A retired IPS officer has returned his Police Medal in protest against the proposed demolition of a portion of the iconic Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library in Patna, to construct a flyover. The 130-year-old library is regarded as a treasure trove of historical books some very rare manuscripts.
In his letter to the President of India, who confers the medal, ex-IPS officer Amitabh Das alleged that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, in connivance with some corrupt contractors and ‘tender mafia’, has decided to raze a portion of the library to the ground.
”The library is a legacy of the entire human race, a symbol of the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb. The whole of Bihar is proud of it. As a book-lover, I am deeply shocked by this decision. I served the country for many years as an IPS officer. I am returning to you the police medal given by the Government of India to protest the Nitish government’s decision,” read his letter.
Das has launched a campaign to protect the library from demolition.
Opened in 1891, the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library was started by Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh, a bibliophile from Bihar. Khuda Bakhsh Khan opened the library with 4,000 manuscripts, of which he inherited 1,400 from his father Maulvi Mohammed Bakhsh.
Khuda Bakhsh Khan donated his entire personal collection to the people of Patna through a trust.
In 1969, the Government of India acknowledged the Khuda Bakhsh library as an Institution of National Importance through a bill passed by Parliament. It is funded by the Union Ministry of Culture.
Today, the library has over 21,000 manuscripts, mostly in Arabic and Persian, but also over 100 in Sanskrit. It has over 2.5 lakh books — some of them very rare — and finds mention in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register on heritage.
Among its prized possessions is the Tarikh-e-Khandan-e-Timuriyah, a rare manuscript that bears the handwriting of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and the only copy of Amornama, a collection of miniature paintings dating back to the 16th century among others.
INTACH, or the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, has also appealed to chief minister Nitish Kumar to spare the demolition of the library, saying razing of any part will be a “monumental loss of heritage” for not just Patna, but the entire world.
“Demolishing Khuda Bakhsh Library even partially, will be a grave mistake, and the heritage front of other iconic buildings, and hence of this historic face of Patna, would also be sullied forever if this project is allowed to go through,” the INTACH said.
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