UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Stellar IAS Academy

UNESCO inscribed Dholavira, an ancient Harappa city situated in present-day Gujarat, on the World Heritage List, making it the second Indian site to be accorded the tag in 2021. Announcing the decision of the World Heritage Committee, Unesco said Dholavira’s water management system, multi-layered defensive mechanisms, extensive use of stone in construction and special burial structures set the ancient city apart from other cultural sites.

The ancient city of Dholavira is one of the most remarkable and well-preserved urban settlements in South Asia dating from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE (Before Common Era)

What are UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites?

World Heritage is the designation for places on Earth that are of outstanding universal value to humanity and as such, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List to be protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.

The Criteria for Selection

To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria.
These criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention which, besides the text of the Convention, is the main working tool on World Heritage. The criteria are regularly revised by the Committee to reflect the evolution of the World Heritage concept itself.
Until the end of 2004, World Heritage sites were selected on the basis of six cultural and four natural criteria. With the adoption of the revised Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, only one set of ten criteria exists.

Selection criteria

(i)to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;

(ii)to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;

(iii)to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;

(iv)to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;

(v)to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change;

(vi)to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria);

(vii)to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;

(viii)to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth’s history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features;

(ix)to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals;

(x)to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India

Out of 40 sites in India that are on the World Heritage List, 32 are cultural, seven are natural and one is a mixed property.

Cultural

Agra Fort (1983)
Ajanta Caves (1983)
Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar (2016)
Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (1989)
Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park (2004)
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) (2004)
Churches and Convents of Goa (1986)
Dholavira: a Harappan City (2021)
Elephanta Caves (1987)
Ellora Caves (1983)
Fatehpur Sikri (1986)
Great Living Chola Temples (1987, 2004)
Group of Monuments at Hampi (1986)
Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram (1984)
Group of Monuments at Pattadakal (1987)
Hill Forts of Rajasthan (2013)
Historic City of Ahmadabad (2017)
Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi (1993)
Jaipur City, Rajasthan (2019)
Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana (2021)
Khajuraho Group of Monuments (1986)
Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya (2002)
Mountain Railways of India (1999,2005,2008)
Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi (1993)
Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat (2014)
Red Fort Complex (2007)
Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (2003)
Sun Temple, Konârak (1984)
Taj Mahal (1983)
The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement (2016)
The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur (2010)
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai (2018)