Rani Laxmibai’s arms rust in museum

The Gwalior Municipal Museum is the only known place in the country that houses weapons used by Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi. But the artefacts m...

The Gwalior Municipal Museum is the only known place in the country that houses weapons used by Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi. But the artefacts may soon be lost forever, lying as they do in a state of total neglect.

The treasures — including Laxmibai’s famous shield, her last armour, her helmets, swords and a special metal walking stick with a hidden knife — are priceless. Yet they lie ignored and forgotten. Only a small placard in a dusty corner indicates that the weapons belonged to the great warrior. With no proper care, most of the weapons have rusted over the years.

Noted historian Ramakant Chaturvedi, who was with the museum in 1981-84 and has been its director as well, said: ‘‘ These are personal arms of Rani Jhansi from the Scindia collection. Records on these arms, in Mudiya script, are also with the museum. The arms were handed over to the museum in 1902.’’

The museum, that has about 20 rooms, also houses some skins, manuscripts and ivory goods — all lying in a state of decay. In one dusty corner lies the palm script of Shiva Purana, which is about 800 years old. The only form of maintenance is a weekly dusting by the 15-member staff of the museum.

Everything about the double-storeyed museum smacks of neglect and decay — even the building is in a dilapidated state. The jute-covered walls are covered with rusted nails to hold up the artefacts. Two dusty tube-lights are the only source of light.

Officials blame the sad state of affairs on the fact that they only get Rs 5,000 annually for maintenance. At that rate, they say, they cannot even afford mothballs. No fund is allocated for preservation. Asked about this lack of budget, Chaturvedi said: ‘‘If a proposal for preservation of artefacts is drawn up, the state always can provide the funds. The budget is never a problem.’’

Interestingly, the museum falls under the Municipal Corporation of Gwalior and the State Department of Archaeology. A few years back, there was a move to hand over the museum to archaeologists. But the proposal was shelved because both the Municipal Corporation and the State Department of Archaeology wanted the museum to be manned by staff from their respective departments. Now, officers of various departments at the Municipal Corporation hold additional charge of the museum.

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On why the state has not taken over the museum, Commissioner, Archaeology, Archives and Museum, I.M. Chahal, said: ‘‘The artefacts have been with the museum right from the beginning. But we would be happy to preserve them if the Gwalior Municipal Corporation wants us to.’’

Municipal Commissioner C.B. Singh said steps are being taken to protect the museum. ‘‘We have started a Rs 8 lakh project to improve the state of the museum.

However, Gyan Singh, an officer with the Revenue Department who took charge as museum director about two years back, pointed out that the damage has already been done. ‘‘All the weapons have to be regularly cleaned and polished. We do not have the required expertise. So the museum staff just do what they can,’’ he said.