Article 49 — Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance

It shall be the obligation of the State to protect every monument or place or object of artistic or historic interest, declared by or under law made by Parliament to be of national importance, from spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal or export, as the case may be.

Source: Constitution of India, as published by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The article is the constitutional basis for the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958, which defines 'protected monuments' and places them under the Archaeological Survey of India. Post-independence India inherited a rich but under-protected archaeological patrimony, and the new government needed constitutional authority for a robust national heritage protection framework. The article builds on earlier colonial-era legislation (the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904) but gives it constitutional standing. The concern about 'export' reflected the then-active trade in antiquities and artefacts smuggled out of India to European and American collectors.

• Article 51A

Last reviewed: 3 July 2026