India could soon have a special force to protect its 'cultural assets'

The force will cater to the "task of providing security to cultural assets of a specialized nature".
India could soon have a special force to protect its 'cultural assets'
India could soon have a special force to protect its 'cultural assets'
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A committee under the culture ministry has proposed the formation of a special force, to protect monuments and government art installations, reported The Times of India.

According to recommendations of the committee, the force which will be called Bharatiya Sanskriti Raksha Bal will have a 6,988 strong staff to guard all monuments, museums and art installaions under the culture ministry.

The special force has to be created by an act of Parliament.

The committee, which was formed under the UPA government but recast last year, said that the force would cater to the "task of providing security to cultural assets of a specialized nature".

"Security norms shall have to be adopted based on requirements of a particular museum as each museum poses different security needs due to various factors like location, number of collections, size of the museum, threat perception and past history of security breach," the report quotes the committee as saying.

A ToI source added that at present security to such monuments is provided by several agencies including the state police, central security forces and even private security agencies.

An officer of IG (inspector general) rank will head the Bharatiya Sanskriti Raksha Bal, but the administrative and functional control of the force will lie with the culture ministry.

Expected to be created over the next five years, the force will consist of 6,000 constables, two deputy IGs, nine senior commandants, 16 commandants, 30 deputy commandants, 30 assistant commandants, 60 inspectors, 120 sub-inspectors, 240 assistant sub-inspectors and 480 head constables, adds the report.

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