State Govt to promote numismatics
Jharkhand Government is all set to promote Numismatics, a study of coins in national perspective. For the first time ever, coins from all over the State and other parts of the country will be gathering here in November in order to strengthen ongoing research.
Highlighting the decision, State Museum Curator Md Sarfuddin said, “Many coins of the medieval period are found in Santhal Pargana division. There is a need to exchange knowledge about coins. So, we have planned a national seminar on numismatics wherein around 200 numismatists across India are expected to participate.”
Former Head of Ranchi University’s History department Dr IK Choudhary associated with various numismatics projects pointed out most of the coins in the State belong to Mughal period. “Rajmahal constituency under Santhal Pargana was a port where coins during Mughal Empire were made. later on, it was captured by East India Company. Due to these reasons, Rajmahal has become a hub of ancient coins. Coins of Mughal Empire are found at Khunti and Singhbhum districts as well,” he said.
The decision of hosting the unique literary programme was taken under the aegis of Art, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Geetashree Oraon long back. “Our state is known for its rich and heritage. The seminar will certainly help us in knowing how to explore the field of coin collection within the state. We hope discussions of the speakers would contribute towards development of the research based works being done within our state,” Oraon said.
Meanwhile, state government has planned to publish presented papers of the seminar participants. “Existence of ancient coins at Santhal Pargana indicates that the area was popular for trade and commerce,” Choudhary said.
Students of Ranchi University’s Archeology and Museology department offering Post Graduate in the concerned subject would probably benefit with government’s initiative.