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| Heritage on the verge of extinction, value yet to be realized | | | AD Singh
Jammu, Apr, 23:
Though the World Heritage Day also known as the International Day for Monument and Sites, established to celebrate the diversity of heritage throughout the world, was celebrated by the State Government by organizing Photo-exhibitions and other cultural and awareness programs but the realities on the ground seems to be far from realizing the dream of protecting our heritage for our generations. It is no doubt that the symbols of our heritage has suffered more due to the human vandalism rather than the score of weather and unfortunately the monuments and sites which as such reflect our cultural heritage are no doubt bait to the tourist visiting the state but till date neither the State government nor the inhabitants of this State has recognize the value of these historic monuments and their tourism significance. Even the Photo-exhibition at the Kala Kendra clearly reflects the indifference of our society and government towards these symbols of our culture.
It is a fact that the State of Jammu and Kashmir has historic monuments and forts in all its regions due to the presence of small kingdoms but unfortunately many of the historic monuments have yet not been notified as State protected monuments and some like the fort of Akhnoor which though have been notified still remain occupied by different departments of the Government and these heritage monuments remain in the hands of the government departments which as such do not have a responsibility and even do not seem to protect the heritage in them.
It is a matter of surprise that almost after five decades of the end of the Kingship in our State just two months back that the State Government for the first time conducted a survey to prepare a complete document to enlist and ascertain the present condition of all the heritage monuments in the State. The ancient temples in the valley have been repeatedly looted and lay in a depilated condition and the government as such has not formulated any plan to protect and revert them to their pristine elegance for being projected on the tourist maps of the state and even till date the State government does not have a comprehensive plan to conserve and protect these monuments. Further the seriousness of the government is well reflected from the fact that the State Archeology Department had to make exhaustive efforts to get the premises of the Mubarak Mandi Complex free from the government departments and still the Akhnoor fort is more a government building than a protected monument. No doubt many of our historical heritages like the Triumphal Arc, the murals of the Mubarak Mandi Complex and the imported clocks at the Mandi complex could have been protected well if the people and the government would have realized their value earlier.
Many of the historic forts and monuments lie in a much depilated condition and if restored to their original elegance can be of great tourist attraction. The States like Rajasthan and Karnataka exemplify the role of heritage monuments in the rich tourism industry but the State of J&K is yet to realize the value of its historical treasure. Another major hurdle in preservation of the historic temples and mosques is that they are in control of trusts or boards and the State Archeology department does not have a control on them. A live example of this is the centuries old Jamia Masjid at Jafar Chak which has remained neglected till date. No doubt the process of restoring the pristine glory of these monuments is a laborious, expensive and time consuming job and though the efforts of the Department of Archives, Archeology and Museum in the last few years for the conservation and restoration of some of the Heritage sites in the state are commendable but a lot has to be done on war footing for preserving the diverse history reflected in the large number of monuments scattered all over the state. Especially the pace of the work should be improved and extensive awareness programs in the areas surrounding the ancient monuments are required. The preservation of restoration of these site require extensive research work and for all this only the Department of Archeology cannot be placed with all the responsibility and a coordinated effort of all the departments of the Government along with the cooperation of public at war footing is required.
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