Protection of Monuments and Historic Heritage
Official heading: “Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part IV, Article 49, printed page 24
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1. In One Sentence
Article 49 imposes an obligation on the State to protect monuments, places, and objects of artistic or historic interest declared by Parliament to be of national importance from destruction, disfigurement, or export.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 49 makes the preservation of India's historic and cultural heritage a constitutional obligation of the State.
It covers every monument, place, or object of artistic or historic interest declared of national importance by or under a law made by Parliament.
The State must protect these cultural treasures from spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal, or illegal export, providing the constitutional mandate for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
The Archaeological Survey of India designates a heritage temple or medieval fort as a protected monument of national importance and bans unauthorized construction within 100 meters.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 49 mandates state preservation of nationally significant monuments and artifacts.
- Applies to artistic or historic monuments and objects declared of national importance by parliamentary law.
- Prohibits spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal, or export.
- Complemented by the citizen duty to preserve composite culture under Article 51A(f).
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part IV, Article 49, printed page 24 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.