‘State Archaeology Department must have trained epigraphists’

March 21, 2018 01:20 am | Updated 01:20 am IST - MYSURU

H.C. Mahadevappa, Minister for Public Works, distributing certificates to winners of various contests at the two-day workshop on inscriptions, in Mysuru on Tuesday.

H.C. Mahadevappa, Minister for Public Works, distributing certificates to winners of various contests at the two-day workshop on inscriptions, in Mysuru on Tuesday.

The former Director of the Epigraphy branch of the Archaeological Survey of India T.S. Ravishankar called for an exclusive epigraphy branch in the Department of Archaeology, Museum and Heritage.

Speaking on the sidelines of a workshop on the methods of studying epigraphy here on Tuesday, Mr. Ravishankar said while the ASI has a branch exclusively for epigraphy, most State Archaeology Departments in the country, including in Karnataka, do not have a dedicated branch, though epigraphic assistants are appointed.

In Karnataka, there are more than 25,000 epigraphs and inscriptions, of which the bulk were discovered, studied and copied but it was imperative for their proper conservation, estampaging (a mode of copying the inscriptions) and periodic publication to update the database.

Though the ASI has a separate wing, the State archaeology departments too should establish or rope in trained epigraphists for the purpose, said Mr. Ravishankar.

Earlier, PWD Minister H.C. Mahadevappa inaugurated the workshop and said epigraphy and inscriptions were the bedrock on which the edifice of history rested.

“Without a proper study and understanding of the inscriptions, history was incomplete; but today people want to write history without any evidence and are promoting lies,” he added in a veiled reference to attempts in some quarters to rewrite history.

“History, if falsified, would lead to chaos, and the society will be doomed,” said the Minister.

Prizes were also distributed to students who participated in various competitions that were organised by the Department of Archaeology, Museum and Heritage.

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