AIR Spotlight: Rejuvenating India’s Cultural Heritage

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio News on air. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation.

This article is about the discussion on: ‘Rejuvenating India’s Cultural Heritage’.

Participants:

• Shekhar Iyer: Political Analyst
• Ishan Mittal: Anchor

Context – Through ambitious projects and initiatives, the GoI has taken significant strides to promote and preserve India’s cultural heritage.

Some of the Initiative by the GoI to revive India’s Cultural Heritage –

• Phase 1 of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor in Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi has been developed. It is a massive makeover and the first after 1780 AD when the Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore renovated the Kashi Vishwanath temple and the area surrounding it. The project was conceptualised to create an easily accessible pathway for the pilgrims, who have to travel through congested streets to take a dip in the river Ganga and offer the holy water at the temple.
• Reconstruction and development projects in Kedarnath including Adi Shankaracharya’s Samadhi which was devastated in the catastrophic flash floods of 2013.
• Chardham Project aims to improve the all-weather connectivity to the Chardham pilgrimage centres – Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri in the Himalayas, making journeys to these centres safer, faster and more convenient. A parallel rail line is also being constructed.
  • Read more about the Char Dham Project.
• Under its Swadesh Darshan Scheme, the GoI has initiated 76 projects aimed at developing thematic circuits that showcase the diverse cultural heritage of India. The focus extends to the development of world-class infrastructure for the Buddhist Circuit, thereby enhancing the spiritual experience for devotees.
• Mahakaal Lok project in Ujjain aims to enrich the experience of pilgrims visiting the temple by providing them with world-class modern amenities. The project is undertaken to decongest the entire area with a special emphasis on the conservation and restoration of heritage structures.
• The GoI has also started temple renovation works in the valley of Kashmir.
• The development of 12 heritage cities under the HRIDAY (Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana) scheme showcases the commitment of the GoI to establish itself as a custodian of an extraordinary heritage.

By preserving and promoting India’s cultural and spiritual treasures, the GoI aims to enrich the present and future generations’ understanding of Indian history and culture.  

Also read – PRASAD Scheme

Creating New Monuments – Revival of Stalwarts.

• Statue of Unity – The statue has been built as an ode to the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first home minister of independent India. He was responsible for uniting all 562 princely states of the country to build the Republic of India. The statue was inaugurated on 31st October 2018 in Kevadia, Gujarat and is the world’s largest statue, 182 metres tall.
• A grand statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose will be installed under the grand canopy of India Gate. Until the installation of the actual statue is completed, a hologram of Bose is projected at the site of the statue.
•  National War Memorial – The country’s first National War Memorial, near India Gate is a tribute to soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country after independence. The memorial was envisaged in 1960 when armed forces in the country had proposed a National War Memorial to commemorate fallen war heroes. It took six decades for the memorial to come into existence.

Repatriation of Antiquities –

The repatriation of antiquities to India has been upscaled several-fold in the past years.

• A total of 244 invaluable antiquities of Indian origin have been brought back to India from abroad.
• Also, 72 antiquities are in the process of being repatriated from various countries like the USA, UK, Singapore and Australia. 

The GoI is taking a ‘whole of Government’ approach to preserve Indian culture and heritage. Several central ministries like the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, etc. all are converging together for holistic outcomes with respect to protecting Indian heritage.

Read previous AIR Spotlight articles here.

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