Rebel grip on rock art

Ancient sites in Chhattisgarh in Maoist control: ASI

Lucknow, Nov. 29: Sambhunath Yadav was mistaken for a cop when he visited Kanker in Chhattisgarh’s Maoist-infested Bastar three months ago to explore rock art believed to be over 6,000 years old.

“You look more like an army jawan,” the tall, sturdy archaeologist recalled a rebel as having told him when the 38-year-old went there with two colleagues from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The trio gave their identities but the Maoists didn’t seem convinced. The team from the ASI’s office in Raipur was under watch for the two weeks they spent there.

“I had to live in a camp. Our work was affected by frequent visits of rebel cadres. We completed one site and wanted to move on to more but could not as the Naxalites refused us permission,” Yadav said today on the sidelines of a seminar here on rock art.

The team’s experience this August puts the spotlight on a less evident problem posed by Maoists — threat to historical research.

Yadav explained what was at stake. “Many of these rock art specimens in Bastar may remain out of bounds for this generation.”...

telegraphindia.com