Why Indian students should spend crores for the publication of research papers paying to foreign companies? (2)

Why Indian students should spend crores for the publication of research papers paying to foreign companies? (2)

Foreign business thrives on India: The suggestion was made after examining the rise of the OA method adopted by Indian researchers. Picture this: In 2011, there were 14,850 OA publications, with 5,864 being gold OA. By 2020, the total number of OA publications had increased to 50,662, with 30,604 being gold OA and 20,058 other OA publications (see box). Also, the number of journals levying APCs has grown consistently: it was 1,825 in 2011 and 5,661 in 2022. The authors felt that with the growing number of OA publications from India, a central and state-level single-window option for funding in OA journals would help researchers.

All About OA
1) What is Open Access	* Open access (OA) keeps research work open to all
	* Gold OA removes all restrictions and permission barriers
	* Green OA places a version of research work in a repository chosen by the publisher with certain terms and conditions to access the article
2) The APC model	* The Article Processing Charges (APC) has changed the underlying strategies of the journal business model, shifting from demand-side to supply-side economics
	* Instead of charging readers and librarians for subscription or license of scholarly work, the OA model supports the production cost of an article by the author paying the APC
	* APC per document varied from journal to journal with the minimum APC being $8 for chemistry and materials sciences and the maximum $6,000 for health and medical sciences journals
	* In the area of business, economics and management, the highest APC was between $1,001 and $1,500

The charges are mandatory and they justify such charges: The website declares[1], “To cover publication costs Wiley Open Access journals charge an Article Publication Charge (APC). APCs vary by journal. To see a full list of APC prices for Wiley fully open access journals and subscription journals which offer open access, please see our Article Publication Charges page.” How to pay – has also been explained[2]. It also warns, “When submitting an article to a Wiley Open Access journal, the submitting author must agree to pay the publication charge minus any eligible discount (or request a waiver). After acceptance the article will enter the production cycle and the author will be asked to pay the publication charge for the journal minus any eligible discount. When final formatting corrections are made and the author approves their article for publication, payment of the publication charge must be received before the article will be published online. The submitting author assumes responsibility for the article processing charge, and Wiley will not issue refunds of any kind.” Copy right, how the article is published in a journal, who buys and reads or how it is accessed and other reasons are cited for justification of publishing charges collected. Thus, the terms and conditions have been explicit and it is doubtful that all Indian paper senders and payers would have understood or not.

The Publication charges increasing year by year and so also Indian researchers: The EC and US academic companies have understood the potential of India and thus, they have decided to exploit it. As India has 140 crores population with millions of IT experts, doctors, engineers and other professionals, they are in demand in every country. Unlike other nationals, the Indians have been calm, docile and sincere in their duties and work with commitment. Therefore, they have indulged and engaged in this commercialization and business. Initially, the foreign journals did not charge APCs, but, slowly started charging on different pretexts. The global average per-journal APC is US$1,626 [Rs 1,35,000/-], its recent increase indicating “that authors choose to publish in more expensive journals”. A 2019 analysis has shown 75% of European spending on scientific journals goes to “big five” publishers (Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis and the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the trend continues even today. Together they accounted for 56% of articles published, as they have commercialized the situation and conditions.

Million-Billion business of publishing papers: Author fees or page charges have existed since at least the 1930s. Different academic publishers have widely varying levels of fees, from under $100 [Rs 1,000/-] to over $5000 [Rs 4 lakhs], and even sometimes as high as €9500 [Rs 9 lakhs] or $10,851 [Rs 8 lakhs] for the journal Nature. Meanwhile, an independent study indicated that the actual costs of efficiently publishing a scholarly article should be in the region of €200–€1000 [Rs 15,000/- to Rs 80,000/-]. High fees are sometimes charged by traditional publishers in order to publish in a hybrid open-access journal, which makes an individual article in a subscription journal open-access. The average APC for hybrid journals has been calculated to be almost twice as high as APCs from full open-access publishers. Journals with high impact factors from major publishers tend to have the highest APCs. Publishers’ high operating profit margins, often on publicly funded research works, and their copyright practices have subjected them to criticism by researchers. For example, a Guardian article informed that in 2010, Elsevier’s scientific publishing arm reported profits of £724m [Rs 800 crores] on just over £2bn [Rs 1600 crores] in revenue. It was a 36% margin – higher than Apple, Google, or Amazon posted that year. So, just like cellphone, internet usage etc., the article-publishing business has also been operating effectively with profits.

1970-80s – Indian journals were in demand: During the 1970-80 period, many Indian journals , mostly published by the Indian Research Institutions, CSIR, Defence and other organizations were popular among the researchers. The subscribers used to wait for the journals and read them. In fact, they were sold in the book and newspaper stalls. Some publishers used to export to the USA and European countries, as there was a demand for them. The Indian Journals contained highly researched articles, papers, and reports about discoveries and inventions with locally available technologies and resources. Not only, the Journal were so cheap, but, the inputs, raw materials, parts and accessories used and the final products and goods produced or manufactured were also cheap and economical. Only thousands of Indians used to subscribe and read such journals (at that time the annual subscription was Rs 10/- and then increased to Rs 100/-). In fact, the contributors of the articles to those journals were paid honorarium. Many times, the US-European scientists, technical experts and manufacturers used to surprise and recognize the importance of the Indian and Indianized science and technology. Thus, they started buying extracts (floral, herbal etc), rare-earths, handicrafts and man-made locally manufactured goods and subject to critical analysis and research[3].

Electronification, digitization and commercialization of education: The teaching and learning processes and accompanying materials have been electronic oriented and made accordingly. The books, journals and other documents are digitized. Even objects, tools, laboratory activities, manufacturing processes, hospital treatments etc., have been videographed and used for education. The cellphones, televisions, CCTVs and all other equipments are connected, monitored and tracked. Thus, illiterate or literate – most of the Indians have been brought under such electronic and digitized systems with Adhar card, Voter ID, biometrics etc. Therefore, the position and condition of the students need not be explained, as they are found to be with cell-phones always, except when they sleep and go to toilets. The exams have to be conducted in a careful and controlled manner, as the students adopt and adapt new electronic gadgets and methods to cheat the invigilators. Thus, how researchers behave, interact, prepare their papers and related activities need not be explained.

To become an Assistant Professor paper publication is necessary: To become an Assistant Professor, one should have a basic degree in Humanities or science or technology, so that then, he / she can complete a master degree of a subject of the choice. Post completion of a master’s degree, candidates need to appear for the UGC NET exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) with the concurrence of the University Grants Commission (UGC). It is one of the mandatory requirements to become an Assistant Professor. Candidates must also publish their research papers in various peer journals as it will add value to candidates’ resumes. The UGC-NET Exam is conducted twice a year in June and December respectively in well over eighty subjects in various cities of the country to decide the eligibility of candidates passing out from Indian universities for the selection of “Assistant Professors as well as “Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professors” in the colleges and universities of India. The selection is based on the aggregate performance of candidates in both the papers – Paper I and Paper II. Although the examination demands a wide extensive and intensive preparation at the same time depending on the time and facilities available, an intelligent approach to the preparation for the examination may make it easier for aspirants to clear the exam with relative ease and freedom from anxiety.

From “Publish or perish” to “Pay and get published” condition: Coolidge in 1932 reportedly coined the phrase “Publish or perish” and it is affecting most of the academicians and they are forced to prepare and submit some papers for publication. Academic institutions and university mechanically decide the competency of the candidates appearing for jobs with their publication of papers. Administrators and interviewing selectors are increasingly using this as the criteria during recruitments, including such columns in their applications and reports. Thus, the prospective candidates and researchers resort to different methods to publish their papers. For real, genuine and capable candidates, there is no problem, as they know the subject, have writing capabilities and presentation skills and thus, easily getting their papers published at conferences, seminars and workshops. However, for others with some drawbacks, they struggle in this aspect. Here, the transition takes place, the “Pay or perish” position changes to “Pay and get published” condition.

“Pay and get published” leads to other unacademic activities: Scholars, who publish infrequently or who focus on activities that does not result in publications like instructing undergraduates, may find themselves out of contentions for many teaching positions. It is due to these reasons that there is an immense pressure to publish and thus other methods are also creeping inside. This pressure to increase the number of publications has led to unethical practices and waste full research with vested interests. The groups formed at different level try to exploit and commercial this drawback or demand. The increasing scientific articles have fuelled the demand for new journal and the groups, immediately work and implement also. There is intriguing, alarming and proliferation of scientific journals of all kind. Majority of the publications still goes uncited, as they are created for exploitation and commercialization and not for real research. This means that neither they are appreciated by the peers nor they are of any importance to the industry or patient. Most of the published research works are done just to improve the curriculum vitae (CV) of the researcher and they do not find any merit in practical terms. The increasing number of publication have led to a rise in unethical practices, and dubious research practices such as salami slicing, plagiarism, duplicate publication, fraud, ghost authors etc.

From November 2022 onwards, publication of a paper is not mandatory: The MPhil scholars were required to present at least one research paper at a conference or seminar. On the other hand, PhD scholars had to present two research papers at conferences or seminars and publish at least one paper in a refereed journal prior to submitting their thesis. However, in the new regulations for the doctoral programme released on November 7, 2022 the commission has removed this requirement. Still, whether the researchers have known this or not, their enthusiasm, vigour and urge for “payment publication” has not changed.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

10-04-2024

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[1] https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/open-access/article-publication-charges.html

[2] https://authorservices.wiley.com/asset/photos/licensing-and-open-access-photos/How to pay the APC for an OA journal article.pdf

[3] Working in the Central Excise department, many times, I noticed how such items were exported and why the foreign buyers wanted them.

Why Indian students should spend crores for the publication of research papers? (1)

Why Indian students should spend crores for the publication of research papers? (1)

That Indian researchers pay for their publication was pointed out in 2016: Business Standard reported in 2016[1], “Indians spend close to $2.4 million [Rs.2 crores] annually to get their scientific research output published in different open access (OA) journals, authors of a new study say, raising concerns that scientists often have to cough up two months equivalent of salary to get their work into those journals.” But, why do they spend such huge amounts, if it does not have any returns. “We estimate that India is potentially spending about $2.4 million [Rs.2 crores] annually on Article Processing Charges (APCs) levied by those journals. To publish a paper in OA (Open Access), some journals levy a charge that is equivalent to two months’ salary of an assistant professor in India,” Muthu Madhan of DST Centre for Policy Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, told IANS[2]. Criticising the practice, Madhan says it is not right, given the major part (about 70 per cent) of research funding is sourced from taxpayers[3].” If this amount is spent for scientific and technological research journals, then, definitely $ 1 million [Rs 80 lakhs] must have been spent for the journals of social sciences and humanities.

