raj safe a la mithila

Raj Safe a la mithila
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Sanjay mishra
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The denizens of the sleepy cultural city of Darbhanga when woke up on 08-10-09 …it was not any other Thursday. The news of opening up of raj safe of regional state archive in the university campus, had sent splash of curiosity alaround. It was the topic of discussions at tea-shops as well as in drawing rooms. As expected, historians of the state were thrilled to know the treasure bundled in the safe. And finally, when it was opened, there were smiles and blinking eyes. Historians, raj custodians and local administrative officials were soon found rejoicing.

The findings are heartening. Rare manuscripts of the safe shed ample light on the history of bihar in the last five hundred years. Manuscripts include “ Akbarnama” written by allauddin in 1733 ad. It is in 12 volumes and inked in black. A copy of the farman of mughal court of delhi granting to rule Tirhut, Sahi farman of Aurangjeb, Shahnama by Firdaus are some notable findings. Raj family genealogy from 1200 ad has also been found.
The historians were amused to see the agreement paper of 1862. It depicts the transfer of power to britishers of the raj territory under the –court of ward- system. This was done after sudden demise of Maheswar singh. Laksmiswar singh was then a minor. In 1879, the charge of darbhanga estate was reverted to laksmiswar singh. An appreciation letter from Queen Victoria to laksmiswar has also been found.
It is generally presumed that the royal family members were supporters of britishers. But the letters in the safe tell altogether different story. The correspondence between maharaja and the founder members of congress like A O Hume, W C Bonnerji, K M Bannerji, attest to this. A letter mentions rs 10.000 yearly donation to the congress party. Similarly letter written by bidyanath jha to the freedom movement stalwart Dada Bhai Nauroji highlights the difficulties faced by the aspirants from bihar in the ics examination.
Unlocking the safe was not all so easy. The list of the manuscripts along with the key were missing. It took almost four hours. The archive was taken over by the state govt in 1977. It is housed in the raj secretariat. The state archive authorities at Patna wanted these manuscripts to be kept in patna archive. But the raj custodians and many historians of Darbhanga opposed the move. The state archive director vijay kumar consulted the principal secretary of the state girish sankar. Finally it was decided to keep the findings at darbhanga itself. Only after that, the patna team including Vijay kumar and Sakil ahmad samsi the manuscript expert of Khuda Baks library, came to darbhanga to unlock.
Sanskrit university also houses an archive. Besides these, there are two museums in the city. On regular intervals, thefts are committed in archives and museums. These theft items are smuggled to other countries. It is said that some employees associated with these institutions are in league with the racketeers. It is to be reminded that some rare manuscripts were smuggled to usa to be kept in the Sanskrit university opened there. And a vice chancellor of darbhanga Sanskrit university was alleged to help the racketeers.
There are hundreds of archaeological sites spotted in Mithila. But digging in them have not been done so far. Only a few Budhist sites have seen the light. Hundreds of ancient sculptors are scattered in the villages. But they are not taken care of. Only archaeological department can answer this rude apathy.