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Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007
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Will it only be talk as usual?

R. Krishna Kumar

World Heritage Week celebrations high on concepts, low on content

— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

IN NEGLECT: Tipu Sultan’s missile launching pad in Srirangapatna.

MYSORE: “I will not scribble on, deface or encroach upon any monument; I will respect all monuments, which are a part of my country’s heritage; I will render all possible help to conserve and preserve our heritage.” This is the draft of the oath to be administered to the students to mark World Heritage Week as enunciated by the Union Ministry of Culture.

However, like the Wildlife Week celebrated by the Forests Department, which is only symbolic given the fate of wild animals that are tottering on the brink of extinction, the World Heritage Week celebrated in the country from November 19 to November 25 every year risks being high on concepts and low on content.

And, looking at the time taken by the Government to save the monuments, the fate of Tipu Sultan’s rocket launching pad at Srirangapatna is a case in point, it is the authorities who need to take an oath.

On the directions of the then President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a senior scientist from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) visited Srirangapatna during July 2006 and studied the war weaponry of Tipu Sultan.

The distinguished scientist, A. Sivathanu Pillai, like Dr. Kalam, was involved in the development of rockets. He was associated with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the DRDO and the two not only played a key role in the development of missiles and launch vehicles but shared an admiration for the rockets and the technology developed by Tipu Sultan in the 1790s.

Egged on by Dr. Kalam, Dr. Pillai visited the ancient temple town which is reckoned to be the birth place of modern rocket technology but left stunned at the dilapidated condition of the monuments associated with rocket weaponry and ignorance about its significance. Dr. Pillai then submitted a report to Dr. Kalam noting the “sad state of the historically significant monuments commemorating the history of rocketry in India.”

He said, “…it was alarming to see the dilapidated condition of the leftover monuments that stand testimony to the greatness of Indian science and technology three centuries ago… No one has realised the significance of these monuments in Indian history.”

Suggestion

The report went on to suggest that the monuments related to war, rocket and ammunition storage which are now in Srirangapatna should come under the ambit of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and they should be properly maintained with historical evidences and displays.

Dr. Pillai noted that the rockets used by Tipu Sultan in the Srirangapatna war of 1792 helped defeat the British and many writers, including Frank H. Winter, W.R. Maxwell and Roddam Narasimha, have discussed these rockets in great detail. The British have also acknowledged the importance of these rockets in warfare and have displayed them in the Museum of Artillery at Woolrich in London.

It is acknowledged in the history of rocketry that the rockets used by Tipu Sultan were the first ever missiles used in modern warfare.

In view of the historical importance of these monuments and the interest evinced by the then President, the DRDO scientist wrote to the State Government in September 2006 underlining the importance of the monuments related toTipu Sultan’s rocket and missile launch pads that were used effectively against the British.

Under the instructions of Dr. Kalam, a request was made to the State Government to hand over the monuments to the ASI to help conserve and preserve the rocket launching pad.

The requisition letter urging action to hand over the land to ASI was made to the then Chief Secretary B.K. Das. It has been more than a year now but action is yet to be initiated.

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