The need for legislation and vigilance: The safest way to protect the cultural property of a country is to teach its people to be vigilant. A sense of pride in the country’s antiquarian wealth, cultural and artistic heritage, oral tradition, performing arts, etc., and a sense of involvement in their preservation and protection have to be inculcated among the masses.
Museums have a definite role to play here as their
educational activities should be directed toward enlightening people, so that
they themselves come forward to take the role of protectors or custodians of the
cultural wealth around them. Such an educated public is the best safeguard
against petty theft and vandalism at archaeological sites and monuments. But to
protect against organised theft and robbery, the use of legislation is
necessary. Criminal and civil laws cover theft, damage to cultural property,
illegal occupation of monuments and sites etc. Similarly the customs laws are
used to punish offenders breaking import / export laws.
The earlier laws regarding protection of cultural property
was in France in 1809, to protect against the transfer of material from the
state archives. Soon after in 1814, the Indian Museum Act was passed for the
protection of monuments from destruction.
In 1878, the Indian Treasure Trove Act was passed. The main
emphasis of this early legislation was on the preservation of archaeological
wealth. With the exception of very few countries, most states have some law or
the other for the protection of monuments, remains, antiquities, etc.
Theft and Illicit Traffic in Antiquities: Any illicit
traffic is preceded by blatant robbery or theft which may be crude or very
sophisticated. Stolen objects are smuggled into the international market as the
trade in cultural property, though often illegal, is very lucrative. The
illicit trade includes the thief, the receiver, middlemen and the final
purchaser. A museum may be either the victim or perhaps the beneficiary. E.g.
The Nataraja statue from the Shivapurana temple. Thus far, laws tend to target
those actively involved in the theft and smuggling of objects. But many may
feel that if buyers of stolen antiquities were more strictly dealt with, the
illicit trade would decrease.
Indian laws
The Bengal Regulations XIX of 1810 – empowered the
government to intervene whenever a public building was faced with the risk of
misuse by private individuals.
Act XX of 1863 – The government was given the authority ‘to
prevent injury to and preserve buildings remarkable for their antiquity,
historical and architectural value’.
Indian Treasure Trove Act 1878 – was directed to combat
treasure hunting and to regulate accidental finds due to digging for other
purposes.
Antiquities (Export Control) Act 1947 – This act was passed
by Mortimer Wheeler, who was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey
of India. Under this Act, no antiquity could be exported without a license
issued by the Director General. Antiquities included any object not more than
100 years old. This act also served to certify an object as an antiquity.
Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites
and Remains Act 1951 – All historical and ancient monuments and all
archaeological sites and remains declared under the Ancient Monuments
Preservation Act 1904, re-declared as monuments and archaeological sites of
national importance.
Antiquities (Export Control) Amendment Bill 1965 – sought to
transfer or abridge the power of the Director General and vest it to a Board
called the Antiquities Appellate Board. The decisions of this board would be
final.
The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 1972 – was passed as
an improvement over the above act. It sought to cope with the illicit traffic
in antiquities and their theft
At present, there are two central laws, Ancient Monuments
and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 and the Antiquities and Art
Treasures act 1972, for the preservation of monuments, archaeological sites and
antiquities.
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