Abstract:
India is a land of extraordinarily rich heritage and diverse culture with history of
thousand years. India’s rich possessions are not only limited to monuments but also
spreads across the vast antiquarian wealth. The importance shed on preservation of the
cultural heritage has been active in India since 19th century. The independent era
witnessed the formulation of various legislations governing the heritage sector in India.
The legislative measures and constitutional measures are not able to protect the Indian
heritage from malpractices prevalent in this sphere due its low apathy, disoriented
governance structures and ineffective legislations. The heritage sector in India is
mismanaged and inefficacious as the legislations in the country are archaic and still under
the influence of colonial paths which are not adequate to confine the violations of present
era.
This study delves into providing a comprehensive, systematic and systemic analysis of
India’s legislations on heritage. The study will be conducting Meta Analysis of central,
state legislations and policies on heritage using a common research (ontological)
framework. The study enables to identify the bright spots i.e. heavily emphasized area
and blind spots i.e. the neglected areas in the legislations which can be taken as inputs for
amending antiquated heritage laws. The study also facilitates the development of
framework or action plan for concerned state government and central government in
improving their heritage laws. It also provides a critical vantage point for the
development of future policies on the same.
