The Ministry of Culture has told Parliament that 50 of India’s 3,693 centrally protected monuments have gone missing.
Key points
- The submissions were made by the ministry to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture as part of a report titled ‘Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India’.
- Some of the missing monuments include the Barakhamba Cemetery in Delhi; Guns of Emperor Sher Shah, Tinsukia (Assam); the Ruins of Copper Temple, Paya, Lohit (Arunachal Pradesh); Kos Minar, Mujesar, Faridabad (Haryana); Kutumbari Temple, Dwarahat, Almora (Uttarakhand); Rock Inscription, Satna (Madhya Pradesh); Old European Tomb, Pune (Maharashtra); 12th Century Temple, Baran (Rajasthan); and Telia Nala Buddhist ruins, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
- A bulk of the protected monuments were taken under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)’s wings during the 1920s and 30s, up till the 50s.
Causes
- The focus of successive governments was on health, education and infrastructure, rather than protecting heritage.
- Within the scope of heritage, the aim was to uncover more monuments and sites, instead of conservation.
- Many monuments and sites were lost to activities like urbanisation, construction of dams and reservoirs, and even encroachments.
- As per the ASI submission in Parliament, 14 monuments have been lost to rapid urbanisation, 12 are submerged by reservoirs/dams, while 24 are untraceable, which brings the number of missing monuments to 50.
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act)
- The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act) regulates the preservation of monuments and archaeological sites of national importance.
- The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Culture, functions under this Act.
- The ASI was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham.
- The Act protects monuments and sites that are more than 100 years old, including temples, cemeteries, inscriptions, tombs, forts, palaces, step-wells, rock-cut caves, and even objects like cannons and mile pillars that may be of historical significance.
(Source: Indian Express)
