PM visit spotlights poor upkeep of INA memorial
From correspondents in Delhi, India, 10:00 PM IST
It took a surprise visit by the prime minister to highlight the poor upkeep
of the Indian National Army (INA) memorial that commemorates the deeds of those
who fought for the country's freedom under Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spent nearly half an hour in the fort complex,
opposite the crowded Chandni Chowk in the old city, visiting the rooms in which
INA detainees were kept as well as the museum where several photographs are
displayed.
'The prime minister expressed his concern at the poor upkeep of the museum
and premises,' a Prime Minister's Office (PMO) statement said Tuesday.
At the entrance to the memorial, the words 'Swatantrata Sainani Smarak'
(freedom fighters' memorial) are embossed on a plaque.
Blog on Netaji : http://justiceforsubhas.blogspot.com
Inside, items and weapons used by the INA in its fight against the British
are displayed. It includes INA uniforms of Col. Prem Kumar, riding boots and
coat buttons of Col. Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon and photographs of Netaji.
In one of the galleries, material and photographs of excavations carried out
by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) inside the fort in 1995 are also
exhibited.
The prime minister was concerned over the poor maintenance of the memorial
and instructed the PMO to ask the concerned ministries to take necessary action.
This memorial was originally a guardroom constructed by the British army in
1916. During the historical INA trial in Red Fort many prisoners were detained
here.
Besides the prime minister, conservationists in the capital too expressed
their concern over the state of the memorial.
'We are really lagging behind in the conservation of our heritage sites. The
INA memorial is of immense historical value but we don't have special expertise
for its maintenance,' well known conservationist O.P. Jain told IANS.
'The Indian government is trying to do conservation work through either
bureaucrats or clerks. We need special hands for museum upkeep,' he added.
Said A.G.K Menon, leading town planner and convener of the Indian National
Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH): 'Its a hint at a wider malice.
The sorry state of INA (memorial) just raises a finger at our conservation
culture.
'We are simply not bothered about the maintenance of our cultural heritage
till the time the prime minister yells or a huge uproar is created by people
and the media.'
http://www.indiaenews.com/art-culture/20070710/60094.htm
Blog on Netaji : http://justiceforsubhas.blogspot.com
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