Hyderabad: The World Heritage Day is observed every year across world on April 18. Observance of this day aims to make people aware of the conservation and importance of the heritage sites that have gained the World Heritage Site status, and to attract them by giving information about such sites located in different countries of the world.
Also, a World Heritage Week is celebrated from 19th November to 25th November all over the world.
Theme of World Heritage Day, 2020
The theme for World Heritage Day, 2020 is 'Shared Culture', 'Shared heritage' and 'Shared responsibility', which is important as an expression for global unity given the current world wide health crisis.
History
The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982, announced 18 April as the World Heritage Day. This was approved by General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983, with an aim to enhance awareness about the importance of cultural heritage, monuments and to conserve them.
ICOMOS was established on the principles set forth in the Venice Charter, also known as the 1964 International Charter on the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites.
World Heritage Site
UNESCO defines a World Heritage Site as a 'natural or man-made area or a structure that is of international importance, and space'.
Conservation of heritage
Assessment is done by two organizations- International Monuments and Sites Council and World Conservation Union, to preserve any heritage. It is then recommended to the World Heritage Committee. The committee sits once a year and decides whether to include any nominated property in the World Heritage List or not. It looks after selected special places such as forest areas, mountains, lakes, deserts, monuments, buildings or cities, etc. under the auspices of UNESCO.
On 16 November 1972, the UNESCO General Assembly approved the Convention on Natural and Cultural Heritage of the World, following the 1968 resolution of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, agreed by the United Nations Convention on the Human Environment in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden. The World Heritage Committee meeting began in June 1977.
Indian heritage sites
India ranks sixth among the world’s heritage.
For the first time in the year 1983 AD, four historical sites of India were considered by UNESCO as 'World Heritage Site'. These four sites were – Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Ajanta and Ellora Caves. UNESCO has included many historical sites of India in the World Heritage List since then. At present, a total of 35 sites in India are included in the World Heritage List. Out of which 27 have been ranked in the cultural category, 7 in the natural and 1 in the mixed category.
There are some World Famous heritage sites in India:
- Nalanda University(Bihar)
- Ajanta-Ellora Caves(Maharashtra)
- Khajuraho Temple(MP)
- Jantar-Mantar(Delhi)
- Jhulta Minar(Gujrat)
- Mahabat Maqbara(Gujrat)
- Kaziranga National Park(Assam)
- Sundarbans National Park(West Himalaya)
- Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Park(Uttarakhand)
- Konark Temple(Odisha)
- Taj Mahal(Agra)
- Chola Temple(Tamil Nadu)
- Bodh Gaya(Bihar)
- Red Fort(Delhi)
- Kumbh Mela {Haridwar,Ujjain, Prayagraj (Allahabad) and Nasik}
- Char Minar(Hyderabad)
- Qutub Minar(Delhi) etc..
These sites are classified as a natural or man-made area or structure that is of International importance and a space which requires special protection. It's a chance to inform everyone about the efforts involved to protect and conserve, and just how vulnerable these sites are.
Name of Some Restored Indian Heritage sites:
- Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple(Tamil Nadu)
- Byculla Christ Church(Maharashtra )
- Royal Opera House (Maharashtra)
- Bomonjee Hormarjee Wadia Fountain and Clock Tower (Mumbai)
- Gateways of Gohad Fort (MP)
- Wellington Fountain (Mumbai)
Major issues faced by hertiage sites in India
- Lack of Master Plan: Except the world heritage sites e.g. Taj Mahal, Humayun’s Tomb, Ajanta, Ellora, Bodh Gaya etc. other monuments of national importance face negligence from local or state administrations. The lack of proper master plan foster haphazard growth around the sites and as a result sites lose their charm.
- Encroachments/illegal occupation: Encroachments around ancient monuments has been a major concern. These encroachments are done by local shopkeepers, souvenir sellers or local residents. These temporary or permanent structures are not fit with architecture of monument or environment. For example: CAG Report, 2013 noticed encroachment within the premises of the Taj Mahal near Khan-i-Alam’s Bagh.
