Employees of the Research on Armenian Architecture NGO led by Chairman of the organization Samvel Karapetyan studied the Armenian monuments of India from February 8 to March 2.

The Armenian scientists visited many cities and villages, where the Armenian community used to live.

In total, Karapetyan and his team recorded 4,000 Armenian monuments of architecture, some of which are protected by the state.

5,200 photos were taken and 10 churches were measured. “Many Armenian monuments do not look like Armenian ones. Basically, they are constructed in European style,” Samvel Karapetyan told a press conference on March 9 in Yerevan.

He added that the most ancient Armenian khachkar dated back to 1611 is located in Agra.

In general, according to Karapetyan, the Armenian monuments are in a poor condition in India.

Besides, records dated back up to the 19th century are preserved in India. The most ancient records are in Armenian, but there are also records in English, Farsi and even Georgian.

There are also Armenian cemeteries in India, which are basically located near Armenian churches.

A burial vault of Melik-Beglaryans, Karabakh dukes, the rulers of Gulistan, was found by Armenian scientists at one of cemeteries.

Armenians came to India in the 16th century, basically, from New Jugha. In the 16th century there were Armenian churches in Surat and India, but they are not preserved.