Archaeological Survey of India
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2015) |
Governmental organisation | |
Headquarters | New Delhi |
---|---|
Region served | India |
Official language | English Hindi |
Director General | Yadubir Singh Rawat |
Parent organisation | Ministry of Culture |
Budget | ₹1,102.83 crore (US$140 million) (2023–24)[1] |
Website | asi |
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham during the British Raj who also became its first Director-General.
History
ASI was founded in 1861 by
Formation of the ASI
Armed with the knowledge of Brahmi,
1885–1901
Cunningham retired in 1885 and was succeeded as Director General by James Burgess. Burgess launched a yearly journal The Indian Antiquary (1872) and an annual epigraphical publication Epigraphia Indica (1882) as a supplement to the Indian Antiquary. The post of Director General was permanently suspended in 1889 due to a funds crunch and was not restored until 1902. In the interim period, conservation work in the different circles was carried out by the superintendents of the individual circles.
"Buck crisis" (1888–1898)
From 1888 started severe lobbying aimed at reducing Government expenses, and at curtailing the budget of the Archaeological Survey of India, a period of about ten years known as the "Buck crisis", after the Liberal Edward Buck.[3] In effect, this severely threatened the employment of the employees of the ASI, such as Alois Anton Führer, who had just started a family and become a father.[3]
In 1892, Edward Buck announced that the Archaeological Survey of India would be shut down and all ASI staff would be dismissed by 1895, in order to generate savings for the Government's budget.[3][4] It was understood that only a fantastic archaeological discovery within the next three years for example might be able to turn public opinion and save the funding of the ASI.[3]
Great "discoveries" were indeed made with the March 1895 discovery of the Nigali Sagar inscription, which succeeded in bringing the "Buck Crisis" to an end, and the ASI was finally allowed in June 1895 to continue operations, subject to yearly approval based on successful digs every year.[6] Georg Bühler, writing in July 1895 in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, continued to advocate for the preservation of the Archaeological Survey of India, and expressed that what was needed were "new authentic documents" from the pre-Ashokan period, and they would "only be found underground".[6][7]
Another momentous discovery would be made in 1896, with the Lumbini pillar inscription, a major inscription on a pillar of Ashoka discovered by Alois Anton Führer. The inscription, together with other evidence, confirmed Lumbini as the birthplace of the Buddha.[8]
The organization was rocked when Führer was unmasked in 1898, and was found to file fraudulent reports about his investigations. Confronted by Smith about his archaeological publications and his report to the Government, Führer was obliged to admit "that every statement in it [the report] was absolutely false."[9] Under official instructions from the Government of India, Führer was relieved of his positions, his papers seized and his offices inspected by Vincent Arthur Smith on 22 September 1898.[10] Führer had written in 1897 a monograph on his discoveries in Nigali Sagar and Lumbini, Monograph on Buddha Sakyamuni's birth-place in the Nepalese tarai,[11] which was withdrawn from circulation by the Government.[5] Führer was dismissed and returned to Europe.
