Archaeological Survey of India

Hindustani78

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Ministry of Culture
27-December, 2017 17:12 IST
Eight monuments/sites declared as of national importance under ASI during last 3 years:

Culture Minister
Eight monuments/sites have been declared as of national importance under the protection of Archaeological Survey of India during the last three years.

The funds allocated (rupees in lakhs) and expenditure incurred for conservation, preservation and maintenance of 3686 centrally protected monuments/sites in the country during the last three years is as under:

2014-15
23551.95

2015-16
23746.25

2016-17
30176.22


This information was given by Minister of State (IC) for Culture and Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

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Ministry of Culture
27-December, 2017 17:11 IST
Upgradation and modernisation of museums taken up by the Government on a continuous basis: Dr. Mahesh Sharma

There are a number of museums in the country directly under the administrative control of the Ministry of Culture, namely National Museum (New Delhi), 3 wings of National Gallery of Modern Art (Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai), Indian Museum (Kolkata), Victoria Memorial Hall (Kolkata), Salarjung Museum (Hyderabad), 23 Science Centre under National Council of Science Museum (Kolkata) and Allahabad Museum (Allahabad). Besides, there are forty four site museums under the control of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). These museums have a large collection of artefacts, paintings, sculptures, coins etc. Upgradation and modernization of these museums are taken up by the Government on a continuous basis to maintain them in good condition. Besides, the Government has also taken up 14 action points for museums for implementation on a continuing basis to bring about qualitative changes in museums in India keeping pace with the international developments in the field.

This information was given by Minister of State (IC) for Culture and Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

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Ministry of Culture
27-December, 2017 17:10 IST
29 MoUs signed under National Culture Fund Scheme of M/o Culture: Dr. Mahesh Sharma

The Government of India encourages Public Private Partnership (PPP) for conservation, restoration and environmental development of protected monuments and sites through National Culture Fund (NCF), a Trust under the Ministry of Culture. A few Corporate Houses have come forward for the maintenance and development of protected monuments.

Till date 29 MoUs have been signed with different private companies/ Public Sector Undertakings/ Government Bodies/ Trusts under NCF scheme of Ministry of Culture for the maintenance & development of the centrally protected monuments and museums under ASI. Out of which, 11 projects have already been completed while 18 are ongoing projects.

This information was given by Minister of State (IC) for Culture and Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.



*****
 

dhananjay1

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ASI needs to upgrade their sites and provide HD images and videos to general public. Their sites usually provide very poor quality images as if they were designed in 90s.
 

Hindustani78

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Ministry of Culture
02-January, 2018 15:50 IST
ASI has conducted survey to trace 50 missing monuments in the country: Culture Minister

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has conducted survey regarding missing monuments in the country and status is as under:



Number of monuments/sites affected due to rapid urbanization:
14

Number of monuments/sites submerged under reservoir/dam:
12

Number of monuments/sites which are untraceable:
24


The steps taken to locate / trace / restore and recover the missing monuments include verification of old records, revenue maps, referring published reports, physical inspection and deployment of team to trace them.


Number of Centrally Protected Monuments/Sites under the Jurisdiction of Archaeological Survey of India in the Country


