The walled city of Jaipur, known for its iconic architectural legacy and vibrant culture, made its entry into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. It became only the second Indian city after Ahmedabad to get the recognition.

The decision was taken at the 43rd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) in the historic city of Baku, Azerbaijan.

The committee examined the nomination of Jaipur that was supported by a majority of the countries for its inclusion on the list, a senior official said.

With Jaipur’s inclusion, the number of heritage sites across India that are on the UNESCO World Heritage list, has grown to 38, including 30 cultural properties, seven natural properties and one mixed site.

Ahmedabad became the first Indian city to get into the prestigious list in 2017.

India had proposed the nomination of Jaipur as an “exceptional urban example in indigenous city planning and construction in South Asia”, before the World Heritage Committee, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.

Unique features of Jaipur

Jaipur is known as the Pink City and on arrival visitors will immediately understand the reasoning behind the name. Every building within the walled historic centre is painted a terracotta pink colour and there are few exceptions to this uniformly colour scheme.

Unlike other medieval cities of the region, Jaipur was deliberately planned as a new city on the plains open for trade as opposed to hilly terrain and military cities of past, though its planning still ensured a response to the surrounding hill tops in all directions.

The site selected within the valley that lay to the south of Amber hills was comparatively flat and unmarred by any previous construction.

Besides an exemplary planning, its iconic monuments - such as the Govind Dev temple, City Palace, Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal - excel in artistic and architectural craftsmanship of the period.

Jaipur is an expression of the astronomical skills, living traditions, unique urban form and exemplary foresighted city planning of an 18th century city from India.

Jaipur is an exemplary development in town planning and architecture that demonstrates amalgamation and important interchange of several ideas over the late medieval period.

UNESCO India Office director Eric Falt said the tag “celebrates yet another of India’s outstanding heritage sites, only one year after the successful nomination of the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai in 2018”.

By listing Jaipur as a World Heritage Site, the World Heritage Committee acknowledges the “city’s outstanding value as a cultural property”, the UNESCO India Office said.

UNESCO seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.

This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.

What is a World Heritage Site?

A World Heritage Site is a place on Earth having a special cultural or physical significance and outstanding universal value to humanity.

It may be a building, a city, a complex, a desert, a forest, an island, a lake, a monument or a mountain.

They have been inscribed on the World Heritage List to be protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.

According to the sites ranked by country, Italy is home to the greatest number of World Heritage Sites with 51 sites.

Who lists World Heritage Sites?

A World Heritage Site is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which is based in Paris.

The International World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee establishes the sites to be listed as World Heritage Sites.

The World Heritage Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention (The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage or the World Heritage Convention), defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance.

It is composed of 21 state parties which are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a four-year term.

Currently, India is a member of the World Heritage Committee.

How is a World Heritage Site selected?

The first step towards the listing is the nomination of a site by the respective government of a country.

The site should have an Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) for World Heritage nomination.

To determine the OUV for World Heritage nomination, there are 10 enlisted criteria.

The proposed nomination must satisfy at least one of these 10 criteria.

The nomination file is then evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union.

These bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee.

The committee meets once per year to determine whether or not to inscribe each nominated property on the World Heritage List and sometimes defers the decision to request more information from the country that nominated the site.