News Highlights:
Vadnagar town, Modhera Sun Temple, and Unakoti sculptures added to UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites.
Key takeaway:
Including Gujarat’s Vadnagar town, the iconic Sun Temple at Modhera, and the rock-cut sculptures of Unakoti in Tripura makes India’s total UNESCO Tentative List 52 sites.
The tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites:
- State decision :
- If a state considers a monument/site has cultural and/or natural heritage of outstanding universal value and therefore suitable for inscription on the World Heritage List.
- Then, the state prepares a list of such sites and sends it to UNESCO. UNESCO, after preliminary inspection, accepts/rejects the monument and forms a tentative list.
- Country’s tentative list:
- A position on a country’s tentative list does not automatically tender that site with world heritage status.
- It is mandatory to put any monument/site on the Tentative List (TL) before it is considered for the final nomination dossier.
- UNESCO World Heritage Committee:
- After a site is listed as a tentative site, the country has to prepare a nomination document that will be considered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for a World Heritage Site.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
- About:
- UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as of distinctive cultural or physical importance which is considered of outstanding value to humanity.
- UNESCO strives to encourage the conservation, identification, and maintenance of natural and cultural heritage around the world.
- This is exemplified by the Convention regarding the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, accepted by UNESCO in 1972.
- Three types of sites: Cultural, Natural, and Mixed:
- Cultural heritage sites:
- Include hundreds of historic buildings and town sites, important archaeological sites, and works of monumental sculpture or painting.
- Natural heritage sites:
- These are restricted to those natural areas that have excellent ecological and evolutionary processes, unique natural phenomena, habitats of rare or endangered species etc.
- Mixed heritage sites:
- A mixed site comprises components of both natural and cultural importance.
- Cultural heritage sites:
Vadnagar town, Modhera Sun Temple, Unakoti sculptures:
- Modhera Sun Temple:
- The Sun Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the solar deity Surya located at Modhera village of Mehsana district, Gujarat, India.
- It is the earliest of such temples, which set trends in architectural and decorative details representing the Solanki style at its best.
- It is situated on the bank of the river Pushpavati.
- It was built after 1026-27 CE during the reign of Bhima I of the Solanki dynasty.
- No worship is offered now, and it is a protected monument maintained by Archaeological Survey of India.
- The temple complex has three components: Gudhamandapa, the shrine hall; Sabhamandapa, the assembly hall and Kunda, the reservoir.
- About Vadnagar:
- It is a multi-layered historic town in the Mehsana district of north Gujarat.
- It is mentioned often in the Puranas and even in the travelogue of the great Chinese traveller, Hiuen Tsang (7th century), as a rich and flourishing town”.
- The history of Vadnagar stretches back to nearly the 8th century BCE. The town still retains a large number of historical buildings that are primarily religious and residential.
- The rock-cut sculptures of Unakoti:
- Unakoti is located in Tripura.
- It is a ‘Shaiba’ (Saivite) pilgrimage site with gigantic rock cut sculptures.
- The site displays almost the same mystical charm as the Angkor Wat temple of Cambodia. Hence, it is called the Angkor Wat of North-East.
Pic Courtesy: The Hindu
Content Source: The Hindu