What is a museum???

The answer is that museums are a source of knowledge. Museums are the mirror of society. A museum is a collection of history, heritage, education and culture of a nation. The roots of the nation can be traced by looking at one of the elements in this collection. The light of tradition shines on the material. The light that illuminates, inspires, enlightens the people of the northern generation. They can know the culture and glorious time of the ancestors. In this glorious time there are flowing rivers, nature-cosmos, flowers-birds, man, his behavior, expression, speech or life story of his life, various elements used by him, his melody and tone. Where these voices are brought from different corners of history and presented, it is the collection of a prosperous nation or an independent country. This museum or collection not only inspires the people of the country, but also inspires people of different races or different classes and natures of different countries. From here they get direct education, so in this 21st century the museum is called the People's University. The National Museum of Bangladesh also contains various elements of thousands of years of history, tradition and culture of the Bengali nation. 1971 is the year of the greatest bend in the history of the Bengali nation beyond the blood-stairs of 1952. It was in this war that the Bengali nation broke the shackles of subjugation by shedding the blood of one of its rivers and brought the sun of freedom. Although the age of independence is close to half a century, the cultural heritage of Bengalis is about two and a half thousand years.

A museum is a building or institution that houses a collection of archeological artifacts. The museum collects and preserves objects of scientific, artistic and historical importance and displays them to the public permanently or temporarily by placing them in an exhibition base or display case. Most of the world's largest museums are located in major cities. However, local museums can be seen in small towns and rural areas.

The Chittagong University Museum is the only academic museum in Bangladesh that primarily assists students and researchers in teaching and research on human history, art, and culture, collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and creating opportunities for basic research in archeology, history, and ancient art, it is located in the natural area of Chittagong University campus in Hathazari upazila of the district. It is considered to be the only art museum in Chittagong and one of the public universities in the country. The current permanent collection of the museum is about a hundred, containing various collections of prehistoric and archeological sculptures, folk art, Islamic and contemporary art, and specimens of modern art of Bangladesh.

The museum was established in 1973 at the initiative of the Chittagong University authorities to provide research materials and facilities as an academic museum. Besides, the museum is run with the aim of stimulating the public interest and encouraging the enjoyment of the history, archeology and industrial heritage of Bangladesh. The process of establishing the Chittagong University Museum was originally started on November 26, 1986. The University of Chittagong started its journey on the same day. Although the museum was officially opened by the university's history department on June 14, 1983. The idea for the museum was born out of an exhibition of 24 antiquities at the inauguration of the university. Mumtaz Hasan, then president of the Pakistan Museum Association and managing director of the National Bank of Pakistan, donated the exhibits to university authorities. Renowned historian and archaeologist Azizur Rahman Mallick, the first Vice-Chancellor of the University, and eminent historian and then Additional Professor and Head of the Department of History at the University and later Vice-Chancellor Abdul Karim actively took the initiative to collect the archeology from this idea. The museum is currently run by a total of seven officials, including a director, an exhibition officer, a senior cataloguer, a library assistant, two gallery caretakers and a senior research assistant.

Initially, the museum started its journey in a small space in a room on the second floor of the Faculty of Arts and Anthropology building of the university. Later, for some time, museum activities were conducted in two rooms on the ground floor of the building in a larger area than before. The museum was then operated on a small scale at Chittagong Kalabhavan (now District Shilpakala Academy) on Maulana Mohammad Ali Road in Chittagong city and then relocated to the fourth floor of the administrative building of the university. After a total of five relocations, the museum was officially reopened on August 10, 1992 in a two-stored building on the west side of the present Chittagong University Library building for permanent exhibition. After various temporary locations, in 1992, the Chittagong University Museum was permanently relocated to the present University premises, a two-stored building. Although the museum's collection began with four medieval cannons, it is now more than a hundred. There are five galleries for exhibition on the second floor of the museum building.

Although the discovery of evidence of prehistoric material in this region of the subcontinent is rare, the Chittagong University Museum has been aware of the collection of prehistoric archeology since its inception and started the 'Prehistoric and Archaeological Gallery' collection. The gallery houses multiple terracotta plaques, metal paintings, ornate bricks, clay sculptures, antique coins, beads and pottery. An ancient specimen of this museum is considered to be a tertiary fish-fossil gift from the Nasirabad hills in Chittagong metropolis. These ancient fossils are considered to be helpful in the study and research of the natural history of the region. A large part of the museum contains sculptures from the main archeological sites of Mainamati, Chittagong Division, which are included in the academic subjects of this university. On the other hand, 51 antiquities of Mainamati have been borrowed by the Chittagong University Museum from the director of the Bangladesh National Museum. At present it is also part of the museum's collection of artefacts from the Mahasthangarh and Paharpur archeological sites.

There are also rare specimens with pictures of prehistoric life in Bengal. At the corner of the gallery is a dittaram exhibition of primitive life, depicting the daily life of primitive families in the Sitakunda hills of Chittagong. In the museum, there is a library named 'Abdul Karim Literary Scholar Cell Library' in honor of eminent Bengali writer and medieval manuscript collector Abdul Karim. There are rare beads written on palm leaves and tulle paper. The library is rich in about 4,000 ancient books and 2,000 valuable documents. This cell has a unique place in the library called "Chittagong Corner", especially for the collection of books related to the Chittagong region.

Organizing various exhibitions of these documents along with other collections of Chittagong University Museum is a matter of interest to scholars, teachers, students, and the general public. Also in 1997, at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh's independence, a booklet containing a list of documents was published in a special exhibition entitled "Special Exhibition of Liberation War Documents". There are also rare documents of the War of Liberation, commemorative books and various publications on the students of Chittagong University who were killed in the War of Liberation.

The museum has its own website. Anyone from anywhere in the world will find the latest information on museums on this website. The number of visitors to the museum is constantly increasing. Because visitors come to the museum to look for their roots. The museum also appeals to visitors, especially the new generation, to ‘come to the museum, learn your heritage’. Bring your child to the museum. Help them learn about their heritage. Because they are the future leaders of the nation, they will carry forward the rich culture of Bengalis. The museum is truly a meadow of culture and tradition.

I feel blessed to have the opportunity to study at Chittagong university. Thanks to Almighty God for giving me a great opportunity to read as well as know the heritage of our country.

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