Friends,
Lately the world archaeological Congress channels are jammed with the issue that archaeologists must remain within their code of ethics, that governs the theory and practice of their discipline.
In my knowledge there is till date not a single publication in the indian context that addresses this issue in the context of theory and practice of archaeology in india.
i am myself, looking hither and thither, re ethics. what ethics? there is no bible of that sort around these places? was it ethical that lowly underpaid farmers are hired as excavation-hands in most of our excavations; equally lowly and underpaid field-guides are hired for field surveys in unknown areas and so on. Is all this ethical?
There are of course larger issues such as the varying and multifarious statements given by a diversity of archaeologists and historians over the Ayodhya and Ram Temple issue. Lately the Sethusamudram project has also elicited a variety of conflicting claims. where is the ethics of professional archaeology in all this?
do wee need a national register of archaeologists...and a code of ethics?
Ajay.