Sl.No.
Name of State
Nos. of Monuments

1.
Andhra Pradesh
129

2.
Arunachal Pradesh
03

3.
Assam
55

4.
Bihar
70

5.
Chhattisgarh
47

6.
Daman & Diu (U. T.)
12

7.
Goa
21

8.
Gujarat
203

9.
Haryana
91

10.
Himachal Pradesh
40

11.
Jammu & Kashmir
69

12.
Jharkhand
13

13.
Karnataka
506

14.
Kerala
28

15.
Madhya Pradesh
292

16.
Maharashtra
285

17.
Manipur
01

18.
Meghalaya
08

19.
Mizoram
01

20.
Nagaland
04

21.
N.C.T. Delhi
174

22.
Odisha
79

23.
Puducherry (U.T.)
07

24.
Punjab
33

25.
Rajasthan
162

26.
Sikkim
03

27.
Telangana
08

28.
Tamil Nadu
413

29.
Tripura
08

30.
Uttar Pradesh
743

31.
Uttarakhand
42

32.
West Bengal
136


TOTAL
3686



LIST OF MONUMENTS/SITES WHICH ARE UNTRACEABLE


Assam
1.Guns of Emperor Sher Shah, Sadia, Tinsukia



Arunachal Pradesh


2.The Ruins of Copper Temple,Paya, Lohit

Haryana


3.Kos Minar, Mujesar, Faridabad


4.Kos Minar, Shahabad, Kurukshetra


Uttarakhand


5.Kutumbari Temple, Dwarahat, Almora


Delhi


6.Bara Khamba Cemetery, Delhi


7.Inchla Wali Gumti, Mubarakpur Kotla


Madhya Pradesh


8.Rock Inscription, Satna


Maharashtra


9.Old European Tomb, Pune


10.One Buruj, Agarkot


Rajasthan


11. Inscription in Fort, Nagar, Tonk


12. 12th Century Temple, Baran


Uttar Pradesh


13.Ruins of three small linga temple circle 1000 AD, Ahugi Mirzapur


14.Three sites with megaliths on the western and north eastern toes of the hill, Chandauli


15.Tablet on treasury building, Varanasi


16.Telia Nala Buddhist ruins, Varanasi


17.A Banyan grove containing traces of ancient building, Amavey, Ballia


18.Closed Cemetery, Katra Naka, Banda


19.Gunner Burkill’s Tomb, Mehroni, Lalitpur


20.Three Tomb, Lucknow-Faizabad Road, Lucknow


21.Cemeteries at miles 6 and 7, Jahraila Road, Lucknow


22.Cemetery at Gaughat, Lucknow


23.Large ruined site called Sandi-Khera, Pali, Shahabad, Hardoi


West Bengal


24.Ruins of fort, Bamanpukur, Nadia



This information was given by Minister of State (IC) for Culture and Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.


*****
 

Hindustani78

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http://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi...d-monuments/story-j1quGeWWNTAbl1RUAdA3QN.html

Centre lifts 100-metre cap on construction near ASI protected monuments

The proposed amendment allows construction of public infrastructure such as highways, bridges and airports within 100 metres of monuments protected by the ASI. The original Act prohibited any construction around 100 metres of a historical building or place.
Updated: Jan 03, 2018 16:48 IST
Hindustan Times

The India Trade Promotion Organisation realigned its 1.1km Mathura Road-Ring Road underpass cutting through Pragati Maidan as the project was too close to Purana Qila and Sher Shah Suri’s fort.(HT FILE)


  • The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the amendments to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, to pave the way for several stalled developmental projects, including expansion of Metro and roads and building bridges.

    The proposed amendment allows construction of public infrastructure such as highways, bridges and airports within 100 metres of monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The original Act prohibited any construction around 100 metres of a historical building or place.

    In May last year, the Union cabinet cleared a proposal to amend the law, following reports that the restriction is affecting the government’s development projects.

    Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that a number of infrastructure projects were stalled due to the law.

    Projects like the 112-years-old bridge in Kolhapur, which is 40 metres away from a monument, Metro rail projects in Kolkata and Pune, proposed bridges on the Yamuna, etc, had been stuck for a long time due to restrictions. The new Bill would pave the way for these projects which are coming up in the interest and the safety of the people,” Sharma said.

    Hundreds of people could die if the Kolhapur bridge falls any day, and it needed reconstruction, he said

    The India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) realigned its 1.1km Mathura Road-Ring Road underpass cutting through Pragati Maidan as the project was too close to Purana Qila and Sher Shah Suri’s fort. The original layout failed to evade the 100-metre cap.

    The amended law will do away with such stumbling blocks, but only for projects approved and sanctioned by the Union government.
 

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The former Director, Archaeological Survey of India, Shri B.M. Pande inaugurating an exhibition Human: The Creator, in the series of the exhibitions from the reserve collections of National Museum, in New Delhi on January 12, 2018.


The former Director, Archaeological Survey of India, Shri B.M. Pande visiting after inaugurating an exhibition Human: The Creator, in the series of the exhibitions from the reserve collections of National Museum, in New Delhi on January 12, 2018.
 

