CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VI (1) Contemporary-Eurasia-VI-1-engl | Page 86

SUBRAMANIAN KRISHNAN MANI
pristine looks. The structures are given additional strength and
reinforced to undo the harms done by pollution, acid rains, and other
chemicals over the years. The foundations are so improved so as to
make these structures natural-disasters resistant.
3. Contemporary Awareness Program– The citizens of India in
general and students in specific are being roped in by the government
to spread awareness and advertise about the preservation of the
heritage. Many seminars are being organized every year where the
students are lectured not only about the basic steps each can take
individually on this issue but also are made familiarized with the
amount of money, time, expertise and labour that goes into protecting
these structures via chemical and other methods.
According to section 3 of the Ancient Monuments, Sites and
Remains Act 1958, all ancient and historical monuments and all
archaeological sites and remains which had been declared by the
Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and
Remains (Declaration of National Importance) Act, 1951 or by
Section 126 of the State Re-organisations Act, 1956 to be of national
importance shall be declared to be of national importance 48 . The Act
stated that protected monuments should be the ancient monument and
archaeological sites and remains which are of historical,
archaeological or artistic interest and which have been in existence for
not less than 100 years 49 . However, the Act did not define the term
“national importance” in objective terms with a defined set of criteria.
Even the Ministry so far had not specified any detailed criteria for
declaring any monument to be of national importance.
According to Para 26 of the John Marshall’s Manual of
Conservation 50 , the Living monuments were those structures that were
48
Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains,
Declaration of National Importance, Act, 1951, Updated as per the Ancient
Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Amendment and Validation
Act, 2010.
49
Ibid.
50
Sengupta I., A Conservation Code for the Colony: John Marshall’s
Conservation Manual and Monument Preservation Between India and Europe, in
Michael Falser and Monica Juneja, 'Archaeologizing' Heritage?: Transcultural
Entanglements between Local Social Practices and Global Virtual Realities,
Springer Science & Business Media, 31-May-2013.
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