Desecration of monuments should not be tolerated

The police collect ash to conduct a forensic analysis

The video of a memorial stone at the historic Vasai Fort being damaged by a youth has gone viral, eliciting outrage and calls for action against him, according to a report in this paper. The youth appears to have carved a letter on the stone which he is seen setting afire with a song playing in the background.

The Vasai Fort was christened the Fort of St Sebastian during the Portuguese era and is a monument of national importance protected by the Archaeological Survey of India). It has memorial stones in the name of soldiers, created in 1680 by the Portuguese. There were around 250 fallen soldier's symbolic memorial stones in the fort but only 150 are visible today while others are damaged and destroyed, claim archaeologists.

An expert stated that the stones were damaged because of the weather. Many visitors play cricket here and people walk on these memorials. There is no washroom in the vicinity so people relieve themselves in the precinct. Many people dig up these memorial stones to check if there are valuables inside. We need to go beyond this immediate outrage, and those responsible for securing this fort must do so in a quick manner.

Signage with fines for desecration and vandalism will surely be a deterrent to those who are using the fort premises to play cricket, walk on stones and use the precinct as a toilet. If restrooms are needed, the municipal authorities should see if they can construct some a short distance away from the fort.

Most of our historical monuments and structures are targets of misuse and downright abuse. We should be ashamed of touting our rich culture and history, while this behaviour continues to shame us. We do not need additional security guards; we need good sense, discipline, conscience and respect, which has to come from within.