Heritage Governance: A Systemic View

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.