Current affairs 26th August 2025 By Right IAS
Fossil Discoveries in India Western India’s open coal mines contain some of the richest fossil beds. Work conditions: dusty, noisy, and physically demanding. In 2024, palaeontologist Sunil Bajpai (IIT Roorkee) discovered Vasuki indicus, a giant snake (~49 feet, 47 million years old). Fossils currently lack secure storage; risk of loss, theft, or vandalism.
Absence of Legal Safeguards India has no national law or fossil repository for systematic preservation. Draft plan for a National Fossil Repository exists but has not progressed. Concerns raised: fossils may vanish like other cultural artefacts. Global Context – Fossil Commercialisation Fossils increasingly appear in auctions, shops, and private collections. Example: Sotheby’s (New York, 2024) sold a near-complete stegosaurus fossil for $44.6 million (record). Fossils owned by wealthy individuals (e.g., Kenneth Griffin, Hollywood actors). Thomas Carr’s study (2024): 71 T. rex fossils in private hands vs. 61 in public institutions.
Heritage Concerns in India India’s fossil record: Early plants and dinosaurs. Whale ancestor (Indohyus). Ancient human skulls. Rich fossil history due to Gondwanaland separation (150 million years ago) and later Himalayan uplift. Historical precedent: Indian artefacts (e.g., Buddhist relics in 1898) lost to private hands; fossils face similar risk.
Unsung Custodians & Local Efforts Ranga Rao–Obergfell Trust (Dehradun): Large private fossil collection, including whale ancestors; remains unsorted and unstudied. Vishal Verma (Madhya Pradesh): Schoolteacher who collects fossils from riverbeds and hills; rescued dinosaur eggs, shells, ammonites, fossil wood.
Issues: theft of fossils (Mandav museum lost dinosaur eggs despite security). Rising Fossil Trade & Black-Market Fossils openly sold online, including dinosaur eggs. Increasingly treated as luxury collectibles and trophies. Lack of legal prohibition → possible smuggling of Indian fossils abroad. Present Risk Fossils often deteriorate (heat, rain, poor storage) or get stolen. Without laws and infrastructure, India risks losing irreplaceable heritage. Example: Vasuki indicus fossils still stored casually in IIT Roorkee, future uncertain.
