CONSERVATION AND HERITAGE: PRE AND POST INDEPENDENT INDIA

LALIT PANDEY
pandey_lalit2003@yahoo.com

Conservation and Heritage are interlinked to each other because without

conserving one cannot imagine about the existence of tangible or intangible
heritage for the contemporary and future generations. Since the immemorial times,
the societies of all the stages of history have done their best to conserve, restore
and rejuvenate the evidence of past which develops a pride and confidence among
them.
Before discussing the technicalities of the definition of heritage, whatever we
individually or collectively inherit, is heritage. Actually, heritage has several
connotations and its various definitions are an indication of the widening of its
contents. United Nations Education ,Social, Cultural Organization had widely
discussed the multiple facets of heritage in its Convention of 1970 and
conclusively the convention decided to include each and every aspect of human
Endeavour into the sphere of heritage. According to the UNESCO
Convention ,"Cultural property means property which, on religious or secular
grounds ,is specifically designated by each state as being of importance for
archaeology ,pre-history, literature ,art or science and which belongs to a number
of categories"(Bannered ,N.H.,1990,pp.110-111).
A number of countries have defined the heritage in their own perspective e.g.; the
German definition of cultural heritage is much broader and meaningful. According
to their perspective cultural heritage consists of things that are useful to understand
our society, they are created for this purpose and it is in the public interest to
safeguard them for artistic, scientific ,technical ,historical or town-planning
purposes. A famous art historian Aloes Riel, the monuments are important from
the following three dimensions:
**A monument has cognitive value;
**A monument enables us to identify the history of art;
**A monument is a manifestations of passing time .It helps us to recall our past
highlighting in the process of our common development ,the osmosis of diverse
aspirations and the development of a common conscience that help us to solve the
present problems(Xavier Greffi,2001,pp.18-19).
In context of India history the legal framework  of conservation goes back to 
1810 and 1817 when Bengal and Madras Regulation Act empowered the
governments, if they feel proper, they can stop the despoliation of ancient
buildings. In 1863tto  under the administration of Crown  the British government 
empowered to Viceroy to prevent injuries to the building of historic value. In
continuation of it the administration structured a Treasure Trove Act in 1887.The
Act allowed the government to claim the any kind of unearthed treasure which has
the value of more than ten rupee. The administration did not stop here only and
issued two directives under which the officials debarred from disposing of
antiquities without the approval of higher authority. The second directive made
essential to take the permission of Survey to conduct any kind of excavation
(Chakrabarti,Dilip,K.,2003,p.165)In reference of the conservation policy of India
Lord Curzon played a pivotal role. In his own words:"In the course of my recent
tour, during which I visited some of the most famous sites and historical buildings
in India, more than once remarked in reply to municipal address ,that required the
conservation of ancient monuments as one of the primary obligations of
Government. We have a duty to our forerunners as well as to our contemporaries
and to our descendants, nay, our duty to the two latter classes in itself demands the
recognition of an obligation to the former, since we are the custodians of our own
age of that which has been bequeathed to us by an earlier and since posterity will
rightly blame us, if we ,are owing to our neglect, fail to us the relics of Hindu and
Muhammad an or Buddhist, Brahman ,and Jain ,are from the antiquarian ,the
historical and the artistic point of view ,equally interesting and sacred. Each
represents the glories on the faith of a branch of the human family. Each fills a
chapter in Indian history .Each is a part of the heritage which providence has
committed to the custody of the ruling power "(Chakra borty, Deli K,1988,
pp.227-230).
Fortunately, Sir John Marshall and Mortimer Wheeler followed the guidelines of
Lord Curzon and they continued the work of listing the ancient monuments. To fill
these objectives, a number of administrative decisions were taken by the British
Government in an order of dated 4 June,1901,of the Foreign Department of the
GOI, the responsibility of the general supervision of the princely territories outside
the British control was passed on to the regional surveyors. The second major step,
which was taken by the British Government ,was passed on to the Ancient
Monuments' Preservation Act of 1904.In 1923 ,Marshall published conservation
manual under the auspices of Archaeological Survey of India .This slim volume
still remains the Bible of the conservation of Indian Monuments and no praise can
be too high to its clarity, attention to the technical details and above all the
sentiment expressed.(Chakraborty, D K,1988,pp.123-24).In between 1904 to
1947,various modifications made in which Montague -Chelmsford: s reforms and
the modifications were made under the 1935 Act of Government of India are
important.

