20 Sep Reinstallation of Bamiyan Culture : A hope for Cultural Heritage (GS-1, Culture)
Context– After the establishment of new regime in Afghanistan , Cultural Heritage lovers are curious to see the policy adopted by new form of Taliwani government to protect ancient culture of Afghanistan
Philippe Delanghe, from UNESCO, the UN’s cultural agency, issued statement and hoped that new Taliwani government would reinstall the ancient bamiyan Culture
Ancient Bamiyan Culture
Bamyan is an archaeological site of Afghanistan . It is the Capital of Bamyan province in Central Afghanistan . This place emerged as the cultural centre during the 6th century in Afghanistan . Many Buddha sculptures and idols have been recovered from this site .
Fundamentalist Islamic group Taliban had destroyed Buddha’s statue during its regime during the decade of 2000 . All these images of Buddha were related to the gandhara art of school .
As per the ideology of Taiwan, everybody is suspicious that they would destroy everything which is against Islam . therefore international agencies are little worry about this
However, the new Taliwani government is saying that his policies and nature have changed completely . Kabul museum director Mohammad Fahim Rahimi told the New York Times last month the Taliban had promised their protection.. In fact the Taliban govt would never want to lose ite international funding in the name of protection of cultural heritage. At least, openly, it is less likely that Taliban would destroy this culture again. In contrast, the Taliban is showing its interest to protect this ancient culture .
Those Afghans who were working to protect cultural heritage or who were art lovers had to flee from Afghanistan because of the fear of the Taliban . Those afghans are too scared nowadays. Those who do have warned that the Taliban promises of protection are empty rhetoric to win international support.
“As illiterate extremists, they are proud to destroy non-Muslim monuments,” said Mustafa, a former UNESCO employee at Bamiyan, now a refugee in Germany.
Features of the Bamiyan Culture of 6 to 12th century
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Rock cut buddha structure
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One of the largest Buddha structures of the world
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Silk route was also related to Bamiyan culture . The Silk Route was the symbol of the prosperity of the ancient period . It connected from East to west and carried wealth and ideas
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images were carved into niches of the cliff side in high relief.
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The area near the heads of both Buddha figures and the area around the larger Buddha’s feet were carved in the ground, allowing worshippers to circumambulate.
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Heaven deities were described by Xuanzang who travelled Bamiyan during 643 AD
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Images were covered with various hues so that these images could be appeared like made of metal
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In some images of Budha, his face is covered with mask made of wood
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Closely related with Indian culture
To protect the cultural heritage in Afghanistan , huge international pressure on the new government should be built. Culture is the symbol of Humanity , it shows the identity of humans. On behalf of religious orthodoxy , it should not be destroyed . Indian and pakistan should also come forward in this regard and with the support of UNESCO, both countries should create pressure on Taliwan to protect Bamiyan cultural Heritage
Plutus IAS Daily Current Affairs 20th September 2021
Plutus IAS Current Affair Team Member
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