CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VI (1) Contemporary-Eurasia-VI-1-engl | Page 84

SUBRAMANIAN KRISHNAN MANI
known conservation cases is the plan prepared by INTACH for the
thousand-year-old Mangyu Monastery in Ladakh. The body undertook
partial restoration of the monastery supported by the Department of
Culture, Government of India. In 2006, the roof and wall paintings
were restored. The Architectural Heritage Divison of INTACH
prepared similar conservation plans for the Jagajit Palace in
Kapurthala and Sheesh Mahal in Patiala and is in the process of
preparing another plan for the Old Moti Bagh Palace in Patiala. In
1996, World Monuments Watch listed the Jaisalmer Fort as one of the
100 most endangered sites in the world. INTACH has been running a
variety of conservation and restoration projects, as part of the
Jaisalmer Conservation Initiative. The INTACH project includes
restoration of Rani Ka Mahal, setting up of art and craft training
centres, theatre workshops, and so on. These illustrations brings home
the fact that if on one side we have dilapidated monuments due to
sheer neglect on the part of the concerned authorities and common
people, on the other hand we have organizations like INTACH,
addressing the cause of conservation with renewed passion.
Sanjay Jain is however of the opinion that though organizations
such as INTACH are working and doing a good job, yet the structure
and functioning of these organizations are always under suspicion 44 .
They are elite, ivory-tower institutions, lacking transparency and
without any accountability.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) describes ancient monument
as “Ancient Monument means 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 100 years” 45 . Some
of these ancient heritages include The Taj Mahal, Agra; Qutub Minar,
Delhi; Tomb at Sikandara, Qutb Minar, Sanchi and Mathura; Ajantaa
and Ellora Caves, Nasik, Maharashtra; The Jantar Mantar, Delhi,
Jaipur; The Red Fort, Delhi; The Charminar, Hyderabad and others.
There are about a thousand more such places spread all over India.
44
Ibid.
Ibid.
45
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