After independence , the Archaeological Survey of India maintained the same

spirit and by the efforts of various dedicated archaeologists, today we have a
legacy of about 5000 monuments and archaeological sites of national importance.
In addition to this, about 4000 monuments are also protected by the State
Departments of Archaeology and Museums. But after getting independence in
1947  because of the enforcement of the Constitution of India on 26 January,1950
things changed .The seventh schedule ,Article 246 of the constitution put the
historical monuments and records and archaeological sites and remains which are
declared to be the national significance under a law passed by the Parliament under
the central jurisdiction ,whereas those outside the formally approved category of 
'national  importance 'were kept under the State and the State-Centre(Concurrent)
responsibilities. Under The Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological
Sites and Remains (Declaration of National importance) Act of 1951 all
monuments preserved under the Act of 1904 were designed as sites and
monuments of national importance and included within its scope over 450
monuments and sites of the princely states .Under section 126 of the State
Reorganization Act of 1956 some more sites and monuments were declared to be a
national importance.
Again in 1958,1959 and in 1972 ,1973 the Government of India amended the acts
according to the needs of time to conserve and rejuvenate the various monuments
and sites. All these legal provisions have been made to protect and conserve the
heritage if the country's past .(Chakrabarti ,D K ,2093,pp.164-171.The last Act
which has been passed by the Parliament in 2010.Though ,it is not possible to go
into the details .I would like to underline the formation of National Monument
Authority under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India .It has been setup as
per the provisions of "The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and
Remains AMASR(Amendment and Validation)Act ,2010 which was enacted  in
March ,2010.Again in 2015 by an act few important changes have been made 
more effective. Thus, it can be confessed that the Government of India has done
her best to protect the heritage. Besides these Acts, in 1984 a NGO under the title
of Indian National Trust of Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) had also been
formed and it had a strong support of Government (Chakrabarti.D. K,2003,p.171).
After discussing the modern legal provisions to protect the heritage, an attempt has
also been made to look into the past, "Were our ancestors aware with this sense of
heritage protection? "There are various examples of these kinds of activities. As far
as the present knowledge is concerned Babylonia provides the oldest example of
the restoration of ancient monuments.
In 538 BCE king Cyrus made a public declaration granting the Jews the right to
return to Judah and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem .In the year 586BCE king
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia conquered the city of Jerusalem, destroyed the
temple and sent many of the inhabitants of Judah into exile (W e n.m.wkipidia.org;
Israel Post Issues Cyrus Declaration Stamp, 16 April,3015}.
In context of Indian history, the earliest evidence of restoration and renovation
comes from the King Asoka. an inscription ,which had been found at Nigliva,it
has been narrated, "By his Sacred and Gracious Majesty the king ,consecrated 14
years, was enlarged to double its original size the stupa of Buddha Konakamana,
and by him ,consecrated (twenty years),coming in person, and reverence being
made, was set up (a  stone pillar)"(Mookerji,R,2002p.27).At one place King
himself forbids that inference: in the minor Rock Edict 1(Rupnath Text) he orders
that the edict to be "engraved upon stone pillars wherever there are stone pillars in
my dominion ":while the last of his edicts concludes with the sentence :"This
scripture of the Law, where so ever pillars of stone or tables of stone exist, must
there be recorded so that it may be everlasting."One of the most refreshing
features of Asoka's character in his scrupulous truthfulness in carefully
distinguishing the achievements of his predecessors from those of him own. Thus
he does not claim that all the pillars to bear his inscription were his own creation.
Some of them were already found in his dominion, presumably the work of his
predecessors. (Mookerji,R.,2002,p.87).According to Divyavadan when Asoka
visited the Bodhi tree with his jealous queen, Tisyarakshita, in a procession to the
Bodhi tree, which was withering under a spell cast by her upon it, to have it
revived by "watering it with pitches of scented water". Accordingly, we find to the
left of the sculpture a crowd of musicians and devotees with water
vessels."(Mookerji,R,2002,p.105-106).
A number of examples which supports this view besides of religious faith, our
ancestors had a very secular approach towards the renovation, restoration and
rejuvenation of their predecessors architectural monuments. In this context Sunga
kings stand first. As it is a known fact that PuShyamitra Sunga uprooted the
Maurya dynasty because he wanted to re-establish the Vedic acrifices and Sanskrit
in place of Buddhism and Pail and he also could establish it successfully, but on
other hand he provided sufficient attention towards the stupas which had been built
by Emperor Asoka. All the three Stupas -Bharhut, Sanchi, Amaravati and Saranath
had been constructed under the reign of Asoka but Sunga and Gupta rulers, though
they had faith on Brahmanism, are responsible for their magnificent architecture.