1901–1947
Revival under Lord Curzon
The post of Director General was restored by Viceroy and Governor-General
Discovery of Indus Valley Civilisation
Breaking with tradition, Curzon 26-year-old
Sahni was succeeded by
1947–2019
Wheeler was succeeded by
Organisation
The Archaeological Survey of India is an attached office of the Ministry of Culture. Under the provisions of the AMASR Act of 1958, the ASI administers more than 3650 ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance. These can include everything from temples, mosques, churches, tombs, and cemeteries to palaces, forts, step-wells, and rock-cut caves. The Survey also maintains ancient mounds and other similar sites which represent the remains of ancient habitation.[14]
The ASI is headed by a Director General who is assisted by an Additional Director General, two Joint Directors General, and 17 Directors.[15]
Circles
The ASI is divided into a total of 34 circles[16] each headed by a Superintending Archaeologist.[15] Each of the circles are further divided into sub-circles. The circles of the ASI are:
- Agra, Uttar Pradesh
- Aizawl, Mizoram
- Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh
- Aurangabad, Maharashtra
- Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
- Bhubaneswar, Odisha
- Chandigarh
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Dehradun, Uttarakhand
- Delhi
- Dharwad, Karnataka
- Goa
- Guwahati, Assam
- Hyderabad, Telangana
- Jaipur, Rajasthan
- Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
- Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh
- Jodhpur, Rajasthan
- Kolkata, West Bengal
- Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
- Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
- Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Nagpur, Maharashtra
- Patna, Bihar
- Raipur, Chhattisgarh
- Raiganj, West Bengal
- Rajkot, Gujarat
- Ranchi, Jharkhand
- Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh
- Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
- Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
- Thrissur, Kerala
- Vadodara, Gujarat
The ASI also administers three "mini-circles" at Delhi, Leh and Hampi.[16]
Directors-General
The Survey has had 32 Directors-General thus far. Its founder, Alexander Cunningham served as Archaeological Surveyor between 1861 and 1865.[2]
- 1871−1885: Alexander Cunningham
- 1886−1889: James Burgess
- 1902−1928: John Marshall
- 1928−1931: Harold Hargreaves
- 1931−1935: Daya Ram Sahni
- 1935−1937: J. F. Blakiston
- 1937−1944: K. N. Dikshit
- 1944−1948: Mortimer Wheeler
- 1948−1950: N. P. Chakravarti
- 1950−1953: Madho Sarup Vats
- 1953−1968: Amalananda Ghosh
- 1968−1972: B. B. Lal
- 1972−1978: M. N. Deshpande
- 1978−1981: B. K. Thapar
- 1981−1983: Debala Mitra
- 1984−1987: M. S. Nagaraja Rao
- 1987−1989: J. P. Joshi
- 1989−1993: M. C. Joshi
- 1993−1994: Achala Moulik
- 1994−1995: S. K. Mahapatra
- 1995−1997: B. P. Singh
- 1997−1998: Ajai Shankar
- 1998−2001: S. B. Mathur
- 2001−2004: K. G. Menon
- 2004−2007: C. Babu Rajeev
- 2009−2010: K. N. Srivastava
- 2010−2013: Gautam Sengupta
- 2013−2014: Pravin Srivastava
- 2014−2017: Rakesh Tewari
- 2017−2020: Usha Sharma[17]
- 2020−2023: V.Vidyawati
- 2023−present: Yadubir Singh Rawat
Museums
India's first museum was established by the Asiatic Society in
A dedicated Museums Branch was established in 1946 by Mortimer Wheeler, which now maintains a total of 50 museums spread across the country.[19]
Library
The ASI maintains a Central Archaeological Library in the Archaeological Survey of India headquarters building in Tilak Marg, Mandi House, New Delhi. Established in 1902, its collection numbers more than 100,000 books and journals. The library is also a repository of rare books, plates, and original drawings.
The Survey additionally maintains a library in each of its circles to cater to local academics and researchers.[20]
Publications
The day-to-day work of the survey was published in a series of periodical bulletins and reports. The periodicals and archaeological series published by the ASI are:
- Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum
- It consists of a series of seven volumes of inscriptions discovered and deciphered by archaeologists of the survey. Founded in 1877 by Alexander Cunningham, a final revised volume was published by E. Hultzsch in 1925.
- Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy
- The first volume of the Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy was brought out by the epigraphist -E. Hultzschin 1887. The bulletin has not been published since 2005.
- Epigraphia Indica
- Epigraphia Indica was first published by the then Director-General, J. Burgess in 1888 as a supplementary to The Indian Antiquary. Since then, a total of 43 volumes have been published. The last volume was published in 1979. An Arabic and Persian supplement to the Epigraphia Indica was also published from 1907 to 1977.
- South Indian Inscriptions
- The first volume of Chalukyas.
- Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India
- It was the primary bulletin of the ASI. The first annual report was published by John Marshall in 1902–03. The last volume was published in 1938–39. It was replaced by Indian Archaeology: A Review.
- Ancient India
- The first volume of Ancient India was published in 1946 and edited by Sir Mortimer Wheeler as a bi-annual and converted to an annual in 1949. The twenty-second and last volume was published in 1966.
- Indian Archaeology: A Review
- Indian Archaeology: A Review is the primary bulletin of the ASI and has been published since 1953–54. It replaced the Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India.
