New Delhi, June 12: A team of the National Monuments Authority will visit ancient monuments, especially those bordering Tibet-China region of Arunachal Pradesh, to find out places of indigenous faith which connect the state with the rest of India.
The team will visit the state between June 14 and 18.
“The team will also meet local tribal leaders to find out places of indigenous faith which connect Arunachal Pradesh with other parts of the nation through legends and verbal history,” a statement from the Culture Ministry said on Sunday.
The full team of NMA will comprise two members — Hemraj Kamdarand and Professor Kailash Rao — in addition to its Chairman Tarun Vijay.
Vijay said that it goes to the credit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who initiated an annual yatra from Arunachal to Porbandar in Gujarat, strengthening the cultural threads woven around the legacy of Rukmini.
He said that Arunachal Pradesh has lagged behind in the area of heritage protection and enlisting of new monuments in centrally-protected list of national archaeological sites.
“The stream of the local indigenous faiths and their monuments, tangible and intangible heritage connecting them to the western most coast in Gujarat and other parts of India has remained relatively unnoticed and unrecognized.
“The team of NMA will meet village elders and leaders of various tribes, each of them have fascinating stories about Dharma and cultural connect through ancient monuments with mainland India,” the statement said.
A report will be submitted to Minister of Culture and the Prime Minister, suggesting new additions to the list of centrally-protected monuments and identifying cultural tourism sites that strengthen national unity in the context of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
Parushuram Kund, Bhishmaknagar, Bhalukpong and Tawang are some of the indigenous sites of archaeological importance which connect Arunachal Pradesh with Gujarat, Goa, Kerala and the Yadava community, Vijay said. (PTI)