More than a century after Emperor Ashoka’s Minor Rock Edict on Chandan Sahid Hill in Bihar’s Rohtas district was declared a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) still does not have full possession of the site.
RTI replies accessed by India Today in March 2023 and August 2025 reveal that, despite being declared protected on December 1, 1917, the 2,281-year-old inscription remains under shared custody between the ASI and local Muslim custodians.
The ASI confirmed in its RTI response: “Ashoka’s inscription on the Chandan Sahid Hill, District Rohtas, was declared a protected monumentvide notification no. 1814 E, dated 01.12.1917.”
Yet, even today, the agency acknowledges that it is only a partial custodian, compelled to share authority.
The inscription, dating back to 257 BCE in Ashoka’s 13th regnal year, consists of eight lines in archaic Brahmi script, though a portion is damaged.
The ASI described it as a priceless record of India’s ancient past, noting that it “probably contains a date referring to the death of Buddha; but no convincing interpretation of it has yet been found.”
Religious appropriation of the site, however, predates official protection. The Bihar and Orissa District Gazetteer, Shahabad (1924) recorded that local Muslims revered the cave as “Chiragdan” or the “Lamp of Saint Chandan Pir”, after the dargah on the hilltop.
The ASI reiterated in its RTI reply that “the hill where the inscription is found appears to have been appropriated later on by the Mohammedans”.
In November 2022, after decades of negotiations, the Mazar Committee formally handed over one key of the locked cave to the ASI’s Sasaram Sub-Circle.
But the arrangement of dual control continues. The 2025 RTI response confirmed: “The keys of the entry gate of CPM ‘Ashokan inscription at Chandan Sahid hill’ are in the possession of two institutions, one with the ASI, and another with Mr. G.M. Ansari of the Sher Shah Suri Trust, Sasaram.”
Speaking to India Today, GM Ansari of the Mazar Committee said, “Whenever tourists come, we cooperate and open the gate. But this is also the shrine of Chandan Pir Baba, since the time of Bakhtiyar Khilji. That is why the hill is known as Chandan Pir Hill.”
He added that while the Committee facilitates entry, “since the time of Bakhtiyar Khilji, the shrine of Rehmatullah Aaleh Chandan Pir Baba has stood here,” tying the site to centuries of religious significance.
Ansari also claimed that day-to-day upkeep largely falls to the Mazar Committee and local administration, alleging that ASI staff “do nothing” on the ground.
“Earlier, only we had the key. Later, after pressure, one key was given to the ASI. Now, tourists can see the site through either of us,” he said, adding that records show ASI guards were appointed as far back as 1960 but “rarely seen” until after 2015.
Rohtas District Tourism Officer Vinay Pratap, however, maintained that responsibility lies with the ASI: “The protection and management of Ashoka’s inscription rests with ASI. Two staff are posted here to show the monument to visitors and coordinate with researchers.”
Preservation also remains in limbo. In 2023, the ASI’s Patna Circle and Science Branch found lime plaster damage and planned conservation.
But in its 2025 reply, the Circle admitted: “Damage assessment records are not available with this Circle. The same are maintained separately by the Science Branch.”
The ASI insists the site is open to the public, but entry depends on the dual-key arrangement, requiring cooperation from both sides. Visitors, researchers, and pilgrims alike remain reliant on whether the ASI or the Mazar Committee unlocks the gate.
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