How much published during 2010-2014?: And there is a shortage of funds for research[4]. “It is not right for researchers to give part of it to rich publishers — who overcharge anyway for the meagre services they provide and take home profits in the range 30 to 40 per cent year after year even when the economy was not doing well,” he said[5]. The authors arrived at the figure based on the data mined from the Science Citation Index Expanded that revealed 37,078 papers were published by Indian researchers in 881 OA journals during the five-year period from 2010-2014[6]. An abstract of the analysis is available in the Current Science journal, ahead of publication. “This accounts for about 14.4 per cent of India’s overall publication output, considerably higher than the 11.6 per cent from the world,” the study notes. It is co-authored by Siva Shankar Kimidi of the Library Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad; Subbiah Gunasekaran of the Knowledge Resource Centre, Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi; and Subbiah Arunachalam of the DST Centre for Policy Research. Though, Indian experts have been involved in such quantification, they have not revealed why the Indian researchers go for such American and European publishers paying money.

The position of 2020 is declared in 2023: The authors suggest that it would be prudent for Indian researchers to make their work freely available through inter-operable repositories, a trend that is growing significantly around the world. The study does not include the expenditure on OA papers published by Indian researchers in subscription journals which make papers available on OA on payment of a fee. Now, after seven years, in 2023, the very same or similar news appears in the newspapers as follows. The names of the researchers and institutions change, but, the subject matter remains the same. Evidently, the trend does not change and Indians have been ready to shell out dollars for their papers to get published.

Why do Indians spend more?: Indian researchers shelled out US $17 million in 2020 to publish their work and keep it as open access[7]. Of which over 80 per cent of it goes to commercial publishers including MDPI, Springer Nature and Elsevier, a new study has revealed[8]. Cumulatively, around $30 million was spent by researchers globally, reflecting that India’s spend was more than half in that year[9]. Termed as Article Processing Charges (APCs), this fee ensures the financial viability of open access (OA) scholarly journals[10]. Why Indians spend for their paper publication? India has 140 crores opulation and produces nearly 3.8 crores , 38 million graduates.

Degree [2001 census figures]	Holders
Post-graduate degree other than technical degree	6,949,707
Graduate degree other than technical degree	25,666,044
Engineering and technology	2,588,405
Teaching	1,547,671
Medicine	768,964
Agriculture and dairying	100,126
Veterinary	99,999
Other	22,588
Total	37,670,147

And they to go for jobs or different categories, but, there have been millions opting for teaching profession. Hence they appear for qualifying exams and try to get “Assistant Professor Job,” so that they could get settled in the State or Central Government Colleges, Universities or educational institutions.

2023 research data also proves the same 2016 trend: A research paper by Raj Kishor Kampa from the department of Library and Information Science, Berhampur University; Manoj Kumar Sa from the Indian Maritime University, Kolkata and Mallikarjun Dora from the Vikram Sarabhai Library, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, found that Indian researchers published 26,127 gold OA articles across all subjects in WoS (Web of Science)-indexed journals in 2020. Researchers in the field of health and medical sciences paid the highest APC, amounting to $7 million, followed by life and earth sciences ($6.9 million), multidisciplinary ($4.9 million), and chemistry and materials science ($4.8 million). In all, 81% of APCs went to commercial publishers such as MDPI, Springer–Nature, Elsevier and Frontier Media. MDPI was the top publisher where Indian researchers published their articles. It published around 2,360 articles in its 143 flagship journals. The total APC of these 2,360 articles was about half-a-million US dollars.

Science and engineering excel than Social sciences: According to an analysis of APCs across fields, it was found that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) journals had a higher APC than those in social science and humanities. Particularly, high APC is found in subjects like biology, chemistry and medicine. “The primary issue for Indian researchers is that there is no dedicated system for funding OA publications and no nationwide OA mandate like in many other countries,” the authors said in their study published in the recent issue of Current Science. They suggested the formulation of national-level OA policies since OA is “inevitable for equity and access to scholarly communications”. That is why most of the science and engineering students go aboard, do MS and get settled in US or EC countries. In due course, perhaps, they forget their Indian roots also. The Indian degree holders continue to work for India and produce the science and engineering student to get exported.

Foreign companies brow-beating India: Private publishers charge a subscription fee or place articles behind a paywall, which makes research work inaccessible to many[11]. However, OA literature is largely freely accessible online, for anyone to read, download, copy, distribute, print and search for articles, among other things[12]. Researchers also pointed out that the idea behind open access journals was to ensure equitable access and check “rampant commercialisation” of scholarly publications, but “established publishers have now positioned themselves” in the open access landscape. According to the research team, the primary issue faced by Indian researchers is the lack of a dedicated system to facilitate funding for open access publications and that of a nationwide mandate, like the one that exists in many other countries. Though funding agencies like the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Department of Biotechnology, and Department of Science & Technology have mandates to make research open access, their policies are “old and discuss mostly adding a copy of the published article into the repository and not publishing” in open access journals, the researchers wrote in their study.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

10-04-2024

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[1] Business Standard, ‘Indians spend nearly $2.4 mn to publish research in open access journals’ , Last Updated : Nov 14 2016 | 1:42 PM IST.

[2] https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/indians-spend-nearly-2-4-mn-to-publish-research-in-open-access-journals-116111400357_1.html

[3] Swarajya, Indians Spend Nearly $2.4 Million To Publish Research In Open Access Journals, Says Study, SWARAJYA STAFF, Tuesday, November 15, 2016 11:33 am IST.

[4] https://swarajyamag.com/insta/indians-spend-nearly-dollar24-million-to-publish-research-in-open-access-journals-says-study

[5] Eastern Mirror, Indians Spend Nearly $2.4 Million To Publish Research In Open Access Journals, Says Study,, November 15, 2016 11:33 am IST.

[6] https://easternmirrornagaland.com/indians-spend-nearly-2-4-million-to-publish-research-in-open-access-journals/

[7] Times of India, Indian researchers invest $17 million in 2020 for open access: Need to sustain scholarly communication, Hemali Chhapia / TNN / Nov 29, 2023, 00:36 IST.

[8] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/indian-researchers-invest-17-million-in-2020-for-open-access-need-to-sustain-scholarly-communication/articleshow/105572211.cms

[9] I.Love.PhD, Indian Researchers Spent $17 Million in 2020 for OA Journals, By Dr. Somasundaram, November 29, 2023.

[10] https://www.ilovephd.com/indian-researchers-spent-17-million-in-2020-for-oa-journals/

[11] The Print, Indian researchers paid $17mn to publish in open access journals in 2020 — 57% of global total, MOHANA BASU, 28 November, 2023 07:30 am IST.

[12] https://theprint.in/science/indian-researchers-paid-17mn-to-publish-in-open-access-journals-in-2020-57-of-global-total/1861273/

The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) – workshop at Chennai from October 31st to November 2nd 2023 (4)

The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities  (NMMA) – workshop at Chennai from October 31^st to November 2^nd 2023 (4)

The CAG Report and the response of the ASI: On 02-11-2023, after lunch Dr Charuta Kulkarni, IIT, Madras talked about her subject, as detailed above. Then, the certificates were distributed to the participants and mementoes were given to some. Now, I discuss about some issues involved in the documentation of monuments and antiquities. As I worked in the GST (formerly Customs, Central Excise, Narcotics – indirect taxation) department, mostly in the Judicial, adjudication and legal sections for more than 38 years from 1980 to 2018, the CAG Reports on the various departments, institutions and others were periodically read, along with the judgments. Here, before coming to the workshop, I have read the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India Follow-up on the Performance Audit of Preservation and Conservation of Monuments and Antiquities. The issues related to the documentation, workshop conducted etc., were pointed out therein.

The NMMA caught in the web of politics: The National Monuments Authority (NMA) has released draft heritage bye-laws for the supposed site of the Palace of Asoka in Patna, Bihar. The site, located in the Kumrahar area, is being protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The draft bye-laws aim to conserve and develop the site and have been released based on a field survey conducted by the competent authority. The NMA is responsible for the protection and preservation of monuments and sites, as well as granting permissions for construction-related activities in the prohibited and regulated areas. The Congress party has accused the Modi government of attempting to weaken a law that protects monuments and archaeological sites in India. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh praised the National Monuments Authority (NMA) for releasing draft heritage bylaws for the conservation and development of protected monuments in Bihar. Ramesh stated that the Congress and other parties have successfully resisted the government’s attempts to weaken the law so far. He also emphasized the need to strengthen and maintain the professional character of the NMA.

2015 to 2022 no workshop conducted: The CAG pointed out that, “Since March 2015, no workshop was held to facilitate documentation work, rectify mistakes or to provide clarification to agencies involved in the process. As a result, there was absence of a system for regularly up-grading the technical capability of executing agencies, which affected the work process.”

The documentation process carried on by NMMA: The CAG  pointed out the lacunae in the documentation of the monuments[1].

NMMA has given these figures to the CAG.

Issue of “Non-antiquity” certificates by the ASI: ASI (respective circle) issues a certificate of non-antiquity for the exportof art-objects, arms. Here, who issues such certificate, after analyzing the “non-antiquity” nature of te object. Otherwise, millions of Indian antiquities would not have been illegally exported out 0f India after 1947 or 1976.

2. To facilitate Custom Authorities in allowing non-antiquities to be exported, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has established Expert Advisory Committees to issue non-antiquity certificates.

India’s rich cultural heritage, bureaucratic apathy and poor implementation of antiquities protection law has made India a fertile ground for loot and smuggling of antiquities for sale in the International market. In recent years, there has been growing concerns over antiques being smuggled and sold to fund terrorists’ activists.

According to the Antiquities (Export Control) Act, 1947 [Act No. 31 of 1947]  – “antiquity” includes-

(i) any coin, sculpture, manuscript, epigraph, or other work of art or craftsmanship,

(ii) any article, object or thing detached from a building or cave,

(iii) any article, object or thing illustrative of science, art, craft literature, religion, customs, morals or politics in bygone ages,

(iv) any article, object or thing declared by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette to be an antiquity for the purposes of this Act,

Provenance (origin, attribution, derivation) includes the list of all owners from the time the object left its maker’s possession to the time it was acquired by the current owner. However, here in the workshop, it is taken as “Province”!

Most of the exports of antiquities take place from north India from airports: According to Section 2(1) (a) of the Antiquities and Art Treasurers Act, an antique is defined as an article or object of historical interest that has been in existence for not less than one hundred years.

The import and export of antiques is covered by the prohibition imposed under Section 11 (c) of the Customs Act 1962, specifically referred to as The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972.

Similarly, exports are also under the prohibition category. The export of antiques can only be done by the central government or any authority or agency authorised by the central government.

 The law does not permit any private person to export antiques. If any private person exports antiques, there are penal provisions to confiscate the material and impose monetary penalties or prosecute the person.

