The Archaeological Survey of India (Devanagiri: भारतीय पुरातत्व सर्वेक्षण, abbreviation: ASI) is a department of the Government of India, attached to the Ministry of Culture [1]. It is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country by various acts of the Indian Parliament[2]. According to its website, the ASI's function is to "explore, excavate, conserve, preserve and protect the monuments and sites of National & International Importance." The ASI has the mandate to regulate the export trade in antiquities and art treasures, to provide for the prevention of smuggling of, and fraudulent dealings in, antiquities, to provide for the compulsory acquisition of antiquities and art treasures for preservation in public places and to provide for certain other matters connected therewith or incidental or ancillary thereto [3]. Among various other activities, imparting training to the young professionals in the field of Archaeology is another function of the ASI [4]. The Archaeological Survey of India runs a premier institute in New Delhi for this purpose [5].
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The creation of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is the logical culmination of early archaeological initiatives in British India that included the establishment of The Asiatic Society by Sir William Jones on 15 January 1784 [6].
The ASI in its current form was founded in 1861 under British colonial administration by Sir Alexander Cunningham with the help of the then Viceroy Charles John Canning. At that time, its domain included the entire British India including Afghanistan and Burma [7]. In its early days, the Survey was engaged in major exploratory activities which resulted in the discovery of importantant archaeological sites like Sankisa, Sravasti, Bharhut, Kosambi [8]. Cunningham was instrumental in such findings and paved the way for newer studies in Historical Archaeology of India [9]. During the tenure of Cunningham (1867-68), A.C.L. Carlleyle of ASI discovered important rock paintings in the rock shelters of Suhagighat in the Rewa District, Madhya Pradesh [10]. He recognised that some paintings were prehistoric and had no precedance in Europe [10]. When Mortimer Wheeler became Director-General in 1944, the head-office of the Survey was located at the Railway Board building in Simla.
The ASI administers 3650 monuments and archaeological sites and remains [11] of national importance under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 ( No 24 of 1958)and Rule 1959 [3]. The important sites excavated recently include Harsha-ka-Tila at Thanesar in Haryana exposing a cultural sequence from the Kushan period to medieval periods.
   | World Heritage Site, All Tentative Sites, Here is an overview of all Tentative list, last updated June, 2006. - All Tentative Sites - World Heritage Site |
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