Hindustani78

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January 12, 2018 00:05 IST
Updated: January 12, 2018 23:53 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...dichanallur/article22431890.ece?homepage=true

Adichanallur in southern Tamil Nadu has been an active playground of archaeologists and anthropologists for more than 150 years. M. Kalyanaraman reports on the possible implications of recent research on skeletal remains and artefacts that suggest an ancient Tamil civilisation of great sophistication and antiquity

Her features weren’t well defined but her body conveyed a symbolism. Her large hips were emphasised by what appeared to be a skirt or perhaps an oddiyanam — a belt-like jewellery. Her breasts were prominent and the long, dangling earrings she wore seemed typical of the Tirunelveli region of Tamil Nadu.

The palm-sized bronze figurine came from the archaeological site at Adichanallur, located along the Tamirabarani river in Thoothukudi district, says C. Maheswaran, the retired curator for anthropology at the Department of Museums. “It likely represents a mother goddess who stood for fertility,” he adds. “The artefact is primitive but is circa 1,500 BC,” surmises T. Satyamurthy. As superintending archaeologist at the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), he had led the fourth excavation — fifth, as per some records — in Adichanallur in 2004-05.

For nearly a hundred years, the Mother Goddess has been lying safely inside a vault at the Egmore Museum. Now the figurine, as well as other artefacts, including gold diadems (gold jewellery tied with a string on the forehead) will join hundreds of other Adichanallur artefacts for display at a revamped gallery in the museum, says Kavitha Ramu, Director, Department of Museums.


An Urn burial site at Adichanallur near Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. | Photo Credit: A. Shaikmohideen

Digging to the Sangam era

At the site in Adichanallur, abutting the sleepy hamlet called Karungulam, there is little, if any, sign of past grandeur. On a recent Sunday evening, as the sun set over the Tamirabarani river, the grassy knoll on the river bank became a grazing ground for cattle. Bisected by the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur road, two rusty signboards of the ASI give little information on the significance of the site but warn vandals of punishment.

A group of women waiting for the bus motioned to this correspondent. One of them said in Tamil, “If you climb up the mound, you will see what you are searching for.” To the untrained eye, there is nothing extraordinary on top of the hummock, except for a view of two temples of recent origin. But right here, the four excavations in Adichanallur — by a German, a Frenchman, the British, and finally by Indians — have unearthed hundreds of burial urns, most likely several thousands of years old, along with skeletal remains and thousands of iron and bronze artefacts, including weapons and gold jewellery. These remains were shipped to Chennai, Kolkata, Berlin and Paris. A recently constructed building for an on-site museum in Adichanallur waits for the remains to return.

Among Tamil enthusiasts, heritage lovers, and advocates of Dravidian ideology, there has been a resurgence of interest in Adichanallur, following the recent discovery of an urban settlement in Keezhadi, in Sivaganga district, dating back to the Sangam era (300 BC to 300 AD). Many of them have charged the Centre with wilfully stalling the excavations at Keezhadi, contending that the ASI was baulking at the prospect of digging out an extensive, ancient Tamil civilisation that was independent of Vedic Hinduism.

Sangam literature, especially the earlier works, has been a touchstone for the Dravidian movement. The poetry of the Sangam canon evokes the inner world of feelings and the outer world of activity, but is largely silent on religious practices or even God. Many scholars aver that there is no trace of Vedic Hinduism in the verses, and almost nothing of the caste system or Brahmins. To many proponents of the Dravidian movement, the early Sangam era represents an ideal non-Brahmin, non-caste past, and gives them their separate identity. “If just the burial site can throw up so many things, imagine what a full-fledged excavation in Adichanallur might unearth,” says R. Mathivanan, who served as the Director the State government’s Tamil Etymological Dictionary project.




A figurine of Mother Goddess unearthed at Adhichanallur, placed at Government Museum in Egmore, Chennai. | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

The skeletal remains excavated at Adichanallur also did not quite match the biological structure of the contemporary Tamil people. For instance, the jaws of many of the skulls were protruding, and appeared to match those of Australian aborigines or Black Africans rather than a typical Tamil or south Indian. The shape and size of the eye sockets resembled those of the Caucasoid, Far Eastern or even African races. A receding forehead was yet another indicator of foreign origins.

For many decades, experts assumed that the site was 3,000 to 4,000 years old, and had concluded that the skulls belonged to primitive races that were the ancestors of today’s Tamils. Some sought to link them to the people of the Indus Valley, which has been recognised by some scholars as proto-Dravidian (‘proto’ would mean ‘original, primitive or the earliest’). Adichanallur was the missing link in time between the Tamils and the Indus Valley people, they felt.

