One of the tragedies of our country is that we have absolutely no respect for our history or our heritage. We learn nothing from it. An incredible land, but alas mutilated by senseless administrators, people who make the rules and who lead the pack that break those very rules. The Indian scene has become farcical, so absurd that the conservation and heritage fraternity worldwide cannot comprehend why world treasures are condemned to rot in this great land of ours. We are masters at plenty of ?big talk? but that is where the buck stops. We bask in its glory when it suits us, but destroy it with equal abandon, selfishly killing the legacy of future generations.
Recognising this fact, Indira Gandhi, Pupul Jayakar and a group of people who believed in history and conservation, who shared the same values, came together and created INTACH ? the Indian equivalent of the National Trust. It was to be a non-government body, a watchdog that would not allow all to run amok. Recently, two major issues have hit the headlines ? the Taj corridor and the restoration being done at the Red Fort in Delhi. Both have become national scandals. Both have had governments initiating the horrors, it was not the people. At the Red Fort, ?repairs? are being conducted without any respect for motif or materials, something that is untenable in conservation. A PIL is being prepared in an attempt to stop this careless restoration, to try and stay the inferior work that has begun.
The sad reality is that INTACH-Delhi is not willing to be a signatory on the petition. What has happened? Is this heritage trust running scared of taking on real conservation issues and confronting the government? Has it forgotten and buried its mandate? Has it become another dead institution?
This week in Delhi saw the descendants of Edwin Lutyens visit this ?Imperial? city. There was a seminar along with other events where INTACH released a booklet on Lutyens? Delhi. All very ?sweet and social?, but where is INTACH when all those who live in the great bungalows that lie within this heritage zone, add illegal structures to the properties? Why do our leaders get away with such illegalities? Why not make a stink about the complete lack of respect and commitment that these ?rulers? have for their legacy? Why not bring all this into the public sphere?
We all know that if some shopkeeper adds three feet of covered space to his shop, it is demolished. Why then do the leaders of this great country get away with breaking the rules they themselves make? Wake up INTACH, do something worthwhile, set the standards, don?t run with the hare and hunt with the hound.
If our leaders need a lot of space to house themselves, their families and their minions, they should move out and create a ?colony? away from heritage areas. They should live together in apartments and bungalows outside the legacy of our land. They too should learn to live with the shortages they have provided us with! Often, the security needs of these men and women are trotted out as the reason for breaking building and other such rules. If that is truly the case, these people should be moved out into a specially fortified space, away from the citizenry. They can then be safe in their cocoon, in the womb of their security net.
The recent examples of both the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Red Fort in Delhi, leave one shocked and stunned by the proven deep involvement of two different governments in the scandals. It shows us that governments must not be involved where pride, culture and conservation have to be protected. The sarkar has failed us time and again. Private enterprise in this area has great successes ? the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, held in a private trust, is the best example of restoration and conservation in this sad country. Compare it to any ASI fort, even the most prestigious, none of them are a patch on Mehrangarh. Why? Simple. It is outside the purview of the babu, outside the net of corruption. It is in the hands of those who care.