Reluctance of BJP to Excavate Archaeological Sites
Former Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) regional director KK Muhammed has described the last eleven years under the BJP government as a “dark age” for the country’s premier heritage body.
“We all expected a lot from the BJP government when it came to power. So, we thought there would be… more protection from these people, and they would take a lot of interest in culture, but it was not like that,” he said. “We call it the dark age of the BJP period for the last 11 years. It is the dark age of the Archaeological Survey of India.” He went on with his grievances.
“For example, at my own Bateshwar temple site, where I had worked. Along with the Chambal dacoits, we were able to reconstruct nearly 90 temples. But during the BJP’s 11 years, only 10 temples were reconstructed, and that too after a lot of effort. I had to push hard for that. Otherwise, even that would not have happened.”
He also criticised the government for halting significant excavations across several sites, including Delhi’s Purana Qila. “The Purana Qila excavation should have continued. Dr. Vasant Kumar Swarnkar was excavating it. He has not gotten permission for that. That should have been done,” Muhammed said. “And similarly, excavations in various other places. It should have been taken up by the government, but they are not.”
He refuted the ruling party’s claim of being the “real owners of culture,” saying it has contributed to an atmosphere where oversight and criticism are weakened. “Because they claim that they are the real owners of the culture, but that is not so.”
This news clipping reminded me of an Urdu couplet. It’s from Ahmad Faraz’s famous ghazal Hangama Hai Kyon Barpa (not Ghalib’s; Ghani Khan has a similar line, but Faraz’s version was popularized by Ghulam Ali in the Hindi movie Safar). This is the interesting couplet. It is my favorite:
सूरज में लगे धब्बा, फितरत के करिश्मे हैं,
बुत हमको कहें काफिर अल्लाह की मर्जी है।
Irony
The irony in the Urdu couplet is sharp and layered. The idol (but) is calling the Muslim believer a kafir. The very one considered the kafir by Islam is now passing that judgment on the believer. The accused becomes the accuser. The one supposed to be lesser is now holding the power to label.
KK Muhammed is a Muslim archaeologist. He served India’s heritage body for decades. He did real, visible work. He rebuilt 90 temples in Chambal. And yet, under a government that claims to be the “real owners of culture,” excavations have stalled. Why so?
Method to Madness
There is a very simple reason for this policy of inaction. The BJP is already under the global microscope. Every move is watched. If excavation happens at Purana Qila or any other site, and Hindu identity emerges from the ground, the media will immediately call it a planted conspiracy. Media will become a bigger problem than the discovery itself. A genuine act of restoration will become suspicious.
Word has it that Purana Qila is the site of the Indraprastha civilization, with old Hindu structures underground. Why take a chance against that probability?
So the BJP is waiting. It is not because of a lack of care, but because of bad timing. Remember the pandemic, agitations, tariffs, and frequent Western tantrums. The world is already looking for reasons to label them. Why give one more?
Since the world media has already labeled the BJP as Hindu nationalists, the BJP is trapped by the label itself.