But in the most recent research, P. Raghavan, a physical anthropologist, has surmised that the remains belong to the 500 BC to 200 BC period, by which time the contemporary Tamil population had formed. He has concluded that the foreign-looking skeletal remains were indeed those of foreigners. But what were these foreigners doing in Adichanallur thousands of years ago?

Date with the past

The most recent Adichanallur excavations in 2004-05, led by Mr. Satyamurthy, showed that Adichanallur, besides being an Iron Age burial site, was also a ‘habitation site’ where ancient people lived. In several reports in The Hindu and Frontline published at that time, journalist T.S. Subramanian explained what was excavated during that dig.

A research paper published in 2010 in the Indian Journal of History of Science said that Adichanallur was also an ancient centre for mining and metalwork. A mineral sample from a burial urn containing copper artefacts was dated to 1,500 BC, plus or minus 700 years, by Raj Kishore Gartia of Manipur University.

“At Adichanallur, arsenic was deliberately added to copper so that the alloy could be work-hardened over a wide range of temperatures without fear of embrittlement. Among the ancients in India, this technique has been found only in the Indus Valley, besides Adichanallur,” says B. Sasisekaran, who was serving as a scientist at the National Institute of Ocean Technology when he did the research as part of the team. He adds that at the nearby Krishnapuram too, an ancient mining site was found, indicating that this was not an isolated activity. The experts concluded that metal artefacts were made here until the 8th century AD.

The dating method used has, however, drawn criticism. In the Thermo-luminescence (TL) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating (OSL) methods adopted, the last time the mineral was heated (probably for its manufacture) is detected. Critics say that carbon dating is more appropriate for Adichanallur.




Gold ornament tied on the forehead during wedding unearthed at Adhichanallur, placed at Government Museum in Egmore, Chennai. | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Mr. Sasisekaran counters that OSL is indeed the standard for dating minerals, as carbon dating is used more for organic material. He adds that OSL had successfully dated findings by marine archaeologists at the Gulf of Khambat. But some archaeologists insist that radio carbon dating at three reputed institutes would settle the issue and also reduce the error margin in the OSL dating.

Diversity of the remains

For quite some time now, Adichanallur has been the playground of contentious theories voiced across the world. These theories have dealt with some of the biggest questions concerning the history of not just India but the entire human race.

Starting in Chennai, or Madras, as it was known then, the Adichanallur findings have exercised bright minds in Kolkata, Berlin, Paris, London, Australia and Ithaca in New York State, home to Cornell University.

“Adittanallur (Adichanallur) skeletal data have come to be regarded as the keystone for many theories of race formation, which were based upon the tenets of an earlier anthropological preoccupation called racial paleontology,” said Kenneth Kennedy, former professor of physical anthropology at Cornell, in his essay, “Hauntings at Adichanallur: An anthropological ghost story”, published in 1986.

Adichanallur’s international links began with the arrival of German antiquarian and Berlin resident of Russian descent Friedrich (Fedor) Jagor in the 19th century. Germany during Jagor’s time was a late entrant to the imperialist game that still fancied its chances. The Germans believed that they could use ethnography to understand the native populations they were encountering in Asia and Africa. This resulted in a race among German cities to boost their cosmopolitan status and catch up with other cities on the continent by enhancing the ethnological collections of their museums. Jagor, a resident of Berlin, was a prominent player in this race.





Between 1857 and 1893, Jagor made three trips to Asia. During his second expedition in 1876, he excavated “upwards of fifty kinds, of baked earthenware, utensils of all sizes and shapes, a considerable number of iron weapons and implements… and a great quantity of bones and skulls”, wrote the District Gazetteer. Jagor shipped his finds to the Ethnological Museum of Berlin.

Jagor has left detailed chronicles of his travels, but not of Adichanallur. “Jagor brought back some 10,000 artefacts in all. The Indian artefacts were first stored at the Ethnological Museum and in 1963 were brought to the newly established Department of Indian Art, now a part of the Museum of Asian Art next to the Ethnological Museum,” says Roland Platz, curator for South/Southeast Asia at the Berlin Ethnological Museum.

