Hold on to the past and put it to good use
Well-conserved heritage sites can help in creating jobs and instilling a sense of pride
https://civilsocietyonline.com/peoples-agenda/hold-on-to-the-past-put-it-to-good-use/
Media Source: Civil Society (India)
Date: 1 July 2024
India takes pride in being an ancient culture. Yet, we protect less than 3,700 monuments of national importance. The states and municipalities together protect a similar number,” argues Ratish Nanda, CEO of Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in India, “Sadly, heritage in India is seen as a burden and not the economic…
India takes pride in being an ancient culture. Yet, we protect less than 3,700 monuments of national importance. The states and municipalities together protect a similar number,” argues Ratish Nanda, CEO of Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in India, “Sadly, heritage in India is seen as a burden and not the economic asset that it can be. We at ATKC have demonstrated through our work at Humayun’s Tomb and Sunder Nursery in Delhi and the Qutb Shahi Heritage Park in Hyderabad that national heritage can significantly improve the quality of life of urban populations.” He continues by outlining five actions that would help the country realise the potential of Indian monuments: choose major monuments in each of the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) five regions and begin work, get companies to build tourism infrastructure, safeguard monuments against encroachment, use heritage to enhance the quality of life for local communities, and finally set up site museums to help people understand heritage