The problem
LIKE all ancient civilizations, India too has a vast and diverse cultural heritage. But every day, through a slow process of attrition, another piece of our common heritage disappears. Development challenges, economic privation and socio-cultural inequities have sidelined issues of conservation, no longer perceived as an integral part of the development of the nation. The recently published UNDP Human Development Report, ‘Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World’, foregrounds culture liberty as a keystone of human development. It speaks eloquently not of a fossilized past, but a dynamic present rooted in cultural diversity.
The physical act of protection and preservation of nationally important monuments remains exclusively the function of government. Secured behind barbed wire fences, concern for the monumental heritage excludes the general public and the parameters for its protection remain limited within the confines of century-old regulations of the Archaeological Survey of India. These have failed to include more dynamic processes of the changing cultural context or indeed that communities need to be directly engaged in protection. What has resulted, therefore, is the alienation of the people from their heritage.
Two decades back growing activism in the country following hard on the heels of the environment movement, brought the limitations of this perspective into sharp focus. There was an emerging awareness of the historic urban fabric, cityscapes, sacred spaces, cultural landscapes and rural environment – and not least the neglect and pervading decay – as crucial to cultural identity and local pride. A notion of conservation that effectively ‘freeze-dried’ a monument was no longer adequate as many of the historic cities and sites were being laid waste by developers, industrialization and general neglect. An emerging concern was to link the quality of life of the historic city with its built heritage.
Overlaying this were challenges of social change, attendant aspirations and inevitable popular cultural dynamics transforming traditional systems. This expanded definition of heritage seemed almost impossible to address as each proposed and attempted solution in turn gave birth to a host of new problems as it became clear that urban development, planning and environment all are inextricably interlinked. This phase also gave rise to a small group of professionals who took on the enormous task of addressing a complex matrix of issues ranging from the revitalization of historic cities to the development of traditional skills and practices in conservation.
This expertise has over time grown substantially, developing a wide range of multidisciplinary skills as architects, engineers, planners, historians, archaeologists, sociologists and anthropologists come together to articulate a concern for the protection of the cultural heritage of the country in its most inclusive sense. Writing this piece in a church in an isolated village in Goa, I was listening to a team of conservationists talking to the parish priest. Their concern for his household needs such as running water and ventilation, reflected the same degree of priority as the conservation of an extensively damaged building. Equally, the priority accorded to religious rituals so as to ensure minimum disruption was indicative of the sensitisation the profession of conservators has undergone.
Though in terms of the needs of the country, the number of professionals is still small, they are fanned out across the country from remote villages in the Rann of Kutch to the high altitude desert of Ladakh. Their safety and success hinges essentially on the community they work with. In cities their work is even more challenged as they deal with the pressures of a spiralling population, urban degradation, cynicism and avarice. Concerns range from rationalization of space for the informal sector in cities to issues of female foeticide in rural areas, the theft of antiquities to water supply and sanitation.
Gradually, we are witnessing the unfolding of a new understanding as conservation projects today address the larger socio-cultural needs and directly involve communities in the process of protection. For these young professionals there is a deep commitment to the ‘stakeholder’. This is their benchmark. The relationship of the conservator with his/her ‘site’ is best validated when they return to it year after year, depending on the funds available, to restore yet another small segment. Or in the architect who ungrudgingly shares her international heritage award with the group of craftsmen who made it possible.
Equally, we must be deeply conscious that this is not a romantic crusade to make the historic city fabric more beautiful. The emerging strategy which today links development and conservation is most demanding. Enormous energy is consumed at the initial stages – wooing funding agencies, placating the many government departments to work together, as well as socializing the project. Months or even years are spent battling tired, often atrophied systems, filing public interest litigation and, most crucially, generating an acceptance for the project within the community.
The constantly expanding areas of concern and intervention, the need to work simultaneously both at the macro and micro level, constitute a great challenge. Patience is often stretched to the limit with diverse vested interests demanding development at any price, governments who have lost their capacity to negotiate change and, not least, compulsions of political expediency.
In February 2004, the Seminar Education Foundation held a workshop ‘Beyond the Monument’. The Marwar Initiative (see Document) released here sought a paradigm shift making conservation a more expansive and indeed a more intellectually and technically refined process. While learning about the many projects initiated and sustained by these professionals across the country, one realized that the paradigm shift has already taken place, subtly but surely. There is substantive work already underway, each raising the bar of excellence while treading that critical path of developing strategies for conservation.
The Marwar Initiative seeks to restructure how one manages conservation in an emerging global environment. The models are ready – small or large projects which take on high density urban environments like Mumbai’s Fort Area or a small temple in a remote village – all designed to breathe life back into familiar landmarks of cultural identity and rejuvenate sacred spaces to address contemporary needs. There is a tendency among all of us to make the issues so complex that one could sink under the magnitude of concern or confine it to academic debate. The conservation profession is today dealing with these challenges, adapting with immense facility to each unique need. Their experiences differ vastly, but the road map is now established.
There needs to be a much larger recognition of this road map. The recent PIL filed against the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) requiring enhanced systems and skills to be engaged in conservation has shown that there is recognition of this new thrust requiring multiple skills for conservation planning and implementation to work with government augmenting their considerable skills and responsibilities. With large segments of India’s systems of management being restructured, the need clearly is to equally review the management and administrative mechanisms that deal with culture. The Ministry of Environment and Forests, in a relatively recent initiative, has shown that engagement with a larger number of concerned citizens and specialists outside the government can pay dividends for the environment of the country.
Perhaps one could even speculate that these are the new age NGOs – individuals motivated by a passion for their work, bringing to it a high level of professionalism, technical skill and a capacity to root their work within the community for whom the heritage is secured. To not optimize or build upon this resource would be an injustice to the cultural heritage of India. The combination of excellence and compassion, the humility with which the profession addresses sites and their stakeholders must become the backbone of conservation initiatives in India. Individually and collectively these represent experiences of great adaptability and are effectively the lifeline to the future of the heritage. This issue of Seminar salutes their tenacity, their strength and their passion.
AMITA BAIG
