The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by
Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General.
History
ASI was founded in 1861 by
Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General. The first systematic research into
the subcontinent's history was conducted by the
Asiatic Society
The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...
, which was founded by the British Indologist
William Jones on 15 January 1784. Based in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, the society promoted the study of ancient
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
texts and published an annual journal titled ''Asiatic Researches''. Notable among its early members was
Charles Wilkins
Sir Charles Wilkins (1749 – 13 May 1836) was an English typographer and Orientalist, and founding member of The Asiatic Society. He is notable as the first translator of ''Bhagavad Gita'' into English, He supervised Panchanan Karmakar to c ...
who published the first English translation of the ''
Bhagavad Gita'' in 1785 with the patronage of the then
Governor-General of Bengal
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...
,
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...
. However, the most important of the society's achievements was the decipherment of the
Brahmi script
Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...
by
James Prinsep in 1837. This successful decipherment inaugurated the asset.
Formation of the ASI
![Alexander Cunningham of the ASI 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Alexander_Cunningham_of_the_ASI_02.jpg)
Armed with the knowledge of Brahmi,
Alexander Cunningham, a protégé of
James Prinsep, carried out a detailed survey of the Buddhist monuments which lasted for over half a century. Inspired by early amateur archaeologists like the Italian military officer,
Jean-Baptiste Ventura
Jean-Baptiste (Giovanni Battista) Ventura, born Rubino (25 May 1794 – 3 April 1858), was an Italian soldier, mercenary in India, general in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Sarkar-i-Khalsa, and early archaeologist of the Punjab region of the Sikh Empi ...
, Cunningham excavated ''
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumamb ...
s'' along the width, the length and breadth of India. While Cunningham funded many of his early excavations himself, in the long run, he realised the need for a permanent body to oversee archaeological excavations and the conservation of Indian monuments and used his stature and influence in India to lobby for an archaeological survey. While his attempt in 1848 did not meet with success, the Archaeological Survey of India was eventually formed in 1861 by a statute passed into law by
Lord Canning with Cunningham as the first Archaeological Surveyor. The survey was suspended briefly between 1865 and 1871 due to lack of funds but restored by
Lord Lawrence the then
Viceroy of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
. In 1871, the Survey was revived as a separate department and Cunningham was appointed as its first Director-General.
1885–1901
Cunningham retired in 1885 and was succeeded as Director General by
James Burgess. Burgess launched a yearly journal ''
The Indian Antiquary
''The Indian Antiquary: A journal of oriental research in archaeology, history, literature, language, philosophy, religion, folklore, &c, &c,'' (subtitle varies) was a journal of original research relating to India, published between 1872 and 1 ...
'' (1872) and an annual epigraphical publication ''
Epigraphia Indica'' (1882) as a supplement to the ''Indian Antiquary''. The post of Director General was permanently suspended in 1889 due to a funds crunch and was not restored until 1902. In the interim period, conservation work in the different circles was carried out by the superintendents of the individual circles.
"Buck crisis" (1888–1898)
![Sir Edward Charles Buck (1838-1916), Civil servant in Bengal, India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Sir_Edward_Charles_Buck_%281838-1916%29%2C_Civil_servant_in_Bengal%2C_India.jpg)
From 1888 started severe lobbying aimed at reducing Government expenses, and at curtailing the budget of the Archaeological Survey of India, a period of about ten years known as the "Buck crisis", after the Liberal Edward Buck.
In effect, this severely threatened the employment of the employees of the ASI, such as
Alois Anton Führer, who had just started a family and become a father.
In 1892, Edward Buck announced that the Archaeological Survey of India would be shut down and all ASI staff would be dismissed by 1895, in order to generate savings for the Government's budget.
It was understood that only a fantastic archaeological discovery within the next three years for example might be able to turn public opinion and save the funding of the ASI.
![Monograph on Buddha Sakyamuni's birthplace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Monograph_on_Buddha_Sakyamuni%27s_birthplace.jpg)
Great "discoveries" were indeed made with the March 1895 discovery of the
Nigali Sagar
Nigali Sagar (also called Nigliva, Nigali Sagar pillar, Nighihawa pillar, Nigliva pillar, or Araurakot pillar) is an archaeological site in Nepal containing the remains of a pillar of Ashoka. The site is located in Nigalihawa, about 20 kilometers ...
inscription, which succeeded in bringing the "Buck Crisis" to an end, and the ASI was finally allowed in June 1895 to continue operations, subject to yearly approval based on successful digs every year.
