A Parliamentary Standing Committee has expressed dismay at the slow pace of documentation of antiquities noting that this was critical in proving ownership and reclaiming stolen heritage items. The government has been intent on securing the repatriation of stolen Indian artefacts from abroad,
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture noted in its report submitted in the Rajya Sabha on Monday that the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) which is mandated with documenting the country’s monuments and antiquities has only been able to document 16.8 lakh antiquities out of a total of 58 lakh which is just about 30 percent.
It says that the Committee was informed by Director General of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) that the figure of 58 lakh antiquities is only an estimate and there may well be many more.
Also Read: U.S. hands over 105 antiquities to India
“If so, it makes the slow pace of documentation under NMMA all the more alarming”.
The NMMA was launched in 2007 to document the country’s monuments and antiquities. This will help in the creation of a database of all antiquities and can be referred to readily in case of fraudulent dealings or theft.
It was initially set up for a period of 5 years from 2007 to 2012. It was extended for a further 5 years till 2017 and later merged with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Indian heritage items and cultural repositories which are scattered all over the country come under the purview of various agencies. Some are protected by ASI, some are under the state government and some are under trusts, local authorities and private ownership.
“A big chunk of movable heritage is unprotected and scattered all over the country without any vigilance and protection. While theft of antiquities from Centrally Protected Monuments/sites under ASI and under State Governments is immediately reported and FIRs lodged, theft of unprotected antiquities which are neither documented nor reported makes retrieval very difficult,” according to the Culture Ministry.
Therefore, the documentation of all such antiquities in the form of digitized records along with maintenance and periodic auditing of inventory is the first step to ensure the safeguarding of India’s tangible cultural heritage.
Last week, the United States handed over 105 trafficked antiquities to India.
The return of the artefacts follows an agreement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US last month. India and the US are to work on a Cultural Property Agreement too. That would help prevent trafficking of cultural artefacts in future, a statement from the Indian Consulate said.
Since 2014, India has received 238 repatriated artefacts in addition to the ones from the US last week.
