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Unesco declares Harappan city in Gujarat a world heritage site
Gujarat now has four world heritage sites — Dholavira, Champaner near Pavagadh, Rani ki Vav in Patan and the Historic City of Ahmedabad.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) on Tuesday added Dholavira, a Harappan-era city in Gujarat, to its list of world heritage sites, making it the 40th such Indian location on the list.
Gujarat now has four world heritage sites — Dholavira, Champaner near Pavagadh, Rani ki Vav in Patan and the Historic City of Ahmedabad.
World heritage sites are protected under international convention and selected for their unique cultural significance by Unesco, which also provides “emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger”.
“Dholavira: A Harappan City, in India, just inscribed on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List. Congratulations!” Unesco tweeted on Tuesday.
According to Unesco, today what is seen as a fortified quadrangular city set in harsh arid land was once a thriving metropolis for 1200 years (3000 BCE-1800 BCE) and had an access to the sea prior to decrease in sea level.
Earlier on Sunday, the 13th century Ramappa temple in Telangana’s Warangal was included in the list during the 44th session of Unesco’s World Heritage Committee.
“Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple received its inscription as a World Heritage Site on 25 July and Dholavira: A Harrapan City was inscribed on the World Heritage List today, 27 July, bringing India’s number of World Heritage sites to 40,” Unesco said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “absolutely delighted”, adding that Dholavira was an important urban centre and an important linkage with the country’s past.
“Absolutely delighted by this news. Dholavira was an important urban centre and is one of our most important linkages with our past. It is a must visit, especially for those interested in history, culture and archaeology,” he said in a tweet.
“As CM of Gujarat, I had the opportunity to work on aspects relating to heritage conservation and restoration in Dholavira. Our team also worked to create tourism-friendly infrastructure there,” he said.
Newly appointed Union minister for culture G Kishan Reddy said India has now become a member of the “Super-40 club”. “It gives immense pride to share with my fellow Indians that #Dholavira is now the 40th treasure in India to be given @UNESCO’s World Heritage Inscription. Another feather in India’s cap as we now enter the Super-40 club for World Heritage Site inscriptions,” he tweeted.
“Since 2014, India has added 10 new World Heritage sites - one fourth of our total sites. This shows PM @narendramodi’s steadfast commitment in promoting Indian culture, heritage and the Indian way of life,” the minister said.
The current session of the World Heritage Committee, being held virtually between July 16 and July 31, is being chaired from Fuzhou in China.
(With agency inputs)
