PHOTO ESSAY: National Museum glimpses how India is inherited through ages

        Museum is a reflection of civilisation, which is dedicated to display and preserve the culturally significant objects. It is a place of exhibition how a country is inherited through ages. 

       India has been rich in preserving its history through museums and other means. Its origin goes back to the late 18th century, although references to ‘chitrasala’ (picture gallery) can be found in ancient Indian literature. The country has the presence of more than 1200 museums. 

View of the National Museum in Delhi on Jan 31, 2024. (Photo by R. Suresh Bhardwaj) 

         Founded in 1949 and situated in Delhi, the National Museum has been bragging to the visitors about artefacts and precious objects that cover more than 5,000 years of Indian cultural heritage.

         Designed by Ganesh Bikaji Deolalikar, the entry gate of the museum has been a focal point of photography for visitors. It gives a stunning look with a cemented shed, three large entry gates and engraved ‘national museum’ on both sides. 

Me at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan 31, 2024.

        As one enters the main gate of the museum, it is witnessed the sculpture and script of Indus Valley civilisation on its left side, that leads through the cultures of Buddhism, Kushan, Gupta, Chola, Sangam, Deccan, Sultanate, Mughal and British period to modern age. 

City gate with a drain: Harappa, left, and Dayaram Sahni who excavated the city. (Pic by R. Suresh Bhardwaj) 

         The artefacts which are kept here confer the story of Indian cultures, which show the glory of Indian civilisation. 

Let take a look at artefacts and precious objects kept at the National Museum 

Jewel studded chair of king of Banaras at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan. 31, 2023. (Pic by R. Suresh Bhardwaj) 

An ivory home shrine at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan. 31, 2024. (Pic by R. Suresh Bhardwaj) 

Mughal period paintings at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan 31, 2024. (Photo by R. Suresh Bhardwaj) 

A painting of the medieval period at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan 31, 2024. (R. Suresh Bhardwaj) 

‘Chaupar’, a game played for entertainment, is kept at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan 31, 2024. Its origin is untraceable. During the Mahabharat period, it was being played for entertainment but a deceitful play by Kaurava against Pandava gave birth to a war and dragged both of them to the battlefield of Kurukshetra. (Photo by R Suresh Bhardwaj)

Deccan period painting at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan. 31, 2024. (Photo by R. Suresh Bhardwaj)

An undeciphered seal with inscription of Indus Valley civilisation at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan. 31, 2024. A one-horn bull can be seen on the seal, which was considered as unicorn, a holy animal. The riddle of unicorn still exists. (Photo by R Suresh Bhardwaj) 

Relics of Buddha at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan. 31, 2023. (Photo by R. Suresh Bhardwaj)  

Conjectural map of the Harappan city of Dholavira at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan 31, 2024. (Photo by R Suresh Bhardwaj)

Storage Jars which were being used in the Harappan civilisation kept at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan 31, 2024. (Photo by R Suresh Bhardwaj)

A sculpture at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan 31, 2024. (Photo by R Suresh Bhardwaj) 

A sculpture of Tredev—Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, at the National Museum in Delhi on Jan 31, 2024. (Photo by R. Suresh Bhardwaj) 

Some of portraits at the Northeast gallery of the National Museum in Delhi on Jan. 31, 2024. (Photo by R. Suresh Bhardwaj) 

A journey of Indian Coins and Coinage through images (All photos clicked by R. Suresh Bhardwaj) 

Barter system 

Punching Technique 

Casting through moulds 

Due striking technique

Machine technique 

Mughal coins

East India company coins 

Coins of Independent India 

Some of the clicks when I visited the Delhi’s National Museum 

Mood - Cherished 😍😍

Even Nitish failed to read Lalu's mind

       Without any scion of the party, Nitish Kumar had a chance to make the Janata Dal (United) dominant in the state of Bihar, and set an example for the regional parties that one-leader-party can also survive for long, but he lost the opportunity to do so due to his practice of switching sides since he broke ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2013. 

Photo credit- Lalu Prasad Yadav Twitter 

       He joined the ‘mahagathbandhan’, an alliance formed by the regional parties in Bihar just before the 2014 general election, but the parties which were in coalition were blown out in the storm by the Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of then Gujarat Chief Minister and Hindutva leader Narendra Modi who later claimed the throne of Delhi. 

       Although the election was a nightmare for the JD(U), but he proved, only in one year, that his decision was not wrong and managed to win 71 seats in the 2015 Bihar assembly election. He again became the chief minister of the state. In 2017, he flipped his side again and joined the NDA bloc, but he never compromised with the post of chief minister. For the third time, he switched his side, joined the grand alliance and also became chief minister of the state even after having a lesser number of seats than the RJD.

        He always appeared victorious in getting chief ministerial post. In doing so, he had been unaware of the fact what politics was being played by other political groups in the state. By accepting his proposals to be the chief minister of the state, the RJD had been attempting to thieve the support base of his party. RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav never denied his proposition and had been making deal conferring the deputy CM post for his son Tejashwi Yadav. 

        The game Lalu played is rarely seen in politics. Lalu Prasad Yadav knew that my son was still learning the initial lesson of politics. He has long miles ahead to go. Hence, he concurred with the Nitish’s offers. 

      Belonging to an agricultural family, Lalu knows how waiting is fruitful in farming. He applied this theory to politics for the benefit of his son. 

      Lalu is not anonymous in politics. Born on June 11, 1948, he earned fame as a politician who talked to the supporters in layman's language and mixed humour with politics. He made his entry to every household by his unique style of speech and his hair. The Lalu style is still popular for those who cannot part their hair in villages. 