Jagor may not have written about Adichanallur but his treasures were becoming well known in Europe, noted Kennedy. Louis Lapicque, a French neuroscientist who believed in race theories, landed in Adichanallur in 1903. Kennedy added that Lapicque dug out one skull that, according to Lapicque, constituted evidence of a primitive Negroid race. This skull was “proudly displayed” at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, according to Kennedy, who noted that many other experts of that time were also weighing in on the skeletal remains.

Meanwhile, Alexander Rea, the superintending archaeologist of the ASI in Madras, had started his own excavation at the turn of the 20th century. In all he excavated 14 skeletal remains, and many of the artefacts he dug out were put on display at the Egmore Museum in Chennai.

In 1930, Solly Zuckerman, a research anatomist, did a measurement-based study of two Adichanallur skulls. He found the first to be somewhat Australoid but didn’t think it was too different from being Dravidian. The second, he said, was likely female, and remarkably similar to the Old Woman of Grimaldi, one of two Stone Age skeletal remains found in Italy.

The Grimaldi finds were thought to support the ‘Out of Europe’ theory which was later discredited. The Grimaldis were supposed to be examples of darker-skinned Europeans who gave rise to Black Africans and, probably for Zuckermann, Dravidians too.

In 1963, Indian anthropologists B.K. Gupta and P. Chatterjee published a study based on more advanced skeletal evaluation techniques in which they said the skeletons showed a medley of “primitive” features that belonged to Veddoid-Australoid and Mediterranean races. These races had “contributed to the formation of Dravidian speakers”, they said.

‘Vedda’ is a tribe that is still found in today’s Sri Lanka. In Tamil, ‘Vedda’ stands for the hunter tribe. As per the folklore, the most popular deity in the State, Murugan, comes from that tribe.

The two Indian anthropologists noted that the Australoid and the Mediterranean skeletal remains had also been found in Indus Valley Civilisation, thus establishing a link with Adichanallur.

Reviewing these studies, Kennedy concluded in his essay that the Adichanallur remains found until then were quite diverse. On that basis, he called for more conclusive excavations and analysis so that the ghosts of Adichanallur could be put to rest.

The Aussie connection

By 2014, the ‘Out of Africa’ theory had become the scientific consensus on the origin of man, and Australia had embarked on a project that would show that the aborigines in that country were descendants of ‘Out of Africa’ migrants living in South and Southeast Asia during the Ice Age. The Australoids had reportedly pushed towards Australia through sea and land routes — apparently, Australia was attached to the mainland then.

Among the scientists working in that project was P. Raghavan, who was born to Indian Tamil parents in Jaffna but left the island nation in the late 1970s due to the ethnic strife there. He and his sister Gayatri Pathmanathan moved to Chandigarh as researchers. Raghavan later moved to Australia.

In December 2004, he was on a visit to Chennai for his research on the link between aborigines and South India. A hotel receptionist, after asking about his profession, informed him that some ancient skeletons had been unearthed at Adichanallur. “Adichanallur became my passion...” says Mr. Raghavan.

While physical anthropologists before him saw Adichanallur in isolation, Mr. Raghavan, assisted by his sister, saw it in the context of Korkai, some 15 km from Adichanallur, and the Sangam references to it as a port involved in sea trade and pearl fishing. Radio carbon dating had found that a sample from Korkai was circa 800 BC. At that time (2,500 years ago) the sea might have been at least 6-7 km inland, he says.

After research using advanced software and databases, and scrutiny of the fossil and semi-fossil records in the area, he testifies to the foreign origin of the people whose skeletal remains were found. He says they date to 2,500-2,200 BC. “Many of the Adichanallur skulls were that of people from the Middle East, the Mediterranean region, Southeast Asia and the Far East, including what is today Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Japan. The skulls had abnormalities and nutritional deficiencies of the kind typically suffered by seafarers and deep-sea divers. They probably came in through the silk trade route, and the burial ground excavated was probably an exclusive cemetery for foreigners,” Mr. Raghavan says. The skull remains pointed to sexually transmitted diseases, which was again was a prevalent aspect of seafarers, he adds.

Some of the skulls had mysterious, well margined cavities just above the eyebrows. Mr. Raghavan says that they were probably caused by non-cancerous (benign) tumors (also known as Pott’s Puff Tumors) and related to excessive sinuses. They were likely caused by certain bacteria that often attack sailors and deep sea divers, he adds.

