The cultural heritage in India is peerless in the world. India is a country that has a tremendous geopolitical expanse and diverse culture. There are more than 4,00,000 heritage sites in India, including the ones that are protected centrally, by the state, by numerous trusts, historic cities and archaeological sites. Many monuments exhibit Indian culture in multiple countries throughout the world, whereas there are some splendid examples of Indian heritage in some south-east Asian countries.
Amidst the rich culture depot of the Indian sub-continent, 30 of the 38 protected monuments declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO and nearly 3,691 monuments under the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) are declared monuments of national importance. Apart from that, more than 5000 monuments are protected by Archeological Departments of numerous State governments. Multiple religious trusts and endowments are saving many Temples, mosques, churches, and gurudwaras. Various sites still need to be included in these vast categories and are considered World Heritage Sites by UNESCO (like Ahemdabad and Jaipur). These cities solely hold more than 5000 historic structures.
Heritage management
Heritage management is defined as the combination of both the product and the process which aids in providing society with an affluence of sources that were created and inherited in the past, engendered in the present and are bestowed for the benefit of future generations. The cultural heritage of a country helps in tapping its glorious history. It tells about culture, politics, people and the people’s beliefs back then. It also helps understand the developments in architecture and technology, like the Harappa civilisation. It enlightens one about the city’s incredible architecture, with information on excellent drainage and plumbing systems that cannot be replicated even today. If there were no monuments today, one would be completely unaware of the intricate architecture that once existed, that there were artisans so skilled that they could carve out entire temples out of stone without a stone-cutting machine. The heritage aids in providing an opportunity for the tourism sector due to the involvement of the local people.
Why is it important?
Heritage management is essential as the monuments tend to deteriorate over time. For this purpose, many organizations within and outside India focus on conserving monuments. Some of the organisations are the Convention on the Protection and promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, Paris 20, October 2005; Convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Paris 17, October 2003; Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Paris 16 November 1972 and many more.
There are many stages at which the effect of protecting, conserving, decoding and showcasing India’s constructed history is regarded which include; International, national, and neighbourhood stages.
International level – As part of a Universal shared heritage to build global relations in future by connecting with stories and routed of cultural exchange through history and learning from international practices.
National level – as a tool for Nation Building and branding of its unique cultural identity with iconic sites and magnificent monuments in each region of India, including its World Heritage Sites that narrate its rich, complex and layered history.
Local level – to manual the sustainable improvement of its ancient towns and websites on the nearby degree linking at once with reuse and socio-monetary advantages to the community.
Elements affecting the heritage management systems:
The Heritage management process relies on three key components to define objectives, transform them into actions, and produce results. The three components are results, outputs, and management system improvements. Outcomes and outputs are more crucial in the planning stage since they help provide the best results.
Outcomes (reaching the goals) – The heritage management system aims to produce particular results, sometimes called effects. The results assist in guiding the adjustments in the present that are sought in the planning process.
Outcomes (results that can be produced) – defining the outputs entails improving the effectiveness of legacy processes and crystallising our understanding of them. These procedures have specific practical results that benefit the preservation of cultural assets and society at large directly.
Improvements to the management systems – improvements are always essential, and that be done by generating corrective measures and feedback, which can be obtained either outside or within the management system, namely by monitoring processes and assessing outputs and outcomes. Continuous improvements thus help in generating a good centre for management. It also leads to a more efficient system and can achieve greatness.
Therefore, background control is vital to keep the nation’s ancient landmarks, that’s made viable through elevating public cognizance so that, from their perspective, matters continue to be undamaged (like fending off any type of vandalism or pollutants close to monuments). For a plan to be created with satisfactory performance and effectiveness, addition phases, which include the outcomes, outputs, and upgrades, also are vital.
Citations | Heritage Management
Online sources
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Image sources
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