Port	Location	Value (INR Million)
Pakwra	Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh	34..567
Kolkotta Air cargo	West Bengal	27.151
Nhava Sheva sea[2]	Raigad district, Maharashtra	20.475
Mundra[3]	Gulf of Kutch near Mundra, Kutch district, Gujarat.	11.141
Chennai sea	Tamilnadu	7.381

The ASI blaming the Customs department: When Arun Raj said that the Customs department was not co-operating, I pointed out that it is not that the Customs department did not cooperate with the ASI officials, but, the ASI officers only many times did not turn up, when they were requested to come and identify the objects of antiquity were seized at the airports. Moreover, they have to go by the certificates issued by the ASI only and in many cases, the Customs officers could get genuine doubt that older antiquities were taken out of India, instead of recent artefacts. Sreelakshmi responded that the ASI officers were asked to verify the import of Indian artefacts. Then, I clarified that it was different, because, the art-smugglers had been adopting a modus operandi, as if such antiquities were imported legally so that they could again export. That is why they sought the help of the ASI for the identification of the objects[4].  There have been several reports urging the ASI to co-ordinate with the RI, Customs etc., but, they are not doing so[5]. As the certificates issued by the ASI are / have to be relied upon and whenever, the Customs officers have any doubt about the object for antiquity, they used to seek the help of the ASI officers, but, they hesitate to come.  The famous VJA Flynn case also pointed out by me[6]. Here, VJA Flynn had contacts with many historians and archaeologists, but, caught red-handed in smuggling artefacts out of India[7].

The illegal import and export of Tipu Sultan’s sword: The classic case of Vijay Mallya in 2005, imported Tipu Sultan’s famed sword to India and exported it without any license[8]. Mallya was served a show cause notice by the Customs Department for exporting without informing the government, and not paying the duty for it[9]. However, the tycoon felt that since the sword was a matter of national pride, he should have been exempted. Thus, the provisions of the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972, have been amended to do away with several lacunae in the Act, commonly recognised as the Customs Act. As per the Act, any private buyer that buys an antiquity of Indian origin and brings it to India must first acquire a license. This is granted on the basis of several factors, including the experience of the person in the art trade, the place of exchange of the art object, the name and the number of people involved, etc. Domestic trade of antiquities is currently unregulated, as the Act is silent on it. The statutory authority of the Act is usually the Director General of the ASI, who decides what an antiquity or art treasure is. As per Section 2 of the Act, any coin, sculpture, painting, epigraph, artwork, object from a building or cave and object of historical interest that is over one hundred years old, is defined as an antiquity. In circle offices of the ASI around the country, where the DG is usually not present, the Act cannot be implemented by any officer below the position of a director. “Yet, several circle officers have been flouting the rule, declaring several antiquities as invalid leading to the thriving of the smuggling of art objects,” said the official.

All departments of GOI should work together: The CAG has been part of the GOI and all other departments also have been parts of GOI. The CAG has been auditing the accounts of different departments and trying to advise to implement the Act and Rules under which they work. All have been working with the Public Finance and the government is responsible to account for every rupee that collected from the citizens. As our country has been handling more than 100 crores population, now 140 crores, we have more responsibility than other countries with less population. Moreover, our government and democratic polity have been so open that everybody can appreciate and criticize also, unlike other countries. Thus, the ASI has been having the most noble duty, virtuous responsibility and righteous accountability in handling thousands of years of monuments and temples; sculptures and coins; palaces and buildings; ghats, and others. It can invite the officers of the other departments for discussion to sort out the practical problems. After all should work for the progress and development of our country creating awareness about culture, tradition, heritage and civilization.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

05-11-2023

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[1] Report No. 10 of 2022; https://cag.gov.in/uploads/download_audit_report/2022/Chapter 6-062f0de36c49e05.39285992.pdf

[2] Jawaharlal Nehru Port, also known as JNPT and Nhava Sheva Port, is the second largest container port in India after Mundra Port. Operated by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Authority (JNPTA), it is located on the eastern shores of Arabian Sea in Navi Mumbai, Raigad district, Maharashtra.

[3] Mundra Port is India’s first private port (adani) and largest container port, located on the northern shores of the Gulf of Kutch near Mundra, Kutch district, Gujarat.

[4] Press Release dated 24-07-2023, Three Hundred Forty Eighth Report on the subject „Heritage Theft – The Illegal Trade in Indian Antiquities and the Challenges of Retrieving and Safeguarding Our Tangible Cultural Heritage,” Sansad News.

[5]https://sansad.in/getFile/rsnew/Committee_site/Committee_File/Press_ReleaseFile/20/173/656P_2023_7_12.pdf?source=rajyasabha

[6] K. V. Ramakrishna Rao, Historians involved in smuggling also – The historical case of Prof. V.J.A. Flynn, a friend of many Indian historians – arrested for smuggling, jailed and deported to Australia for further proceedings!, February 17, 2022.

[7] https://kvramakrishnarao.wordpress.com/2022/02/17/the-historical-case-of-prof-v-j-a-flynn-a-friend-of-many-indian-historians-arrested-for-smuggling-jailed-and-deported-to-australia-for-further-proceedings/

[8] DNA India, ASI for easier norms for private import of antiquities, Amrita Madhukalya, Updated: Nov 02, 2016, 07:05 PM IST.

[9] https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-asi-for-easier-norms-for-private-import-of-antiquities-2269587

The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) – workshop at Chennai from October 31st to November 2nd 2023 (3)

The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities  (NMMA) – workshop at Chennai from October 31^st to November 2^nd 2023 (3)

The third day proceedings of the NMMA Workshop for the Southern Region: The following speakers delved upon their respective topics and specialized areas. Though, the topic has been documentation of the objects, the speakers mostly discussed about their findings with their valuable experience with important points.

• Prof. Deivanayagam, Tamil University , Thanjavur
• Shri Nishant Zodape and Shri Yash Gupta, on utilisation of open-source software for creating databases,
• Dr. Muthu Shankar, Head of GIS Applications, French Institute, Pondicherry ,
• Dr Arun Raj.T on strategies for stopping illicit trafficking of antiquities” and ultimately
• Dr Charuta Kulkarni, IIT, Madras talking about INQUA Database on Global South

Prof. Deivanayagam, Tamil University, Thanjavur: speaking on identification of Chola Bronzes. He explained with photographs pointing out the nuances of the bronzes. To understand his speech, one should know other subjects also, as because of his versatile experience, he explained many details about the icons and sculptures.

Cholas’ bronzes: Chola bronzes were typically of deities, royalty and the politically powerful people of the day-all in a distinctive Chola style, classically representative of the human form, and perfectly proportioned. The sculptures are recognizable by the way the bodies are posed. They are always graceful, elegant and sensuous, particularly if a sculpture is that of a couple, such as Siva and Parvati. The bronzes also depict the “mudras” or gestures derived from classical dance. Chola master sculptors created their works with the cire perdue, or lost wax process, which is still in use today.

There are two methods of casting metal images-solid and hollow casting. The required image is fashioned by the stapathi in bees wax. Then the wax model is given several coats of fine clay. The clay mould is then carefully dried under the sun. After a few days the clay mould is ready for casting. When the wax model is prepared and is ready for the preparation of the clay mould, arrangements for the preparation of the alloy are made. The five metals to be used in the alloy and they are -copper, silver, gold, brass and lead popularly known as panchaloha. In actual practice by chemical testing we have found the percentages of the metals as follows:

How manufactured – alloying technique[1]: Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Normally bronze is a composite alloy of metals-copper, tin, lead, silver and gold in varying proportions. However analysis of South Indian bronzes reveals that they invariably consist of copper, tin, lead, zinc and iron. Trace elements such as arsenic, antimony, Bismuth etc., have been detected. Above l% is considered as a major element and below 0.1% is considered a trace element, e.g. Copper: 79%: Tin 5%, Lead: 13% Zinc 1%; Iron 1%; Trace elements arc arsenic, antimony, nickel and silver and no gold is Present. Manipulating the alloying elements, different shades of metal were produced. This shows tin has been used. Therefore, the alloy is predominantly of copper, tin and lead. The presence of gold and silver is rare or trace. The clay mould with the wax model inside it is baked skillfully over all the wax. When the alloy is ready, it is poured through the orifice into the empty mould in a thin, even and continuous stream. The molten metals allowed for cooling. Then the mould is broken open and the solid metal image is obtained. The image is given finishing touches by the sthapati. This part, the opening of the eyes of the image is what imparts the exquisite expressions on the faces. This is done under some sort of spiritual inspiration. Sometimes, Stapathis are known to take even weeks to open the eves. The science of Image making is dealt with in the ancient Indian science of Silpasastra (Sculpture Science).

Hollow casting- In this case, the object is moulded in clay and the core is coated with wax, which in turn is covered with a coating of clay. After draining the wax by heating, the mould is used for casting. This method is usually associated with North India.

Patina and patination: A Patina is a thin layer of corrosion, usually brown or green, that appears on copper or copper alloys as a result of natural or artificial oxidation. Patina is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of copper, brass, bronze and similar metals and metal alloys (tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes).On metal, patina is a coating of various chemical compounds such as oxides, carbonates, sulfides, or sulfates formed on the surface during exposure to atmospheric elements (oxygen, rain, acid rain, carbon dioxide, sulfur-bearing compounds. The green patina that forms naturally on copper and bronze, sometimes called verdigris, usually consists of varying mixtures of copper chlorides, sulfides, sulfates and carbonates, depending upon environmental conditions such as sulfur-containing acid rain.

Nishant Zodape and Yash Gupta: They explained “on utilization of open-source software for creating databases”. With “access” how the excel can be used for filling up data and create a document.

 Muthu Shankar: He explained about the “South Indian Historical Atlas” with many facilities, but, it is not available to the public. The primary data for the project comprise historical and geographical information collected from a large corpus of south Indian inscriptions besides archaeological data collected from a series of field surveys supplemented with the data taken from archaeological reports of ASI and other institutions.   Workshop/review meetings were held every six months are to evaluate the progress of the work. The atlas was developed as web-browser software allowing different basic GIS display and database querying functionalities necessary for a user-friendly usage of the Atlas. It uses W3C (WWW Consortium) compliant Graphics /Open GIS so that the system can be accessed through the internet. The atlas has a conceptual resilience on how to curate data, compile information from it, and disseminate it through new digital tools available then, even when illustrative examples in the application of data science mehods in historical research was scarce. This resulted in the curation and archival of historical data sets that encourage data-driven inquiries into the past, while integrating data, computational science methods into historical research.

T. Arun Raj, director NMMA, Noida: Talked on “strategies for stopping illicit trafficking of antiquities.” Perhaps, next to Pramod Joglekar, he directly discussed the issue with examples. He pointed out how Alexander Cunningham used to travel on a donkey visiting archaeological and ancient places for collecting details. The ASI at present listed 3697 monuments as protected. He pointed out how the Delhi Iron pillar was brought to the present place and Rajendra Cholas brought sculptures as “war trophy” to Thanjavur. Alexander Rae and others carried on excavations even before the formation of ASI and collected many objects. He left some at Egmore Museum and others were taken to London. Even now, the ASI is struggling to deal and store the smuggled artefacts returned back to India. In Trichy, the sculptures have been lying there for more than 20 years, which were recovered. Though HR & CE recorded more than 36,000 temples and quantified 9,000 bronzes many others appear to be not accounted. However, for the export of antiquities, thousands of applications are filed with the ASI, Chennai and they are pending. Nealy more than 20,000 applications have been pending, because, there are no expert persons to identify the objects mentioned in the applications as “less than 100 years” or not. Thus, the crucial problem comes here. Once the certificate is given, the antique object would go out of India legally. He pointed out that unlike Sri Lanka, India does not have “Heritage Police,” and hence, the illegal export / smuggling out of the antiquities have been going on. He also pointed out as how a lesson has been included in the CBSE syllabus to adopt a monument nearby school, so that awareness is created not only among the school children, but also the public living surrounding the monument.

