Negationist Archaeological Survey of India

Posting text of the article here, instead of a link on account of the Pioneer's
changing URL's. Prafull Goradia makes a forceful indictment of the negationist
track record of "eminent" sarkari historians. Negation of Islamic iconoclasm in
India seems to be the sole reason for the existence of the dhimmi archaeologists,
other than manufacturing true mythology such as composite culture, secularism of the Mughals - the excessive benevolence of Akbar in particular and so on.

The reasons for such concealment are not hard to guess.
Debunking secular shibboleths would necessarily lead to a nationalist upsurge
and Nehruvian Stalinists would end up losing control over the levers of power.

The ASI would deserve to be shut down purely on the basis of a cost/benefit analysis
of it's track record. However, in my opinion, winding up the ASI is not the answer to leftist negationism. Rather, the stranglehold of the negationists over institutions like the ASI needs to be broken by fighting and winning a sustained ideological battle in the Schools, Universities, law courts, print and electronic media.



Abolish ASI: Prafull Goradia (The Pioneer)

The Director of the Archaeological Survey of India, Mr C Dorjee, is reported to have claimed in his affidavit before the apex court that ASI has to be scientific in its approach. To quote him, "ASI is a science and technology department. The issue has to be approached and examined in a scientific manner." There is no historical or scientific evidence to establish the existence of Lord Ram or the other characters of Ramayan, he added.

ASI has been presumptuous in claiming to be scientific. If one reads its performance since independence, it would appear that it has been mostly burying communally embarrassing places of worships rather than excavating new sites. Let us detail two of the prominent temples that were the targets of concealing, rather than revealing, ancient heritage. They are Bijamandal at Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh and the Rudramahalaya Complex at Siddhpur, Gujarat.

One night during the monsoon of 1991, heavy rain washed away the wall of the Bijamandal, a temple in Vidisha, desecrated four times and last converted into a mosque by Aurangzeb in 1682. The broken wall exposed so many Hindu idols that ASI was left with no choice but to excavate. For three centuries, the idols were buried under what was used as the prayer hall. The district collector in 1991 happened to offer protection to the surveyors of ASI, who were otherwise reluctant to expose themselves to the wrath of bigots. Treasures of sculpture were salvaged.

Some of the statues were splendid and were as high as eight feet. The work of the archaeologists, however, did not last long. ASI soon received instructions to stop further work. The officer of ASI working on the excavations was transferred, as was the collector. Whether this had anything to do with the new Human Resource Development Minister, Mr Arjun Singh, 1991-94, is not certain. Since then, the Bijamandal is marking time with a great deal of sculpture hidden under it.

Alexander Cunningham had visited Malwa twice in 1874 AD 1876. He wrote in Volume X of the ASI Report: "Inside the town there is a stone masjid called Bijay Mandir. This Hindu temple was thrown down by the order of Aurangzeb, and the present masjid erected in its place; but Hindus still frequent it at the time of the annual fair."

It is difficult to redeem the pristine glory of Vijay Mandir, whose scale and dimensions are reminiscent of the Konark temple. Nevertheless, is it scientific for ASI to deliberately bury architectural treasures?

Coming to Siddhpur, the National Minorities Commission in 1983 prevented ASI from carrying out excavation in or around the Rudramahalaya complex, where once existed the tallest temple in Gujarat. From its top could be seen glimpses of Patan, the capital of the ancient kings of Gujarat. From the top it is believed were visible some temple mashaals in Ahmedabad, which was 112 km away. The National Minorities Commission influenced Governments, both in Delhi and Gandhinagar, into freezing the excavation work that was begun by ASI in 1979. The details are available in the Commission's Fourth Annual Report, 1983.

An improvement of the environment around the masjid was conceived in 1959 in response to a complaint repeatedly made by the local Muslims that ASI had been neglecting the repair and upkeep of the masjid. Yet, after 1983, the commission not only had to ensure that the work was frozen but also that all the excavations made had to be covered up. On my visit to the site in June 2000, I was able to see a dozen or so statuettes including a stone Nandi bull in a mutilated condition. The rest of the relics had been covered up.

According to the commission report, Begum Ayesha, MLA, played a leading part in the cover up operation. KT Satarawala, the then Adviser to the Governor of Gujarat, also played a yeoman's role in the concealment. AS Quereshi, advocate, for the (Muslim) Trustees, issued a notice dated February 6, 1980, to the Superintendent, ASI, asking the department to build compound walls in order to cover up the temple remains.

The Superintendent explained in person the importance of the discoveries made and the need for revision of the Muslim demand in the interests of preserving the precious cultural heritage of the country. Quereshi visited Siddhpur on March 8, 1980, alongwith the Superintendent. At first, he agreed to the preservation but later insisted on getting the trenches closed. The Superintendent complied with all his demands as recorded in the commission's report.

How scientific or technological was the performance of ASI in Siddhpur and Vidisha is for the reader to judge. There is no doubt that instead of excavating and preserving our cultural heritage, ASI has been involved in the concealing of heritage. Should ASI not be wound up to prevent its destructive role as well as to save public money?