Key Points
KK Muhammed criticised the BJP government for failing to prioritise heritage protection, saying conservation work and excavations stagnated during its 11-year tenure.
Citing examples like the Bateshwar temple complex and Purana Qila, he says critical restoration and excavation efforts slowed dramatically despite earlier progress.
Though his views on mandir-masjid disputes often align with the BJP, Muhammed’s sharp remarks triggered debate online, with many noting the contrast between his past positions and his present criticism.
Senior archeologist and former Regional Director of the Archaeological Survey of India, KK Muhammed, recently criticized the BJP government for neglecting cultural conservation and heritage sites since coming to power. “The period of BJP – for the last 11 years – it is the Dark Age of the Archeological Survey of India,” he said in an interview with India Today.
“We all expected a lot from the BJP government when it came to power,” he said. “So, we thought the protection would be more from the side of these people, and they would be taking a lot of interest in culture, but it was not like that.”
Muhammed is a renowned Indian archaeologist credited with discovering the Ibadat Khana and several Buddhist Stupas and monuments. He also undertook restoration of the Bateshwar temple complex in Madhya Pradesh, major temples in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, and several Delhi monuments.
“The conservation that should have taken place, that was not happening,” he continued. “For example, my own Bateshwar temple, where I had worked. Along with the Chambal dacoits there we have been able to reconstruct near about 90 temples. But during the BJP's 11 years, only 10 temples were reconstructed, and that too after trying a lot.”
He mentioned other sites – like the Purana Qila in Delhi – where excavations should have continued over the past few years but never did. When asked why the government had not undertaken such excavations, he replied, “I don’t know.”
Perhaps, he continued, it was because nobody could criticise them on the point of culture. “They claim that they are the real owners of the culture, but that is not so,” he said.
Muhammed's comments quickly made ripples across social media, with users saying that a former ‘fan’ of the BJP had turned against them.
Muhammed was the sole Muslim member of the team that excavated the Babri Masjid in 1976. He claimed to have found relics of a Hindu temple at the site. His allegation never made it to the final report submitted to the Supreme Court, which simply mentioned non-Islamic structures. Later, in 2016, he published an autobiography in which he claimed that an alliance of Marxist historians and Muslim extremists had sidelined his conjecture. The claim was never proven.
In the same interview, he repeated points of how the Babri report was submitted under pressure from a renowned Marxist historian. He further opined on other prominent mandir-masjid disputes.
“Muslims should willingly hand over these three places,” he said, talking about the Babri, Mathura and Gyanvapi sites. “Other than these three, there should be no demand that should be coming from the Hindu community.” He argued that three sites in question were of significant importance to Hindus, but any further claims would only provoke further tensions.
Muhammed has no direct connection with the BJP, his opinions on the mandir-masjid issues align with the party’s stance. He has also previously said, amongst other comments, that Muslims should be 'appreciative' for having been given a separate country, that Muslims cannot be secular, and that a 'perfect' Muslim should revere Krishna and Ram. [Rh]
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