KARACHI, May 11: The federal government’s decision to wind up the Archaeological Department in Karachi and shift its antiquities, archaeological relics, books, scripts, and artefacts to Lahore, is an attempt to deprive Sindh of its cultural heritage. It is a flagrant violation of the universal norm of keeping, preserving and protecting people’s cultural heritage by themselves.

The history of the archaeological heritage of Sindh is as rich as that of any other country and it has seen many cross-currents over centuries.

There does not seem any plausible reason for the May 3 hasty decision and its immediate implementation, but the general argument presented is that since there is not much work left for the department to keep it at Karachi, it should wound up. Another reason given for the move is that the research works and antiquities lying at Karachi are not being looked after properly and will get a more “professional attention” at Lahore.

The Karachi Directorate of Archaeology is the oldest in Pakistan. Designed on the pattern of the Archaeological Survey of India (established in 1861), of which a circle also had been working till Independence, the Directorate of Archaeology of Pakistan was established immediately after Independence. Its circle offices were established at Rajshahi and Lahore, each headed by a superintendent. Paucity of funds, lack of trained staff and most of the research work in India, all these factors made the new directorate’s work difficult, but it was overcome when facilities became available. By 1949, Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s services were sought as adviser, who continued for two years.

As funds and experts became available, work began in all sections, that is, survey, excavation, research, epigraphy, etc. The excavations at Bhanbhor and 100 other sites were conducted with the assistance of various experts. Besides, technical and training facilities were extended to various universities of Pakistan to establish archaeological departments and undertake various projects, which have yielded commendable results acknowledged by world specialists.

Shifting of the Department of Archaeology and Museums and its cultural treasure to Lahore is not a new idea. In fact, it is the lure of more than 150,000 archaeological relics, artefacts, books and manuscripts which have been collected over decades. The shifting plan had been first conceived in the mid-1950s when One-Unit was imposed upon the people of Sindh and the other smaller provinces. It began with the shifting of almost all official correspondence and scripts which Sindh had maintained at the Sindh Commissioner’s Office from 1847 (the year of annexation of Sindh to Bombay Presidency) to 1936, (the year of its separation from the presidency).

Meanwhile, under the auspices of Unesco, preservation and renovation was undertaken in phases which gave eminence to Sindh. The 1975 international conference at Moenjodaro, convened by Z. A. Bhutto, was a booster to it. This gave a new lease of life to the Archaeological Department at Karachi, as a new authority for the conservation of Moenjodaro had been created with the assistance of international funds. This served as another pretext for the interested elements who continued to insist that there was not much work to be carried out by the Karachi Archaeological Department, and secondly, the antiquities needed more attention, which only Lahore could provide. According to them, this would also portray the cultural heritage on a national scale. The move was preempted many times, and despite political instability, other factors also forced the delay.

During the regime of Gen Zia-ul-Haq, a serious move was made, in 1984, to transfer all the pieces of heritage to Lahore. But by a decision of the International Council of Museums, Paris, in 1984, it became mandatory that all countries should make concrete efforts to preserve their heritage. This made a point for the conservationists in Pakistan that cultural relics be handed over to provinces to which they belong. This was not adhered to and the Archaeological Department continued to keep and manage the departments in the provinces.

The history of archaeology of Sindh does not extend to a few centuries. It goes back to the megalithic era. It has a vast number of archaeological sites in all parts. Only on the banks of the Indus River there are more than 300 sites, most of them unexplored, but whatever has come to the fore is of immense value and have been included by Unesco in the World Heritage. Their value cannot be weighed in money. Even our contemporary studies do not begin from the creation of Pakistan but go back to 1861 when an alien soldier, Gen Alexander Cunningham, launched the Archaeological Survey of India. He travelled across the whole of India, including Sindh, on horseback and recorded details of the travels of Heun Tswang. Later (1922-32) the findings of Banerjee and John Marshall surprised the world when the results were published in the Illustrated London News. To house the findings, the National Museum of Karachi had been established in 1910.

The Department of Archaeology at Karachi is the pioneer institution and the archaeological relics and cultural heritage it houses and conserves belong to the people of Sindh, which, instead of being uprooted from its original place, be enriched by retrieving the stolen ones scattered all over the world.