In Telugu states, precious Buddhist archaeological sites are in shambles

Many Buddhist archaeological sites are on verge of disappearance in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Since they are not popular as tourist spots and are mostly unknown locally, the relative isolation makes them easy prey to treasure hunters, mining operations and predatory land sharks.

The collusion between authorities and vested interests, coupled with the growing demand for land in these states, is posing serious threat to the Buddhist heritage sites even though they are protected by the government records.

One such pathetic condition of a precious heritage site is brought to light by Reddy Ratnakar Reddy, an amateur historian and archaeologist, who is credited with unearthing dozens of prehistoric and historic sites in Telangana. Reddy recently visited the Gajulabanda Buddhist site. To his dismay, he found that the valuable site was in shambles.

Reddy urged the state government to take steps to protect the Gajulabanda Buddhist site immediately. The site, located near Eturu village in Suryapet district and 150 km from state capital Hyderabad, had flourished during the reign of Satavahana and Ikshvaku kings.

Neglect, vandalism threaten sites

“The site was developed in two phases in Satavahana and Ikshvaku periods between 1 BCE and 3 CE. While during the Satavahana period it was a small structure, Ikshvakus extended the site and constructed a cart-wheel-like structure with 16 spokes around a central pot. Besides, Dharma Chakra — limestone sculptures with vines and flowers on them — was found near the site. The excavations, carried out by PR Murthy of the state Archaeology department in 1970-71, had exposed the existence of a monastery with 17 rooms. Also found were many cultural artefacts that date back to the two kingdoms,” Reddy told The Federal.

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According to Reddy, a lecturer at a B.Ed College, the site reflects our utter disregard towards historical and heritage structures. “The vandals have removed the board erected by the archaeology department at the monument since there has been no attempt to conserve it in any form. Deleterious plant growth colonized the brick structure, rendering it unrecognizable. At the centre of the structure, treasure hunters dug a pit. Stones and bricks that were removed from the structure are thrown nearby. If ignored, the Buddhist site will disappear like the one at Trimulgherry in the same locality very soon,” Reddy said.

A similar or more serious fate awaits many important Buddhist sites in Andhra Pradesh as well. Buddhism in both states is said to have flourished during the same age. The beautiful Thotlakonda Buddhist site near Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) faces a grave threat and it has become a cause of concern among heritage activists.

The site was first discovered by the Indian Navy during aerial surveys. The Thotlakonda site, which dates back to the third century BCE, was notified as a protected heritage site by a Government Order (GO, Rt No 627) on May 2, 1978. Subsequent excavations carried out by the state Archaeology department between 1988 and 1992 revealed a monastery with roughly 50 cells, a Mahastupa, numerous smaller stupas, and several chaityas. The entire facility was organized around a central, pillared hall. Among the more important finds were ceramic, gold, and silver relic caskets in the cardinal points of the Mahastupa. The contents of these caskets included a variety of beads. In a casket, ashes and fragments of bones were found.

Land around Thotlakonda Buddhist site denotified

The protected areas stretched over more than 3,000 acres. Now, the land-starved state government has reduced the area to just 120 acres by denotifying the land around the Thotlakonda Buddhist site. A GO (Rt No. 131, Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture (YAT&C) department, dated July 31, 2021) to this effect was issued in 2021 and was kept confidential.

EAS Sarma, noted activist and former secretary, Government of India, warns that any construction activity in the denotified land is a threat to Buddhist sites. Sarma, a strong voice for conservation of coastal ecology, heritage sites and livelihood rights of the poor, took strong objection to the way the GO had been issued and the sacred Thotlakonda Buddhist Archaeological site had been surreptitiously and fraudulently denotified.

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He said the decision of the government would obliterate the important evidence of about 150 Buddhist sites identified by US researcher Lars Fogelin and the state department of Archaeology with laborious work.

“Fogelin, during his doctoral research, conducted surface investigation of the Thotlakonda area, with prior permission from the Archaeology department, around 2000-02. He found more than 150 Buddhist and other archaeological features all around Thotlakonda Hill. The Archaeology department is fully aware of this. They are in possession of the artefacts found by Fogelin that he had formally handed over to the department,” Sarma said, stating how the GO would permanently destroy the evidence of Buddhist activities two millennia ago.

The YAT&C had ignored the objections submitted against the proposed denotification of the land by intellectuals of Vizag, including Sarma. Criticising the non-transparent way the government had adopted to denotify the land, Sarma wondered how the GO (Rt No. 131 (YAT&C) dated July 31, 2021) remains confidential till date and has not been made available to the public. He alleged that the AP government was adopting the policies to prefer the real estate activity at the cost of conserving the sites such as Thotlakonda-Bavikonda stretch that deserve to be proposed for recognition as world heritage sites.

Sarma wrote a letter on December 13, 2022 to Jawahar Reddy, chief secretary of the state, to make the GO available in public domain. “That the YAT&C department should rush into such an ugly display of open collusion with the real estate developers, without consulting the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) betrays the questionable motives driving the denotification,” he wrote in the letter.

The mining bids at Kodavali Buddhist site

Last year, yet another well-preserved Buddhist site, Kodavali, had a miraculous escape from the onslaught of mining activity, following a court intervention. Thanks to the efforts of activist PS Ajay Kumar, local Buddhists, and the timely intervention of the ASI, the permission given for mining activities triggered a controversy that forced the activists to file a petition in the High Court.

The 2,000-year-old-Kodavali Buddhist site, located on the hilltop, consists of a Mahastupa with Pradakshina Path (circumambulation passage) around it. Nine votive stupas were also built surrounding the Mahastupa. The remains of a huge vihara (monastery) were also found by the ASI. Similarly, traces of about 13 monastic cells were also found in an area of 40 metres. The ASI also recorded the fragments of stone caskets, chhatri, redware bowls, vases, and carinated handi. A flight of steps was also laid to reach the hilltop.

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Following the commotion, MVVSN Murthy, ASI Conservation Assistant at Kakinada, dashed off a letter to the Mandal Revenue Officer (tehsildar) asking him to revoke the NOC given to the mining department. The area proposed for the mining is just 357 metres from the ASI-protected Kodavali Buddhist site, Murthy said in the letter. According to PS Ajay Kumar, the site was first spotted by Historian Robert Sewell and archaeologist Alexander Rea in the 1880s. A first-of-its-kind Buddhist rock edict in Brahmi script was also found at Kodavali.

Local Buddhist scholar Pilli Rambabu said that Kodavali stands testimony to Buddhism that once flourished in the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh and this needs to be preserved at any cost. “The mining activities are bound to damage precarious structures at the site. We urge the authorities that they should desist from issuing permits to any mining activity near the site,” Rambabu said.

The Kodavli inscription, according to Rambabu, was deciphered by epigraphists Sten Konow and H Krishna Sastri and it has a reference to a local King called Chandasati, who offered gifts to the monastery and constructed wells for the monks. Though mining activity could not be commenced as the issue reached court, Ajay and Rambabu said that the site is still not out of danger as the NOC has not been withdrawn yet.