Safeguard our cultural wealth
World Heritage tag and the consequent economic benefits can give a huge boost to conservation efforts
Hyderabad: The recent declaration of the iconic 13th Century Ramappa temple that showcases the outstanding craftsmanship of the great Kakatiya dynasty as the World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) predictably brought much jubilation to every section of people in Telangana, besides cheering up even the government of India as the count of such sites in the country has now gone up.
There are already reports that the value of lands in the vicinity of this temple in the discreet Palampet town in Mulugu district near Warangal has gone up expecting a great tourist inflow into the area after UNESCO’s recognition. Shops and establishments, hotels, restaurants and resorts are expected to spring up giving a much-needed fillip to commercial activities in the immediate future.
60-year-old Process
The process of the identification and selection of the World Heritage sites by UNESCO is about 60-year-old. In the early 1960s, when the construction of the famous Aswan High Dam in Egypt was taken up, it was feared that the entire stretch of the Nile Valley would submerge wherein were numerous ancient Nubian treasures like the Abu Symbol temple, and these would get a watery burial.
As those historic monuments were of great significance in reflecting the ancient Egyptian civilisation, UNESCO came forward and launched its first-ever international campaign to safeguard this cultural wealth in Egypt. At the appeal of UNESCO, funds, as well as technical support, were mobilised from all over the world to dismantle, transport and reconstruct the Nile Valley monuments at the selected new location.
UNESCO’s appeal and campaign to salvage the historic monuments of one of the world’s oldest civilisations in the Nile Valley made people all over the world appreciate the universal dimensions of the cultural heritage. The civilised societies now sat up to recognise the importance and need to preserve, protect and showcase the heritage sites as symbols of national pride.
Thus, UNESCO could inculcate among the people across the nations the urge to safeguard the historic and cultural heritage sites as the quintessence of the human achievements in the past and that they deserve to be preserved with no reference to the country or region in which they lay.
Worldwide Clamour
The successful campaign and the relocation of the monuments in the Nile Valley paved the way for a worldwide clamour among the member nations to get the most important monuments and heritage sites in their respective countries recognised by UNESCO as such recognition would bring the desired accreditation and popularity to such significant sites.
Taking cognisance of such a view of many of the member countries, UNESCO decided to convene a “World Heritage Convention” in 1972 for protection of the world cultural and natural heritage sites, which the member countries readily adopted. This convention was duly ratified later by the UNO. Thus began the granting of the World Heritage tag by UNESCO to the cultural sites the world over. The convention and its periodic lists have proved as an invaluable tool in UNESCO’s efforts to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage sites around the world that are regarded to be of outstanding value to the very humanity at large irrespective of the country to which such sites belong.
Although new sites are inscribed by the World Heritage Convention under the auspices of UNESCO, every year, many sites of outstanding universal value remain yet to find a place in the list. The prestigious list, so far identified by UNESCO, includes some of the most famous places in the world such as the ancient Nabataea city in Jordan, the legendary Acropolis in Athens, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Machu Picchu, the Lost City in Peru, and many more of that ilk. Today the list of the World Heritage sites contains a staggering 1,150 spread over in 167 countries.
Indian Treasure
India till date has more than 40 such historic and cultural sites recognised by UNESCO. A tiny country like Sri Lanka has seven such World Heritage sites.
The sites recognised as World Heritage represent examples of our cultural and natural heritage. Granting of World Heritage tag and the consequent economic benefits can give a huge boost to the conservation efforts so that future generations can enjoy this irreplaceable heritage encompassing regions and nations.
The 40-plus inscribed UNESCO World Heritage sites in India include Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Pavagadh; monuments like Taj Mahal, Elephanta Caves, Ellora, Ajanta, Sanchi, Hampi, Mahabalipuram, Pattadakal, Humayun Tomb, Qutub Minar, Khajuraho. Among the temples, the Chola Big Temple at Tanjore, the Sun Temple at Konark and Mahabodhi at Gaya are prominent. Some national parks like the Sundarbans and Kaziranga also are recognised as Heritage sites.
KSS Seshan
Interestingly, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai and the Himalayan Railway in Darjeeling also are notified as World Heritage Sites. Two days after declaring Ramappa Temple, UNESCO, much to the delight of India, granted the historic archaeological site of Dolavira, an ancient Harappan city in Gujarat, the World Heritage Site tag.
UNESCO that came into being on 16 November 1945 as a sponsored agency of the United Nations Organization (UNO) has headquarters in Paris. With 195-member-countries, this international organisation, besides granting World Heritage status to cultural sites, has a number of educational and social programmes all over the world, particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
It may be mentioned that the famous Indian economist and educator, Malcolm S Adiseshaiah was the Deputy Director-General of UNESCO for several years before he returned to India to establish the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) in Madras, now Chennai. He also served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Madras during 1975-78.
(The author is a retired Professor of History, University of Hyderabad)
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