Make heritage protection a people’s movement: Vice President
By chennaivision at 18 April, 2009, 4:55 pm
New Delhi, Stating that the country’s record in heritage protection had not been satisfactory, Vice President Hamid Ansari today called for involving the people on a mass scale to accomplish the task.
Pointing out that Article 51-A of the Constitution dealing with fundamental duties required citizens to protect the rich values of the country’s composite culture, the Vice President said the task of conservation of heritage had so far been confined to the government, but it should now be made a people’s movement.
He, however, said there have been a few organisations like INTACH which, since its inception in 1984 at the instance of Indira Gandhi, had involved private participation in the protection of the heritage.
Mr Ansari was delivering the inaugural address at a function held here on the occasion of the silver jubilee of the India National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage(INTACH).
The Vice President said it was now high time that the youth were involved and children were taught the importance of their heritage right from the school days.
World famous conservationist Mr Stubbs, who was invited to deliver a special address on the occasion, also called for involvement of the private sector in the task of conservation of heritage.
Mr Stubbs, who is associated with the World Monument Fund, said India had a very deep and cultural history and was very special to the world. The influence of the Indian culture has reached up to China and far eastern countries like Cambodia and Japan.
The preservation and conservation of this global heritage could not be done without involvement of the private sector, he said.
Earlier, welcoming the guests, chairman of INTACH S K Misra said his organisation had drawn up a plan to prepare a core group of young people to create awareness about heritage protection.
Mr Misra said heritage had so far been urban centric and had implied only protection of monuments, but INTACH was also focussing on villages as preservation of natural heritage was as important as that of any other kind of heritage.
Speaking on the occasion, Member Secretary of INTACH Yogendra Narain said heritage and relics of the past belonged to all and historical legacy could not be partitioned.
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