Protecting the Past: A Heritage Perspective

"Law and order is the medicine of the body politic, and when the body politic gets sick, medicine must be administered," stated B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution. The Supreme Court's decision to prohibit civil courts nationwide from filing new petitions contesting the ownership and title of any place of worship is a timely intervention to maintain the integrity of the body politic. Article 51A (f) of the Constitution too specifies that ‘it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture’. Preservation of our heritage, therefore, is a fundamental duty and one of our primary responsibilities to ensure the continued existence of our cultural heritage. India is experiencing a massive ‘heritage boom’ after the Incredible India campaign successfully pulled off some of its objectives like hike in foreign tourists, job creation and economic growth.

However, the government of India's ambition of making India a developed nation (Viksit Bharat) is hampered by the frequent Mandir-Masjid controversy after history becoming a new battleground. When the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) announced in April 2023 that it will eliminate several chapters about the Mughal Empire from the class 12 textbook, India's political landscape was enmeshed in the politics of history. This time again, apparently a Babur-era mosque in Sambhal, and a thirteenth-century Sufi shrine in Ajmer, are making news headlines for the wrong reasons.

However, one must remember that the reason behind the rise of India as a global favourite destination is its breathtaking cultural diversity and rich heritage. Nevertheless, mosques, madarsas, minars, and mausoleums, which are contributing massive income to the nation's exchequer from cultural tourism, have become the typical suspects. Out of 116 monuments that require ticket entry, it has been found that 65% of the revenue collected by the central government was from monuments built by the Muslim rulers. Therefore, it would be detrimental to India's tradition of pluralistic culture to stir up controversy by casting doubt on the sanctity and integrity of both Muslim heritage and Muslim history.

As per the data made public by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the combined revenue generated by the group of architectural marvels, namely the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Qutub Minar, Fatehpur Sikri and Red Fort, amounted to a sum of Rs. 146.05 crore in the fiscal year of 2017-18. Additionally, the Archaeological Survey of India, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Tourism are working together on an initiative called "Adopt a Heritage," which aims to improve the visitors' experience at heritage and cultural sites across India. However, this initiative is seriously threatened by the right-wing's attempt to rewrite history by displacement and replacement of Muslim heritage with implausible assertions.

 ‘Monumental Myopia’

History's primary purpose is to provide a forum for a free, frank, and rigorously academic debate about the essence of human life in past and present. The average Indian, however, now finds history to be pretty fascinating as it has become an essential weapon in cultural disputes because it gave those in charge of the narrative the ability to legitimise or discredit acts, events, and people in the present and the past.

The 'Monumental Myopia' was a study that used remote sensing techniques to identify potential prehistoric nomadic populations in southern Siberia. The research successfully examined the daily lives of pastoral culture in the first millennium BC. However, in our case, petitions asking for surveys of mosques have been turned into a weapon to settle scores that go against the grain of science. Furthermore, as claimed by right-wing narratives on social media platforms and in private conversations, the history of Muslims in India was characterised by the persecution and repression of Hindus and the presence of magnificent monuments and heritage sites are the remnants of aggressors.

Nobody denies the fact that India is fortunate to have an abundance of historic monuments that document its diverse past, contributing to its rich cultural and historical fabric. Since it might have wider ramifications for the ‘heritage boom’ our exceptional cultural and heritage properties require vision rather than a narrow viewpoint. It has, however, become commonplace to disregard our heritage, though it is not limited to monuments.

For instance, Hindi became Hindu and Urdu became Muslim. Meanwhile, in 2013, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) declared 92 monuments "missing" following the first-ever physical verification exercise of centrally protected monuments, demonstrate our sensitivity towards heritage and cultural remains. However, nothing transpired other than the Ministry of Culture informing Parliament in December 2022 that the ASI had identified forty-two monuments. However, 50 monuments of national importance are still "untraceable."

Perils of unremembering History

John Steinbeck, the American author who won the Nobel Prize, famously said, "How will we know it is us without knowing our past?" John's message is that knowing our history is important to understand who we are and the world around us. Therefore, the question is: do we understand India's relationship with Islam as a civilisation and how Muslims contributed to India's composite culture? The regular sectarian and communal disputes show how little we understand about a thousand-year-old process of cultural fusion.

Hence, we risk losing the long-cherished goal of becoming a major destination for cultural tourism as well as entire efforts of Incredible India campaign will go in vain if we forget and unremember Muslims and tangible evidence of their presence.

I must recall the British polymath John Ruskin for his foresight in assessment of the importance of heritage. A 'good man's house', according to Ruskin, represents the owner's life, love, grief, and memories. It is the responsibility of the owner's children and their descendants to care for, protect, and preserve this home.

The house belongs to the original builder; it is not ours, although it also belongs to his descendants, and it is our responsibility to safeguard, preserve, and pass it on to those who come after us. Thus, being a signatory to the 1972 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage, the government of India bears the moral responsibility of protecting cultural heritage as the world would be watching how we protect and preserve humanity's shared heritage.

Dr. Sarfaraz Nasir is a visiting faculty at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.