Dr Charuta Kulkarni, IIT, Madras: Talking about INQUA Database on Global South[2], she explained related issues. Stemming from the PAGES-INQUA supported early-career researcher workshop on “Past Socio–Environmental Systems (PASES)” (pastglobalchanges.org/calendar/26972) in 2020, the INQUA-funded project “The whole is not the sum of the parts: building a synthesis database of past human–environmental systems in the Global South (pSESYNTH)” has initiated research collaborations among paleoscientists from, and/or working on, the Global South and other underrepresented regions of the world (e.g. Australia, Southeast Europe). Pursuing the Integrated, Coordinated, Open, and Networked (ICON) approach (Koren et al. 2022), the overarching goal of pSESYNTH is to establish, articulate and strengthen regional, interdisciplinary teams for studying past socio–environmental systems of the Global South, and to build the first multi-disciplinary paleo database representing its regions.

pSESYNTH primarily focuses on the Holocene (the last 11.7 kyr) because: (i) there is greater spatial availability and better chronological controls of the datasets compared to the Pleistocene, and (ii) the Holocene is characterized by a progressive degree of anthropogenic influence over landscapes, offering ways to explore the evolution of diverse socio–environmental systems. Under the pSESYNTH framework, linking proxies of environmental change with climatic signals and societal processes (e.g. subsistence strategies, growth rates, migrations) will provide baselines to pose and test multiple hypotheses for explaining the trajectories of socio–environmental systems. Specifically, pSESYNTH activities are being developed around three main objectives.

To explore drivers of past environmental change combining a diverse set of proxy information, organized into three themes: paleoecology (e.g. pollen, charcoal, diatoms), paleoclimatology (e.g. biomarkers, stable isotopes, varves, numerical simulations), and archaeology (e.g. radiocarbon dates, phytoliths, archaeobotanical remains, material culture).

2) To quantitatively analyze the links among paleoecology, paleoclimatology and archaeology, with an emphasis on research questions that can be generic across the Global South (e.g. are there connections, or commonalities, between colonial legacies and the evolution of socio–environmental systems in the Global South?) or specific to each subregion (e.g. at what spatial and temporal scales were human–environmental systems coupled or uncoupled to climatic fluctuations?).

3) To share the outputs and products of the project in the form of a database that meets the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principles (Wilkinson et al. 2016). pSESYNTH participants will capitalize on existing single- and multi-themed databases (e.g. Neotoma, NOAA, PANGAEA, p3k14c, ArchaeoGlobe) in complementing their data contributions in the novel Global South database. Together, the FAIR–ICON principles will underpin the database organization and will ensure geographic coverage, comparability, and accessibility for time-series data synthesis, which is crucial for mainstreaming paleoscience research from the Global South.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

04-11-2023

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[1] T. S. Sridhar (ed.), The Cholas Bronzes – 1000^th anniversary of Thanjavur Big Temple celebrations Sept 25^th to Oct.4^th 2010, The Tamilnadu State Archaeology Department, Chennai, 2011, pp.12-13.

[2] Charuta Kulkarni and others, pSESYNTH project: Community mobilization for a multi-disciplinary paleo database of the Global South, https://pastglobalchanges.org/publications/pages-magazines/pages-magazine/137240

The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) – workshop at Chennai from October 31st to November 2nd 2023 (2)

The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities  (NMMA) – workshop at Chennai from October 31^st to November 2^nd 2023 (2)

On the second day, Dr K. Amarnath Ramakrishna, Prof. P P Joglekar and Prof. Shanti Pappu discussed about very important issues of documentation of the temples, antiquities of different materials and lithic tools. The practical difficulties in maintaining them, classifying and documenting them also were discussed. The creation of database in each and every category and converting them for public utility has been an important task. India with vast areas and monuments situated at remote places that too, without any safety and security, it has been very difficult to maintain them. Unfortunately, the ASI does not have any protecting system for the remote monuments. In fact, tourists themselves have difficulties in reaching such remote places. These circumstances only help the art-thieves, icon-looters and sculptures lifters to carry on the work continuously.

K. Amarnath Ramakrishna: Architectural Survey Projects include the Temple Survey Projects (North and South) and Building Survey Project. The main functions are:

• Survey and documentation of temples of various periods and in different parts of the country, research based on the field survey, preparation of reports on the survey;
• Survey and documentation of all secular architecture and colonial buildings, research on the survey and preparation of reports;
• Interaction with various universities and research institutions.

He explained about the temples coming under the control of ASI and explained how they have documented them. However, they do not work with the HR & CE to quantify all temples in Tamilnadu.

The quantification of the temples in Tamilnadu: This is a list of temples in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu which is famed for Tamil architecture styled Hindu temples, culture and tradition and is commonly known as the Land of Temples. Tamil Nadu has more temples than any other states of India. Tamil Nadu is home to more than 46,000 Hindu temples and is aptly called “the land of temples” by the media. Many are at least 800 years old and are found scattered all over the state. The rulers of various dynasties constructed these temples over centuries. Vimanas (storeys) and Gopuram (towering gateways to the temple complex) best characterize the temples of Tamil Nadu. As per Tamil Nadu Hindu Endowments Board, there are 39,615 / 38,615 temples[1]. Most of the largest Hindu temples reside here. Studded with complex architecture, variety of sculptures, and rich inscriptions, the temples remain the very essence of the culture and heritage of Tamil land, with historical records dating back to at least 3,000 years.

Temple maintenance, conservation and preservation: Many regular and committed pilgrims, bloggers and writers have been pointing out as to how even the Chola period temples with inscriptions have been crumbling down, but, ASI or even TN State Department archaeology does not bother. However, some local serious devotees, Uzhavarappani[2] groups (Voluntary Temple Cleaning groups) and others have been doing wonderful work for the last more than 50 years.

P Pramod Joglekar: Explaining “New Archaeology,” he went on to point out how statistical methods are used in archaeology to understand facts. E explained the three stages in such development before 1960, 1960 to 1974 and 1974 thereafter. The quantitative approach could be specifically deal with the issues by subjecting the data in different forms. The qualitative method has been subjective and thus individual, biased, one-sided, skewed and differs much from the interpretations. The qualitative method, on the other hand, has been objective – specific, unbiased and independent. Quantitative information is measurable or countable data that can provide insight into research questions. Quantitative information is one of the most direct ways to understand limited, specific questions, such as how often people in a culture perform a certain action or how many times an art form or motif appears in a cultural artifact. Statistics created from quantitative data help researchers understand trends and changes over time. In cultural research, qualitative data allows anthropologists to understand culture based on more subjective analyses of language, behaviour, ritual, symbolism, and the interrelationships of people. Qualitative data has the potential for more in-depth responses via open-ended questions, which can be coded and categorized in order to better identify common themes.

Quantitative analysis with few examples: Qualitative analysis is less about frequency and the number of things and more about a researcher’s subjective insights and understandings. Anthropology and other fields in the social sciences frequently integrate both types of data by using mixed methods. Through the triangulation of data, anthropologists can use both objective and frequency data (for example, survey results) and subjective data (such as observations) to provide a more holistic understanding. Thus, with graphs, he explained the usage of bangles by women. Showing two different occasions, the usage of shell bangles rises and falls. Different interpretations are given as the wrist size of the women changes and thus the size of the shell bangles also change; instead of shell, some other material was used and thus the rise and fall; thus the interpretations also increase. But, at a particular place, the usage had to be definite and also the explanation. Similarly, in another graph with three peaks, the usage of animals was interpreted with the bones found. Thus, it is interpreted that the hunter-gatherers were using meat at here different periods and such usage rose and fell, obviously resorted to other type of food; thus, they might have resorted to agriculture; or they might have domesticated them for some other use and killed; and so on. Any way all such interpretations have been amazing, interesting and intriguing also.

Shanti Pappu: Different types of lithic tools were distributed to the participants and asked to study them carefully and opine the type and nature of them. Thus, each participant came out with his opinion exhibiting the practical difficulty in identifying, classifying and documenting the lithic tools. In fact, whether they can be called as “artefacts” to be classified under the Acts and Rules and antiquities. Yet, she has been discussing with the ASI officials and trying to classify. Luminescence dating at the stratified prehistoric site of Attirampakkam, India, has shown that processes signifying the end of the Acheulian culture and the emergence of a Middle Palaeolithic culture occurred at 385 ± 64 thousand years ago (ka), much earlier than conventionally presumed for South Asia. The Middle Palaeolithic continued at Attirampakkam until 172 ± 41 ka. Chronologies of Middle Palaeolithic technologies in regions distant from Africa and Europe are crucial for testing theories about the origins and early evolution of these cultures, and for understanding their association with modern humans or archaic hominins, their links with preceding Acheulian cultures and the spread of Levallois lithic technologies.

About the Paleolithic tools: The geographic location of India and its rich Middle Palaeolithic record are ideally suited to addressing these issues, but progress has been limited by the paucity of excavated sites and hominin fossils as well as by geochronological constraints. At Attirampakkam, the gradual disuse of bifaces, the predominance of small tools, the appearance of distinctive and diverse Levallois flake and point strategies, and the blade component all highlight a notable shift away from the preceding Acheulian large-flake technologies. These findings document a process of substantial behavioural change that occurred in India at 385 ± 64 ka and establish its contemporaneity with similar processes recorded in Africa and Europe. This suggests complex interactions between local developments and ongoing global transformations. Together, these observations call for a re-evaluation of models that restrict the origins of Indian Middle Palaeolithic culture to the incidence of modern human dispersals after approximately 125 ka.

Opinion of other scholars: Considerable numbers of artefacts can be documented with high accuracy and resolution when the methods described are used[3]. Virtual artefact collections can be documented completely, even if the artefacts are stored at different places, including objects that were considered as being unretouched pieces[4]. The virtual collection thus achieved can be distributed easily on storage media such as CD ROMs or even through the Internet. It can be examined by anybody and compared to any real or virtual artefacts of similar origin. All visualization products are results of automatic and objective procedures, thus avoiding the individual subjective interpretation which is inevitably part of hand-drawn figures.

The points observed: The NMMA form was given with antique objects to all and asked to fill up with their observations in their format.  Digital weighing machine, Vernier calipers, scale, magnifying glass etc., were also provided to analyze the object given. The session went on till lunch and thereafter. Then, “how to take photographs of the artefacts,” was also demonstrated and explained.

• No consensus about the form used for documentation of the artefacts, monuments and others to be recorded.
• How to classify the palaeolithic tools as “antique” under the Act or to be classified so!
• What are lithic tools and cores, difference, how are they identified, classified and documented?
• The Paleolithic site – not exactly the lithic tools collected as they were “taken since 1950 and none determine exactly,, from where they had taken.”
• Whether excavated, at wht level or simply they came there, rummaged the excavated sites and taken such lithic tools?
• The Paleolithic chronology does not tally with the sedimentary formation at the same place or nearby place.
• To get such lithic tools at one foot, 3 feet etc., from the present ground level and decide them accordingly…
• All lithic tools are not “artefacts” unless, some human work could be seen / noted / or at least identified on the surface of the object.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

04-11-2023

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[1] The HR & CE of the TN government figure – available from their website. The temples not coming under the HR & CE are also to be added with this figure.

