NMMA documents 76889 antiquities of J&K

Jammu, Mar 25: In a significant step aimed at the digitisation of historical and religious sites and relics, National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) has documented 76889 antiquities of Jammu and Kashmir.

Antiquities are objects, art works or relics from the ancient past, including coins, sculptures and manuscripts.

NMMA has the mandate of preparing a database of the diverse Indian antiquities as defined in The Antiquities and Art Treasures (AAT) Act 1972, apart from facilitating convenient study to scholars, researchers. Archaeological Survey of India is the nodal agency of NMMA.

76889 antiquities of Jammu and Kashmir are among 17,20,139 antiquities which have been digitised across the country so far, since 2007.

As per the information shared by the Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, the Government of India established the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) in 2007 to prepare two national registers on the documentation and digitization of unprotected monuments (Built Heritage and Sites) and antiquities across the length and breadth of the country.

“So far, the NMMA has documented 1.84 lakhs Monuments (Built Heritage & Sites) and 17.20 lakhs antiquities. A part of the digitized data is available for public access in English language at the NMMA website: http://nmma.nic.in. The NMMA has established a uniform format for documentation of monuments and antiquities with 20 and 21 parameters for standardization and accuracy in documentation. All documentation work is carried out in accordance with these guidelines,” it was revealed.

NMMA regularly conducts workshops in various regions to raise awareness about documentation of monuments and antiquities, organises training programmes for universities, colleges, NGOs and other interested organisations, in coordination with field offices of Archaeological Survey of India, which is its (NMMA’s) nodal agency.

In a list of 19 States and UTs detailing about antiquities documented by National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities, J&K figures at the fifth spot only behind National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi which tops the list with 3,52,145 digitised antiquities followed by Haryana with 3,01,240 antiquities; Maharashtra with 1,63,482 antiquities and Rajasthan with 90,000 antiquities.

J&K is followed by Punjab with 70,708; Gujarat with 55,369; Uttar Pradesh with 39,560 antiquities; Madhya Pradesh with 19,902; Chandigarh with 19,659 and Andhra Pradesh with 16,404 antiquities.