Call to honour, not prosecute, Gandhara art ‘replicators’

Cultural expert says archeological remains of Gandhara civilization are under threat

With the ancient Gandhara civilization under threat from a host of sources, a cultural expert on Friday suggested that instead of prosecuting them, those creating replicas of Gandhara artefacts should be owned because they are a source of promoting knowledge about the Gandhara civilization.

This was stated by cultural expert Dr Kiran Shahid Siddiqui, at a scholarly ‘muzakra’ (discussion) session on "Gandhara - A Glorious Heritage of Pakistan” at the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage — Lok Virsa.

Dr Siddiqui, an assistant professor at Quaid-e-Azam University’s Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations (TIAC), highlighted the history and geography of ancient Gandhara region.

She spoke in detail about Gandhara art, its origin, rise and decline, subject matter of Gandhara art, importance of cultural centres of Gandhara art, various foreign influences on Gandhara art, spread of this art beyond Gandhara and continuity of artistic activities in modern times.

Dr Siddiqui stated that the archeological remains of the Gandhara civilization were under threat from encroachment of sites, lack of ownership by the public and the government, natural calamities and even security issues

A number of students of anthropology and archeology department of local universities participated in the Muzakra session. Student Hudda Javed said that she had attended the session because Gandhara art fascinates everyone who is in this field.

“We are trying to learn as much as we can since it is not an easy task,” Javed said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2019.