downtoearth-subscribe

A thing of beauty

  • 30/07/2003

A thing of beauty It is a wonder! The amount of mudslinging the Taj Mahal provokes, it is surely impossible for this matchless mound of white marble to remain spotless. This time, the issue is construction behind the Taj and reclaiming a part of the Yamuna riverbed for the project. It has raised a lot of dirt. Many files and bureaucrats have been flying around and out of offices.

The fault lies in statecraft. If, as a nation, we strongly feel our heritage needs protection, there should be well-defined guidelines. The custodian of our monumental heritage is the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI). It has 3500 monuments to protect, and not much teeth: consequently, much of the venerable past exists in the form of rubble, or is brazenly encroached upon. ASI's helplessness has a reason. According to an ancient and wordy law

Related Content