Legislations and Indian Heritage
   
 
AAre
you Guilty of Destroying India's Heritage?
Is your construction
-factory/building/port/home or mine/quarry Destroying an
archaeological site?
Are you responsible for
destroying antiquities?
Are you aware of the
laws involved?
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LINKS TO
INDIAN LEGISLATIONS
This information is based on Acts and Rules
published at various times by the Government of
India, and comprises only links to official
government sources and other legal sources.
Web Links
Published
Sources
Web Links
Legislations are put up on the official
website of the
Archaeological Survey of India. The pdfs on this
file will lead you to this website. Alternate
links to other web sites are also listed.
1.Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1878, (ACT NO.
VI OF 1878)
(12th February 1878)
An Act to amend the law relating to Treasure Trove [As modified upto the 1st
September, 1949]
2.The Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904 (VII OF 1904)
[As modified upto the 1st September 1949]
{For
alternate links click here}
3.The Ancient
Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 (ACT No. 24 of 1958)
{For alternate links you can
click on the UNESCO site
or access
Bare Acts or access
other legal
sources}
4.The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains
Rules 1959 {or check out other
legal sources}
5.The Antiquities and Art
Treasures Act, 1972 (Act No. 52 of 1972)
{For alternate links you can
click on the UNESCO site
or access
Bare Acts}
6.The Antiquities and Art Treasures Rules
1973
Related Web Links
1.You can check out links on the
UNESCO web site as related to India's legislations
2.
The Bihar Ancient Monuments And Archaeological Sites, Remains and
Art
Treasures Act 1976
3. The U.P.
Ancient & Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites & Remains Preservation
Act, 1956
4.
Paper on heritage by S. S. Biswas:
Protection of Cultural
Property Vis-a-vis Indian Antiquarian
Legislation and Global Concern
Related Acts which have sections that can be used in
relation to legislations that govern cultural heritage. These include:
1.
Customs Act,
1962
2. Acts governing the
Environment. These are related as regards the impact of pollution on monuments
and sites, and in many other ways as regards impact of environmental factors as
also related to trafficking in wildlife products, etc.
You can link to Bare Acts for
more information on these Acts
Air
(Prevention And Control Of Pollution) Act, 1981
Air
(Prevention And Control Of Pollution) Rules, 1982
Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986
The
Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing Of Claims) Act, 1985
The
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
The
National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997
The
National Environment Tribunal Act 1995
The
Water (Prevention And Control Of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977
The
Wild Birds And Animals Protection Act, 1912
The
Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972
The
Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002
The
Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006
Water
(Prevention And Control Of Pollution) Act, 1974
Water
(Prevention And Control Of Pollution) Rules, 1975
Wild
Life (Protection) Act
3. Indian Penal Code 1870
4. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
5. Foreigners Act, 1946 along with Foreigners Orders,
1948, with Registration of Foreigners Act 1939, and Rules 1992.
Published
Sources
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites
and Remains Act 1958 (24 of 1958) along with The Ancient Monuments and
Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules 1959; The Ancient Monuments Preservation
Act 1904 and the The Madras Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological
Sites and Remains Act 1866. Bare Act with short notes 2005. Delhi:Universal Law
Publishing Co. Pvt.Ltd.
The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 (52 of 1972)
along with The Antiquities and Art Treasures Rules 1973 Bare Act with
short notes 2005. Delhi:Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt.Ltd.
Biswas, S.S.
1999. Protecting the Cultural Heritage (National
Legislations and International Conventions).
New Delhi:Aryan Books International. (note:
this is an important book for any interested
person and answers a number of relevant
questions). |
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 What
is an Antiquity?
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological
Sites and Remains Act 1958 (ACT No. 24 of 1958) defines
antiquities as follows:
2.(b) “antiquity”
includes.—
(i) any coin, sculpture, manuscript, epigraph, or other
work of art of craftsmanship,
(ii) any article, object or thing detached from a
building or cave,
(iii) any article, object or thing illustrative of
science, art, crafts, literature, religion, customs,
morals or politics in bygone ages,
(iv) any article, object or thing of historical
interest, and
(v) any article, object or thing declared by the Central
Government, by notification in the Official Gazette to
be an antiquity for the purposes of this Act, which has
been in existence for not less than one hundred years;
That covers a number of artefacts. If you have an
antiquity in your possession, or if you have any doubts
about this question, you can contact the local
archaeological office of your State Government or the
Central Government. Ask the registration officer to help
you out and get your antiquities registered.
