Revealing India's Past (A Co-operative Record of Archaeological Conservation and Exploration in India and Beyond)

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From the Jacket

The book comprising nine chapters discussing the history of archaeological activities in India conservation of monuments, archaeological explorations and excavations, epigraphical researches, museums, publications of the Archaeological Survey of India and departments of Archaeology of various Indian States and Burma and tourism, have been contributed by the renowned scholars in the field. The account relating to the period between 1862 to 1938 has been so meticulously arranged and explained that the reader will find with great ease any information which he may require on any point of theory or practice of bibliography or topography, concerning the antiquities of India. Sir John Cumming the editor of the volume accomplished his task by preserving a unity of design while retaining the individual characteristics of twenty-two contributors-fourteen being Indian. The volume thus is indispensable for any one who intends to known what in fact had been done in the area of Indian Archaeology between 1882 to 1938, after it was realized that the rich archaeological heritage of India needs systematic and serious treatment.

Preface

The world of Western Culture is generally acquainted with the Schools of Archaeology in the Near and Middle East; in Rome, in Athens, in Egypt, Palestine and Iraq; but the work of the Archaeological Survey Department in India, Though it covers a wide extent of time and area, is perhaps not so well known. The Council of the India Society of London has felt for some time that sufficient attention has not been accorded in this country to archaeological achievement in India, and so requested the present Editor, a member of the Society, to place this achievement on record amongst the Society's publications, by enlisting the services of several past and present officers of the Department. The names and credentials of all the contributors are given in the Table of contents. It is only by a division of labour amongst scholars that a subject with so wide a range can be explored. Although Ceylon is geographically adjacent to India and has its own monuments and relics of Buddhism, and although Afghanistan is likewise adjacent with its evidence of Hellenic civilization similar to that found in the Frontier Province of India, yet, as the work in these two places has never fallen within the sphere of the Indian Archaeological Survey, these areas have been omitted from the purview of the present work. In Ceylon the government has under its own Department executed excellent conservation work, and in Afghanistan valuable exploration has been effected by eminent French archaeologists. Descriptions of recent archaeological work in Ceylon by A. H. Longhurst and of the French Mission in Afghanistan by Joseph Hackin will be found in the India Society's Indian Art and Letters, Vol. XII, No. I, for 1938. A more recent expedition to Swat and Afghanistan was described by Evert Barger, of the University of Bristol, in the Journal of the Royal society of Arts, 9th December, 1938. On the other hand, Chinese Turkistan, the North-West Frontier, Indian Tibet and Burma (separated from the Indian Empire in 1937) have been included, inasmuch as the Indian Archaeological Department has penetrated these areas; so also have been included the leading Indian States which under the influence of the Indian Department have inaugurated Archaeological Departments of their own.