- 1953-54
- 1954-55
- 1955-56
- 1956-57
- 1957-58
- 1958-59
- 1959-60
- 1960-61
- 1961-62
- 1962-63
- 1963-64
- 1964-65
- 1965-66
- 1966-67
- 1967-68
- 1968-69
- 1969-70
- 1970-71
- 1971-72
- 1972-73
- 1973-74
- 1974-75
- 1975-76
- 1976-77
- 1977-78
- 1978-79
- 1979-80
- 1980-81
- 1981-82
- 1982-83
- 1983-84
- 1984-85
- 1985-86
- 1986-87
- 1987-88
- 1988-89
- 1989-90
- 1991-92
- 1992-93
- 1993-94
- 1994-95
- 1995-96
- 1996-97
- 1997-98
- 1998-99
- 1999-2000
- 2000-2001
State government archaeological departments
Apart from the ASI, archaeological work in India and conservation of monuments is also carried out in some states by state government archaeological departments. Most of these bodies were set up by the various princely states before independence. When these states were annexed to India after independence, the individual archaeological departments of these states were not integrated with the ASI. Instead, they were allowed to function as independent bodies.
- Haryana State Directorate of Archaeology & Museums (formed in 1972 by upgrading the cell that was earlier under the education department)
- Orissa State Archaeology Department (1965)
- Andhra Pradesh Department of Archeology and Museums (1914)
- Karnataka State Department of Archaeology (1885)
- Kerala State Archaeology Department (formed in 1962 by merging Travancore State Archaeology Department (est 1910) and Cochin State Archaeology Department (est 1925))[21]
- Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department(1961)
- Department of Archaeology and Museum, Government of West Bengal
- Department of Archaeology, Govt. of NCT of Delhi.
Criticism
In 2013, a
In May 2018, the Supreme Court of India said that the ASI was not properly discharging its duty in maintaining the World Heritage Site of Taj Mahal and asked the Government of India to consider whether some other agency be given the responsibility to protect and preserve it.[24]
In popular culture
The fictional character Kakababu, in Sunil Gangopadhyay's famed Kakababu series, is an ex-Director of the Archaeological Survey of India.[citation needed]
See also
- State Protected Monuments of India
- List of World Heritage Sites in India
- Monuments of National Importance of India
- Delhi Archaeological Society
- Survey of India, India's central agency in charge of mapping and surveying.
- Geological Survey of India
- Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology
- Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1878
References
- ^ "The annual outlay for Ministry of Culture in FY 2023-24 increased by 12.97% to Rs. 3,399.65 Crore".
- ^ a b "History". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ S2CID 162507322.
- S2CID 147046097.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-486-41132-3. Archivedfrom the original on 15 May 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ S2CID 162507322.
- JSTOR 25197280.
- ISBN 978-92-3-001208-3. Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- JSTOR 41490379.
- doi:10.1017/S1356186311000794. Smith's report is given in the appendix to this article and is available here: [1] Archived 25 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Führer, Alois Anton (1897). Monograph on Buddha Sakyamuni's birth-place in the Nepalese tarai. Allahabad : Govt. Press, N.W.P. and Oudh.
- ^ ISSN 0018-246X.
- ^ "Taxila in Focus: 100 years since Marshall". stories.durham.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ "Monuments". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ^ a b "Organisation". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ a b "Circles". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ "In major bureaucratic reshuffle, 35 secretaries, additional secretaries named". livemint.com/. 22 July 2017. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ "The Asiatic Society". Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ^ "Museums". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ^ "Central Archaeological Library". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ^ "Kerala State Archaeology Department". keralaculture.org. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "92 ASI-protected monuments missing - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ Pioneer, The. "India's monumental mess". The Pioneer. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ "Archaeological Survey of India failed, explore tasking Taj Mahal upkeep to another body: SC to Centre - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
External links
- Official website
- World Heritage, Tentative Lists, State: India — UNESCO
- Dholavira: a Harappan City, Disstt, Kachchh, Gujarat, India, India (Asia and the Pacific), Date of Submission: 03/07/1998, Submission prepared by: Archaeological Survey of India, Coordinates: 23°53'10" N, 70°11'03" E, Ref.: 1090