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Monuments and Sites
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological
Sites and Remains Act 1958 (ACT No. 24 of 1958) defines
a monument as follows:
2.
(a) “Ancient Monument” means any structure, erection or monument, or any
tumulus or place of interment, or any cave, rock-sculpture,
inscription or monolith which is of historical, archaeological or
artistic interest and which has been in existence for not
less than 100 years and includes—
(i) remains of an
ancient monument,
(ii) site of an
ancient monument,
(iii) such
portion of land adjoining the site of an ancient monument as may
be required for fencing or covering in or otherwise
preserving such monument, and
(iv) the means of
access to, and convenient inspection of, an
ancient monument;
ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS OF
NATIONAL IMPORTANCE
The Act defines
what it means to have remains of National Importance.
As
per this Act, there are certain ancient or historical
monuments and archaeological sites which are declared to be
of National Importance. These can be updated by
notifications by the Central Government in the Official
Gazette. For those who don’t know the list of monuments and
site, they can check whether there is a prominent
notification at the location.
Protected Areas
and Protected Monuments
(i) “protected area”
means any archaeological site and remains which is declared
to be of national importance by or under this Act;
(j) “protected monument” means an ancient monument
which is declared to be of national importance by or under
this Act.
The Archaeological Survey of
India has listed a number of monuments which are protected.
This has implications in terms of legal issues, and a number
of powers rest with the Central Government as regards issues
of purchase, lease, guardianship, and other rights, duties
and restrictions as regards construction, entry fees,
inspection, etc.
You can refer to the following Act and Rules
for more information:
The Ancient
Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 (ACT No. 24 of 1958)
{For alternate links you can
click on the UNESCO site
or access
Bare Acts or access
other legal
sources}
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains
Rules 1959 {or check out other
legal sources}
Monuments and
site of National Importance are listed here, divided by
state.
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Illicit Trafficking in Antiquities
The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act,
1972 is defined as one
which was enacted specifically to regulate the
export trade in
antiquities and art treasures, to provide for the prevention
of smuggling of, and fraudulent dealings in, antiquities, to
provide for the compulsory acquisition of antiquities and
art treasures for preservation in public places and to
provide for certain other matters connected therewith or
incidental or ancillary thereto
{For alternate links you can
click on the UNESCO site
or access
Bare Acts}
Trafficking in
antiquities is rampant all over the world and there is a
need for coordination between government organisations,
museums, universities and research centres, NGO's and the
community to halt this trade. Several cases in India which
have acquired some degree of fame are as follows:
The Antiquities and Art Treasures Rules
1973 and
the required forms may be referred to for further details.
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For Research Scholars
Any scholar who is interested in excavating
an archaeological site in India, must refer to the
following:
The
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act
1958 (ACT No. 24 of 1958) {For alternate links you can
click on the UNESCO site
or access
Bare Acts or access
other legal
sources}
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains
Rules 1959 {or check out other
legal sources}
In order to excavate, one must apply
in the correct format to the ASI. The application forms are
generally circulated in the month of June or July. Decisions
on granting licenses are taken by an expert committee
following which applicants are informed of the status of
their application. Different rules apply for excavating in
protected areas and those which are unprotected, for
submitting reports or lists of the antiquities and reports
of the excavation, and you can access all the details in the
Act. You can refer to the ASI website for further details.
Foreign Scholars: cannot undertake
any excavation or exploration in India (including survey of
regions, test-pits, etc.) without due permission from the
Archaeological Survey of India and without clearance from
the relevant ministries:
Here are some useful links:
Ministry of
External Affairs
Ministry of
HRD:Higher Education Department: links related to research
visa's
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