SAVING THE SASIAN ANTI FROM THE WORLD AND SOUTH DR. NAMAN P. AHUJA The monuments of ancient Nimrud and Hatra-the great historical sites of ancient Mespotamia-were destroyed this year1. A fortnight after the attacks there the staff and tourists at the museum at Bardo in Tunisia were killed by right-wing Islamic extremists who saw them as preservers and purveyors of idolatry2. These were followed by the further destruction of Palmyra, in May 2015. In 2014 there was a shoot-out by a terrorist in the Jewish museum in Brussels3. These stories are commonplace, archaeological sites, museums and art- works make for priceless targets. The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan in 2001 appears only to have emboldened right-wing forces to destroy more art and heritage. The rationale for their destruction lay not merely in the ignominious propaganda it accrued amongst lovers of history and art, but martyrdom and iconoclasm also remain persuasive phenomena4. In India too, art and museums appear, with regularity, to cause offence to the currently held religious sensibilities of some. Communal tensions are rife, and religiously motivated censorship on art not uncommon5. South Asia is encountering a pace of development which is unlike ever in its history. More parts of India are being urbanised, more power projects are being construct- ed, there is more industrialisation, and ever expanding suburbs. As the population rises and more rural areas and hinterlands are converted into urban spaces, ar- chaeological contexts are disturbed forever. Most often no developer, even when the developer is the govern- ment which is supposed to be the caretaker of heritage, reports the discovery of artefacts for fear that archae- ologists may slow down or even stop the development 146 work. The absence of any reported a the construction of the Delhi Metro is of such silencing and apathy. Wherea historic cities like Paris, Rome and Lo the opportunity of their metro devel museums filled with pottery, coins ar during the excavation6, we have bee Delhi that nothing was found while d in the shadow of the Qutub Minar, in under Chandni Chowk in Shahjehana The entire South Asian region has see strong laws to protect their heritage, ments of archaeology to enforce ther of culture to administer them. Yet, th been partially successful over the pas have now outlived their utility and be sive and counterproductive. No doub a deterrent to the export of Indian ar successfully used to even prosecute rarely even allowed for the repatriati once taken out of the country. Howe small handful of illicit art smugglers/ imprisoned/booked under it demons tive the current law has been, while t tens of thousands) of antiques have 1972, temples and old houses ripped tation, entire sites pillaged to the poi rendered useless for archaeology7. These laws are created to preserve her ture generations can be informed of th first problem is that the laws only gove are only a small part of what informs c
identity. And by seeking to regulate just that one aspect