There are several laws in India for the protection and promotion of cultural and historical heritage. There is one main Central law and separate laws for each state. Here is a Hindi list of the laws applicable for the conservation of cultural heritage and ancient monuments in all 28 states and 8 Union Territories:
Central Law
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 – This is applicable throughout the country and the entire responsibility for the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains that come under it lies with the Government of India. Any sites of any state that are protected under this law are not governed by the law of that state on this subject.
States
• Andhra Pradesh: The Andhra Pradesh Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1960 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Andhra Pradesh and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
• Arunachal Pradesh: The Arunachal Pradesh Heritage Act, 2015 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Assam: The Assam Ancient Monuments and Records Act, 1959 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Assam and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Assam.
• Bihar: The Bihar Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1976 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Bihar and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Bihar.
• Chhattisgarh: The Chhattisgarh Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2004 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Chhattisgarh and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Chhattisgarh.
• Goa: The Goa Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1978 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Goa and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Goa.
• Gujarat: The Gujarat Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1965 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Gujarat and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Gujarat.
• Haryana: The Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964. This law is applicable in Haryana. This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Haryana and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Haryana.
• Himachal Pradesh: The Himachal Pradesh Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1976 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Himachal Pradesh.
• Jharkhand: The Jharkhand Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2016 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Jharkhand and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Jharkhand.
• Karnataka: The Karnataka Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1961 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Karnataka and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Karnataka.
• Kerala: The Kerala Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1968 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Kerala and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Kerala.
• Madhya Pradesh: The Madhya Pradesh Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Madhya Pradesh and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Madhya Pradesh.
• Maharashtra: The Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1960 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Maharashtra and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Maharashtra.
• Manipur: The Manipur Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1976 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Manipur and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Manipur.
• Meghalaya: The Meghalaya Heritage Authority Act, 2012 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Meghalaya and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Meghalaya.
• Mizoram: The Mizoram Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2001 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Mizoram and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Mizoram.
• Nagaland: The Nagaland Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2021 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Nagaland and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Nagaland.
• Odisha: The Odisha Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1956 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Odisha and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Odisha.
• Punjab: The Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Punjab and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Punjab.
• Rajasthan: The Rajasthan Monuments, Archaeological Sites and Antiquities Act, 1961 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Rajasthan and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Rajasthan.
• Sikkim: The Sikkim Heritage Conservation and Preservation Act, 2011 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Sikkim and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Sikkim.
• Tamil Nadu: The Tamil Nadu Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1966 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Tamil Nadu and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Tamil Nadu.
• Telangana: The Telangana Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1960 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Telangana and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Telangana.
• Tripura: The Tripura Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1997 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Tripura and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Tripura.
• Uttar Pradesh: The Uttar Pradesh Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1956 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Uttar Pradesh and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
• Uttarakhand: The Uttarakhand Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2015 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Uttarakhand and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Uttarakhand.
• West Bengal: The West Bengal Heritage Commission Act, 2001 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of West Bengal and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Assam.
Union Territories
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry: The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 – These are all Union Territories. For all ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains in them, the Central Government’s law shall apply and the Central Government shall be responsible for all of them.
• Delhi: The Delhi Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2004 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of Delhi and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Delhi.
• Jammu and Kashmir: The Jammu and Kashmir Heritage Conservation and Preservation Act, 2010 – This applies only to the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the responsibility for them lies with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
Numerous rules and bye-laws have been framed under all these laws. This series of articles is being published on the website rinkutai.com solely for discussion on them. However, you must understand that to save your historical and religious heritage you will have to make efforts yourself; only then will our heritage be saved. Relying on the government alone, Hindu historical and religious heritage cannot be saved. Why this is so is what you will come to know from this series of articles. Therefore, bookmark this website to read this series of articles and read only one article every day, and share this website so that other people also become participants in this journey.