Declaration of World Heritage Sites in India
- At present, India has 42 sites listed under Tentative List which is a pre-requisite condition for inscription as World Heritage Site. ‘Dholavira: A Harappan City’ has been submitted for nomination of World Heritage Site in 2019-2020. Nomination dossiers of ‘Santiniketan, India’ and ‘Sacred Ensemble of Hoysalas’ have been submitted to UNESCO for the year 2021-22 cycle.
- Currently, India has 38 World Heritage Heritage. In addition, 42 sites in India are listed in the ‘Tentative List’.
- The sites are listed in the Tentative List, before recognition of the World Heritage Heritage.
World Heritage Site’
- Places of cultural and natural importance are called world heritage. ‘World Heritage Sites’ are classified as natural or man-made areas or structures of International importance and, requiring special protection.
- Any site which is important for humanity, and has cultural and physical significance, is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. UNESCO considers sites classified as World Heritage important to humanity, as these sites have cultural and physical significance.
Key Points:
- The list of World Heritage Sites is prepared by the ‘International World Heritage Program’, administered by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. This committee consists of 21 UNESCO member countries elected by the United Nations General Assembly.
- To be selected, a World Heritage Site must be a somehow unique landmark which is geographically and historically identifiable and has special cultural or physical significance.
World Heritage Sites are divided in following three categories:
- Cultural Category
- Natural Category
- Mixed Category
Number of World Heritage Sites:
There are a total of 1052 World Heritage Sites worldwide. Of these, 814 are cultural, 203 are natural and 35 are mixed.
Number of World Heritage Sites in India:
38 sites in India have been included in the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Of these World Heritage Sites in India, 30 are cultural sites, 7 are natural sites and 1 mixed sites.
UNESCO
- ‘United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO is a part of the United Nations. It was formed on 16 November 1945.
- Its headquarters is located in Paris (France).
- It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture. UNESCO’s programs contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030,
- Its aim is to establish peace and security with the international cooperation of education and culture, so that there can be a global consensus for justice, rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms as described in the Charter of the United Nations.
Source – PIB
