World Heritage Day – a call to save our past

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World Heritage Day – a call to save our past
Appeared in the Times of India on 17 April 2017
World Heritage Day - 18 April

Tomorrow, 18th April is World Heritage Day. In 1982, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) based in France, announced 18 April as the "World Heritage Day", approved by the General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983, with the aim of enhancing awareness of the importance of the cultural heritage of humankind, and redouble efforts to protect and conserve our heritage.  In 2017, the theme is “Cultural Heritage & Sustainable Tourism”, chosen in relation to the United Nations International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development and in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.

What is heritage?
What is Heritage in the first place? An explanation from the INTACH book titled “INTACH Jago” goes like this: “Heritage refers to something inherited from one’s ancestors. It includes assets, natural or cultural, something tangible or intangible, that the community recognizes for its value as a witness to history and memory, while emphasizing the need to safeguard, protect, adopt, promote and disseminate it. Heritage is anything that means something to us, touches us tells us something and makes us remember something or has to do with beauty, glorification and significance”.

Tangible and intangible heritage
We can categorize heritage natural heritage or cultural heritage. Examples of natural heritage would be Rock formations, mountains, plains and plateaus. It could include water bodies, rivers, lakes and seas. Or say an eco-systems like flora and fauna. When we speak of cultural heritage we have to divide that into two parts – Tangible Heritage – like Monuments, and buildings, paintings, manuscripts and books – all of historical significance. World Heritage is the shared wealth of humankind. Protecting and preserving this valuable asset demands the collective efforts of the local community. This special day offers an opportunity to raise the public's awareness about the diversity of our natural, built and cultural heritage and the efforts that are required to protect and conserve it, as well as draw attention to its vulnerability.

Steeped in history
Vizag and its neighboring districts are steeped in history and tradition. More than 2,000 years ago Buddhist monasteries flourished all around Vizag, many of us know about Thotlakonda, Bavikonda, Pavuralakonda and Bojjanakonda but there are more than 30 other Buddhist sites that are known but not yet excavated and open to the public. Our part of the world has a fascinating, rich and varied heritage. More than half our district is in the Agency area, home to more than 10 important tribes with their own culture and heritage. In fact our ghats were home to cultures from more than 10,000 years ago. Our coastal areas played host to Buddhist monks, powerful kings ruled our lands and we have seen centuries of Colonial rule and the rise of Indian nationalism. Not only inland but our heritage connects us to our sea, which was not only been a historic boon to our fishing community but also shaped our maritime history.

Learn from others
Today in our rush to develop, modernize, transform and refashion our district we may be losing sight of protecting our heritage.  We are in such a hurry to jump start our economy and build infrastructural that nothing else matters. Advanced nations in for example in Europe with ancient traditions have been able to develop while keeping their heritage intact and even making them into tourism cash cows. In the United States they do not have much to show by the way of ancient built heritage but they were blessed with landscape and geographical features of immense beauty.

How natural heritage was saved
Yosemite National Park in the USA was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1984. In the 1800s the site was misused by unregulated tourism until naturalist and preservation lobbied their government to save it. In 1864 Abraham Lincoln signed a Yosemite Grant and later John Muir led a successful movement to establish a larger national park encompassing not just the valley, but surrounding mountains and forests as well. This was the start of the United States national park system. Yosemite now receives more than 40 lakh responsible nature loving tourists every year. The point is that countries have gone on a wrong path and later matured enough to save their heritage. We in this part of India are still to recognize the value of our heritage.


Save what we have
What are we doing to save our heritage? Unfortunately our urban authorities have done very little to safeguard our heritage. Take for example the formation of the Heritage Conservation Committee required to be formed by law, has not come into existence in Vizag. VUDA should have had this committee up and running 10 years ago but have not found the will to do so. Citizens are demanding that this committee be formed urgently and hope that it comprises a fair share of citizens and less of government officials. Old historic buildings like the 100 year old King Edward Coronation VII Coronation Market, commonly known as Kurupam Market was brought down by a wanton act in 2013 by the GVMC. Our Town Hall inaugurated in 1904 and under the care of the GVMC is now in dilapidated condition. We find money for frivolous and ostentatious activities but cannot drum up the funds for saving our heritage. Everywhere we see there is scant respect for heritage. Officials are also citizens, now is the time for all of us to recognize the dangers to our heritage and make our voices heard.


What we must do
We in Vizag have a special responsibility. We must take the time off to participate in World Heritage Day. It will help us to understand what the stakes are and the dangers of losing our past, brick by brick, stone by stone, tree by tree, memory by memory. So what can we do on World Heritage Day? Some of the things we can do is:  Visit our monuments, email your local papers and magazines, make a statement for television, ask your radio DJ to talk about heritage on FM radio, hang a personal banner outside your home saying “I care for Vizag’s heritage”, invite experts to talk to the local community, organize small exhibitions displaying photos and paintings or inaugurate a recently restored monument and visit you museum. We must remember that the past is trying to give us a message, a cry for help, an appeal to use our wisdom. Will we heed the call? Will we save our heritage? Will we do this for our past and for the future of our civilization? It is a big responsibility and it is in our hands.


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