Harappan-era Gujarat city Dholavira inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List

Gujarat so far has three world heritage sites — Champaner near Pavagadh, Rani ki Vav in Patan and the historic city of Ahmedabad

Harappan-era city of Dholavira in Kutch district has been added to UNESCO World Heritage List, the organisation announced on Tuesday. Hours after the announcement, the Gujarat government said in a statement that "Placing Dholavira, the oldest town of Harappan culture in Kutch district, UNESCO has given Gujarat the pride of being a state with four World Heritage Sites."

Earlier in Champaner in 2004, Rani ki Vav in Patan in 2014, Ahmedabad city in 2017 had been added to the list of world heritage sites. The Gujarat government's statement said that it was a "proud movement" for the state that Dholavira has found a place on the list. It credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing "India's ancient heritage and culture to the world stage."

"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," PM Modi commented while sharing the news.

He added, "I first visited Dholavira during my student days and was mesmerised by the place. As CM of Gujarat, I had the opportunity to work on aspects relating to heritage conservation and restoration in Dholavira. Our team also worked to create tourist-friendly infrastructure there."

“Dholavira: A Harappan city, in India, just inscribed on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List. Congratulations!” UNESCO tweeted. The ongoing 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO has already given India a new world heritage site in the form of the Rudreswara/Ramappa Temple in Telangana, which dates back to the 13th century.

This session of the World Heritage Committee is being chaired from Fuzhou in China and is being held online. It started on July 16 and will end on July 31.

The 44th session combines current work and issues left outstanding since last year when the annual meeting was postponed due to Covid-19.

“It gives immense pride to share with my fellow Indians that #Dholavira is now the 40th treasure in India to be given @UNESCO’s World Heritage Inscription. Another feather in India’s cap as we now enter the Super-40 club for World Heritage Site inscriptions,” Minister of Culture G Kishan Reddy said in a tweet.

Today is a proud day for India, especially for the people of Gujarat, he said.“Since 2014, India has added 10 new World Heritage sites – one-fourth of our total sites. This shows PM @arendramodi’s steadfast commitment in promoting Indian culture, heritage and the Indian way of life,” Reddy tweeted.