[2] One of the Nayanmar, Thirunavukkarasar / Appar used to visit all temples and clean with his “Uzhavarappadai” (small spade) and thus,the expression symbolically denotes such tool and the voluntary service rendered by devotee in temples periodically.

[3] Boehler, W., Boehm, K., Heinz, G., Justus, A., Schwarz, C., & Siebold, M. (2003, September). Documentation of stone age artifacts. In Proceedings of the XIX th CIPA Symposium. ISPRS/CIPA (pp. 506-510).

[4] https://www.cipaheritagedocumentation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Boehler-e.a.-Documentation-of-Stone-Age-artifacts.pdf

RSN Memorial Library and Indological Research Institute

RSN Memorial Library and Indological Research Institute

Why do some persons collect books?: Perhaps, every man reads books, keeps books and many store books continuously with him. Yes, when a man reads one book and likes it very much, he wants to have it with him. In the same way, he likes the second, the third and so on, he likes, he loves and considers as valuable. After reading many books, when he comes to know the facts, reality and truth, he could find out the differences also. The more he reads about one subject, he comes to know, the more he is ignorant about the subject. Yes, knowledge is infinite, but the human mind is limited. The pursuit continues.

How books continue to live with the book collector?: When such books continue to live with him for years together, he remembers every line, paragraph, page;

• book, where and how he purchased it,
• that one could not buy immediately as he did not have enough money, but purchased later and added to his collection,
• for buying books and storing how sometimes he got objection from the parents, friends, room-mates and even from his wife – would be a normal experience.

Thus, he may be branded or dubbed as a bibliophile, book mania, worm of books and so on.

The book collector has to face many objections and opposition: He would not allow any book to be torn; damaged by insects and eaten away by white ants /termites. There would be fight between him and his wife for storing huge books occupying room, rooms and house. Sometimes, wife may sell them off secretly to wastepaper buyer. The wastepaper buyer tempts to add something with the newspapers to round off, so that it would weigh exactly ten kgs. Thus, she would bring one or two books and put in the scales to get adjusted. Besides, there would be by heavy rains, cyclones, floods and thereby his house is suffered with all natural climatic calamities. After rains, floods recede away, the moisture would be there and it produces insects and white ants that start attacking books.

to be inaugurated on 28-10-2023

Books not returned by friends: But with all these problems, that book collector goes on living with more and more books. Many times, he would be fooled and cheated by his friends also, as some of the take books from him but do not return. Thus, the book collector would start noting down in his diary, the names with books list would increase, but, never all books noted are returned. Many times, the book borrowers would reply, “I have already returned, you check up.” As bibliophiles, there are kleptomaniacs specialized in book stealing. Particularly, with rare books, it happens regularly.

Indological Research Institute….

What would happen to the book collection, after the book collector?: Thus, he lives with his family now with sons and daughters with the hope that they would or might carry on his hobby, venture or project with commitment, but, mostly, they would not be interesting. They may read some books of their choice and keep quite. The book collector grows with age and books. Saving the books from others, termites and floods, what to do with them – question arises? “What would happen to my valuable collection after me?” He would have spent more than Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 lakhs during the last 50 years. For steel racks, periodical cleaning and maintenance he would have spent many more lakhs for the same period. However, now, money is not matter, but the books have to be preserved and protected so that some others might use them.

William Jones, Max Mueller, Hermann Jacobi, Heinrich Zimmer, George Thibaut, Gutava Oppert

News cuttings and books in our Research Institute…

All book collector or displayers are not interested in books: The collection books for a cause, principle and ideology has been different from that of other collection of books. A devotee too has a large collection books on Vedas, Itihasas, Puranas and related literature, but, he is concerned about bakti, devotion, God and God related divine activities. A new advocate, consultant or even politician too fills up the book shelves behind with books.  He is not interested in the history, chronology, archaeology and other aspects of those subjects. But, our friend book collector is.

Racks containing books in our Institute….

Books destroyed to suppress the past, even the recent past: Moreover, there have been groups of people that buy old, rare and other books and destroys, because, they want to destroy the past, even, the recent past. We know how many libraries were, were burnt during the last 3500 years at many places. Even though, the Alexandrian library is talked about, there had been many-many Universities, Gurukulas and Patasalas, where the attached libraries had also been attacked, burned and razed down completely in India. Therefore, the preservation of the old and rare books is necessitated.

Even childish habit may convert to book collection: At earlier years, I started collecting books perhaps with “Ambulimama” (also known as Chandamama) and then converting serials like Ramayana, Mahabharata etc., into bound volumes. This created interest in buying and colleting Puranas. Of course, I learned such practice from my uncle. Book reading practice continued with book collection. When I was studying 9^th standard, I completed reading of Ponniyin Selvan, Kadalpura, Yavanari etc. One Rajagopalan, old book seller of the Station Road, West Mambalam used to provide me many books.

Thus created the library and research institute: The “RSN Memorial Library and Indological Research Institute” has been started with the collection of books, 60-years newspaper cuttings, booklets, pamphlets and other materials of S/Sri R.S. Narayanaswamy, Dr S. Kalyanaraman, K. V. Ramakrishna Rao and others. It is to be inaugurated by Dr Subramanian Swamy on October 28^th, Saturday, 2023 4.00 pm at Sri Vedanta Bhavanam, T. Nagar, Chennai, 600017 and Sponsored by the Vishva Hindu Vidya Kendra. Whoever is in Chennai, is invited to attend the function and who are away, kindly bless from your place.

K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

26-10-2023

The proceedings of the 81st session of the Indian History Congress held at Chennai from December 27th to 29th , 2022 – academic proceedings, paper reading, presentation and publication (5)

The proceedings of the 81^st session of the Indian History Congress held at Chennai from December 27^th to 29^th , 2022 – academic proceedings, paper reading, presentation and publication (5)

The obsession, hype, or craze for paper presentation at IHC and the standard: Every year, it is constantly claimed by the IHC authorities through their reports, news appearing in the media and the business session details that more than 1000, 1500 0r 2000 papers are received on various themes and topics and they are collected[1]. Ten years means 10,000 to 20,000 papers, thus, the volume of such papers collected can be noted. Paper reading, presentation and publication has become some sort of ISI trade mark or ISO 90021 certification. Thus, young history students, research scholars and even professors of all sorts come here to present papers. They (papers submitted) are sorted out, separated and classified for different topics. Now, just 81^st session has been over. Thus, for more than 50 years period, e.g., about one lakh – 1,00,000 and for 80 years, much more papers must have been received. But, none bothers or thinks about, how these papers are disposed off.

What happens to the rejected papers, how they are disposed off?: The paper preparing persons – whether students, researchers, professors, experts or otherwise, are definitely, the genuine ones spend a lot of time, energy and money to bring out their papers. Spending thousands of rupees, they are reaching the venue travelling hundreds and thousands of kms distance. And the papers are brought to the conference to present with the hope that they would be published. Many well-researched, presented with PPT and illustrations are ignored, though, they are appreciated by others[2] after the presentation at the section. But, only a few privileged ones are getting their wishes fulfilled, i.e, their papers are getting published and others are rejected – not published. So where such rejected papers have been going? Every sectional president has been getting a copy and thus, during the last 81 years, nearly or at least 300 such persons [sectional presidents] would have received thousands /lakhs of papers. The IHC editor would have received all the copies for every session. Are they kept in the permanent IHC office, store room or record room? Or are they distributed among their students for reference?

How they could have been used by others?: Thus, these papers would have gone to the respective Universities, colleges and institutions and in turn given to their students for usage. Any MPhil, or PhD student can easily use such materials as received on the platter. Thus, such a condition is sad, pathetic and horrible, as the hard work, industrious research and studious labour are to be enjoyed by others. This is unjustifiable and looting the work of others, when these ideologists go on insisting about oppression, suppression and exploitation of so many people, social groups, working classes etc., this can be noted as academic looting,  research pillaging and scholarly prowling.

Are every time new papers presented?: Even the printed volumes of the IHC can be used for such purpose of the critical study of the organizers and their way of bias adopted and adapted in selecting, rejecting, editing and recommendation of papers for publication. Thus a person who regularly attends fo 10, 20, 30, 40 years can easily identify, which paper is read where on / which topic or title and by whom and where also. Thus, he can get the feeling that this is already there or red or published. If he attends IHC, SIHC, APHC, UPHC, PHC, OHC, APHC, THC, TNHC, KHC (Karnataka), KHC (Kerala) etc.[3], he can still easily point out and identify that the same paper or of such nature are read and presented again and again by the same person or by some other.

What are topics, themes and thesis are taken up and dealt with?: Going through the papers presented, read and published, they are grouped as follows:

social conflicts, communal issues, community consciousness

• struggle, social struggle, societal conflicts, class struggle,
• majority, majority politics, majoritarianism, minority, vote banks, politics thereof
• Muslim women’s rights, Shariat law, court cases
• Masjid-mandir issue, the historicity of Ayodhya, and related issues,
• community, class, violence, mob violence,
• left alternative, communist model, Marxist methodology, Leninist option, Maoist substitution,
• Dalit, oppressed, suppressed, exploited, migration, social mobility,
• ambiguities, contradictions,
• marginalization, exclusion, deprivation
• sectarian, sectarian affiliation, lumpen elements,
• Hindu-Muslim, colonial exploitation, riots,
• Cow, beef, beef-eating, vegetarianism, related politicized issues
• Mughal-Muslim, feudalism,
• Democracy, authoritarianism,
• socialistic, secular, communal
• Vimochana samaran,  communist movements, Marxist interpretation, working class,

These are given only for illustrative purposes and not exhaustive. The published proceeding volumes may be referred to.

What is the logical, rational and reasonable balance used in the selection of the papers?: If a regular attendee of IHC and listener to the paper presentation and reading can easily understand how themes, issues and topics are selected, repeated and even forced to thrust on others. The same, similar or modified narratives, discourses and plots are recurring and replicated. They can be matched easily with the printed volumes of the IHC. A careful reader of the volumes could easily identify such sermons, ideologized and pushed to the members. Even the sectional presidents of the past and present choose to repeat their already published matter by changing and modification. If the period is 1500-1700 has already been selected and printed, then, 1500-1550, 1550-1600, 1650-1700 are taken and such split is exploited with the change of titles and contexts to have a new-look.

• Paper presentation + reading = publication
• Publication – printed or on-line versions [of late]
• Such printed + on-line versions changed or modified
• Modified – again presented or changed as “new-looks”
• They are again redressed and presented as sectional president addresses
• They ae changed to be presented for panel discussion

If any publisher is found, negotiated and settled, they are completed and brought out as books.

Now new standards have been declared: Now the General Secretary declares[4], “Due to constraints of space, summaries have not been published over the past several years. Since 2016, the list of papers presented has also been omitted, as all papers presenters are awarded certificates at the session itself.”

