Our past for our future

The creative and constructive impulse which the Archaeological Survey of India provided continued for quite some time. But by the mid-1970s, the culture of current governance began to assert itself and things started falling apart. Quite a few monuments were vandalised and encroachments became the order of the day. An idea about the pathetic state of affairs prevailing at that time could be formed from the way India dealt with the case of securing recognition of Indian monuments and sites as world heritage sites. In 8217;72, the UNESCO adopted a convention 8220;concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage8221;. In accordance with this convention, it started the practice of calling for nominations for inclusion in the World Heritage List. By virtue of its vast cultural and natural wealth, India should have succeeded in securing inclusion of a very large number of monuments in the world heritage list. But its approach was casual. Compared to India other countries much smaller in size and with less architectural wealth have got many more sites included. For example, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, the Vatican, Germany, Austria and Belgium which together have an area equivalent to India, account for as many as 153 out of 812 total sites. At present, India has only 26 on the list.

When I took over as minister for tourism and culture, I launched a programme called 8216;New Initiative8217;, which sought to clean, restore, conserve and upgrade environmentally almost all the famous monuments of India. Take what was done with regard to the World Heritage site of the Humayun Tomb complex in New Delhi. The conditions prevailing there were, to say the least, depressing. At the main entry of Humayun8217;s Tomb, shabby stalls had been put up under a notoriously corrupt system of municipal patronage known as tehbazari, and all sorts of heavy vehicles were allowed to be parked illegally in these open spaces. On the Nila Gumbad side was a huge citadel of India8217;s vote bank politics 8212; thousands of 8216;slum dwellers8217; were kept by an influential section of the political leadership to serve as 8216;bonded voters8217; during elections. The environment of the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya had also been savagely degraded and the holy tank had become a huge cesspool.

After the implementation of various projects under the New Initiative Programme, the conditions in and around this complex underwent a sea-change. All the stalls and other intrusions were removed and the monuments and green spaces restored. Elegant gardens now surround the monuments, adding to their dignity and grace. When illuminated at night, the monument looks truly magnificent.

Many other monuments, including Ajanta, Ellora, Bodhgaya, Red Fort, Quila Rai Pithora, Mahabalipuram, Hampi, Chittaurgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Modhera, Pushkar and Bhimbetka, were simultaneously dealt with along similar lines. But my mission could not be completed because of the verdict of May 2004. 8220;As Faith wills, Fate fulfils,8221; wrote Sir Edwin Lutyens, Delhi8217;s builder. In my case, this was not to be.

The writer is a former J038;K governor, and former minister of tourism and culturemanmohanspectranet.com

Curated For You

India vs South Africa U19 3rd ODI: IND beat SA by 233 runs to win 3-0 in Benoni

Not acceptable: Devendra Fadnavis orders immediate exit as BJP ties up with Congress, AIMIM

Dhurandhar Worldwide Box Office Collection Day 33 Update: Ranveer Singh-starrer is highest grosser ever in Hindi, earns over Rs 4 cr on Wednesday