Basham writes, "Of these three are especially noteworthy-those at Bharahut,
Sanchi and Amaravati. The Bharahut stupa, perhaps in its present form dating from
the middle of the second century BCE, is important chiefly for its sculpture ,and
the stupa which now has been vanished. That at Sanchi, on the other hand ,is one
of the most striking architectural remains of ancient India (Bashm, A
L,1954,p.549)"
He has elaborately described the various features of the Stupa which were added
later. In his concluding remarks, he writes, "Finally, towards the end of the 1st
century Belfour gateways(toranas) were added at the four cardinal
points(op.cited,p.549).
Besides, Bharahut, Sanchi and Saranath, Amaravati stands outstanding.In its
magnificent architecture it's extraordinarily fabulous. Finally, it reached in
completion in 200BCE.The sputa of Amaravati was larger than that of Sanchi, and
it's two promenades were adorned with curved panels telling the story of the life of
Gautama Buddha All these stupas are the rarest example in the history architecture
they took centuries to get to its final shape. There are definite evidence which
narrate their history of construction, renovation and rejuvenation right from 2nd
century BCE to 12th century CE(Gosh,A.,Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology,
Volume II2013,pp.387-398).The architectural and sculptural evidence reflects that
Asoka built here one of his Dharmarajak Stupa and near it erected a pillar
surmounted by a magnificent capital of four adored lions and inscribed on it an
edict threatening dissenting monks and nuns with excommunication .For centuries
thereafter the place continued to be a focus of structural and sculptural
activity(op.cited,pp397-398).
In addition to this there are two very examples of the construction of irrigation
canals and water bodies or lakes for the purpose of example. A description of  the
renovation and extension of the water canals has been given in the Hathigumpha
inscription of Kalinga king Kharvel which were originally constructed by the
Nanda king..It appears that the Maurya kings were also aware with the importance
of lakes or ponds for the purpose of irrigation , therefore they constructed them
for the benefit of their subjects. It is epigraphically established that Pushyabuti,
who was the governor of Chandragupta Maurya, constructed a lake Sudarshan  at
Girnar, Later, a minister Tussah who was of Greek origin and  was serving King
Asoka, did the renovation of lake, thereafter the lake served its purpose efficiently
for about four centuries. Again in the reign of Rudradaman, the   embankment of
lake became weak because of heavy floods. According to the Garner inscription of
Rudradaman ,he accepted the request of his subjects and renovated from his
savings because the council of ministers had rejected the proposal of renovation
from the Exchequer Then again ,the lake served its purpose very efficiently but
after a long period of around three and half century ,Chakrapalit, son of the
provincial governor Parnadutta who was the in charge of the surrounding region
rebuilt the embankment of lake. It’s a very unique example in the history of
heritage when three dynasties performed their duty and successfully (Jibrirl, 2019,
pp. 48-50).
A study of the various literary and inscriptional sources that it was almost regular
practice in ancient India to conserve and restore the heritage. An eminent
epigraphic J F Fleet has discussed a Silk Weavers Guild Inscription in detail.
According to the inscription the guild of Silk Weaver's constructed a Sun temple at
Daspur (Mandsore) in 437 CE but due to some kind of natural calamity the temple
partly destroyed, then the same guild restored the temple in 473AD. It reflects that
the merchants and traders were quite aware and they had a tendency to render their
services to the cause of society.
Thus a brief survey of the activities of conservation and restoration shows that
India and Indians had a sense of respect for their heritage leaving apart a very short
period of history. The various Acts regarding the conservation of heritage compel
to think to form a uniform and well defined policy of heritage management with
collaboration of historians, archaeologists the tourist department and agencies,
natural scientists and environmentalists.
II would like to sum up the issue of the conservation of heritage with a proposal of
*Marwar Initiative*.Mewar Initiative is a framework for cooperation for
conservation management and development of India's heritage .This document was
approved in a meeting which was organized by the Seminar Education Foundation
(Seminar,2004,542) in Sardar Samsnd, Rajasthan from 6-9February,2004.A
summary of the text is as follows:
"In a rapidly changing global environment which gives greater recognition to the
importance of preserving our shared heritage and culture. It has abundantly clear
that a new approach to conservation must be formulated in the Indian context. The
existing structures within which we seek to preserve our heritage and culture have
proved to be inadequate for this purpose and must be re-evaluate.