Georg Bühler
Professor Johann Georg Bühler (July 19, 1837 – April 8, 1898) was a scholar of ancient Indian languages and law.
Early life and education
Bühler was born to Rev. Johann G. Bühler in Borstel, Hanover, attended grammar school in Hanover, whe ...
, writing in July 1895 in the ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'', continued to advocate for the preservation of the Archaeological Survey of India, and expressed that what was needed were "new authentic documents" from the pre-Ashokan period, and they would "only be found underground".
Another momentous discovery would be made in 1896, with the
Lumbini pillar inscription
The Lumbini pillar inscription, also called the Paderia inscription, is an inscription in the ancient Brahmi script, discovered in December 1896 on a pillar of Ashoka in Lumbini, Nepal by former Chief of the Nepalese Army General Khadga Shamsher ...
, a major inscription on a
pillar of Ashoka
The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c. 268 to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expressi ...
discovered by
Alois Anton Führer. The inscription, together with other evidence, confirmed
Lumbini
Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth ...
as the birthplace of the Buddha.
The organization was rocked when Führer was unmasked in 1898, and was found to file fraudulent reports about his investigations. Confronted by Smith about his archaeological publications and his report to the Government, Führer was obliged to admit "that every statement in it
he report
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
was absolutely false." Under official instructions from the Government of India, Führer was relieved of his positions, his papers seized and his offices inspected by
Vincent Arthur Smith
Vincent Arthur Smith, , (3 June 1843 – 6 February 1920) was an Irish Indologist, historian, member of the Indian Civil Service, and curator. He was one of the prominent figures in Indian historiography during the British Raj.
In the 1890s, he ...
on 22 September 1898. Führer had written in 1897 a monograph on his discoveries in Nigali Sagar and Lumbini, ''Monograph on Buddha Sakyamuni's birth-place in the Nepalese tarai'', which was withdrawn from circulation by the Government.
Führer was dismissed and returned to Europe.
1901–1947
The post of Director General was restored by
Lord Curzon
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...
in 1902. Breaking with tradition, Curzon chose a 26-year-old professor of classical studies at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
named
John Marshall to head the survey. Marshall served as Director General for a quarter of a century and during his long tenure, he replenished and invigorated the survey whose activities were fast dwindling into insignificance. Marshall established the post of Government epigraphist and encouraged epigraphical studies. The most significant event of his tenure was, however, the discovery of the
Indus Valley civilization at
Harappa and
Mohenjodaro
Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';[Harold Hargreaves
Harold Hargreaves (born 29 May 1876) was a British Indian archaeologist who served as Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1928 to 1931.
Early life
Born on 29 May 1876, Hargreaves specialized in Buddhist iconography ...]
in 1928. Hargreaves was succeeded by
Daya Ram Sahni.
Sahni was succeeded by
J. F. Blakiston and
K. N. Dikshit
Rao Bahadur Kashinath Narayan Dikshit (21 October 1889 – 12 August 1946) was an Indian archaeologist who served as Director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1937 to 1944.
Early life and education
Dikshit was born ...
both of whom had participated in the excavations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro. In 1944, a British archaeologist and army officer,
Mortimer Wheeler
Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...
took over as Director General. Wheeler served as Director General till 1948 and during this period he excavated the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
site of
Arikamedu and the
Stone age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
sites of
Brahmagiri,
Chandravalli
Chandravalli is an archaeological site located in the Chitradurga district of the state of Karnataka, India. The region is a valley formed by three hills, Chitradurga, Kirabanakallu and Jolagudda.Amalananda Ghosh (1990), p97 It is a semi-arid r ...
and
Maski
Maski is a town and an archaeological site in the Raichur district of the state of Karnataka, India.Amalananda Ghosh (1990), p282 It lies on the bank of the Maski river which is a tributary of the Tungabhadra. Maski derives its name from Mahas ...
in South India. Wheeler founded the journal ''
Ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
'' in 1946 and presided over the partitioning of ASI's assets during the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
and helped establish an archaeological body for the newly formed Pakistan.