The Egmore Museum gallery seeks to highlight the sea trade aspect. “The revamped Adichanallur gallery in Egmore Museum will give visitors a feel of ancient Tamil life and their maritime activities through the use of virtual and augmented reality,” says K. Pandiarajan, Tamil Nadu Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture.“We hope to draw in Central as well as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds for the overall museum revamp project,” he adds.

“The State government has sanctioned ₹30 lakh for refurbishing the Adichanallur gallery, which will be completed by March-April,” says Kavitha Ramu of the Department of Museums.

Awaiting closure

Mr. Raghavan says that of the nearly 170 skeletal remains studied, Caucasoid constituted 35%, Mongoloid 30%, Negroid 14%, Australoid 5%, Dravidian 8%, and mixed traits 8%. He says that the Australoid were likely contemporary Australian aborigines who were known to have had seafaring qualities.

Modern anthropologists frown upon any significance being attached to race, save for the purposes of reconstructing history. The present belief is that there are four races: Australoid, Negroid, Caucasoid and Mongoloid. But these are statistical constructs that do not determine or describe culture, behaviour or ability. No one is purely of any race and the races are not closed genetic systems.

“In any case, India is an admixture of all the four races. The extent of the mix may vary from region to region,” says Mr. Raghavan, adding that Dravidian and Aryan are linguistic and not racial entities.

Dravidianists argue that as long as there are caste-based inequalities and concentration of power in the upper castes, empowerment politics based on race and identity are both relevant and necessary.

When marriage across caste boundaries becomes commonplace, such politics won’t be required, they say. They hope that an extensive excavation will conclusively establish a glorious Tamil civilisation along the Tamirabarani. “Less than 10% of the site has been excavated. There is scope for much more work there,” says Mr. Satyamurthy.

Mr. Raghavan’s finding offers closure to at least one aspect, however. Fedor Jagor came looking for the remains of a primitive people to exhibit in a Berlin museum so that the city could present itself as more cosmopolitan. Little would he have known that he was digging up an ancient cosmopolitan cemetery, if not the burial place of an entire cosmopolitan community.
 

Hindustani78

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Cause for concern: A file picture of Akbar’s tomb in Sikandra.

CHENNAI , January 13, 2018 20:39 IST
Updated: January 13, 2018 21:01 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/historians-oppose-monuments-bill/article22437352.ece


They fear threat to heritage sites if it becomes law

Historians and archaeologists have expressed concern over amendments proposed to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (1958). If the related Bill is passed in the Upper House, it could have disastrous consequences for historical monuments, they fear.

The Act, which originally instituted conservation measures and banned construction activities near protected monuments, is now sought to be amended so that public works could be allowed within the 100 m prohibited zone. The Lok Sabha passed the amendments to the Act on January 3. But the Bill is yet to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

You cannot talk about conserving ancient heritage and culture and then frame laws that go against their very preservation,” historian of ancient India Romila Thapar told The Hindu.

“A historical monument has to be conserved by leaving enough space around it; otherwise the monument itself may decay once you allow buildings to come up next to it. If you want people to appreciate the monument you should allow visitors to associate it with its neighbourhood by leaving space around the structure,” she said.

Urbanisation pressures

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials told The Hindu that the pressure to bring in this amendment came when the ASI declined permission for a six-lane highway to come up on the Delhi-Kanpur highway near Akbar’s tomb in Sikandra, Uttar Pradesh.

An ASI official, who also teaches history at a central university, said on condition of anonymity: “The ASI always takes the blame when it comes to upkeep of historical monuments, but when such laws are passed; nobody questions their local MPs as to what they were up to when such drastic changes were being made.”

Recounting an incident, he said that in 2010, when the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010, was passed to ban constructions around monuments, residents living near protected sites in Aurangabad protested against the move, with the ASI having to take the blame for it, while the local MP remained silent.

“The pressures of urban development have meant that more and more historical monuments are coming under threat due to development activities around them,” he said.

The ASI official further said that rapid urbanisation also threatened many sites of historical importance, for example megalithic sites (Iron Age burials) en route Chengalpattu from Chennai.

Neolithic site missing

“Even a Neolithic site near the Murugan temple in a hillock in Kundrathur is now missing due to urban settlements springing up there,” he said.

