India's historical monuments are a reminder of the past and the country's cultural splendour. And while the iconic Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, the Qutub Minar, and Fatehpur Sikri are on every traveller's list, there are countless historical monuments that languish in obscurity with even locals being unaware of their existence.
A recent report submitted by the ministry of culture says that 50 monuments identified by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have become untraceable.
On December 8, at the winter parliamentary session, a report submitted before the Parliamentary Standing Committee under 'Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India' stated that as many as 50 of India's 3,693 Centrally Protected Monuments (CPM) are missing owing to various factors.
Out of 50 missing monuments, 24 are untraceable, 14 have been affected due to rapid urbanisation, and 12 have been submerged under reservoirs or dams.
The report said that the 24 monuments which are reported to be untraceable are from a sample of 1655 monuments out of a total of 3,693. The survey of the rest of the 2,038 monument sites is pending.
How Did The Monuments Disappear?
The report submitted to the Parliament notes that the untraceable monuments' exact location and condition could not be determined despite efforts by ASI because of various factors such as "rapid urbanization, non-availability of proper details about their location in the gazette notification, difficulties in tracing in remote locations, dense forests, etc."
The ministry of culture indicated that scientific tools and archival records may help in tracing these missing monuments. The report said that more field explorations would be followed from time to time in order to trace these monuments.
Section 35 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR) 1958 has the provision to issue notification for such monuments which has ceased to be of national importance. However, this exercise of removing these 24 untraceable monuments has not been initiated by the ASI as there are chances that some of these monuments can be traced out in near future.
How Long Have These Monuments Been Missing?
In a Lok Sabha session in 2017, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's (CAG) 2013 report about untraceable monuments was raised. The CAG report on "Performance Audit of Preservation and Conservation of Monuments and Antiquities" said that 92 monuments are missing in India.
However, the ASI traced 42 of those missing monuments after vigorous efforts to locate and identify the untraceable monuments based on old records and revenue maps. The remaining 50 are still "missing".
Which Are The Missing Monuments?
Established in 1861 and an attached office of the ministry of culture, the ASI is engaged in the protection, preservation and conservation of 3693 Centrally Protected Monuments across India. It includes 24 World Heritage properties and 52 museums spread all over India.
On May 18 2022, the Committee heard the views of the secretary, ministry of culture; director general, and other senior officials of ASI on the subject of 'Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India'. The Committee has then asked for the list of 24 untraceable monuments.
Among the missing monuments, one is Barakhamba Cemetery which is in the heart of the capital city. "If even monuments in the Capital city cannot be maintained properly, it does not bode well for monuments in remote places in the country," the report reads.
The ministry had informed that no further study of the remaining monuments has been undertaken for ascertaining how many more monuments are missing from the total number of 3693 centrally-protected monuments.
Among the other missing monuments are 11 from Uttar Pradesh, two from Delhi, two from Rajasthan, two from Maharashtra, two from Haryana and one each from – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
What Has ASI Been Asked To Do?
The Parliamentary Committee said that it feels that the ASI was unaware of the disappearance of several of the centrally-protected monuments before the CAG report. They have recommended ASI to undertake an immediate survey in order to inspect if there are more "missing monuments in the country apart from the 24 monuments deducted from the earlier survey."
In the report, the committee further recommends that a physical survey of all the monuments must be mandatorily carried out by ASI. Also, a digital log book may be maintained which may contain textual and photographic/video records of the state of physical preservation of the monument, exact location coordinates and clearly demarcated prohibited and regulated areas in the vicinity of the monument.
The parliamentary committee said that there is "scant hope" of finding these 24 untraceable monuments as well as 14 affected by rapid urbanisation and 12 submerged by reservoirs or dams.
The committee further added that the ASI had been unable to prevent the loss of these monuments. They could locate them only after the study by CAG suggests that the ASI had no cognisance of these monuments.
"The ASI has assured that the remaining 42 of the 92 monuments exist physically but the committee would like to know whether these monuments exist in their entirety and undamaged or whether the ASI has only managed to locate some remains and ruins of such monuments," the report reads.
Concern: Security Of The Monuments
The Parliamentary Standing committee expressed concern about the security of the sites attached under ASI; it noted that out of the 3693 CPM, only 248 sites, CPMs and museums are guarded. It further said that out of the total requirement of 7,000 security personnel for the protection of monuments, the government could provide only 2,578 because of budget constraints.
"Budgetary constraints should not be an excuse for not providing security guards to protect our rich cultural heritage. It is the bounden duty of the Government of the day to protect our cultural heritage sites," the committee report reads.
The parliamentary committee has also expressed that some important historical monuments and sites like Rama Temple at Peddathumbalam village, Adoni Taluka; Kethavaram Rock Arts and Belum Caves in Kurnool are without any security and road connectivity. Though the sites do not come under CPM, the committee said they have high historical significance.