1947–2019
Wheeler was succeeded by
N. P. Chakravarti
Niranjan Prasad Chakravarti (IAST: ''Nirañjana Prasāda Cakravarti'') (1 July 1893 – 19 October 1956) was an Indian archaeologist who served as the Chief epigraphist to the Government of India in 1934 to 1940 and as Director-general of th ...
in 1948. The
National Museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...
was inaugurated in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
on 15 August 1949 to house the artifacts displayed at the Indian Exhibition in the United Kingdom.
Madho Sarup Vats and
Amalananda Ghosh
Amalananda Ghosh (3 March 1910 – 1981) was an Indian archaeologist, the author and editor of numerous works on India's ancient civilizations, and the organizer and director of archaeological expeditions during the mid-1900s.
Education
Ghosh ...
succeeded Chakravarti. Ghosh's tenure which lasted until 1968 is noted for the excavations of Indus Valley sites at
Kalibangan
Kalibangān is a town located at on the left or southern banks of the Ghaggar (Ghaggar-Hakra River) in Tehsil Pilibangān, between Suratgarh and Hanumangarh in Hanumangarh District, Rajasthan, India 205 km. from Bikaner. It is also identi ...
,
Lothal
Lothal () was one of the southernmost sites of the ancient Indus Valley civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt. Construction of the city is believed to have begun around 2200 BCE.
Archaeological Survey of ...
and
Dholavira
Dholavira ( gu, ધોળાવીરા) is an archaeological site at Khadirbet in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District, in the state of Gujarat in western India, which has taken its name from a modern-day village south of it. This village is ...
. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act'' was passed in 1958 bringing the archaeological survey under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture. Ghosh was succeeded by
B.B. Lal
Braj Basi Lal (2 May 1921 – 10 September 2022) was an Indian writer and archaeologist. He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1968 to 1972 and has served as Director of the Indian Institute of Advance ...
who conducted archaeological excavations at
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...
to investigate whether a Ram Temple preceded the
Babri Masjid. During Lal's tenure, the ''Antiquities and Art Treasures Act'' (1972) was passed recommending central protection for monuments considered to be "of national importance". Lal was succeeded by
M. N. Deshpande who served from 1972 to 1978 and
B. K. Thapar
Bal Krishen Thapar (18 October 1921 – 6 September 1995) was an Indian archaeologist who served as the Director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1978 to 1981. He was the founder of INTACH.
Early life
Thapar was born to a cl ...
who served from 1978 to 1981. On Thapar's retirement in 1981, archaeologist
Debala Mitra was appointed to succeed him - she was the first woman Director General of the ASI. Mitra was succeeded by
M. S. Nagaraja Rao, who had been transferred from the
Karnataka State Department of Archaeology. Archaeologists J. P. Joshi and M. C. Joshi succeeded Rao. M. C. Joshi was the Director General when the
Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992 triggering Hindu-Muslim violence all over India. As a fallout of the demolition, Joshi was dismissed in 1993 and controversially replaced as director general by
Indian Administrative Service
The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...
(IAS) officer Achala Moulik, a move which inaugurated a tradition of appointing bureaucrats of the IAS instead of archaeologists to head the survey. The tradition was finally brought to an end in 2010 when Gautam Sengupta an archaeologist, replaced K.M Srivastava an IAS officer as director general. He was again succeeded by Pravin Srivastava, another IAS officer. Srivastava's successor incumbent, Rakesh Tiwari was also a professional archaeologist. His successor Usha Sharma was also a IAS officer and her successor V Vidyavathi who is the present DG of ASI is also a IAS officer.
Organisation
![An old ticket of the Heritage Monuments of India by ASI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/An_old_ticket_of_the_Heritage_Monuments_of_India_by_ASI.jpg)
The Archaeological Survey of India is an attached office of the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
*Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
* Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
*Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
*Minister for the Arts (Australia)
*Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)
* Ministry of ...
. Under the provisions of the
AMASR Act of 1958, the ASI administers more than 3650 ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance. These can include everything from temples, mosques, churches, tombs, and cemeteries to palaces, forts, step-wells, and rock-cut caves. The Survey also maintains ancient mounds and other similar sites which represent the remains of ancient habitation.
