Experts have welcomed the Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions (Bharat SHRI) initiative announced in the Union Budget under which 1 lakh inscriptions will be digitised; but they have expressed dismay over the ‘’short shrift’’ over the years accorded to epigraphy branch and want it to be strengthened with creation of additional posts.
The Union Budget proposed the Bharat SHRI with digitization of 1 lakh inscriptions in the first stage. The Directorate of the Epigraphy branch of Archaeological Survey of India is in Mysuru and is responsible for Dravidian and Sanskrit languages though the Tamil inscriptions have been shifted to Chennai consequent to an order by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.
The epigraphy branch which functions under the Archaeological Survey of India is a repository of more than 1 lakh estampages of inscriptions discovered and published ever since the epigraphy office was established in 1886.
Scholars pointed out that the digitisation process was taken up last year but the issue got entangled in legal quagmire over allotment of the contract following which the work was stopped. The Bharat SHRI initiative announced in the budget will help expedite the process, sources added.
But a few retired scholars said the epigraphy branch was without a full-time director since quite some time and it underscores the apathy of the authorities. At present there are a handful of epigraphists – around 17 – spread across Mysuru, Chennai, Nagpur and Lucknow offices of the epigraphy branch and hence digitisation of nearly 1 lakh inscriptions would prove to be a challenge.
Besides, when the ASI was restructured last year, 758 posts were created after abolishing the existing 304 posts. But not only was the epigraphy branch sidelined the number of posts were also reduced including epigraphist for Sanskrit. A ‘’nation-wide’’ strike was launched by 31 epigraphists who were in service at that time to press for their demand but nothing emerged out of it. A former epigraphist said not a single new post was created to recruit epigraphists while scores of posts for horticultural assistants was created for landscaping.
The subject assumes significance as epigraphy and inscriptions constitute the kernel of historiography and there were threats of undiscovered inscriptions, that could contain valuable information about ancient times, getting destroyed due to unbridled urbanisation and development across the country. A group of scholars including numismatists like A.V. Narasimhamurthy had written to the PMO last year highlighting the importance of epigraphy without which all history would be reduced to fables and wanted the epigraphy branch to be strengthened. But so far there is no change at the departmental level, said the sources.
