A Brief History of the Chittagong University Museum
The museum is a centre of the identity of a nation and a repository of its cultural heritage. Being an Institutional one, Chittagong University Museum (CUM) is the first of its kind in Bangladesh. It is partly traditional but, essentially a comprehensive academic research museum where researchers may explore materials on history, art, architecture, heritage, museology, literature, sociology, anthropology, memorials of the liberation war and so on.
The museum started its formal journey in 1973 but its plan was conceived in 1966 by Professor Azizur Rahman Mallick (1918-1997), the first Vice Chancellor of the University of Chittagong. Before taking over the charge of Chittagong University, Mr. Mallick was a Professor of History at Rajshahi University where he ran simultaneously the Varenrda Research Society Museum as its Curator. Therefore, we may assume that a latent vision of establishing a museum at the University of Chittagong was in his mind. A second source suggests that the idea of a museum emerged during an exhibition at the History Department of Chittagong University where 24 artefacts were displayed to mark the University’s inauguration on 18 November 1966. Being a busy administrator, Dr. Mallick passed the dream of the first University Museum in Bangladesh to Dr. Abdul Karim, the then Head of the Department of History, a great medievalist, numismatist and epigraphist. Until the formal establishment and functioning of CUM, the museum project was burning like a wick in the History Department of Chittagong University where it operated as the Department of History Museum. Dr. Shamsul Hossain, a student and devout follower of Professor Karim, extended his hand in launching the museum and became the founder-Assistant Curator of CUM.
Story behind:
In a souvenir commemorating the first convocation of the University of Chittagong in 1994, Professor A.R. Mallick mentioned that during the university’s inauguration on November 18, 1966, he expressed his vision for establishing a research center dedicated to archaeological and anthropological studies. This suggests that the idea of creating a museum was already forming in his mind. A source indicates that the concept of the museum gained momentum with an exhibition held by the History Department during the university’s inauguration, where 24 antiquities were displayed. Governor Monem Ahmed inaugurated both the exhibition and the university. Mr. Mumtaz Hasan, President of the Museum Association of Pakistan and Managing Director of Pakistan National Bank, organized the display and ultimately donated the artifacts to the university.
Historian Abdul Karim stated that he initiated the establishment of a museum as a dedicated research center for the Department of History. He added that Professor Mallick’s generous support, as a fellow historian, was immensely helpful in this endeavor. Professor Mallick further advanced Karim’s efforts by facilitating the collection of several artifacts from the Varendra Research Museum.
Under the leadership of Professor Abdul Karim, the Department of History, along with a few students, including Shamsul Hussain—who would later become the first Deputy Curator of the Chittagong University Museum—conducted an archaeological field survey in 1967. Their work extended up to Paragalpur in the Zorwarganj Union of Mirsharai Upazila, where they unearthed significant artifacts, including inscriptions and an arch from a mosque’s mihrab, a niche indicating the direction of Mecca (for a detail, A. Karim, Samaj O Jibon, Jatiya Sahitya Prakash, 2008, Vol. II, p. 11). This survey enriched the department with valuable objects that would contribute to the future museum’s collection.
In the following years, students and teachers of the History Department actively collected artifacts and Persian manuscripts. Shamsul Hussain, a member of the first graduating class, was particularly enterprising in this regard. After the Liberation War, on December 14, 1972, he showcased his collection in an exhibition at the Bangladesh Parishad in Chittagong, inaugurated by Abul Fazal and supported by the Ministry of Information and Radio, Pakistan. Following the exhibition, the artifacts were handed over to Chittagong University.
In 1973, Shamsul Hussain submitted a draft plan for establishing a museum to Dr. Abdul Karim, then Head of the History Department. Professor Karim thoroughly revised the proposal and forwarded it to the university authorities. With the recommendation of the Finance Committee and approval of the Syndicate, the Chittagong University Museum officially began its journey on June 14, 1973.
The Chittagong University Museum (CUM) initially began with 30 artifacts from the History Department, housed in a small room on the first floor of the Arts Faculty building, now Abdul Karim Bhaban. It was later relocated to the ground floor of the same building before moving to the Zilla Shilpakala Academy building on M.M. Ali Road in Chittagong. In 1988, the museum was transferred to the third floor of the then Central Library building on the university campus. Finally, in 1992, it moved to its current location.
This museum began as the Department of History Museum. Its collection of sculptures and other objects started in 1976 when Dhaka Museum intercepted nearly two dozen stone sculptures that were about to be illegally shipped out of the country through Chittagong Port. These confiscated sculptures were acquired by Chittagong University, marking the foundation of a full-fledged museum. In 1979, the Varendra Research Museum contributed by donating around a dozen more sculptures. Although the exact origins of the items are unclear, most are believed to have come from northern Bangladesh. ( For a detail, Enamul Haque & Adalbert J. Gail (ed.), Sculpture in Bangladesh, Dhaka: The International centre for Study of Bengal Art, 2008, p. 288.)
The Varendra Research Society Museum (VRSM) was established in 1910, originating from the Varendra Research Society—a private initiative for intellectual pursuits. Rajshahi University assumed responsibility for VRSM in 1964, 54 years after its founding. In contrast, the Chittagong University Museum (CUM) was born entirely out of the enthusiasm and dedicated efforts of a few distinguished professors from Chittagong University, making it the first research museum of its kind to be founded under a university.
According to historian and National Professor Alamgir Muhammad Serajuddin, “a university museum aims to stimulate interest in, and encourage understanding and appreciation of, our history, archaeology, and art, and advance learning by providing materials and facilities for research” (Art and the Vintage, 1998, Preface). The Chittagong University Museum operates with these very objectives in mind. In addition to its collections of coins, medals, sculptures, and inscriptions, the museum houses terracotta, woodwork, porcelain, metal-ware, jewelry, textiles, folk art, and other works of minor arts. It also preserves a significant number of rare manuscripts, documents, and other important artifacts.
The Chittagong University Museum preserves a total of 159 Islamic manuscripts, categorized as follows: 40 in Arabic, 3 in Bengali, 111 in Persian, and 5 in Urdu. Among these are eight complete and illuminated copies of the Quran. Notable manuscripts include Naqsh-i-Sulaymani by Shaykh Abd al-Wasih in his own handwriting, Bustan-i-Sadi (dated 1161 Maghi), Iyar-i Danish (dated 1148 AH), and Maqasid by Shah Wali Allah Dihlavi (dated 1148 AH/1264 Maghi). The collection also features a Persian manuscript on the healing powers of different suras of the Quran, written at the request of Tipu Sultan, as well as Jadhb al-Qulub ila Diyar al-Mahbub by Shaykh Abd al-Haqq Muhaddith-i Dihlavi. Other important works include Tafsir-i Muhammadiya (Ampara), Taj al-Muluk wa Bakawali in Urdu, and a Bengali manuscript concerning Imam Ali, Hasan, and Husayn. (For a detail please see, Geoffrey Roper, World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts, Vol. 1, London: Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1992, p. 60.)
Dr. Mohammad Zahidur Rahman
Director, Chittagong University Museum
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