1. Due to constraints of space, summaries have not been published over the past several years. See the volume, the size no. of pages and weight also has been increasing. For the first time, perhaps, here, all the volumes were disposed off quickly, as they were given free.
2. Since 2016, the list of papers presented has also been omitted: the expression “omitted” proves the mentality of “rejection.” They cannot “misplace, mislay, or go astray” to do so. It is not a great achievement of the IHC, or editor or whosoever took such fantastic “omission”!
3. The such omission has been due to the reason – as all papers presenters are awarded certificates at the session itself: So the “fantastic omission,” goes on to justify this. So spend Rs 5000/- or more, just come and read paper within two or three or five minutes get a “certificate” and forget! Is it okay, logical, rational, scientific, secular or what is that?

So if this policy is pursued, they should return the papers with whatever reason to the paper submitters, as they have all details.

Now data and information can be processed not only for plagiarism and even for other purposes: If every time some new data, information, materials, field visit details are given to bring out new result, then, it can be considered as new paper. Systematic, in fact, ongoing research, as he gets new details and results, thereby, he can easily correct, make it perfect and present consummated and finality without rehashing or repeating the stuff. If all the titles, themes, names of the authors and related key words are fed, processed and analyzed, the reality of manual processing can be assessed. If a regular attendee / knowledgeable participants / independent observers of the proceedings join such data processing, the results can be narrowed down eliminating mistakes. Anyway, the printed stuff available as the papers printed and circulated, souvenirs, proceeding volumes and others tell the factual position.

The factual events Supreme Court judgments also reveal the position: There had been many issues during the last 50 years that had gone to the courts and decided judicially. In fact, many emeritus, elite and eminent historians were also involved out of the court and in the court and they were divided accordingly, as they were supporting one or the other ideology.  Their ideology had been so vociferous, authoritative and dominant that were explicitly propagated through print and electronic media. The World Archaeological Congress (WAC) 3[5], held at New Delhi, from 4^th-11^th December 1994 also exposed their divide and fight turning into non-academic nature and political bias with their vested ideologies[6]. The following judgments can be cited that exposed their ideologies:

• Ahmad Khan v. Shah Bano Begum [1985 (1) SCALE 767 = 1985 (3) SCR 844 = 1985 (2) SCC 556 = AIR 1985 SC 945] (otherwise known as Sha Bano case)
• Indra Sawhney Etc. Etc vs Union Of India And Others, Etc. … on 16 November, 1992 Equivalent citations: AIR 1993 SC 477, 1992 Supp 2 SCR [Mandal or Mandal Commission Report judgment]
• World Archaeological Congress (WAC) 3, New Delhi, 4^th-11^th December 1994 (this is an event only) [where experts fought with each other, because of ideoloy]
• Sarla Mudgal V. Union of India 1995 AIR 1531 1995 SCC (3) 635; JT 1995 (4) 331 1995 SCALE (3)286 454 (Unicorm Civil Code case)
• M Siddiq and others vs Mahant Suresh Das & Ors   AIR 1999 dated 9 November, 2019 [Masjir-Mandi case or Ayodhya verdict]

The resolutions drafted, circulated or not, discussed and debated[7], passed and printed in the volumes also vouchsafe the stand of the IHC[8].

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

01-01-2023

---

[1] Some State History Congress organizers have been collecting CDs i.e, in digital form and it is not known how such huge data is used in digital and as well as non-digital forms.

[2] There have been many papers, even recommended by the sectional presidents and the reasons are known only to them……

[3] It is said, because of the authoritarian nature, bias and other reasons, the state history congresses have started functioning in many states with the support of state philanthropists, politicians and ideologists.

[4] R. Mahalakhsmi, Secretary, Proceedings of  Indian History Congress, opt.cit., preface, p.ix, PIHC, 2022.

[5] India Today, Political wrangles add a touch of bizarre to archaeology conference in New Delhi, KAI FRIESE, ISSUE DATE: Dec 31, 1994 | UPDATED: Jul 19, 2013 10:16 IST.

[6] https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19941231-political-wrangles-add-a-touch-of-bizarre-to-archaeology-conference-in-new-delhi-810050-1994-12-30

[7] After B. R. Grover, none questions and invariably, the resolutions were passed just like that. During the last decades, the public obviously never bothered about the resolutions or proceedings. Even about them of the 81^st session, the media has not covered properly.

[8]  Note, at the Kannur session, 17 members sat together and passed 8 resolutions! PIHC, 2022, opt.cit, pp.1277-1283

The “National Seminar on Cataloguing, editing and Publication of Ancient Indian Manuscripts on Science and Technology” held on March 26th 28th 2019 at Bangalore [1]

The “National Seminar on Cataloguing, editing and Publication of Ancient   Indian Manuscripts on Science and Technology” held on March  26^th  28^th 2019 at Bangalore [1]

From Chronology seminar to manuscript seminar in Bangalore: After attending the two day National seminar held at Bangalore on February 18^th and 19^th 2019, we received a brochure through e-mail. Not only the brochure, even the contents had been also attractive. As the theme and approach were very attractive for researchers, immediately, we decided to attend. Above all, it is to be held in the ISKCON temple complex. I thought, it is the suitable place for the conduct of the seminar, as, Sri Krishna has been the historical personality of Indian history with the start of Kali Era that is the “sheet anchor of Indian history.” In spite of short notice, we could prepare papers, as we have had details ready. As I have been researching for the last 40 years, with data and information available with me, I could prepare papers, immediately and send to the organizers.  I booked tickets also informing them.

First experience at ISKCON, Bangalore (26-03-2019): This is the second time, I am visiting ISKCON, Bangalore. Twenty years back, I came to the temple for darshan. This time, I came as a delegate to present paper. We reached ISKCON temple complex and accommodated at room no.211 by 2.00 pm. The reception asked us to take food coupon and have food, as it closes by 2.30 pm. We had food there and had some rest after discussing the papers to be presented. I was really happy to be there at the place of Sri Krishna, whom I consider as the Lord of Chronology, HOD of Indian history and the greatest historiographer of India, that is Bharath, and perhaps, of the whole world during the 3100 BCE period. I was enquiring about the venue and the program, but, the persons at the reception were telling that some volunteers would come to inform! As none came and it was already 5,00 pm, I contacted and she [Samskriti Foundation representative] responded that she was not feeling well, …………………………….the program had already started, tried to contact, but, could get line and so on. Anyway, we proceeded to the hall and it was nearby only. The “National Seminar on Cataloguing, editing and Publication of Ancient   Indian Manuscripts on Science and Technology” was inaugurated at the auditorium, ISKCON, Bangalore on March 26^th evening and it was funded by the National Mission f0r Manuscript. Dr Alwar was compeering the proceedings. The following few paras tell the information about the theme of the seminar[1].

Indian manuscripts distributed and available countries: The Indian Scientific heritage has been extremely productive. India has one of the largest collections of Scientific manuscripts of any civilization in the world. While there is no precise enumeration of the number of manuscripts, estimates vary widely, putting it in the region of 20000 to 100,000 manuscripts. Several of these manuscripts are now in institutions such as – Oriental Manuscripts Libraries, Indological Research Institutions, Universities, Mutts and Archives and many are still in private collections. Manuscripts are also available in foreign libraries in U.K., France, Germany & USA and in Asian countries like, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma, Bhutan, China (Tibet), Thailand. Unfortunately there is no detailed and accurate data about the number, extent and distribution of the Scientific manuscripts of India. The presently available published Scientific texts, which are in contemporary use, represent less than 2% of the Scientific literature that is available in the form of manuscripts. However, as of today, there is no proper methodology to know or verify the names, authors or any other details of manuscripts that exist on the topic of Science and Technology in ancient India.

The Samskriti Foundation: The Samskriti Foundation, Mysore, is organizing this national seminar. It has, at present, embarked on a project to collect, collate and present information about a bibliography of manuscripts exclusively dealing with Science and technology. So far it has collected and listed information about 7,000 numbers of such manuscripts, which turned out to be a very meticulous, pain-staking task.  Thus, the Foundation has a unique database of ancient manuscripts dealing with Science and Technology (S & T) of Ancient India.

The Problem dealing with the manuscripts available: Though the Foundation has collected and prepared an electronic database of ancient manuscripts dealing with Science and Technology of Ancient India, there is still a long way to go, as these Manuscripts have to be procured from various institutions, University libraries and personal collections. Further the following steps have to be undertaken:

1. Cleaning etc of the Manuscripts and making them ready for digitization
2. Digitization of the concerned Manuscripts
3. Deciphering the Manuscripts
4. Transcribing the Manuscripts
5. Editing the Manuscripts
6. Preparing English Translation / regional languages translation etc. in collaboration with scientists / technocrats connected with the concerned field.
7. Making other value editions
8. Publishing the Manuscripts

To undertake the above tasks, the active collaboration of scholars and scientists / technologists alike is very much necessary. This is because, unlike while dealing with Manuscripts on literature, philosophy etc., Manuscripts on S & T contain many technical terms that even scholars who are familiar with the particular language would not be able to interpret properly. Apart from this, these exist several other problems in deciphering / interpreting / editing Manuscripts belonging to many new areas like ancient geography, alchemy, earth sciences and such other subjects.  Therefore, there is a dire need to unearth and train a new breed of persons who are ‘scientist-manuscriptologists’. As of today, there are not many scientist-manuscriptologists who can undertake such tasks and bring to light the ancient Manuscripts on S & T of yore which can bring to light the expertise of our forefathers in various fields of S & T.

The solution envisaged: To overcome the above problem, it is proposed to bring together expert scientists and technologists on one side and expert manuscriptologists on the other on a common platform and make them interact with each other so that there can be a healthy exchange of ideas and concepts that can help in taking the task of deciphering / interpreting / editing Manuscripts belonging to many new areas like ancient geography, alchemy, earth sciences and such other subjects dealing with S & T. The proposed seminar specifically wishes to address and make considerable headway in solving the problems mentioned above.

The purpose of the seminar: The seminar will be organized in such a way that an exclusive session will be devoted for a particular con temporarily relevant field of science and technology and experts in that particular field will speak on particular unpublished, valuable Manuscripts that is concerned with that particular field. For example, there will be an exclusive session for unpublished Manuscripts on the subject of ‘Mathematics’ and in that session, experts on Mathematics will speak on deciphering, publication  etc. of unpublished, useful Manuscripts on Mathematics and their utility. Similarly separate sessions will be schedules for other important subjects. Of course, it will be impossible to deal with all such subjects in a very short span of three days. However, the topics will be prioritized based on contemporary relevance and the sessions will be held in a highly sophisticated manner. The seminar will be a pioneering one, since, as far as information available at present, such a seminar for deciphering / interpreting / editing Manuscripts belonging to many new areas like ancient geography, alchemy, earth sciences and such other subjects dealing with S & T has not been organized so far by any agency.

