A thumbs down for the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme

Last Updated02/03/2023

Private firms, companies, and public sector units can enter into agreements with the Union Ministry of Culture to adopt and maintain State-owned archaeological sites or monuments.
Businesses that enter such agreements are going to be known as Monument Mitras.

This scheme began in February 2023, leading to the adoption of 500 protected sites by August 15, and the adoption of another 500 sites shortly thereafter.
This number represents a 10 times increase in the number of sites being brought under the ambit of the controversial ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme of 2017.
Under the purportedly overhauled ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme, businesses may use their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds at select sites to construct and maintain ticket offices, restaurants, museums, interpretation centres, toilets, and walkways.
They may illuminate monuments, set up guided tours, hold cultural programmes, and fix equipment for light and sound shows.

The current plan sidelines the mandate of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and abandons the Sarnath Initiative, guidelines to safe keep excavated objects and present them to visitors in an engaging manner.
Many monuments selected for the scheme already have tourist infrastructure.
Many monuments selected for the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme are on ASI lists and are therefore protected by the central agency.
Others chosen for the scheme are protected by the Archaeology Directorate of the State that they are located in.
There are some monuments selected for the scheme that are not protected by the ASI and are in States without Archaeology Directorates.
Guided tours led by employees of large businesses who have received permission to adopt a monument may endanger livelihoods of those who have lived near the site.

Businesses can help citizens understand why monuments matter, by earmarking CSR funds for grants for researching, writing, and publishing high quality textbooks, and developing imaginative and effective ways of teaching history.
Traders and shopkeepers can give funds to school libraries for collecting archival materials including books, maps, and old photographs relevant to monuments.
Corporates might also follow the lead taken by Sudha Murthy and N.R. Narayana Murthy in giving gifts to organisations such as the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune to continue their missions of writing history by rationally coordinating the textual record and the archaeological evidence.

Currently, India’s progress in diverse fields is being projected at G-20 events across the nation. By embracing forward-thinking principles of historical preservation, businesses, government agencies, and civil society groups can showcase India’s genuine progress in this arena.
Maybe their efforts will inspire more citizens to participate in the pressing task of safeguarding India’s pluralistic heritage.