2084-2902 Legal framework on heritage protection in India Ramy prawne ochrony dziedzictwa w Indiach Pal Debarati author University of Petroleum and Energy Studies Correspondence to: Debarati Pal 29 06 2024 Zeszyt 25 2024 157 172 Copyright © 2024 2024 The article describes the national and municipal legislations on built and living heritage, antiquities and art treasures and explores the national framework for conserving Intangible Cultural Heritage in India. It maps the transcendence from the pre-independence Acts to the post-independence legislation and amendments. The roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders, including the community were examined. <br /><br />The text serves as a comprehensive guide to the constitutional background of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1904, the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958, and the National Policy for Conservation of the Ancient Monuments, Archaeological Sites and Remains, 2014. The text also examines the roles and responsibilities of various bodies, such as State Heritage Boards, Heritage Development Authorities and Councils, in conserving ancient monuments, archaeological sites, and remains. It also highlights the functional interface of these bodies with the Municipal Development Authority and Municipal Corporation under the Town and Country Planning Acts, which play a crucial role in implementing these policies. Moreover, the text delves into the impact of the Supreme Court’s judicial decisions on the legislative framework, providing a real-world context and making the text more engaging by illustrating how the law is applied in practice. <br /><br />Alternatively, in the executive domain, the role of the Central Government, National Monuments Authority, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Indian Trust for Architectural and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is discussed to calibrate the notions of inclusivity and community participation. Under the tangible category, the movable heritage properties posited under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act of 1972 are also examined. <br /><br />In the realm of Intangible cultural heritage, the article explores the role of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in granting protection and inventorising the Intangible Cultural Heritage of India. 1 Ahuja N.P., “Creating the Sensibility of the Modern Indian Artist-Craftsman: Santiniketan &amp; the Arts and Crafts Movement” [in:] idem, The Making of a Modern Indian Artist-Craftsman Devi Prasad, New Delhi, Routledge 2012 2 Allchin F.R., “Monument Conservation and Policy in India”, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 1978, vol. 126, issue 5268, pp. 746–765 3 Allchin F.R., Erdosy G., The archaeology of early historic South Asia: the emergence of cities and states, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1995 4 Banerjee K., Mal S., Role of Urban Development Authorities in Local Governance, Insta Publishing, New Delhi 2022 5 Banerjee S., Chatterjee S., Hollis E., Mondal H., “Asansol: Unfinished biography of a Raj Era railway town: Explorations in heritage practice in post-India” [in:] Geographies of Post-Industrial Place, Memory, and Heritage, eds. M.A. Rhodes (II), W.R. Price, A. Walker, Routledge, London – New York 2020 6 Binumol T., Traditional Conservation of timber architecture, INTACH UK Trust, New Delhi 2007 7 Biswas S.S., “Protection of cultural property vis-à-vis Indian antiquarian legislation and global concern” [in:] Estrategias relativas al patrimonio cultural mundial. La salvaguarda en un mundo globalizado. Principios, practicas y perspectivas. 13th ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium. Actas, Comité Nacional Español del ICOMOS, Madrid 2002, https://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/541/ (accessed: 27.04.2024) 8 Bose K., “Incentivizing Urban Conservation in Kolkata: The Role of Participation, Economics and Regulation in Planning for Historic Neighbourhoods in Indian Cities”, 27.01.2014, https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Incentivizing-Urban-Conservation-In-Kolkata%3A-The-Of-Bose/54f4c9ae812f458472598fb89e70f521eefb21dc (accessed: 18.05.2024) 9 Desai M., Desai, M., The Bungalow in Twentieth-Century India: The Cultural Expression of Changing ways of life and aspirations in the domestic architecture of colonial and post-colonial society, Routledge, London – New York 2016 10 Diyora B.T., History of Education and Gandhi: A Case Study of Ashram System in Gujarat. Doctoral dissertation, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India, 2021 11 Engelhardt R.A., Rogers P.R., Hoi An protocols for best conservation practice in Asia. Professional Guidelines for Assuring and Preserving the Authenticity of Heritage Sites in the Context of the Cultures of Asia, UNESCO, Bangkok 2009 12 Gupta D., “The role of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage in heritage conservation in India” [in:] Heritage Conservation in Postcolonial India, eds. M. Chalana, A. Krishna, Routledge, London – New York 2020 13 Gupta