The Varendra Research Museum houses some of the most fascinating ancient artefacts of the Indian sub-continent. It is the first museum of the country situated in a building, which is described as a palace, in the Hetemkhan area of Rajshahi city. Anyone visiting Rajshahi for the first time will be struck by an array of old, red buildings that are big enough to seem like palaces.
The popularly known Varendra Museum, whose official name is Varendra Research Museum, is located in one such impressive edifice by the bank of the magnificent Padma. Once inside, a visitor will at once be in touch with 1,000 years of history of this subcontinent with statues, artefacts, architecture and cultural specimens standing testimony to a rich heritage that evolved over time.  A few leading and enlightened citizens of Rajshahi had once felt the urge to establish such an institution to explore the region’s glorious past. The Research Society was founded by Kumar Sarat Kumar Ray in 1910.
Ray later felt the need for an archaeological research centre in Rajshahi so that the region’s history could be explored and the finds preserved, thus serving as the nucleus of a local museum.
To collect, preserve, study, and research the history and culture of ancient and medieval Bangal, in general, and of the region, in particular, three eminent men took the initiative to establish a museum. Thus, the Research Society and Museum was set up in Rajshahi in 1910. It was a premier institution of its kind in Bangladesh and known for its splendid accomplishments. The role of the society vis-à-vis the museum was that of a proprietor and caretaker.
It was formally inaugurated on September 27, 1910 and registered in 1914 in accordance with the Indian Society Act, 1860.
The land for the present museum building was donated by Pramada Nath Roy, the Raja of Dighapotia .On November 13, 1916, Lord Carmichael laid the museum’s foundation stone. The museum’s existence was seriously threatened in 1911, when the Indian Museum, in Calcutta, demanded all the rare and unique specimens collected by the Research Museum.
The museum’s collections, as well as books and manuscripts acquired by the society, were housed in two rooms of the Public Library until the museum building was constructed. In 1916, the nearly two-acre site in the heart of the town was gifted to the museum by Kumar’s elder brother. Lord Carmichael laid the foundation designed by Kumar himself, who also bore the building’s entire construction cost. The museum was, almost from its inception, under the society’s council of management.
In 1937, the museum, including its building and premises, entire collection of exhibits, library, furniture, and other property were brought under the Government of Bengal Education Department in accordance with the Charitable Endowment Act, 1880, and the museum came to be administered by a committee of management. The Research Museum was, thus, relieved of its onerous responsibilities.
Prof. AR Mallick, the honorary curator, took a courageous step to save the museum for the people of Rajshahi. He first convinced the Rajshahi University authorities of the need to take over the museum in the interest of research. The Rajshahi University (RU) authorities and the Rajshahi district administration succeeded in impressing upon the provincial government to hand over the museum to the university on October 10, 1964. Till now, the museum’s upkeep is the responsibility of the university. The Research Society is now defunct, but the Research Museum stands as a tribute to its good deed for the preservation of our cultural heritage and promotion of learning. It has been playing a major in the collection of artefacts from every nook and corner of the country till now.