 

ISKCON guest house

Samskriti Foundation had already organized a National Seminar on “Application of Information Technology for conservation, editing and publication of Manuscripts” on the 20^th, 21^st and 22^nd of January 2013, at Multivision Theatre, ISKCON, Harekrishna Hill, Rajajinagar, Bangalore, with support from the National Mission for Manuscripts, IGNCA, Govt. of India[2]. Thus, it is evidet that, this is also a similar seminar conducted after six years. Coming to the current seminar, as mentioned above, we reached the hall “Multi-vision theatre”, the program already started. As usual, I started taking photographs and sat down.

When I was just entering, I took this photograph……………..

Pranava Khular, Manjunatha, Khinchi, M. S. Lakshmi Thathachariyar

26-03-2019- Mss seminar -inauguration-audience

6-03-2019- Mss seminar -inauguration-audience.2

26-03-2019- Mss seminar -inauguration-audience.3

5.00 to 5.14 pm – Sri Pranav Khular, Joint Secreary, Ministry of Culture: Vajpayee commented that if all the manuscripts were many IVCs and Dwarakas might be discovered. Launching the Mission, the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee said[3], “…the NMM is different from the other missions undertaken till now.  In this the benefits are neither direct nor visible….I believe that the NMM will bring to light many more Mohenjodaros and Dwarakas.”

Referring to the technological aspect of the Mission, the Prime Minister noted that modern science asks proof for claims and this very science (modern technology) is providing tools for resurrecting these proofs of our glorious past.  Shri Vajpayee highlighted three aspects of the mission: since 70 per cent of the manuscripts are in Sanskrit, the teaching and learning of the language will have to be further promoted, several institution that are already working in the field will have to be associated with the Mission and finally, a huge awareness campaign has to be undertaken to encourage individual custodians of manuscripts to come forward and give them to the Mission. The National Mission for Manuscript has been given several extensions and now it has been extended up to 31^st  March 2020. Work has to be done, as there was no pace in it.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

30-03-2019

[1] Taken from their brochure and their website: http://www.samskrti.org/; http://samskrti.org/seminar/ ;

Email: samskrti@hotmail.com

[2] https://samskrti.org/seminars-and-conferences/

[3] https://namami.gov.in/about-us-0

“Culture, Commerce and Empire: Exploring the Coromandel Coast”, the National Seminar held on 8th and 9th February 2017 at Puducherry (2).

“Culture, Commerce and Empire: Exploring the Coromandel Coast”, the National Seminar held on  8^th and 9^th February 2017 at Puducherry (1).

Technical session conducted on 08-02-2017 (Wednesday): After lunch, the technical session was started with the paper presentation.  The “Abstract volume” and the program list were provided. As per them, there were 28 papers, but, 9 had not turned up. At the end, there were 21 papers were presented and thus, it is evident that two were accommodated, but listed earlier.

Section	Theme	Chaired by[1] (as per the program)	Actually chaired by
I	Culture and commerce in Colonial India	B. B. Mohanty	Venkata Ragotham
II	Renaissance and the Making of Modern India	K. Srinivas	Do
III	Pre-Colonial, Colonial  and Post colonial India	D. Subramanyam Reddy	G. J. Sudhakar
IV	Science, Technology and Empire Building	Deepak Kumar	Deepak Kumar
V	Colonialism and its Multifarious Impact	Shri Krishan	Shri Krishan
VI	Emergence of New cultural practices, public spaces and architecture	G. J. Sudhakar	Venugopala Reddy

Audience view on 08-02-2017

The first paper “The Indigenous merchants and the English East India Company on the Coromandel Coast in the Seventeenth century” was presented by S. Babu[2]. Under Session – I chaired by G. J. Sudhakar.  He argued that the commodification of convicts’ labour through enforced work on various public works and the indoor labour within the prisons went beyond the colonial concerns of punishment, reform and disciplining of the delinquents to constitute a captive body of enforced labourers available at beck and call of the colonial state.

Then, G. J. Sudhakar[3] presented, “Socio-political views of Vivekananda and an overview of the work of the Ramakrishna Mission”.  He explained how Swami Vivekananda with his Vedantic universalism treated all equal and tried to achieve such goal thriugh the establishment of Si Ramakrishna Mission rendering services to all.

Next paper, “Fishing and fisher folks on the Coromandel Coast (fromcolonial period to present): A social history” was presented by Shri Krishan[4].

Vineeth Thomas[5] presented a paper on the position of Dalits in the pre-colonial period.  He was rather confused about the semantics of SC, “dalit” and other expressions.

Raman P. Sinha[6] presented his paper on “The Making of a culture in Pre-colonial India: A case study of Dakkani”.  He pointed out as to how Dakkani (Proroto-khari- boli Hindi-Urudu) literary corpus was created in large numbers during the 14^th to 18^th centuries in the Deccan India.

Sudharshan Kumar[7] presented a paper on “Maritime networks of Kollam in the Pre-Colonial period”, pointed out the role of  maritime relations of Kollam in the pre-colonial period based on inscriptions.

The last paper “From Cholas ocean to Lake to “Bay of Bengal”: The Chnge in the Colonial Cartography, Historiograhy and Maritime Ethics” was presented by K. V. Ramakrishna Rao[8], where he explained with maps as to how the name of “Bay of Bengal” came from earlier expressions of golfo di bangala, sinus ganteticus, Ganga-darya, Mahadadhi, Cholas’ lake, Cholas’ ocean. Thus, the concept of “Coromandel” was changed to attain the present cnntation. There were querries, clarification and lively discussion about the papers presented.

The “Historia” – T-shirt and the Students: “Historia”, the Greek word was borrowed into Classical Latin as historia, meaning ‘investigation, inquiry, research, account, description, written account of past events, writing of history, historical narrative, recorded knowledge of past events, story, narrative’. The colur red has been chosen for the shirt. Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. In fact, I was asking many students as to how it came, how the T-shirt was designed and so on. A Google search showed some designs. The students of the History department have designed, ordered and worn the T-shirts during the seminar. Incidentally, I too wore a red shirt on the first day.  Yes, the students have been young, energetic, with strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love for history and they were seen everywhere like birds and flowers rendering their services.

Technical session conducted on 09-02-2017 (Thursday): The second day proceedings started with the paper presentation as follows:

G. Chandrika	Edward Green Balfur: Surgeon, scholar and environmentalist[9].
T. Sandeep	Conception, obsevation and reflection: the cartographic representation of south India under the European colonialism[10].
Kale Sanjay	Introduction of Technical Education in Shipbuilding Industries: An Inevitable outcome of Industrial revolution[11].
Krisha Kumar Panjaje	Naval warfare in the colonial coast in the eithteenth century.
Manoj Kumar Sahu	Early colonial intervention in health services in Odisha[12].
Sovon Sanyal	Nature of colonialism and anti-colonialalism in India: Studies on the Revolts of 1878 and 1857[13].

However,  Sanyal’s paper topic was changed to “Reading an Indo-Portuguese novel in the light of the Revolts of 1878 and 1857”.

Bitin Thakur	Colonialisation and its effect on Indegenous culture – Reconsidering the statement of Doodnath Tewarry[14].
A. Arul Jothi

After lunch, the following papers were presented:

N. Chandra	The cultural impact of the French Empire in Puducherry: A postcolonial Reading[15].
Nivedita Ejilane	The influx of French culture, Architecture, Cuisine and Recreation in Pondicherry[16].
G. Balajee	The New Architecture of colonial Madras[17].

G. Balajee’s papar was the last one and the technical session was wound up, getting ready for the valedictory function.

Valedictory Function (4.00 on 6.00 pm): The valedictory function was held in the same auditorium. Dr / Prof / HOD Chandramouli, Rila Mukherjee, Venugopal Reddy, Subramanyam Reddy and Venkata Ragotham were on the dais. The special address was about “Armagaon and Pulicat: The first fortified ports and factories of the Dutch and the English on the Coromandel Coast od India” was delivered by Subramanyam Reddy. He gave many details as to how Alfondo de Souza came with soldiers and tried to loot Tirumala but went away; as the Dutch was dominating at the Pulicat, the British moved from Armagoan to Machlipatnam; how Mallayaa Chetti was dominating; how varities of textiles were manufactured for export; and finally pointed out that both ports were now disappeared and become neglected villages / spots.

Audience during the valedictory – from LHS

“Envisioning the Maritime silk Roads” – Rila Mukherjee: The valedictory address, “Envisioning the Maritime silk Roads” was delivered by Rila Mukherjee. She emphasized that research should be oriented towards “interpretation with critical thinking useful to the present reality with active engagement with the present”. She went on explaining as to how Silver had connected the world. It created the Eurasian silver century long before the First Global Age between 1400 and 1800.

Even earlier, when Arab and Persian traders traded across the Indian Ocean from the seventh-eighth centuries, silver coins had been the trade currency of the Indian Ocean, while usage of copper cash was the norm in Southeast Asia. China, lacking adequate sup-plies of both, repeatedly tried to break into the Indian Ocean trade by way of its paper currency, but was not successful;

silver remaining the currency of long distance Indian Ocean trade until the nineteenth century. A ‘lesser’ currency—the kauri shell or cypria moneta—bridged the gap between silver and local currencies all along the Indian Ocean littoral. One of the more intriguing aspects of the monetary history of early medieval Bengal is the almost total disappearance of silver coming in from Bagan (a medieval kingdom in present Myanmar) from the 9th century by the traditional land routes into Bengal. China chronically required metals during the 7^th to 10^th centuries and getting from India.

How India was important in the maritime trader – Venkata Ragotham: The presidential address was delivered by Venkata Ragotham and he gave many important points to ponder over. He pointed out that till 19^th century, India was exporting goods, but now exports people. He gave specific examples to prove as how India was dominating in the export of steel, sugar, salpetre etc. With the story of Walters Scott, he brought out the uniqueness of Indian steel, “Wootz”.

He asked why should India now import steel fro m China and Korea.  With the establishment of sugar mills at Jamaica, the importance of Indian sugar was reduced by the British.  The slave trade was controlled by the Arabs. In India, actually, the rulers prevented export of men as slaves. He pointed out that the Raja of Thanjavur intervened the export of slaves through Karaikal. He showed how the “House of Commons” became rich citing the scandal of Warren Hastings. The sugar profits were used to buy tea and coffee that enriched China. Thus, Opium exported from India to balance the trade of tea. Therefore, the research should be oriented to facts, instead wasting time of hypothetical “nation-state” debates, he emphasized. The function was ended with vote of thanks and National Anthem.

K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

11-02-2017

[1] All are Dr / Prof  / HOD and therefore for brevity, they are not repeated here in the list.

[2] Abstract Volume, p.2.

[3] Abstract Volume, p.11.

[4] Abstract Volume, pp.17-18.

[5] His paper was nether listed nor included in the abstract volume.

[6] Abstract Volume, p.15.

[7] Abstract Volume, p.16-17.

[8] Abstract Volume, p.17.

[9] Abstract Volume, p.21.

[10] Abstract Volume, p.24.

[11] Abstract Volume, p.23.

[12] Abstract Volume, p.25.

[13] Abstract Volume, p.31.

[14] Abstract Volume, p.33.

[15] Abstract Volume, p.35.