In order to discharge our shared responsibility as citizens a paradigm shift in
conservation is urgently required. A new initiative in this regard must incorporate a
recasting of policies, legislations, management systems and existing approaches to
conservation The process to achieve sustainable conservation of our heritage must
respect and acknowledge the history, collective memory and living traditions of
our diverse culture .There is an emergent need to forge a close collaboration
between multiple stakeholders ,which recognizes the advances in conservation
tools and techniques to achieve a broader definition of the heritage that we seek to
protect"
But, whenever we think about the conservation of heritage, then our mental
horizon does not go beyond the built heritage. But in contrast to it we also have a
richest tradition of religious and secular literature. On one hand, Vedas are
considered the oldest literature and on other hand Panini is universally considered
the first grammarian .Besides the Vedic religion, the foremost heterodox religions
like Jainism, Buddhism , Ajivaka and Charvak originated in this land. In addition
to it, both the epics have universally  played the  source of inspiration to millions.
The Indian intellect did not restrict only to the literature and religions, Kautilya a
prime minister of the Maurya empire composed the Arthasastra which is one of 
the first text on statecraft. Fortunately, the new scientific  researches ,which are
based on genetic science, have confirmed that Aryans were the natives of India and
the majority of populations have similar DNA.
Here, I would also like to draw attention to a new term Economuseum which is
very popular in Canada and United States. The Econo-museum is meant to
conserve the heritage accumulated by small enterprises generally in the field of
crafts, by adopting a management style that stresses profitability unlike other type
of museums. These kind of Economy-museums are the most important and
essential in context of India because India has a rich legacy of numerous and
varied crafts in its states. All are very unique and these crafts can attract indigenous
and foreign tourists .This kind of effort will strengthen  their economy so that they
can sustain in the age of global market
In early eighties of the twentieth century Government of India had divided the
country in various Zones to promote the various crafts of the concerned region. In
this context West Zone Culture Centre of Udaipur is doing a marvelous job.
Center organizes a ten days fair at Udaipur in which almost all the states of country
participate in it and they present their products .During the last three decades this
fair is bring popular and to a extent it is strengthening their economy.
Fortunately, now the concept of conservation of heritage is rapidly changing and
the governments of various countries including UNESCO are in the process of
making new policies. Recently, the government of India has issued the new
guidelines in which it has been said that as part of constitutional right to value and
preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture' and the mandate of the
ASI .Probably our Museums to share India's unique heritage with everyone, it is
essential to ensure that museums are as Cultural Institutions and  markers of local,
regional and national identity by increasing their resilience through sustained
efforts towards disaster and risk .management (NDMGM,May,2017,p.35).
Thus, conclusively it can be said that in present socio-political scenario the
conservation of Heritage  has become  a   major  issue therefore, society as well as
the political authority has been framing laws to conserve the heritage.
Therefore, the time has come now to frame a policy of the conservation in which  
both the tangible and intangible heritage must be amalgamated. Conclusively, it
can be said that to achieve the perfect conservation policy we will have to come
out from our colonial mindset and the present New Education Policy is a right
approach towards it.
Suggesting Readings:

Basham, A., The World That was INDIA,1954, Sidgwick And Jackson, London
Banerjee, N R, Museums and Cultural Heritage in India, 1990,Agam Kala
Prakashan, Delhi
Chakrabarti,D K,A History Indian Archaeology From the Beginning to
1947,1988,Munshirsm Manoharlal,New  Delhi
Chakravarti,D K  India  An Archaeological History,2001,Oxford,New Delhi
Chakrabarti,D K.  Archaeology in the Third World.     A History of Indian
Archaeology Since 1947,2003,D K Print world,
Ghosh,A.,(ed.),Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology,Volume II,2013,Munshi ram
Manohar lal,New Delhi
Jibriel (ed.),Jal, Jeewan Aur Samaj,2019,AniBooks,New Delhi
Marshal,John, Conservation Manual,1923Calcutta
Mookerji,R.,Asoka,2002,Motilal Banarasi Das,Delhi
Seminar,542, October2004,
Vashishtha,V.K.(ed.) ,Cultural Heritage of Rajasthan,2008,Banasthali
University,Rajasthan
Xavier,Giraffe,Managing Our Cultural Heritage,2001,Aryan Book International, New Delhi