‘Irreversible destruction of heritage in India’

Kolkata, Jan 31 (IANS) India’s growth has come with irreversible destruction of archaeological heritage, Michael Danino, an Indian writer of French origin, said at the Kolkata Literary Meet Thursday.

“India is developing at a rapid pace. But at the same time, there has been an irreversible destruction of archaeological artefacts.

“So many important historical monuments are destroyed and obliterated as more and more space is needed to put up residential buildings,” said the author, known for translating works of spiritual masters Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.

Some of Danino’s books are “The Lost River: On the Trail of Saraswati” (2010) and “Indian Culture and India’s Future” (2011).

Danino said history teaching in India was “textbook dependent”.

“History teaching is too much textbook dependent. And there is a problem with the textbooks as many of them are sub-standard and give out wrong information many times,” he said.

Teachers should start with local geographical history, he said.

“To get students interested, start with local geography. Find out what happened there, why and when. This is a good technique to draw in students.”

Born in France in 1956, Danino has been living in India since 1977.

IANS 2013-01-31 16:20:02