Govt must implement strict laws to save heritage sites: Deccan College archaeology dept

The head of the department of archaeology of the Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, (DCPGRI), Bhaskar Deotare, has been with the department for the last 34 years.

As a student, Deotare did his masters in archaeology and doctorate in environmental archaeology from the same department he is heading now. Excerpts from an interview with Rajesh Rao:

As a premier centre for teaching and research in archaeology, how different is your department’s approach to the subject as compared to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)?
The ASI has a different purpose, they are basically into conservation and preservation of archaeological and heritage sites in India. We do lend our expertise to the ASI whenever they require. We approach archaeology from a multidisciplinary perspective of ancient Indian history, culture, archaeology and related branches of cultural and biological anthropology, geoarchaeology, paleontology, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, archaeological chemistry and computer science.

Our department is the premier centre in India and South Asia, for teaching and research in archaeology. We also get students from countries like Iran, South Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

What is the unique feature of the department of archaeology in Pune that no other university in India has?
The uniqueness is that ours is the only department of archaeology in the entire country, which has elaborate laboratories under one roof, for archaeological chemistry, palynology, archaeozoology, archaeobotany, biological anthropology, sedimentology, paleontology, physical chemistry, X-ray diffraction and computing.

The archaeological remains we recover in the course of various excavations are scientifically analysed by our experts in our labs.

We also extend our lab services to the ASI, state departments of archaeology and other university departments in the country.

Our computer centre for archaeology (CCA) is involved in archaeological computing research on database of archaeological sites, faunal and artefact analysis, remote sensing and geographic information system mapping and image processing.

Has the interest in the subject increased over the years? What are the career prospects for freshers in the field?
Due to TV channels like National Geographic, Fox History, Discovery and other tourism-related channels, people are aware of the role and importance of archaeologists. A decade ago, hardly 20 students enrolled for MA in archaeology, but today all 40 seats are taken up. Since the last few years, we have also been getting professionals like architects and engineers who are interested in our course to specialise in arts and architecture, dealing with the study of ancient Indian buildings and temple plans.

Archaeology students can take up jobs with the ASI, state archaeological departments, university departments, tourism sector, museums and research works.

What is needed to protect our heritage structures and archaeological sites?
Our country is so rich in heritage structures and archaeological sites that the government is incapable of protecting or preserving them. Many of our heritage and archaeological sites are rapidly getting destroyed and lost forever, mostly due to lack of awareness among our people.

Our government must have a strict law that no private or public
digging work can be allowed without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from archaeologists. For that, the government must appoint archaeologists at district level and at every
archaeological site.