A Unesco advisory body recommending deferment of India’s bid to put 12 forts associated with Maratha king Shivaji on the World Heritage List should serve as a wake-up call for the country’s heritage governance authorities. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), which vets applications for inclusion in the Unesco list, said India’s nomination had “management, documentation and impact assessment” deficits. The current application, therefore, could not establish Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the forts, a key criterion for
A Unesco advisory body recommending deferment of India’s bid to put 12 forts associated with Maratha king Shivaji on the World Heritage List should serve as a wake-up call for the country’s heritage governance authorities. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), which vets applications for inclusion in the Unesco list, said India’s nomination had “management, documentation and impact assessment” deficits. The current application, therefore, could not establish Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the forts, a key criterion for inclusion in the World Heritage List.
This is a sharp indictment of India’s heritage conservation and points to a larger capacity deficit regarding documentation and preservation. Icomos’s assessment reveals that there are lingering gaps, especially in the management of sites and monuments, as well as collating and analysing documentation in keeping with rigorous historiographical standards and principles. India already has 43 World Heritage Sites, and more could be added to the list, which raises their tourism prospects and, thereby, revenue potential, if the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and other authorities get their act together. The ASI has limited means and trained personnel and is spread too thin, given the size of the country and its rich and layered inheritance. These deficits need bridging: Heritage conservation helps to showcase India’s civilisational inheritance and can help boost local economies.
Conservation needs expertise and the involvement of trained personnel: States and local bodies must partner with the Centre and ensure heritage is preserved for posterity. In the case of the Maharashtra forts, the need is, as Icomos has suggested, for more robust protection for the smaller forts, better conservation practices, integration of GIS mapping for risk management, and improved upkeep to prevent structural degradation. That task should be taken up immediately.
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