[16] Abstract Volume, p.37.

[17] Abstract Volume, p.38.

National Seminar on Salvage Archaeology and Heritage Management in India held at Meenakshi College, Chennai on November 29th and 30th 2016 [Second day proceedings]

National Seminar on Salvage Archaeology and Heritage Management in India held at Meenakshi College, Chennai on November 29^th and 30^th 2016 [Second day proceedings]

30-11-2016 – the second day proceedings of NSSAHMI-16: First, R. Mani, Conservation Assistant, ASI (Retd) explained how a mantap at Madhavaram was relocated, after dismantling the structure part by part with the cost of Rs. 25 lakhs.  As the people of the areas wanted the mantap to be renovated, the work was carried on. It has been on the way to Tirupati and was constructed for the pilgrims to stay. There was a tank also behind, but, it disappeared. The tanks were constructed near by the Mantap-rest houses or behind for the purposes of pilgrims to carry out morning and daily routines during their stay and proceed. During interaction, the following facts were known:

1. There is no documentation as to how many such mantaps / rest houses for pilgrims constructed are available between two particular pilgrimage centres.
2. The distance between such mantaps could be about 5 kms.
3. Now, many mantaps right in front of temples at srirangam, Tirivannamalai, Kanchipuram and other important religious centres have been illegally occupied by the persons with vested interests and political clout, using them as go-down, workshop, hotel, shop, even as part of house.
4. Though, ASI gives complaints about and against such illegal occupations and encroachments to Police, Revenue officials, no proper action, action is taken.
5. This emboldens Act and Rules violators and make them disrespect the ASI authorities and belittle the Acts and Rules related Archaeological Monuments etc.

Salvage archaeology – P. Venkatesan, Director, Ministry of Tourism: With his experience, he had elaborately dealt with the subject matter. Differentiating between tangible and intangible heritage, he explained the nuances of heritage relating to inheritance, legacy, obtained from forefathers, religious practices, customs, celebrations and so on. After World War – II, as many cities were destroyed and monuments made crumbling conditions, the westerners thought of “Salvage archaeology”.  Urbanization with its building activities etc., has affected the monuments adversely. We should respect the Mother earth “Vasunthara bahuratnaha” [Mother Earth contains many diamonds] as it contains many archaeological treasures. So, whenever, excavations are conducted, they should inform and consult archaeologists, so that such hidden valuable materials are not destroyed. Now, Amaravati has been proposed as the new capital of Andhrapradesh after bifurcation of AP, but, this area has been potential for many hidden archaeological monuments and therefore, they cannot be allowed to be destroyed. Therefore, the CM has constituted a committee with experts of archaeology to investigate about the archaeological potential and protect the monuments. He gave many examples of salvage archaeology applied in the case of Nagarjunakonda, Srisailam, Kudali Sangameswarar, Kurudi Goa [rock-cut temple transplanted], Alampur, etc. “God’s property should not be touched”, he emphasized with proverb and saying.

Heritage City – Kanchipuram – S.  Ramakrishna Pisipaty: With slideshow, he has shown exhaustive archaeological evidences to prove that Kanchipuram city and surroundings were continuously engaged with human activities from neolithic, Mesolithic, megalithic, early historic, and medieval periods. A massive 24-m-long turtle-shaped tomb was excavated from the banks of a lake at Vadamangalm village in Kancheepuram district about 80 km from here. While no human skeletons have been discovered yet, initial findings indicate that the people who had inhabited the ancient megalithic site knew mathematics, astronomy and astrology. Explaining “Panchakanchi”, he pointed out how Jaina, Buddha, Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma belief-systems were existing. With his findings on the Vegavati river, he tried to correlate the archaeological evidences with that of Puranic narratives.

Law and rules for Heritage Conservation – S. Vasanthi, Deputy Superintendent archaeologist (Retd), Tamilnadu State Archaeology: She listed out many Acts and Rules, including the following[1]:

Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904

The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains [mentioned as AHMASR] Act 1951

AMASR Act 1958

AMASR Rules 1959

AMASR (Amendment and Validation) Act 2010

National Monument Authority Rules, 2011

Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Framing of Heritage Bye laws and Other Functions of Competent Authority) Rules, 2011

Competent Authority Notification

Information on construction activity regulations

1958 and 2010 Acts – Reference

As per the statutory provision, “Ancient Monument” means any structure, erection or monument, or any tumulus or place of interment, or any cave, rock-sculpture, inscription or monolith which is of historical, archaeological or artistic interest and which has been in existence for not less than 100 years and includes— (i) remains of an ancient monument, (ii) site of an ancient monument, (iii) such portion of land adjoining the site of an ancient monument as may be required for fencing or covering in or otherwise preserving such monument, and (iv) the means of access to, and convenient inspection of, an ancient monument; and “Any person who moves any antiquity in contravention of a notification issued under sub-section (1) of section 25 shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees[2]; and the court conviction a person of any such contravention may by order direct such person to restore the antiquity to the place from which it was moved”.

Conservation and preservation of the Monuments in Coastal Areas – J. Soundararajan, Assistant Professor, University of Madras: He too mentioned about Abu Simbel to Nagarjunakonda and then delved upon, temples at Dwaraka, Goa etc. As the monuments on the coasts are easily subjected to soil erosion by sea, change in sea / ocean levels periodically, Tsunami like natural disasters, he explained such instances and the preservation and conservation methods undertaken. There are different natural and manmade factors which are generally considered responsible for different conservation problems and cause damage to the building materials of a monument. Geological and mineralogical defects which develop during the genesis of rocks may be responsible for different conservation problems and consequent damage to the monuments. This is due to inherent weakness of the building materials. There are certain biological factors such as Growth of Moss, Lichen, Algae, Fungi and higher plants on a monument. They not only impart a ugly look to the monument but also cause physical & chemical damaged to the building material. Bat’s and bird’s droppings/excreta cause damage particularly to fine stone works and paintings. Deposit of Bat’s excreta on stone structures in Ajanta Caves caused chemical damages to the structures. Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and other chemically active pollutant species along with dust results in disfiguring of the monument. Similarly variation in climatic conditions, moisture and intense solar radiation are also responsible for the decay of specific building materials. Conservation problems are different for different geographical areas. The monuments of coastal areas face the problem of salt efflorescence. Crystallization of soluble salts in the matrix of stone, plaster, mortar etc. is a major cause of damage to the monument. This disrupts the pore structures of the stone and slowly damages the core of the building material which is difficult to be repaired.

Technical-paper presentation – teacher participation: The “teacher participation”, i.e, those who are teaching in colleges presented their papers. My paper came under this category. I presented my paper, “Salvaging, redeeming and Saving Archaeology and Managing Heritage in the Indian Context”. As only 10-15 minutes were given, I restricted to PowerPoint presentation. I specifically pointed out as to how the archaeological reports of ASI were manipulated by the colonial rulers in the cases of Alois Anton Fuhrer[3], John Marshall[4], George Buhler[5], Vincent Smith[6], R. D. Banerhee[7] based on the official documents. Then, I cited and explained the case of Prof Dr Vincent John Adams Flynn who was arrested, jailed and then deported to his country Australia, for smuggling out many antiquities including valuable coins[8]. From colonial period to the present day, the Indian archaeology and historiography have been subjected to professional bias, ideology and politicization, obviously acting againt Indan Acts, Rules and interests. The issue of Ramajanmabhumi and the WAC-III fights need not be mentioned here, as that have already exposed the position of the archaeologists and historians.  Even after independence, the fields of archaeology, historiography, numismatics, epigraphy and other connected fields have been with constant interference of the politicians. Of course, the archaeologists and historians have also become “politicians” as the Ayodhya case exposed, when they deposed before the court as witnesses. With all responsibilities, they had misrepresented and misled the court and hence they have been reprimanded and censured heavily, as has been recorded in the judgment. From outside, they could carry out propaganda through media with vested interests, but, the legal facts remain facts only. Unless, they are liberated from such factors, they cannot render any service to the society and people.

Valedictory function and distribution of prizes: The paper reading session conducted on 29^th November was indeed a competition held for the Ph.D research  scholars and those awaiting for the Viva Voce, with the condition that “Only the papers to be presented by the research scholars will be considered for best paper award” and the amount fixed was as follows: I prize Rs.15,000 /-, II prize Rs.10,000 /- and III prize Rs. 5,000 /-.  Dr G. Maheswari, Superintendent Archaeologist, ASI was the chief guest for the valedictory function. The prizes were distributed to the winning scholars and certificates to the teachers-participants. The seminar closed with national anthem.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

01-12-2016

[1] All Acts and Rules can be downloaded from here: http://asichennai.gov.in/monuments_acts_rules.html; Some important judgemenets have also been given.

Judgement dt.16th January, 2012 of Hon’ble Supreme Court pertaining to construction activity in the prohibited area of national monuments/sites.

Judgement dt.23rd February, 2011of Hon’ble Madras High Court Madurai Bench pertaining to quarry operation near the national monument at Keezhavalavu, Taluk Melur, District Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

Judgement dt.25th January, 2011 of Hon’ble Madras High Court pertaining to construction activity in the prohibited area of national monument at Gangaikondacholapuram, District Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu.

[2] This, she was mentioning as Rs.10/- based on old Act.

[3] A. A. Führer , Antiquities of Buddha Sakyamuni’s Birth-Place in the Nepalese Tarai, Imperial Archaeological Survey Report XXVI (ASI of Northern India Vol. VI), 1898.

[4] Sir John Marshall, An Indian Tiryns and Mycenae: A Forgotten Age Revealed, The Illustrated London News (tabloid in four pages), Vol.165, September 20, 1924.

[5] Charles Allen, The Buddha and Dr Fuhere – An Archaeological Scandal, Has Publishing, London, 2008, see chapter – The Drowning, Lake Constance, 8-9 April 1898, pp.173-200.

[6] Vincent Smith went to Lucknow in September 1898 ‘by order of Government, to enquire into Dr. Führer’s proceedings, and convict him of systematic falsification of his correspondence with several Governments’. In the course of his meeting Smith challenged Führer about his claims to have found an inscribed pre-Ashokan casket: ‘I charged Dr. Führer to his face with that forgery, and he did not attempt to deny it’. Dr. Führer appears to have resigned immediately after the visit. Smith’s account is to be found in ‘Exploration of the Birthplace of Buddha in the Nepal Tarai’, Govt. North-Western Provinces and Oude, PWD Proceedings for August 1899, File No. 49 Misc., 1899, Note 60. ‘Note on the exploration of Kapilavastu, by V. A. Smith, Esq., ICS, dated 3rd January 1898 [sic: 1899]’.

[7] Banerji, Rakhal Das. Mohenjodaro: A Forgotten Report. Prithivi Prakashan, 1984.

[8] Delhi High Court – Mr. V.J.A. Flynn And Mr. Shyam … vs Union Of India (Uoi) And Ors. on 26 November, 2002; Equivalent citations: 2003 (66) DRJ 381, 2003 (86) ECC 129, 2003 (159) ELT 92 Del; Author: S Aggarwal; Bench: D Jain, S Aggarwal. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/924272/