ITANAGAR, 12 Jun: A team of the National Monuments Authority (NMA) will be visiting ancient monuments, especially those bordering the Tibet-China region in Arunachal Pradesh, from 14-18 June.
The team, comprising NMA Chairman Tarun Vijay, Prof Kailash Rao and Hemraj Kamdar, will meet local tribal leaders to find out places of indigenous faith which connect Arunachal with other parts of the nation through legends and verbal history.
“It goes to the credit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who initiated an annual yatra from Arunachal to Porbandar in Gujarat, strengthening the cultural threads woven around the legacy of Rukmani in a most thrilling and enlightening manner,” said Vijay.
He said that Arunachal has lagged behind in the areas of heritage protection and listing of new monuments in the centrally protected list of national archaeological sites. “The stream of the local indigenous faiths and their monuments, tangible and intangible heritage connecting them to the western most coast in Gujarat and other parts of India has remained relatively unnoticed and unrecognised,” he said.
The NMA team will meet village elders and leaders of various tribes. “Each of them has fascinating stories about dharma and cultural connect through ancient monuments with mainland India.
A report will be submitted to the minister of culture and the prime minister, suggesting new additions in the list of centrally protected monuments and identifying cultural tourism sites that strengthen national unity in the context of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav,” Vijay said.
Parshuram Kund, Bhishmaknagar, Bhalukpong and Tawang are a few indigenous sites of archaeological importance which connect Arunachal with Gujarat, Goa, Kerala and the Yadava community, he said. (PIB)
