In a dramatic twist, the Government has launched the process to strip the Nicholson Statue of its status as a Monument of National Importance, revealing a striking lapse in historical oversight.

The statue, once proudly standing at Kashmiri Gate in the national Capital to honor John Nicholson-a British officer notorious for his role in the 1857 Mutiny-was clandestinely shipped to Northern Ireland in 1958.

Despite its absence for so many years, it remained on India's list of significant monuments until now.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has however moved to issue a draft notification proposing the removal of the statue from its prestigious list.

Nicholson, who led the British forces in recapturing Delhi during the mutiny, had been celebrated for his controversial role.

However, the official stance now acknowledges the statue's non-existence at its original location.

"The statue's removal and its absence from Kashmiri Gate necessitate its declassification as a monument of national importance," admitted an official from the ASI.

The draft notification issued on July 25 and signed by Yadubir Singh Rawat, Director General says, "whereas, the Central Government is of the opinion that monument namely Nicholson Statue and its platform, and the surrounding gardens, paths and enclosure wall, outside the Kashmiri gate, Delhi, declared protected vide notification….. in 1913, in the Gazette of India, Calcutta...have ceased to be of national importance."

"Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 35 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (24 of 1958), the Central Government hereby gives notice of its intention to declare that the said monument has ceased to be of national importance for the purposes of said Act."

The draft notification opens a 60-day window for public objections, inviting feedback to the Director General of ASI. What is more intriguing is that the ASI's move to delist the statue from the list of monuments of national importance follows a scathing report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which exposed the ASI's shocking oversight.

The CAG highlighted that several monuments, including Nicholson's, were listed as important despite being missing.

The report disclosed that, out of 1,655 protected sites, 92 were unaccounted for, underscoring a severe lapse in the ASI's records.

The CAG report also said that on more than one occasion the culture Minister has told Parliament that 35 of its monuments have gone missing.

When the CAG checked about 1,655 protected monuments and sites-comprising 45 per cent of the total-they found 92 monuments missing.