Day 24 – Q 3.Should India’s deteriorating monuments be restored artificially? Won’t it take away their antiquity? Give your views.
3. Should India’s deteriorating monuments be restored artificially? Won’t it take away their antiquity? Give your views.
क्या भारत के विघटित होते स्मारकों को कृत्रिम रूप से बहाल किया जाना चाहिए? क्या यह उनकी पुरातनता को दूर नहीं करेगा? अपने विचार दें।
Introduction
According to UNESCO, monuments are any form of structures with historical significance used for reconstruction and understanding of the past. Though India is blessed with many such monuments across the nation, according to report of INTACH , 60 percent face serious restoration threats.
Body
Reason for deterioration
- Pollution like yellow colour of Tajmahal due to acid rain
- Poor maintenance
- Excessive encroachment
- Apathy of people and government
Need for conservation of monuments artificially
- Using modern scientific technique, these monuments can be brought to original position.
- Will bring large tourist inflow to India
- Large scale employment will be generated
- Greater revenue for the government
- Can be restored for long time and without artificial restoring can’t be restored for e.g. Sarai at Nizamuddin, Delhi was restored by Aga Khan Foundation
- Monuments help connectedness with past and if not restored the future generation may lose this connected with history
Whether it would take the antiquity
- People visit these monuments to get attached to their heritage, which won’t be after artificially restoring them.
- Chemical might react with original and destroy their antiquity
- There won’t be much difference between new one and old heritage.
Way forward
- The government scheme of Adopt a heritage is a positive step in this regard
- Take help of international methods and technology for restoration
- Avoid painting over panels and carving to preserve antiquity
- Enforce strict restoration through amendment to monument and preservation act, 2016
- Use of organic colours
Conclusion
‘History is the insights of our soul’. As monuments represent our history, we should holistically protect and preserve them as entailed in the fundamental duty of our constitution in form of article 51(A).
Best answer: P29
