The Hindu : Jagmohan orders closure of Nizam's jewels exhibition

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 16, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Jagmohan orders closure of Nizam's jewels exhibition

By Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI MAY 15. In a move that is sure to disappoint the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, who has been lobbying for housing the famed Nizam's jewels permanently in the State, the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, Jagmohan, has ordered the closure of the ongoing exhibition and return of the priceless collection to the Reserve Bank.

Mr. Jagmohan is said to have issued orders to this effect over a week ago after coming to the conclusion that exhibiting these jewels — estimated to be worth Rs.10,000 crores — was a drain on the Culture Ministry's meagre resources. Apparently, even with an entry fee of Rs.50 a person, the Ministry had recovered only 60 per cent of the cost of mounting the exhibition in two cities; first in Delhi's National Museum and then at the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad.

The jewels — which were due to travel to Mumbai from Hyderabad for exhibition at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya — are to be transferred back to the RBI vaults. Though Mr. Jagmohan has suggested that some pieces from the collection could be displayed at Delhi's National Museum after its new wing is constructed with a special gallery for precious jewels, this could take a while as this particular wing has been in the making for about 50 years now.

Following the decision, the Maharashtra Government — which was to exhibit the jewels at its own expense on the condition that visitors would be charged Rs.100 a head — has apparently been crying foul and accusing the Ministry of discriminatory treatment as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Sangrahalaya is a State museum unlike the National Museum and the Salar Jung Museum which are under direct Central control.

Given the fact that transporting the jewels to the RBI headquarters, Mumbai — where they had been kept since 1995 after the Government acquired them following protracted litigation — would cost Rs.10 lakhs, the Ministry is yet to decide whether to return them to the financial capital or keep them in the RBI branch in Hyderabad.

The Prime Minister's Office has been apprised of the latest development as Mr. Naidu had approached the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in the past; staking the State's claim to display the jewels permanently in Hyderabad as they initially belonged to the city.

The Chief Minister wanted to showcase the jewels as part of his plan to develop Hyderabad into a tourist destination.

Though the Prime Minister had apparently assured Mr. Naidu that the jewels would be permanently exhibited in Hyderabad and had asked the Ministry to look into the feasibility of such a move, no final decision was taken.

Now that Mr. Jagmohan has ordered the return of the jewels to the RBI vaults, the Ministry is awaiting a final word from the Prime Minister on an issue close to Mr. Naidu's heart.

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