2026-05-01T12:01:34Zhttps://oai.catalogue.archives.ncbs.res.in/oai:archives.ncbs.res.in:/repositories/2/resources/902026-02-26T11:45:23ZArchives at NCBSTata Institute of Fundamental ResearchAR-005https://catalogue.archives.ncbs.res.in/repositories/2/resources/90Nisha BNature Conservation FoundationBengal Natural History SocietyBengal Natural History Society (BeNHS) Papers1926-2007, majority of material within 1926-19706730 SheetsMaterial is mostly stable, with minor wear and fungal damage marks. Damaged binding has been removed for preservation.engLatnnepDevaThe Darjeeling Natural History Society was constituted towards the end of 1923. Its purpose was to maintain the Bengal Natural History Museum (BNHM) and work towards the other goals of the museum: promote study of natural history and curate a complete specimen collection from a limited area. The region of interest was defined as the erstwhile administrative districts of Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, along with the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. Government and municipal funding was insufficient for this work. Hence, a decision was made to enrol members and publish a quarterly journal to boost influx of funds. The journal in its initial stage (1926-1939) was called the Journal of Darjeeling Natural History Society.
In 1940, the society was renamed as ‘Bengal Natural History Society’ to attract wider membership. The journal, hence renamed Journal of Bengal Natural History Society (JBeNHS) made an effort to show the journal was open to article contributions from all of the erstwhile Indian Empire and beyond. This move was motivated by a 20% cut from the government funding as a result of the ongoing freedom struggle and the resultant rise of costs.
Despite these hurdles, JBeNHS continued to be published as a quarterly journal until 1958. 1959 onwards, it became a bi-annual journal due to shortage of funds and written contributions. JBeNHS publications halted after 1970, and the society was dissolved soon. The Department of Forests (Wildlife wing) Government of West Bengal took over responsibilities of the museum in 1976. The museum was shifted into the premises of Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in 2015, with all its specimen and literary collections, and is currently under jurisdiction of the Director of the zoological park.The collection is divided into two series. The first covers the Journal of Bengal Natural History Society (JBeNHS) which was initially called Journal of Darjeeling Natural History Society (JDNHS). The second comprises other publications of the BeNHS and the Bengal Natural History Museum (BNHM). The material ranges from 1920s to early 2000s, with the majority of it between 1926-1970. The collection is in the form of paper and primarily has printed material including illustrated and photographic plates. The first series has JBeNHS issues divided into subseries classified according to the journal editor and arranged chronologically. The second has a sub-series with article reprints from JBeNHS issues where the complete issue is unavailable. The latter series has a second sub-series with printed administrative documents of BeNHS and publications about the BNHM and its specimen collections.Collection arranged into two series, first with nine sub-series and second with two sub-series. This covers 127 issues of JBeNHS and other publications of the museum and the society.Copyright may not have been assigned to Archives, National Centre for Biological Sciences. Permission for reproduction or distribution must be obtained in writing from the Archives at NCBS (archives@ncbs.res.in). The Archives at NCBS makes no representation that it is the copyright owner in all of its collections. The user must obtain all necessary rights and clearances before use of material and material may only be reproduced for academic and non-commercial use.Collection is open for access unless mentioned in specific folders of the finding aid.Natural historyEcology -- IndiaOrnithologyNatural history museumsDarjeeling (India)India, NortheasternWest Bengal (India)