From the prehistoric Stone Age cave paintings at Bhimbetka, to the murals and rock-cut sculptures in the Ajanta and Ellora caves, Indian rock art is believed to contain some of the earliest recorded history of mankind, apart from being masterpieces of creativity in their own right. Despite the crowds of tourists who stream past these structures, however, there is not much knowledge available in India by way of interpretive treatment of prehistoric art.
The Union Culture Ministry aims to change that, with efforts to promote the study of these rock paintings and engravings as a separate discipline. Among the initiatives being implemented are a first-of-its-kind rock art centre at Nagpur, a rock art heritage park in Leh, a permanent gallery at the Mahant Ghasidas Memorial State Museum in Raipur, and a certificate course at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) in Delhi, which will also help to develop academic course content on the subject, to be used at universities across India. The IGNCA is also signing MoUs with State departments of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as well as universities, to explore research in the subject.
The term “rock art” refers to symbols or marks with no obvious purpose that have been painted or engraved onto natural rock surfaces. Some of these paintings and engravings in India are over 20,000 years old.