The ASI is headed by a Director General who is assisted by an Additional Director General, two Joint Directors General, and 17 Directors.
Circles
The ASI is divided into a total of 34 circles
each headed by a Superintending Archaeologist.
Each of the circles are further divided into sub-circles. The circles of the ASI are:
The ASI also administers three "mini-circles" at
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
,
Leh
Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...
and
Hampi
Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India.
Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th&n ...
.
Directors-General
The Survey has had 29 Directors-General thus far. Its founder, Alexander Cunningham served as Archaeological Surveyor between 1861 and 1865.
Museums
India's first museum was established by the Asiatic Society in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
(now
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
) in 1814. Much of its collection was passed on to the
Indian Museum
The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...
, which was established in the city in 1866.
The Archaeological Survey did not maintain its own museums until the tenure of its third director-general, John Marshall. He initiated the establishment of various museums at Sarnath (1904), Agra (1906), Ajmer (1908), Delhi Fort (1909), Bijapur (1912), Nalanda (1917) and Sanchi (1919). The ASI's museums are customarily located right next to the sites that their inventories are associated with "so that they may be studied amid their natural surroundings and not lose focus by being transported".
A dedicated Museums Branch was established in 1946 by Mortimer Wheeler, which now maintains a total of 50 museums spread across the country.
Library
The ASI maintains a Central Archaeological Library in the Archaeological Survey of India headquarters building in Tilak Marg, Mandi House, New Delhi. Established in 1902, its collection numbers more than 100,000 books and journals. The library is also a repository of rare books, plates, and original drawings.
The Survey additionally maintains a library in each of its circles to cater to local academics and researchers.
Publications
The day-to-day work of the survey was published in a series of periodical bulletins and reports. The periodicals and archaeological series published by the ASI are:
;''Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum'' : It consists of a series of seven volumes of inscriptions discovered and deciphered by archaeologists of the survey. Founded in 1877 by
Alexander Cunningham, a final revised volume was published by
E. Hultzsch
Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch (29 March 1857 – 16 January 1927) was a German indologist and epigraphist who is known for his work in deciphering the inscriptions of Ashoka.
Early life and education
Born in Dresden on 29 March 1857, Hultzsch st ...
in 1925.
;''Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy'' : The first volume of the ''Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy'' was brought out by the
epigraphist
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
-
E. Hultzsch
Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch (29 March 1857 – 16 January 1927) was a German indologist and epigraphist who is known for his work in deciphering the inscriptions of Ashoka.
Early life and education
Born in Dresden on 29 March 1857, Hultzsch st ...
in 1887. The bulletin has not been published since 2005.
;''Epigraphia Indica'' : ''
Epigraphia Indica'' was first published by the then Director-General, J. Burgess in 1888 as a supplementary to ''
The Indian Antiquary
''The Indian Antiquary: A journal of oriental research in archaeology, history, literature, language, philosophy, religion, folklore, &c, &c,'' (subtitle varies) was a journal of original research relating to India, published between 1872 and 1 ...
''. Since then, a total of 43 volumes have been published. The last volume was published in 1979. An Arabic and Persian supplement to the ''Epigraphia Indica'' was also published from 1907 to 1977.
;''South Indian Inscriptions'' : The first volume of ''
South Indian Inscriptions
''South Indian Inscriptions'' is an epigraphical series that has been published by the Archaeological Survey of India in 34 volumes from 1890 through the present. The texts are supplemented with summaries and an overview of the texts, both in Eng ...
'' was edited by E. Hultzsch and published in 1890. A total of 27 volumes were published till 1990. The early volumes are the main source of historical information on the
Pallavas
The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of South India, the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahanas, Satavahana dynasty, with whom they ...
,
Cholas and
Chalukyas
The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...
.
;''Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India'' : It was the primary bulletin of the ASI. The first annual report was published by John Marshall in 1902–03. The last volume was published in 1938–39. It was replaced by ''Indian Archaeology: A Review''.
;''Ancient India'' : The first volume of ''
Ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
'' was published in 1946 and edited by Sir
Mortimer Wheeler
Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...
as a bi-annual and converted to an annual in 1949. The twenty-second and last volume was published in 1966.
