Tangible and Intangible heritage of India.

Tangible and Intangible heritage of India.

Question:- There is a dire need to protect the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of India. Critically examine the institutes that look after these. Preservation and promotion of the heritage will in turn boost the economy of India. Elaborate.

- India is a treasure trove of cultural heritage, be it tangible or intangible. The intangible cultural heritages is the one of whose importance, richness is beyond measurement. It includes dance, art, music, drama etc. On the other hand, tangible heritage are the monuments, excavated sites etc.

- The Government of India has taken the following steps in order to preserve the intangible and tangible heritage of the country.

For intangible heritage:

Lalit Kala Academy- Founded with an aim to propagate understanding of Indian art, inside as well as outside the country and also offers fellowships for the promotion of these arts.

Sangeet Natak Akademy- This looks into the preservation, propagation of music, of both hindustani and carnatic.

Sahitya Akademy- This has been established to promote literature through publication, translation, seminars and fellowships along with honoring the literary figures.

Center for Cultural Resource and Training (CCRT)- Set up as an autonomous organization, it links culture with education, creating understanding and awareness regarding India's rich cultural heritage.

Zonal Cultural Centres- Founded to spread knowledge of the local culture.

For tangible heritage:

Archaeological survey of India looks after the archaeological remains and excavations, maintenance of sites, conservation of monuments, conducting various expeditions abroad, giving training in archeology etc. This was established in 1861 under the Department of Culture.

The archaeological survey has many sub division dealing with various purposes like underwater archeology, science, horticulture etc.

National museum was established under ministry of culture exhibit the various artifacts of historical importance, educate the crowd by conducting educational activities, organize galleries, have workshops etc.

- Although care is taken by founding of various institutes to protect and preserve India's heritage, there still are some lacking points due to which smooth administration becomes difficult. Some of the points are mentioned below.

- Lower budget alloted by the central government restricting resources.

- Insufficient staff working with the archaeological survey of India, at times embroiled in the politics within.

- Smuggling of artifacts is a huge business in itself and this takes place on a great scale despite efforts to curb this act.

- The technology and procedure used by the government to preserve artifacts is obsolete and incompetent.

- Not all monuments are well looked after by the ministry of culture, be it the ASI or any other. A lot of the forts are neglected, a lot of excavated sites are disturbed due to negligence or forceful invasion.

- There is not too much that can be done if religion intervenes, due to which most of the heritage is destroyed, forcefully or unintentionally.

- Most of the places are in desolate locations and there is no care taken for safety of tourists, hygiene conditions etc. This has not been effectively handled by the government which in turn affects the tourism industry.

- Government of India must take effective steps to in order to promote, preserve the heritage of the country. With a huge potential, India has an opportunity to boost the country's economy by promoting its heritage in the right manner, thus promoting tourism.