The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 has long outlived the purpose for which it was drafted. Discuss (200 words)
Refer – The Hindu
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 6 years
KEY POINTS
Concerns with the act
· Understanding – Importance is ascribed by virtue of religious sentiment, age or provenance to every significant and insignificant work of art.
· This hampers the purposes of scholarship or understanding of what constitutes a beautiful work of art or a national treasure.
· Every object in a private collection is now seen as the result of temple desecration and robbery.
· The view that once-sacred objects today only belong to temples is a myopic view. It thus denies the process of regeneration of these living cultural sites.
· Ownership – The laws that govern the ownership of historical objects, their purchase and sale have been a disincentive for the average collector.
· Registering antiquities with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is a cumbersome and difficult procedure for most collectors.
· Cultural vigilantism, the presumption of guilt without trial, public shaming and the resultant media trial have led to a dangerous state of affairs.
· Limitations – The rule is that every object over 100 years is an antique.
· With every passing year, the number of objects that shift from 99th year to a 100 year status will increase.
· This would soon result in the transfer of vast numbers of objects to a status of national antiquity.
· But is the state geared to handle and maintain this vast emerging enterprise remains uncertain.
· The state is also not equipped to handle the needs of a growing populace of collectors.
Road to future
· It is well within the rights of every citizen to acquire and collect objects of their past.
· Nevertheless, this acquisition should definitely be governed by a legal process of buying.
· With changing ideas, the role of private connoisseurship, individual collectors, trusts and foundations should also be considered.
· Their proactive agency has safeguarded the ancient Indian art from being channelled abroad or being destroyed.
· An urgent amendment to existing laws is essential to save the material culture from being examined purely from the prism of religious sentiment.
It should foster the creation of secular spaces where everyone can enjoy and appreciate the past.