     In Parliament, MPs had been laughing at his way of speaking. But, in the blink of an eye, he became marginalised after his conviction in a corruption case. He lost his membership in the parliament and was prohibited from contesting elections following a Supreme Court order that disqualified politicians if they were convicted for a minimum of 2 years. 

       At the time of his conviction, it was assumed as the end of the 'Lalu dynasty' but he proved it wrong and made his party — Rashtriya Janata Dal — still alive. His son Tejashwi Yadav emerged as a shining face of the party.

All eyes on Nitish as political speculations fermented in Bihar

       With the day's end, the peepers’ wait could not meet the end. JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was silent. RJD legislative party meeting was completed. Senior BJP leaders had also held meetings, but nothing was concluded. It seemed the deal was still on the table. 

       Former Bihar deputy CM and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi said doors are not permanently closed in politics. Bihar BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary repeated the same. A day before the political storm brewed in the state, RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha gave Nitish Kumar an ultimatum to end the speculation that no negotiation was being done. 

       The fate of the ‘mahagathbandhan’, a coalition of JD(U), RJD, Congress and CPI(ML), is in limbo, no one knows which move Nitish Kumar will make. Other parties of the coalition had fewer options because they stood 8-seat-behind majority in the assembly. 

        Nitish Kumar, who has been famous for switching sides, is still a crucial knot of the ‘mahagathbandhan’, who became the chief minister of Bihar even after having the less seats than the RJD. He made his entry to the national-level Opposition alliance INDIA with the hope to be a shining face of the coalition, but the Congress was sitting there in the driving seat. In meetings, discord arose which propelled him to cross over the grand alliance in Bihar just 2-3 months ahead of the general election. 

       Nitish Kumar knows the coalition he is part of will not benefit him in the Lok Sabha election that is expected to be held in April this year. He is aware of the fact that the long-awaited Ram Temple in Ayodhya has been consecrated which elevated the people’s elation in favour of the BJP. The rest has been broken into by the announcement of ‘Bharat Ratna’ for the former Bihar CM and a beacon of social justice, Karpoori Thakur in Bihar. 

       He is already informed what success his party achieved in the 2019 general election would not be repeated with the current coalitions. Being a 16-member parliamentary party is not easy as it seems, because one of the ‘mahagathbandhan’ associates, the RJD, has suffered an embarrassing defeat without opening its account. It was only the Congress among the alliance partners in Bihar, which managed to win one seat out of 40.

       Although the BJP has indicated that there is no real friend or enemy in politics, but it can’t be speculated yet what Nitish will do next? 

Karpoori Thakur who imprinted indelible mark on Bihar politics

         Belonging to a socially and economically backward family, called ‘hajjam’, also ‘nai’, it was impossible to get higher education in then caste-dominant society, but Karpoori Thakur did and became the chief minister of Bihar. 

Karpoori Thalir. Photo - Narendra Modi Twitter on Jan. 23, 2024.

         He gained fame as ‘jannayak’, people’s leader, and a beacon of social justice after implementing a 26 percent reservation for underprivileged classes in 1978 for the first time in the country, much earlier than the Mandal Commission recommendations were executed in the1990s. 

         On the eve of his 100th birth anniversary and a day after the consecration ceremony of Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, his name was announced for the highest civilian award ‘Bharat Ratna’ on January 23, 2024. 

          Born on January 24, 1924 in Bihar’s Samastipur in ‘hajjam’ family, Karpoori Thakur encountered the harsh truth of feudalism at an early age, when his father with him went to a feudalistic lord for financial help after he passed matriculation in the first class, but the rich man said keeping his feet on the table, “you had passed the matriculation? Massage my feet, in Hindi- ‘Pair Dabao”

        The ‘hajjam’ is a marginalised and disadvantageous caste in Bihar, whose members have been traditionally shaving beard and cutting hair only for a little paddy and wheat in the harvested season. 

        In a bid to spread education among the poor students, Thakur scrapped English as a compulsory subject when he had been the education minister in the state because many children could not pass the matriculation examination. He was a votary of the Hindi language and a protagonist of the underprivileged and marginalised class movement. 

         Due to this, the mark imprinted by him is still visible in the politics of Bihar even 36 years after his death. To woo the voters, political parties have been claiming over his legacy. Conferring him with the ‘Bharat Ratna’ is the latest bid in this row by the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the general election that is likely to be held in April this year. 

         The recently held caste-based survey entailed the real picture of backward classes in Bihar, which lie upon 63 percent. The social engineering deciphered by the JD (U) and the RJD, based on the dominant castes of Yadav, Kurmi, Kushwaha and Muslims makes the way difficult for the BJP when now the old alliance partner JD (U) is not with the party. 

         It is not the first time the BJP has faced this political puzzle. In the 1990s, when the Mandal Commission recommendations were put into effect, it propelled ‘kamandal’ that culminated in the ‘Rath Yatra’ led by Hindutva leader Lal Krishna Advani from Somnath to Ayodhya for the construction of Ram Temple at the place of the Babri Masjid. 

          It was a successful run for the saffron party that resulted in the governments formed in several states and the 1996 13-day government in the centre, which continued to the current central government led by Advani’s charioteer Narendra Modi for two consecutive terms. 

          Now when the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is constructed, in the hope of repeating the 1990s’ success and getting political mileage in Bihar, the BJP-led central government announced to confer Karpoori Thakur with Bharat Ratna, who was synonymous to social justice, after breaking into this caste affiliation of parties following caste survey.