CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VI (1) Contemporary-Eurasia-VI-1-engl | Page 81

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VI (1)
being protected? Are the laws and regulations to protect and preserve
these monuments adequate? If there are laws then, are they being
enforced by the authorities? What are the hurdles that the authorities
face in this process? Has the issue of conservation of heritage
monuments been able to catch the fancy of common people? What are
the steps that can be taken to preserve the historical and heritage
monuments of this land?
India has an extraordinary, vast and diverse pool of cultural
heritage and ancient monuments in the form of buildings and other
archaeological sites and remains. The sheer number of these historic
heritages is astounding. And the fact that these monuments are the
reminiscence of the living witnesses of the golden historic era of over
a thousand years and of the pre-independence battles, they carry a
special and a well-deserved respect in the eyes of the Indians. They
are the epitome of courage, stand testimony to the evolution and are a
symbol of cultural expressions.
In order to have a comprehensive understanding of the
conservation of heritage monuments, one needs to first explore the
meaning of the terms, heritage, conservation, and monuments.
According to the dictionary, the word heritage refers to legacy.
Heritage thus, belongs to mankind as a whole and has an important
role to play in the shaping up of people’s cultural identity. The term
conservation, in the context of heritage monuments, can be described
as a practice that amounts to protection and augmentation of the
cultural and traditional value of any monument or building. Moreover,
conservation here should be understood from the point of view of
economic interest as well as cultural interest and value. According to
Section 2 (a) of The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites
and Remains Act, 1985, the meaning of the term ancient monuments
includes any structure, erection or monument, or any tumulus or place
of interment, or any cave, rock sculpture, inscription or monolith,
which is of historical, archaeological or artistic interest and which has
been in existence for not less than one hundred years 38 . Moreover, it
38
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958. The
Act came into force on 15 th October, 1959, vide Notification S.O. 2307, Gazette
of India, Extraordinary Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii) 15 th October, 1959.
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