INDIA’S NOMINATION - WORLD HERITAGE (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Art & Culture)

Context: The “Maratha Military Landscapes of India” will be India’s nomination for recognition as UNESCO World Heritage List for the year 2024-25.

• The twelve component parts of this nomination are, Salher fort, Shivneri fort, Lohgad, Khanderi fort, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort, Vijay durg, Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu.

About UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• About: Any place or site recognised by UNESCO for its cultural and natural importance and is considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.
• Recognition: They are recognised under the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972 and effective from 1975.
• Universal application: Meaning, World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.
• Selection criteria: A masterpiece of human creativity; An important exchange of human values; Exceptional cultural testimony; Significant stages in architectural history; A traditional settlement; Outstanding universal significance; Areas of natural beauty; Representing major earth stages; Significant ongoing ecological processes; Important habitats for biodiversity conservation.

  Suvarnadurg Fort

  • About: The Maratha Military Landscapes in India, evolving during the 17th to 19th centuries, depict an exceptional fortification and military strategy conceived by the Maratha rulers.

  
  Panhala Fort

  • About: The inception of the Maratha Military ideology dates back to 17th Century during the reign of the Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by the 1670 CE and continued through subsequent rules until Peshwa rule till 1818 CE.