Gumnami Baba’s belongings soon to be open for public viewing
LUCKNOW: The belongings of Gumnami Baba, whom some believe was Indian National Army leader Subhas Chandra Bose living in disguise, are all set to be displayed for the public. The UP Museum Directorate took almost a year to put Gumnami Baba’s belongings for public display at Ram Katha Sangrahalaya in Ayodhya. The gallery will get operational by the end of next month.
Following the Allahabad High Court’s 2013 order on Gumnami Baba, former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav announced the construction of the galleries for displaying Gumnami Baba’s belongings. Besides, Yadav also constituted an enquiry committee to probe Baba’s identity. Following the order, the probe committee, headed by UP Museum Directorate, carried out the identification of Baba’s belongings packed in 9 heavy iron trunks preserved in the treasury of Faizabad.
The committee also probed the connection of the recovered items with Bose, said an official with the state museum. “Segregation of Baba’s belonging was no easy task. Of the total 2500 articles, around 425 were shortlisted for public display,” he added.
After shortlisting the items, the directorate hired UP Awas Vikas Parishad and began the construction of the galleries. Two galleries of 60x40 feet each have been constructed. Also, a separate digitized section has been set up. “It is meant for the technically advanced visitors who can access the digitised version of the books, recovered from Gumnami Baba,” said AK Singh, director, UP Museum Directorate.