Who is known as the Father of Indian Archaeology?

Sir Alexander Cunningham is recognised as the Father of Indian Archaeology. He studies India's ancient sites, deciphering Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts, and brought the lost Buddhist heritage of India back to the world. He established the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1861, which became a statutory body after independence under the ministry of culture. 

Sir, Alexander Cunningham significantly transformed Indian archaeology from a hobby of curious travellers into a scientific discipline which contributed to our modern understanding of the Indian subcontinent’s vast and complex history. 

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Who was Sir Alexander Cunningham? 

Alexander Cunningham arrived in India in 1833 and joined the second lieutenant in the British Bengal Engineers, but his personal interest was in numismatics (the study of coins) and ancient geography. He started his journey with James Prinsep, a British numismatist and Indian scholar who deciphered the Brahmi script and his major discoveries and contributions are 

• His work was characterised by a systematic approach and used the travelogues of ancient Chinese pilgrims like Faxian and Xuanzang as maps to locate forgotten Buddhist sites.

• In 1837 Cunningham excavated at Sarnath, outside of Varanasi, one of the sacred Buddhist shrines. 

• In 1850 he excavated Sanchi Stupa, one of the oldest surviving Buddhist stupas.

• He published his book ‘The Bhilsa Topes’ (1854) to trace the Buddhist history, based on the study of temple architecture of Kashmir (1848) and Ladakh (1854). 

• In 1861 he became the first director general of the Archaeological Survey of India (1861-1865 and 1870-1885) and provided a formal structure for India's cultural heritage.

• His famous work is The Ancient Geography Of India (1871), which is based on the Ashokan edicts of the 3rd century BC and The Stupa of Bharhut (1879). 

• He gathered a large collection of Indian coins which were purchased by the British Museum.

• He was also the first person to visit the Indus Valley Civilisation and report on Harappa in the 1870s. He collected a soapstone seal featuring a bull and an unknown script. 

• Cunningham's study of ancient Indian inscriptions and coins provided the chronological framework, rulers and socio-cultural history of India. 

Source: Britannica 

Sir Alexander Cunningham wrote the numerous reports which tell about the ancient Indian sites, and they remain primary source material for historians. His dedication to numismatics (the study of coins) and ancient geography led to the foundation of the Archaeological Survey of India, which became the permanent institution for the preservation and study of India's rich cultural heritage. However, many modern historians argued his methods were more ‘survey-based’ than the stratigraphic excavation used today.

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