;''Indian Archaeology: A Review'' : ''Indian Archaeology: A Review'' is the primary bulletin of the ASI and has been published since 1953–54. It replaced the ''Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India''.
State government archaeological departments
Apart from the ASI, archaeological work in India and conservation of monuments is also carried out in some states by state government archaeological departments. Most of these bodies were set up by the various princely states before independence. When these states were annexed to India after independence, the individual archaeological departments of these states were not integrated with the ASI. Instead, they were allowed to function as independent bodies.
*
Haryana State Directorate of Archaeology & Museums
Haryana State Directorate of Archaeology & Museums is a ministry and department of the Government of Haryana in India.
Description
This department came into existence in 1972 after Haryana was established as a new state in 1966 within India a ...
(formed in 1972 by upgrading the cell that was earlier under the education department)
* Orissa State Archaeology Department (1965)
*
Andhra Pradesh Department of Archeology and Museums
The Andhra Pradesh State Department of Archaeology and Museums is a department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh which oversees archaeological exploration and maintenance of heritage sites and museums in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It ...
(1914)
*
Karnataka State Department of Archaeology (1885)
*
Kerala State Archaeology Department (formed in 1962 by merging Travancore State Archaeology Department (est 1910) and Cochin State Archaeology Department (est 1925))
*
Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department
Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) is the archaeology department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Founded in 1961, the department is headed by an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer with the designation Commissioner for Ar ...
(1961)
* Department of Archaeology and Museum, Government of West Bengal
Criticism
In 2013, a
Comptroller and Auditor General
An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations.
Fre ...
(CAG) report found that at least 92 centrally protected monuments of historical importance across the country which have gone missing without a trace. The CAG could physically verify only 45% of the structures (1,655 out of 3,678). The CAG report said that the ASI did not have reliable information on the exact number of monuments under its protection. The CAG recommended that periodic inspection of each protected monument should be done by a suitably ranked officer. The Culture ministry accepted the proposal. Author and
IIPM Director
Arindam Chaudhuri
Arindam Chaudhuri is an Indian national best known for his involvement with the now-defunct Indian Institute of Planning and Management, an unaccredited institute that was previously headquartered in New Delhi and had 18 branches across India ...
said that since the ASI is unable to protect the country's museums and monuments, they should be professionally maintained by private companies or through the
public-private-partnership (PPP) model.
In May 2018, the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
said that the ASI was not properly discharging its duty in maintaining the
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
of
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
and asked the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
to consider whether some other agency be given the responsibility to protect and preserve it.
In popular culture
The fictional character
Kakababu, in
Sunil Gangopadhyay
Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was an Indian poet, historian and novelist in the Bengali language based in the city of Kolkata. He is a former Sheriff of Calcutta. Gangopadhyay obtained his ma ...
's famed Kakababu series, is an ex-Director of the Archaeological Survey of India.
See also
*
State Protected Monuments of India
This article contains lists of State Protected Monuments of India.
Table of monuments
The State Protected Monuments are designated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The state governments of India are authorised to maintain, protect and ...
*
List of World Heritage Sites in India
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates World Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value to cultural or natural heritage which have been nominated by countries which are signatories to the UN ...
*
Monuments of National Importance of India
This article contains lists of Monuments of National Importance in India.
An Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 defines an "Ancient Monument" as follows:
A "Monument of National Importance" is designated by the Archaeological Survey o ...
*
Delhi Archaeological Society
*
Survey of India, India's central agency in charge of
map
A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes.
Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...
ping and
surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
.
*
Geological Survey of India
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...
*
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology is an institute functioning under the Archaeological Survey of India which is under the Ministry of Culture, Govt of India. The institute is located adjacent to Galgotias College of Engineering ...
*
Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1878
References
External links
*
World Heritage, Tentative Lists, State: India—
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Dholavira: a Harappan City, Disstt, Kachchh, Gujarat, India, India (Asia and the Pacific), Date of Submission: 03/07/1998, Submission prepared by: Archaeological Survey of India, Coordinates: 23°53'10" N, 70°11'03" E, Ref.: 1090
{{Authority control
1861 establishments in the British Empire
Executive branch of the government of India
Ministry of Culture (India)
India, Archaeological Survey of
Organisations based in Delhi
Government agencies established in 1861