The Editor has endeavoured to preserve a unity of design, while retaining as far as possible the individual characteristics of the contributors. The successful completion of the project of the India Society is due to the special co-operation of the twenty-two contributors-fourteen being Indian-who have so generously given their time and the essence of their experiences; for all the work in connection with the writing of this volume has been honorary. To each and all of the contributors the Council of the India Society and the Editor desire to offer their most cordial thanks. The editor wishes also to acknowledge gratefully the kind help of those who have aided him in many ways: The Archaeological Survey of India; the Archaeological Departments of the Indian States of Hyderabad, Mysore, Baroda, Kashmir, Gwalior, Travancore, Jaipur, and Bhopal; F. J. Batchelor, Royal Geographical Society; L. D. Barnett, C. B., Litt.D., formerly of the Oriental Department, British Museum; Lieut.-Colonel E. V. Binney, D. S. O., Secretary, Institution of Royal Engineers; J. F. Balkiston, formerly Director-General of Archaeology in India; Sir Frank Brown, C. I. E., Hon. Treasurer, India Society; Percy Brown, A. R. C. A., Calcutta; M. Jean Buhot, Paris; Miss Burgess, Edinburgh; J. A. Chapman, formerly Librarian, Imperial Library, Calcutta; J. Clague, C. I. E., Adviser Burma Office; K. de B. Codrington, Keeper, Indian Section, Victoria and Albert Museum; Rao Bahadur K. N. Dikshit, the present Director-General of archaeology in India; Sir William Foster, C. I. E.; M. B. Garde, Gwalior; John Grant, Edinburgh; H. Har-greaves, formerly Director-General of Archaeology in India; G. F. Harvey, I. C. S. Retd., Oxford; High Commissioner for India, London; A. R. Hinks, C. B. E., F. R. S., Secretary, Royal Geographical Society; Pandit R. C. Kak, Srinagar; Dr. M. H. Krishna, Mysore; J. H. Lindsay, I. C. S. Retd.; Professor G. H. Luce, Rangoon University; Sir John Marshall, C. I. E., D. Litt., F. B. A., formerly Director-General of Archaeology in India; Lieut-Colonel Sir John Murray, K. C. V. O., D. S. O; President and Council, India Society, London; William T. Ottewill, O. B. E., Superintendent of Records, India Office; R. V. Poduval, Trivandrum; Lady Ravensdale; H. G. Rawlinson, C. I. E., I. E. S. Retd.; F. J. P. Richter, Hon. Secretary, India Society; F. J. Richards, Hon. Lecturer on Indian Archaeology, School of Oriental and African Studies, London; Sir E. Denison Ross, C. I. E., D. Litt.; Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni, C. I. E., Jaipur; Dr. H. Sastri, Baroda; Dr. D. Saurat, of the French Institute, London; Sir Hugh Stephenson, G. C. I. E., K. C. S. I.; J. A. Stewart, C. I. E., M. C., LL. D., Reader in Burmese, London University; sir Theodore Tasker, C. I. E., C. I. E., O. B. E.; Professor f. W. Thomas, C. I. E., Ph. D., University of Oxford; Professor R. L. Turner, M. C., Litt. D., Director of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London; J. V. S. Wilkinson, I. C. S. Retd., Asst. Keeper, Oriental Dept., British Museum; r. A. Wilson, I. C. S. Retd.; P. R. T. Wright; G. Yazdani, O. B. E., Hyderabad; Sir Francis Younghusband, Chairman, India Society and Khan Bahadur Maulvi Zafar Hasan. There is a special obligation to Professor Alfred Foucher, Membre de I'Institut de France, Paris, for his kindness in reading the volume in proof and for his illuminating Foreword. The Editor is also greatly indebted to Mr. Bertram Billing, of Messrs. Billing and Son, Ltd., for the special interest which he has taken in the production; and to Mrs. Minorsky for her skilful assistance in the preparation of the Index.

In the spelling of names and places the style of the Imperial Gazetter of India (1909) has been generally adopted as the standard, but with a sparing use of diacritical marks; and the Atlas, volume xxvi of the same, as revised in 1931, with no diacritics, has been followed in the case of modern place-names. The use of vernacular names has also been avoided as far as possible, the English equivalents being given in the text. A glossary of certain vernacular terms, the use of which is unavoidable, it to be found at the end of the volume. The use of footnotes has been avoided; but subsidiary notes, corresponding to references in the text, have been placed at the end of certain chapters. The authorities regarding specific subjects or places will be found I Chapter VI on Publications; and cross-references have been made in the Index.

The illustrations, necessarily limited in number, are intended to give some slight indication of the many monuments rescued from neglect, misuse, ruin or oblivion. In the words of the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, in an address to the Central Legislature on 23rd September, 1937, 'the monuments of antiquity, eloquent witnesses of the historical and cultural achievements of this great country, constitute a heritage of incalculable value and significance which it must be our privilege to guard and hand down to posterity.' The names of those who have given permission for reproduction have been recorded in the List of Illustrations; and to them grateful thanks are due.

The Editor has to announce with deep regret that the author of Chapter III (a) on Prehistoric Civilization, Mr. N. G. Majumdar was killed in November last while on special exploration duty on the Sind frontier. His death is a grievous blow to Indian archaeology.