National Monuments – A Monumental Failure

On 26th January 2023, a report made by a committee under historian Sanjeev Sanyal was released by the Economic Advisory Council of GOI. It was a shocker, to put it mildly. It was a shock to note that the national monuments list had simply been carried forward in 1947 from the British registers, and it has not been reviewed or modified even once. Of the list of 3693 listed ‘monuments,’ there are 75 graves and cemeteries of British soldiers! It also has movable items, sculptures, etc. And, embarrassingly, 92 were reported missing in 2013 and after rediscovering them, now there are 24 missings.

In our Bharat, culture is much glorified and much-bandied word, while our heritage and cultural signposts are most neglected. We have intangible assets worth billions of dollars and these monuments are their tangible form. Whatever has been preserved is as per the western worldview and under the watch of the Delhi-centric westernized elite.



Otherwise what explains 75 graves and cemeteries of British soldiers being maintained and classified as national monuments, but samadhis of Rani Tarabai, daughter-in-law of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Raja Raja Chola lying in a state of disrepair and neglect? Remember, Rani Tarabai fought and tormented Aurangzeb for nearly 20 years and made him die a disappointed man. Look at the condition of the glorious Pratapgarh fort where Shivaji confronted Afzal Khan and killed him and then look at the well-maintained mazar of the same Afzal Khan at the feet of Pratapgarh. There are more people visiting Taj Mahal than the magical Ajanta Ellora. You ask 10 people and my experience is that 9 would not have visited them as they don’t know much about them. A rock-cut temple built in a hill – cut from top to bottom – not the other way round, built over nearly 200 years, that is, over 8-9 generations without a single fault! Isn’t it an engineering marvel? But we don’t care.

Elephanta Caves built on an island is an icon of Maharashtra's tourism department but its upkeep is nothing to write home about. It had no electricity for nearly 50-60 years since independence, but we maintain Gateway of India, from where you go to Elephanta island, beautifully.

Upkeep and beautification under ASI of Mughal monuments have been funded by the Aga Khan trust in most cases. It is a matter of conjecture, why a similar option is not available to Indians for maintaining non-Islamic structures. Modi government also started a corporate sponsorship program for some well-known heritage monuments, and detractors claimed that the government had sold its heritage. I am not aware, of how far this idea has been expanded. But, it reflects our opposition’s strange anti-civilizational mindset. Crores of rupees are milked from temples from Tamilnadu to Odisha, but not much is spent from their funds to preserve them and their surroundings well, or for the upkeep of small remote temples around them.

Perhaps, we have too much heritage that we don’t know how to maintain or respect it. Our motherland has history and ancient heritage imprinted all over her expanse. We have a ministry of culture and we have the Archaeological Survey of India under it. We also have a National Monument Authority under the same ministry. Some work has begun in recent years, but there is too much left undone. The report cited above should ideally have come from ASI. But it came from an organ of the finance ministry. This illustrates the problem we face.

Culture Ministry is considered a light ministry and you will find the minister given charge, not being quite happy or wringing their hands in despair as budgets are very low. But does it stop the ministers from better utilization or keeping an eye on ASI? Every task is not dependent on budgets, but on will. It is surprising that in 75 years, this kind of report was not presented by ASI.

I was talking to a minister in this ministry about the poor condition of many monuments. He/she asked me to pinpoint them to the ministry so that the ministry will take better care. I did send three such cases and never heard about them. But, if we have to report such cases, what is ASI doing? Have any of our ministers of culture presented a blueprint and vision for maintaining our monuments with demand for budgets or is it left to babus? Why are state governments, always crying hoars about their regional identity and pride not doing much for their state monuments?

The report has left many such painful questions in our minds. It is important that as we celebrate our 75th year of independence, we get rid of our intellectual slavery. We are the only nation in the world that celebrate their invaders and tormentors. It is ok to let those historic memories be, but why celebrate them, that too at the cost of our own immense national treasures? This report is an eye-opener and we hope that from now onwards, Culture Ministry will take up the issue and help the citizens of India feel pride in their heritage.

Let us overcome the feeling that Modi ji will do everything. He is working with superhuman energy beyond all expectations. We salute him for what he is doing. Let us hope others in his team join in this effort at national renaissance with more energy.