A catalogue of all that’s valuable

A catalogue of all that’s valuable

News:

1. The article discusses about the lack of coordination and lack of information between the various wings and departments of state in storing the information about antiquities.

Important Facts:

2. Background: The Madras High Court has expressed concerns over the upkeep and safety of a vast collection of antiquities and artefacts in Tamil Nadu (TN).

• Moreover Tamil Nadu Police’s Idol Wing has been engaged in a tense confrontation with the State’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department over investigating theft of idols and antiquities in the state.
• Tamil Nadu HR&CE Department is charged with,the upkeep and safety of a vast collection of invaluable temple artifacts.

3. TN has become a rich feeding ground for idol thieves and smugglers because of the vast number of temples within its borders.
4. Issues:
5. The State does not have a court designated specifically to deal with such matters as idol thefts.
6. HR&CE Department has neither computerised the stock of antiquities in the state nor provided adequate ICON Centres with surveillance to keep safe custody of the valuable idols in the Centre and in the temples.
7. The Idol wing is interacting with the respective departments of the Central Government only to recover the stolen Idols and antiques, but is no-coordination between them to curb the crime.
8. High Court Observations: The court passed detailed directions to be followed by the respondent State actors as follows:

• Mandatory computerisation of stock of Idols maintained in the manual books within a period of four weeks, if not already computerised.
• Mandatory computerisation of a list of stock of Idols in the temples before the court.

9. Benefits of a computerised record:

• The risk of antiquities theft and loss of cultural property is multiplied enormously without a computerised record.
• Creating an efficient and comprehensive database of antiquities enhances its accessibility to layman, the scholar or the police.

10. National Register on Antiquities:

• It is a publicly accessible repository of documented and registered Indian antiquities established in 2007 under the aegis of the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) (now under the administration of the ASI).
• Concern: While the Ministry of Culture’s annual report for 2017-18 states that a mammoth 15.2 lakh registered antiquities have been documented through the NMMA, the Register only provides information for about 4.7 lakh of these.

11. India Pride Project:

• It is a volunteer-network of private individuals interested in protecting Indian antiquities, that has been instrumental in the repatriation of several works of incalculable archaeological and aesthetic value.

12. Way Forward:

• The NMMA has a mandate to cultivate public engagement and awareness for the protection of India’s cultural heritage which needs to be pushed more vigorously.
• In the meanwhile, citizen-led initiatives and timely judicial interventions ought to be put higher on the list of national priorities to preserve the cultural and historical heritage.