One of the greatest achievements of the Modi government during its first two terms has been the revamping of Bharat’s ancient civilizational and cultural heritage. Or rather, its efforts to initiate a dialogue on the country’s ancient Hindu heritage to be more precise. For a long time, Bharat’s cultural and civilizational legacy, both officially and in the popular imagination, was limited to the architectural remnants of Islamic invaders like the Mughals. That hasn’t changed completely but the Modi government at least started the process of interrogating this narrative and changing it gradually but firmly.
PM Modi recently inaugurated the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The World Heritage Committee is the deciding authority on the sites to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It meets annually and is responsible for managing all matters related to world heritage.
Bharat is hosting the Committee’s Meeting for the first time. PM Modi utilized the occasion to provide all the participants and dignitaries with an insight into Bharat’s rich civilizational, cultural, and scientific past. He spoke eloquently on the various strengths of ancient Bharat, how it was not just the flourishing of arts, culture, and various knowledge systems, but also a period of the flourishing of science, technology, and mathematics.
He emphasized that the World Heritage Committee is being hosted on the land which is one of the oldest living civilizations in the world. Talking about the rich history of the capital Delhi, PM Modi gave an example of the 2,000-year-old Iron Pillar which is said to be built by the Gupta dynasty Emperor Chandragupta II Vikramaditya. The pillar stands in Mehrauli’s Qutab complex in Delhi and is exactly the same as it was some 2,000 years back. This stands as a testimony to ancient Bharat’s enormous expertise in metallurgy, as the PM emphasized in his speech.
He also spoke about the top-notch engineering genius of ancient Bharat as talked about the Kedarnath temple situated at an altitude of 3,500 metres which remains such a challenging place for infrastructure development even today and the Brihadeeswara temple in the south of Bharat built by Chola kings and its marvellous architectural layout and craftsmanship.
He also referred to the sites of Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat. Both Dholavira and Lothal are sites from the Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan culture. Dholavira, the larger of the two sites is known for its water harvesting system and the fact that it was constructed entirely with bricks. Lothal was known for its amazing planning for the citadel and lower planning along with an elaborate network of streets and drainage.
In his speech, PM Modi emphasized the archaeological findings dating back to the Vedic age. He spoke of the findings of Sinauli in Uttar Pradesh, where copper age findings are closer to the Vedic age than the Indus Valley Civilization. He also spoke of the discovery of a 4,000-year-old horse driven chariot. PM Modi said that such discoveries emphasized that if one wanted to really know and understand Bharat, one must approach the country through a new lens of prejudice-free concepts.
PM Modi also elaborated on the initiatives taken by his government over the past decade such as the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Nalanda University’s modern campus, etc. He also emphasized Bharat’s focus on conserving the heritage of the Global South collectively. PM Modi mentioned heritage sites like Cham Temples in Vietnam, Angkor Vat in Cambodia, etc. He also announced that Bharat will contribute one million dollars to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre to be used for technical assistance, capacity building, and conservation of world heritage sites.
Bharat has nominated Assam’s Charaideo Maidam for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list this year. Holding immense historical and cultural significance, Charaideo Maidam are ancient burial mounds of the Ahom kings of Assam and nobles, built during the Ahom dynasty’s reign from the 13th to the 18th century. The Maidams, resembling large hillocks covered with grass, are revered as sacred sites by the Ahom community. If Charaideo Maidam gets selected by UNESCO for inclusion in the World Heritage Site list, it will be north-east Bharat’s first site to get the status of Cultural World Heritage.
Bharat has 34 sites included in UNESCO’s Cultural World Heritage list. Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Dholavira, Great Living Chola Temples, Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, Khajuraho Group of Monuments, Sun Temple Konark, Group of Monuments at Pattadakal, Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple Telangana, and Group of Monuments at Hampi.
While it’s important to spread awareness regarding Bharat’s ancient Hindu civilizational heritage on a global level through platforms like the World Heritage Committee, a lot more needs to be done at the local level. Hindu temples have been looted, vandalized, and neglected for years on end. Many ancient Hindu sites in Bharat are in an utterly dilapidated state. Temple lands have been encroached upon. The government thus needs to make a lot more effort in preserving the ancient Hindu heritage of Bharat.
An article published by The Logical Indian in 2019 gives examples of several prominent temples from the south of Bharat, which according to the write-up are in a rather sorry state.
“Among prominent examples of neglect is Mahabalipuram’s Shore Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors who come looking serenity, end up being disappointed by the garbage, stream of vehicles that clogs the area and the noise pollution. The town has lost its heritage site status. On either side of the road leading to the Shore Temple, scores of shops have sprouted. “The entire Mahabalipuram town is an eyesore”, says S. Swaminathan, author of ‘Mahabalipuram: Unfinished Poetry in Stone’.
Several other monuments along the Tiruchi – Thnajavur national highway that was used as a significant route during the Chola period goes unnoticed. The Chola-built rock-cut temple dedicated to Sri Erumbeeswarar in Tiruverambur has been decaying without maintenance. It is, however, under the Archaeological Survey of India. The ceiling of the temple has become weak and a large part of the inner ‘prakaram’ has developed several cracks due to water seepage. A tank dedicated to the temple has remained polluted. The historical significance of the temple goes unnoticed”, says the article.
The write-up gives many other examples to depict the utter state of neglect of Hindu temples across Bharat. Moreover, ascribing heritage status to ancient Hindu structures doesn’t solve the problem. The issue of systematic plunder and destruction of Hindu temples and monuments built by Hindu rulers is one that needs to be addressed holistically. The civilizational narrative of Bharat should be completely reset. Identifying all such ancient Hindu sites and preserving these should be an area of priority for the government.
Also, it’s high time the government considered introducing a Bill in the Parliament to undo state control of Hindu temples and hand the temples back to the community. The government control of Hindu temples, especially in the south of Bharat, is one of the major reasons for the sustained neglect of ancient Hindu sites. For this to be rectified, it’s important that the Hindu community manages its own places of worship so that the ancient temples become examples of a thriving and living tradition and not just “tourist sites” and artifacts of a bygone era.
An article published in The Dharma Dispatch in 2021 puts this issue in perspective by giving an example related to the Sun Temple in Konark, Orissa. It talks about the Vigraha of Aditya that’s on display at the National Museum in Delhi. It further says that the Vigraha belongs to the Konark temple, its rightful place. The author comments on the inherent contradictions of showcasing the sublime Aditya Murti in a museum while the Konark temple, where it should actually be, has become a site of empty touristy rituals, in the absence of the Aditya Vigraha.
“The clearest answer to that question is in its practical dimension: imagine for a moment that the sublime Aditya Murti was Garbagruha (sanctum sanctorum) of its original haven, the Konark temple. That would have made the temple a Tirtha-Kshetra, not a tourist attraction. Lakhs of Hindus would then take Vratas and undertake Padayatras to Konark akin to Tirumala, Srisailam, Kashi, Mathura, Vaishnodevi or Rameswaram. Thus, Konark, like Khajuraho, finds it difficult to erase the sex-sculpture taint that it has acquired over the decades. A place of piety has bene transformed into a layer of sculptural lust”, says the article.
I think this sums up the whole issue rather aptly. Merely preserving ancient Hindu heritage isn’t enough but how we preserve it also matters. The preservation shouldn’t be a gimmicky venture that merely turns Hindu sites into “tourist attractions” and cuts off the umbilical cord connecting these sites with Hindu faith, traditions, and beliefs. Ancient Hindu sites should be preserved in a way that they re-flourish as living traditions, drawing Hindus back into the vortex of Dharma.
