Veteran archaeologist calls past 11 years darkest for India’s ASI

Padma Shri awardee and former Archaeological Survey of India director K K Muhammed has described the last 11 years as the “dark age” for the ASI, citing stalled restorations, withheld permissions and an uneven national focus on heritage work. Muhammed made the remarks in a recent interview and public appearances, where he contrasted recent experience with earlier periods of more routine operational support for conservation and reconstruction.

The archaeologist singled out long-running projects that he said have been left incomplete despite earlier momentum. Muhammed highlighted the Bhateshwar (Bateshwar) temple complex project as an example, saying that only 10 out of nearly 90 temples of historical importance have been rebuilt despite prior successes in that restoration work.

Frustrations with permissions, project pacing

Muhammed named delays in permissions and uneven administrative responses as a cause of frustration for professionals and field teams. He said that projects such as Purana Qila in Delhi and the Harappan site of Dholavira had been affected by bureaucratic pauses that hindered excavation timelines and conservation planning. The comment came against a backdrop of continuing activity at some sites, even as other planned work stalled.

Government data shows a sharp increase in the budget line for exploration and excavation, with an allocation of ₹15 crore for 2024–25, an amount substantially higher than a decade earlier and presented by officials as evidence of renewed funding for field archaeology. Despite the budget uplift, Muhammed said that the increased funds had not always translated into smoother project clearances or even geographic spread of activity.

The central government reports that the ASI has been undertaking excavations at 22 sites across the country in the current year, with new procedural frameworks being introduced to reduce delays. The ASI has also expanded dedicated excavation branches to supervise regional projects, while ministries and the institute work to complete project reports more promptly.

Sites cited, evidence of uneven focus

Purana Qila in Delhi has continued to be an active excavation site with artefacts spanning more than two millennia, yet Muhammed suggested that administrative friction had at times slowed the pace of research and museum-related plans. The annual report of the Ministry of Culture records coordinated work at Purana Qila and lists it among priority undertakings, even as observers point to procedural blockages at other locations.

Dholavira, the Harappan city in Gujarat, was flagged last year by central authorities for remedial attention after concerns were raised about site maintenance. Muhammed noted that while action was promised following scrutiny, some excavation permissions remained pending, affecting the continuity of scientific work and the training of new field archaeologists.

Bateshwar in Madhya Pradesh remains a particular sore point for Muhammed. Work begun years ago on the ninth-century temple complex had made visible progress through painstaking reconstruction. Yet, the former ASI director said the momentum had been lost in recent years and that only a fraction of the temples had been reassembled despite previous achievements.

Institutional responses, reform attempts

The ASI has moved to firm up a framework aimed at preventing excavation delays and ensuring project accountability. New rules require timely filing of interim and final project reports, and institute managers have been instructed to adhere to stricter timelines for approvals and documentation. The aim is to reduce administrative bottlenecks and distribute excavation work more evenly across regions.

Budget figures show an increased allocation overall for the Ministry of Culture and a higher resource envelope for the ASI, which authorities say should facilitate more extensive conservation and research programmes. Critics, including Muhammed, argue that budget increases must be accompanied by decentralised decision-making and transparent, project-level monitoring to be effective.

Voices

Field archaeologists and conservation professionals interviewed in recent coverage described a mixed picture: active digs at flagship sites, coupled with delays in permissions and uneven staffing at regional offices. Some practitioners welcomed the budgetary increase and the ASI’s attempt to reform internal processes, while others said those measures would need stronger implementation to answer long-standing complaints.

Muhammed urged more visible political and administrative commitment to heritage beyond headline announcements, arguing that the state must protect both monuments and the scientific integrity of research. The archaeologist said that restoring institutional morale and ensuring timely approvals would be essential to prevent further erosion of heritage-management capacity.