Harappan city of Dholavira declared World Heritage site by UNESCO

New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) Dholavira, the Harappan city in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, has been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

India had submitted the nomination dossier for 'Dholavira: A Harappan City' to the World Heritage Centre in January 2020.

The site was on the UNESCO's tentative list since 2014. Dholavira is one of the very few well-preserved urban settlements in South Asia dating from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE.

"Absolutely delighted by this news. Dholavira was an important urban centre and is one of our most important linkages with our past. It is a must visit, especially for those interested in history, culture and archaeology," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), G. Kishan Reddy, shared the news on Twitter shortly after the announcement.

"It gives me immense pride to share with my fellow Indians that Dholavira is now the 40th treasure in India to be given @UNESCO World Heritage tag. Another feather in India's cap as we now enter the Super-40 club for World Heritage Site inscriptions," Reddy tweeted.

Few days earlier, the Rudreswara Temple (also known as the Ramappa Temple) at Palampet, Mulugu district, Telangana, became the 39th World Heritage Centre in India.

The list of countries with 40 or more World Heritage sites include Italy, Spain, Germany, China, France, and now India.

Out of India's 40 World Heritage properties, 32 are cultural, seven natural and one mixed property.

In another tweet, Reddy said, "Today is a proud day for India, especially for the people of Gujarat. Since 2014, India has added 10 new World Heritage sites - one fourth of our total sites. This shows Prime Minister @narendramodi's steadfast commitment in promoting Indian culture, heritage and the Indian way of life."

Dholavira is the sixth largest of more than 1,000 Harappan sites discovered. The property comprises two parts -- a walled city and a cemetery to the west of the city.

The walled city consists of a fortified castle with attached fortified Bailey and ceremonial ground, and a fortified middle town and a lower town. A series of reservoirs are found to the east and south of the citadel. The great majority of the burials in the cemetery are memorial in nature.

--IANS

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