By Carol Khan
The Peshawar Museum
To visit Peshawar Museum is to experience Pakistan’s colonial-ridden past, terrorist-plagued present and potentially historically significant future. During the Raj era, the main building was known as Victoria Memorial Hall and it sits along Saddar Road – a busy thoroughfare running parallel to the railway and adjacent to GT Road. The landscape architecture is among the crispest in the area with several well-kept grass lawns and KPK-engraved bricks strewn about the garden, separating flower patches. To visit the museum is also to experience an avatar of provincial tolerance, which hand-in-hand carries the threat of extremist attacks.
The entire region formerly known as the North West Frontier Province is scattered with Gandharan heritage sites, but the Museum here in Peshawar archives some of the most precious Gandharan finds in the province. It also holds one of the world’s largest collections of Gandhara artefacts. Some of the displayed objects date from the 1st century ACE to the 8th century ACE. Although the collection rarely travels, it would be wrong to say that it isn’t shared internationally. For instance, a nine-day exhibition of photographs of the Peshawar Museum’s collection reflecting Pakistan’s Buddhist heritage was held in South Korea at the Jogyesa Temple in the summer of 2011. The Peshawar Museum’s ties remain close to South Korea, with a recent visit by several Korean monks last month in October.
Statue from the Buddhist Section of the Peshawar Museum
The subject of Peshawar Museum’s most recent exhibition, ‘Islamic Calligraphy and Manuscripts’, focused on Islam. The real impetus behind the Ramazan exhibition – the first special show at the Museum in eight years – was to highlight the Museum’s Islamic Section, where the display was held from 19 to 29 July, 2014, just before Eid. From metre-long ancient Holy Qurans to delicate Iranian manuscripts, the largely calligraphic specimens were predominantly gifted to the museum from Iran. The Islamic display room, located on the second level, consisted of more than just several donations from the Iranian Consulate and the Iranian Culture Centre of Peshawar in 2003. These calligraphy specimens were among the most auspicious on display. Entry to the show was free, although the doorman did try to charge my husband and me upon entry during the special Islamic display.
Display in the Islamic Section of the Peshawar Museum
Without discussing policy-making and funding in reference to the Peshawar Museum, it’s worth noting that the Museum is run by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government via the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums. The curator explained to me that the first two days of the 10-day summer show were the busiest it had experienced, and that the Museum received more foot traffic than usual with the publicity it gained at the start of the exhibition. I don’t claim to be any sort of expert on terrorism and the various causes of bomb blasts, but the curator of the Peshawar Museum did mention to me that they chose to do a temporary exhibition on the subject of Islam, without charging an entrance fee, to guarantee less of a risk of terrorist bombings or similar attacks. In terms of remaining a safe place for families and visitors, the Islamic exhibition was a success.
Exhibit in the Islamic Section of the Peshawar Museum
The threat of terrorism for the Peshawar Museum becomes quite clear when considering how few temporary, travelling or special displays the Museum is able to offer the public. The previous exhibition before this summer’s show was in 2006 and examined the architectural history of the Peshawar Museum. Furthermore, its neighbouring library is impossible to enter without booking in advance. The lack of temporary exhibitions at the Peshawar Museum is clearly a wise and precautious step by authorities considering that ISIS pamphlets were reported to have been distributed in Peshawar in September. Although I haven’t spoken with the curator recently, chances are the Directorate of Archaeology & Museums will schedule the next temporary display at the Peshawar Museum again during an Islamic holiday to promote tourism in a safe and cautious manner. Perhaps greater national efforts to make, restore and preserve heritage locations such as the Peshawar Museum will help peace spread in the city and surrounding areas whilst deterring threats of violence to which Peshawar citizens have grown accustomed.