In 2013, after a CAG report raised an alarm that 92 historical monuments had gone “missing” due to development activities around them, the ASI started a ground survey to verify them, and found that 21 had indeed become untraceable.

Citing a Cabinet note, Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor informed Parliament recently that plans were afoot to construct a railway line next to Rani ki Vaw, an ancient step well in Patan, Gujarat, which had been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.
 

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Ministry of Culture
06-February, 2018 14:08 IST
Government proposes to establish more Science Centres/Cities/museums in all the States of the country: Dr. Mahesh Sharma

The Ministry of Culture operates Scheme for Promotion of Culture of Science (SPOCS) which provides for setting up of Science Cities and Science Centres in all the States of the country subject to availability of funds for the purpose. States willing to avail of this Scheme have to provide land and share the cost of setting up of facility and corpus for upkeep and maintenance.

The details of Science Cities set up in the country are as under.

  1. Science City, Kolkata, West Bengal
  2. Pushpa Gujral Science City, Kapurtala, Punjab
  3. Science City, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
  4. Regional Science City, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
List of Science Cities/Centres being set up/proposed to be set up in the country and present status



Sl. No.

Name of Science City/Science Centre

Location of the project (Name of State/ Union Territory)

Present status





1

Science City, Guwahati

Assam

Ongoing



2.

Regional Science Centre, Kottayam

Kerala

Nearing completion



3.

Regional Science Centre, Mysore

Karnataka

Ongoing



4.

Sub-Regional Science Centre, Palampur

Himachal Pradesh

Ongoing



5.

Sub-Regional Science Centre, Bargarh

Odisha

Ongoing



6.

Sub-Regional Science Centre, Udaipur

Tripura

Nearing completion



7.

Sub-Regional Science Centre, Gaya

Bihar

Ongoing



8.

Sub- Regional Science Centre, Almora

Uttarakhand

Ongoing



9.

Sub-Regional Science Centre, Udaipur

Rajasthan

Ongoing



10.

Sub-Regional Science Centre, Jabalpur

Madhya Pradesh

Ongoing



11.

Sub-Regional Science Centre, Kokrajhar, Assam

Assam

Ongoing



12.

Sub-Regional Science Centre, Mayabunder

A&N Islands

Ongoing



13.

Sub-Regional Science Centre, Rajahmundry

Andhra Pradesh

Ongoing




This information was given by Minister of State (IC) for Culture and Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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Hindustani78

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Ministry of Culture06-February, 2018 16:12 IST
107 museum professionals given specialized training to improve standards of Indian museums: Dr. Mahesh Sharma

1,08,881 art objects have been digitized and uploaded on the portal under project JATAN


The Government has taken a number of steps to improve museum administration which inter alia include storage management, proper display, facilities for visitors, publicity, capacity building, security etc. This is an ongoing activity. The Ministry of Culture does not allocate funds to States/UTs for upkeep of museums. It is responsible for museums under the administrative control of Ministry of Culture only. The details of the funds allocated over the last five years for their upkeep is given below:

S.No.
Organisation
Financial Year(Rs. in Crore)



2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17

1
National Museum, New Delhi
17.90
21.08
32.29
40.26
35.50

2
National Gallery Modern Art, New Delhi
16.22
17.90
22.35
26.33
35.58

3
Allahabad Museum, Allahabad
5.64
5.51
7.14
8.75
3.94

4
Indian Museum, Kolkata
25.85
11.13
22.41
20.55
9.91

5
Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad
24.15
22.52
24.49
24.00
26.70

6
Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata
10.28
10.42
34.09
47.84
8.75

7
National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata
67.63
67.39
85.71
84.75
77.95


Government has taken up capacity building of museum professionals including curators to improve standards of Indian Museums. During the period 2012-2017, a total of 107 museum professionals have been provided specialised training.

The Ministry of Culture has taken up a project named as JATAN in collaboration with C-DAC, Pune for creating an online digital repository of museum collections on the national portal www.museumsofindia.gov.in for the museums under the administrative control of Ministry of Culture. Digitization and uploading on the portal is a continuous process. Till now, 1,08,881 art objects have been digitized and uploaded on the portal.

This information was given by Minister of State (IC) for Culture and Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.


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