V.K., “Retrieval of Indian Antiquities: Issues and Challenges”, Art Antiquity &amp; Law 2019, vol. 24 14 Haynes D.E., Rao N., “Beyond the colonial city: Re-evaluating the urban history of India, ca. 1920–1970”, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies 2013, vol. 36, no. 3 15 Menon A.G.K., “Heritage conservation and urban development: Beyond the monument” [in:] Heritage Conservation and Urban Development, ed. R. Tandon, INTACH, New Delhi 2005 16 Mann A., “The Endangered Inheritance: Conservation through Legislation”, Indian Historical Review 2020, vol. 47, issue 1 17 Pachauri S.K., “Plunder of cultural and art treasures–the Indian experience” [in:] Illicit Antiquities. The Theft of Culture and the Extinction of Archaeology, eds. N. Brodie, K. Walker Tubb, Routledge, London – New York 2003 18 Pal D., “Illicit trafficking of antiquities”, Chanakya National Law University Journal 2018–2019, vol. 8, https://cnlu.ac.in/storage/2022/08/Volume-8-2019.pdf (accessed: 27.04.2024) 19 Piplani N., “Training, Research and Capacity Building: INTACH Heritage Academy”, Context 2015, vol. 11 20 Rao G.K., “Legislation on Conservation of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Ruins: A Critical Appraisal”, Journal of the Indian Law Institute 1980, vol. 22, no. 1 21 Ribeiro E.F.N., “The Existing and Emerging Framework for Heritage Conservation in India: The Legal, Managerial and Training Aspects”, Third World Planning Review 1990, vol. 12, no. 4 22 Sanyal K., “The National Commission for Heritage Sites Bill”, Journal of Indian Law and Society 2009, vol. 1 23 Sengupta I., “Monument preservation and the vexing question of religious structures in colonial India” [in:] From Plunder to Preservation. Britain and the Heritage of Empire: C. 1800–1940, eds. A. Swenson, P. Mandle, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2013 24 Sengupta I., “Culture-keeping as state action: Bureaucrats, administrators, and monuments in colonial India”, Past &amp; Present 2015, vol. 226 (suppl 10) 25 Singh R.P., “Appraising the Indian cultural landscape: Envisioning ecological cosmology in the 21st Century”, North Eastern Geographer 2017, vol. 39, no. 1–2 26 Singh R.P., Singh R.S., “Urban heritage in India: Towards Orientation to planning” [in:] Strategies in Development Planning”, eds. A.K. Singh, V.K. Rai, A.P. Mishra, Deep &amp; Deep Publications, New Delhi 1997 27 Sutton D., “Devotion, Antiquity, and Colonial Custody of the Hindu Temple in British India”, Modern Asian Studies 2013, vol. 47, no. 1 28 Sutton D., “Inhabited pasts: monuments, authority, and people in Delhi, 1912–1970s”, The Journal of Asian Studies 2018, vol. 77, no. 4 29 Stein D.L., “To curate in the field: archaeological privatisation and the aesthetic ‘legislation ‘of antiquity in India”, Contemporary South Asia 2011, vol. 19, no. 1 30 Thakur N., “The Critical Role of New Theory, Old Knowledge Systems and Jurisprudence for Responsible Protection and Management for the living heritage of historic places, cities and cultural regions of India” [in:] Shared Global Experiences: For Protection of Built Heritage, ed. V. Kawathekar, SPA Press, Bhopal 31 Thapar B.K., “Reflections: On the Role of INTACH in India’s Conservation Movement”, Architecture+ Design, Nov.–Dec. 1989 32 Working Group Report on Improving Heritage Management in India, https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-06/Improving-HeritageManagement-in-India.pdf (accessed: 2.04.2024) 34 The Bengal Charitable Endowments, Public Buildings and Escheats Regulation, 1810 35 The Religious Endowments Act, 1863 36 The Treasure Trove Act, 1878 37 The Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 38 The Export and Import Control Act, 1947 39 The Constitution of India, 1950 40 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 41 The Customs Act, 1962 42 Gujarat Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1965 43 The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 44 Delhi Urban Acts Commission Act 1973 45 The Information Technology Act, 2000 46 Delhi Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2004 47 INTACH Charter for the Conservation of Unprotected Architectural Heritage and Sites in India, 2004 48 The National Commission for Heritage Sites Bill, 2009 49 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains AMASR (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010 50 The Jammu and Kashmir Heritage Conservation and Preservation Act, 2010 51 Punjab Ancient, Historical Monuments, Archaeological Sites, and Cultural Heritage Maintenance Board Act, 2013 52 National Policy for Conservation of Ancient Monuments, 2014 53 The Arunachal Pradesh Heritage Act, 2015 54 The Telangana Heritage (Protection, Preservation, Conservation, and Maintenance) Act, 2017 55 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and. Remains (Amendment) Act, 2017 57 Rajeev Suri vs Union of India SC 2021 58 Sarika vs. Administrator, Mahakaleshwar Mandir Committee, Ujjain MP SC 2020 59 M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India (UOI) and Ors SC 2019 60 S.N. Bhardwaj vs. Archaeological Survey of India and Ors SC 2016