- Pollution: There are several types of environmental pollution which hamper the heritage properties. e.g. Taj Mahal was badly affected by Sulphur dioxide etc. emitted by oil refinery at Mathura and more than 200 furnaces used in Taj Ganj area. The environmentalist groups with the help of Supreme Court banned emission of these polluting agents.
- Tourism and irresponsible Behaviour of Visitors: Increasing tourism and lack of civic sense among majority of tourists have caused large damages to monuments degrading their aesthetic value. Criminal damage such as graffiti and defacement directed towards the monuments has been a major concern.
- Degradation and lack of conservation: Biological agencies such as mosses, fungus, algae, and insects affect construction materials like timber, bricks, stucco etc. Further, temperature and moisture which is a prime agent of degradation of monuments pose a serious concern. However, the conservation practices have been primarily directed towards World Heritage sites, while other monuments have been largely neglected and thus degraded over time.
Steps taken by the government to protect heritage sites
1. National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA), 2007
To prepare a National database on Built Heritage and sites from secondary sources and a National database on Antiquities from different sources and museums.
It seeks to:
- Prepare National Register for Built Heritage, Sites and Antiques
- Dissemination the database to planners, researchers etc. and for better management of such cultural resources
- Promote awareness about monuments and antiquities
- Publication and Research
2. Adopt a Heritage Project
The 'Adopt a Heritage Scheme' of Ministry of Tourism was launched on World Tourism Day on 27th September, 2017. This project is a key initiative of Ministry of Tourism in close collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), to develop the heritage sites / monuments and making them tourist-friendly to enhance the tourism potential and their cultural importance in a planned and phased manner.
No fund is given by the Ministry of Tourism. The Project envisages involvement of Private/Public Companies / Organizations and Individuals to adopt Monuments, Natural Heritage Sites and other Tourist Sites in the country, primarily under CSR. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed specifies the installation of one signage at the monument indicating that monument has been adopted by respective firm/organization.
3. Providing basic facilities/amenities (e.g. drinking water, toilet blocks, facilities for physically challenged, pathways, cultural notice boards/signage, vehicle parking, cloakrooms, etc.) to tourists visiting centrally protected monuments and sites are the regular activities which the Archaeological Survey of India undertakes. Improvement and up-gradation of these public facilities/amenities is a continuous process. Basic public facilities are available at all World Heritage Sites and ASI’s ticketed monuments, as also at majority of those protected monuments that are visited by a large number of tourists. Further, Archaeological Survey of India has identified 100 monuments as 'Adarsh Smarak' for upgradation of existing facilities/amenities like Wi-Fi, cafeteria, interpretation centre, Braille signage, modern toilets etc. on the basis of actual requirement and feasibility on case to case basis.
4. Project Mausam: Project 'Mausam' is a Ministry of Culture project to be implemented by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi as the nodal coordinating agency with support of Archaeological Survey of India and National Museum as associate bodies.
Broadly, Project Mausam aims to understand how the knowledge and manipulation of the monsoon winds has shaped interactions across the Indian Ocean and led to the spread of shared knowledge systems, traditions, technologies and ideas along maritime routes. These exchanges were facilitated by different coastal centres and their surrounding environs in their respective chronological and spatial contexts, and simultaneously had an effect on them.
5. Iconic Tourist Sites Project
In July 2018, K.J. Alphons then Tourism Minister announced 17 Iconic Tourist Sites under List of Iconic Tourist Sites Project would be developed. List of Iconic Tourist Sites Project was mentioned by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her maiden Budget 2019-2020 Speech on 5 July 2019.As per the project, 17 Iconic Tourist Sites in-country would be developed by the government into world-class tourist destinations, to serve as a model for other tourism sites. It is aimed at enhancing India’s soft power.
The Names of these 17 sites were- Humayun's Tomb, Red Fort and Qutub Minar (Delhi), Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri (Uttar Pradesh), Ajanta and Ellora caves (Maharashtra), Amer Fort (Rajasthan), Somnath and Dholavira (Gujarat), Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh), Hampi (Karnataka), Colva Beach (Goa), Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Kaziranga (Assam), Kumarakom (Kerala) and Mahabodhi (Bihar).
6. Funding: Tourism Ministry has been allocated Rs.1,378 crore for development of tourism infrastructure.
