holy Quran bearing the seal of Emperor Aurangzeb, a seated Buddha measuring about nine inches, standing Tara Bronze, a deity measuring around two feet in height, one brass image of Jain Tirthakar, one brass image of the Buddha seated on earth and one standing Buddha from Nagapatnam.
Srinagar based NGO Valley Citizens Council has moved a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with High Court about the missing of the artifacts from SPS Museum. Through the PIL the NGO has prayed that the High Court should direct the restoration of museums and recovery of the stolen items from there across the State.
Sources said that 200 items have been loaned to the Central Asian Museum, University of Kashmir while as some of the items have also been loaned to Nehru Memorial Museum, New Delhi. At the same time some items have also been loaned to institutes based in Lucknow and Shimla.
The items loaned include coins, paintings, Sanskrit manuscripts, Persian manuscripts and an old gun. The old gun has been gifted to a Shimla-based museum.
“Although more than 30 years have passed since first theft took place at SPS Museum but no action has been taken so far. Authorities have failed to book the culprits so far and the rare artifacts continue to be missing. It is important to fix the responsibility so that such things don’t happen in future and the assets are preserved at the SPS Museum or other museums of the State,” said the sources.
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