The
Archaeological Survey of India (
Devanagiri: भारतीय पुरातत्व सर्वेक्षण,
abbreviation: ASI) is a department of the
Government of India, attached to the
Ministry of Culture . It is responsible for
archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country by various acts of the Indian Parliament. According to its website, the ASI's function is to "explore, excavate, conserve, preserve and protect the monuments and sites of National & International Importance." The ASI has the mandate
to regulate the export trade in antiquities and art treasures, to provide for the prevention of smuggling of, and fraudulent dealings in, antiquities, to provide for the compulsory acquisition of antiquities and art treasures for preservation in public places and to provide for certain other matters connected therewith or incidental or ancillary thereto . Among various other activities, imparting training to the young professionals in the field of Archaeology is another function of the ASI . The Archaeological Survey of India runs a premier institute in New Delhi for this purpose .
Background
The creation of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is the logical culmination of early archaeological initiatives in British India that included the establishment of
The Asiatic Society by
Sir William Jones on
15 January 1784 .
History
The ASI in its current form was founded in 1861 under British colonial administration by
Sir Alexander Cunningham with the help of the then Viceroy
Charles John Canning. At that time, its domain included the entire British India including
Afghanistan and
Burma . In its early days, the Survey was engaged in major exploratory activities which resulted in the discovery of importantant archaeological sites like
Sankisa,
Sravasti,
Bharhut,
Kosambi . Cunningham was instrumental in such findings and paved the way for newer studies in Historical Archaeology of India . During the tenure of Cunningham (1867-68),
A.C.L. Carlleyle of ASI discovered important rock paintings in the rock shelters of Suhagighat in the
Rewa District,
Madhya Pradesh [Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for February,1883,p.49]. He recognised that some paintings were prehistoric and had no precedance in Europe
. When
Mortimer Wheeler became Director-General in 1944, the head-office of the Survey was located at the Railway Board building in
Simla.
Overview
The ASI administers 3650 monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 ( No 24 of 1958)and Rule 1959
. The important sites excavated recently include Harsha-ka-Tila at
Thanesar in
Haryana exposing a cultural sequence from the
Kushan period to
medieval periods.
Directors-General
See also
- Dholavira Ancient Metropolitan City. Application is pending for World Heritage Site.
