Six more places from India have made it to the tentative list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had sent nine places for inclusion in the list of possible UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Out of these, six have been approved for the tentative list. 

With the addition of these six sites, UNESCO has 48 proposals in the tentative list from India.

As per Operational Guidelines, 2019, it is mandatory to put any monument/site on the Tentative List (TL) before it is considered for the final nomination dossier. India has 48 sites in the TL as of now. As per rules, any country can submit the nomination dossier after one year of it being on the TL.

These proposals will remain in the tentative list for a year after which the government will decide which one of them to push for in their final dossier to UNESCO.

Which are these six sites?

1) Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh

2) Bhedaghat in Madhya Pradesh

3) Riverfront of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh

4) Maratha Military Architecture (forts) in Maharashtra

5) Hire Benakal megalithic site in Karnataka

6) Temples of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.

1) Satpura Tiger Reserve

Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR), located in Satpura ranges of Central Indian Landscape, is one of the major geographical plateaus of India lies in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh. It is part of the Deccan bio-geographic zone of India.

Satpura, basically meaning “seven folds”, forms a watershed between Narmada and Tapti River is triangular in shape. It is one of the oldest forest reserves with a well-established tradition of scientific management of forests. 

At least 14 endangered species of mammals, birds and reptiles inhabit these forests. Satpura Tiger Reserve is also one of the globally significant landscapes in terms of tiger conservation. It is part of the largest contiguous forest and tiger habitat in India. 

2) Bhedaghat

Bhedaghat, often referred to as the Grand Canyon of India, is a town in the Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh. Bhedaghat is part of the river Narmada Valley, one of India’s largest and west flowing rivers.

Several dinosaur fossils have been found in the Narmada valley particularly in the Bhedaghat-Lameta Ghat area of Jabalpur. Dhuandhar waterfall at Bhedaghat gives the epic view of smoke coming out of the river.

3) Riverfront of Varanasi

Varanasi is famous for iconic ghats, temples, historic housing and religious and cultural traditions. Owing to the immense sacred value associated with River Ganga, the riverfront forms the most iconic part of the city.

The 6.5 km long riverfront of River Ganga, forming the eastern edge of the city, possesses a unique history, and presents a specific vision of a magnificent architectural row of lofty buildings and holy sites.

The riverfront, that is the interface of the river with the land, encompasses the ghats (the steps leading to the river bank), the magnificent edifices towering above them, and the quaint alleys.

Lord Buddha chose to give his first sermon “Turning the wheel of Law” in 528 BC at Sarnath near Varanasi, thus making it extremely significant for Buddhists. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, visited Varanasi twice in the 16th century. This is also the birthplace of some of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras (supreme leaders and guides of Jainism), including the leading prophet, Parshwanath in the 8th century BC.

4) Maratha Military Architecture

The forts of Western India occupy an important place of significance in the political and architectural history of the region. Maharashtra has almost all types of fort architecture — land, sea and hill forts.

The Directorate of Archaeology and Maharashtra has selected 14 forts. 

They are: 

Raigad Fort: Originally called Rairi, the fort is built on a large wedge separated from the main range by a ravine. In 12th century A.D, it was the seat of the family of a Palaiyagar. In 1479, it was passed to the Nizam Shahi rulers and continued under them until 1636. In 1662, it was selected by Chhatrapati Shivaji for his permanent capital and actual shifting of the capital to Raigad took place in 1670.

Rajgad Fort: Rajgad, formerly known as Murumdev (name based on the mountain Murumbadev, on which it was built), is a hill fort situated in the Pune district of Maharashtra, and was the capital of the Maratha Empire under the rule of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for almost 26 years, after which the capital was moved to the Raigad Fort. 

It was one of the 17 forts that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj kept when he signed the Treaty of Purandar in 1665, with the Mughal General Jai Singh I, leader of the Mughal forces.

Shivneri Fort: Shivneri is the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji and consists of seven gates each named differently. In 1595, King Bahadur Nizam II conferred the fort to Maloji Bhonsale.

Torna Fort: Captured by Shivaji Raje in 1646, Torna fort — also known as Prachandagad (Marathi for huge or massive fort) located in the Pune district of Maharashtra — forms the nucleus of the Maratha Empire. Chhatrapati Shivaji renamed the fort as Torna, and constructed several monuments and towers.

Lohagad: Located along the crest of a steep hill, with the Bhaja caves cut mid-way, Lohagad overlooks one of the most picturesque valleys and is believed to have been built in the 14th century. It is located near the Buddhist caves at Bhaje.

Salher Fort: Salher is one of the highest forts in Sahyadri Mountains and is located in Dolhari range. The fort witnessed an important battle in 1672 fought between the Marathas and the Mughals.

Mulher Fort: It is located about 3.21 km south of the Mulher town in Satana. It is situated on a hill with three fortified peaks near one another, Mulher in the middle, Mora to the east, and Hatgad to the west.

Rangana Fort: It is situated 112 km from Kolhapur and lies at the border of the districts of Kolhapur and Sindhudurg, which led to constant clashes between the Sawants and rulers of Karveer — modern day Kolhapur. The clashes continued until a mutual treaty was signed. British took hold of the fort in 1844.

Ankai & Tankai Forts: Ankai and Tankai, two different forts built on adjacent hills, with a common fortification wall built to secure them rises about 900 feet above the plain and 3,200 feet above the sea. 

Kasa Fort: Kasa or Kamsa fort, popularly known as Padmadurg, is built on a rocky island off the coast of Murud.

Sindhudurg: Built by Shivaji Raje in 1668, the sea fort of Sindhudurg is an amazing bulwark of defence in the raging sea waters.

Alibag Fort: Popularly known as Kulaba Fort, it holds an important place in Maratha history as it was chosen as one of the forts to be modeled as a naval base by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, when most of Konkan south of Kalyan, came under his dominion and he decided to develop naval power. In 1713, under the treaty with Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, Kulaba with several other forts was handed to Kanhoji Angre.

Suvarnadurg: Presumably built by the rulers of Bijapur in the 16th century A.D., Suvarnadurg was repaired and strengthened by Chhatrapati Shivaji in 1660 A.D. Built on an irregular island about a quarter of a mile from the shore, it is perhaps the most striking of all the Ratnagiri coastal forts. 

Khanderi Fort: Khanderi, officially named as Kanhoji Angre Island in 1998, is located 5 km off the coast of Maharashtra. Khanderi, along with its sister fort Underi (Jaidurg) formed the major fortification along the Maharashtra coast, the former falling under Shivaji’s control and the latter under his opponents, the Siddhis. The fort was ceded in 1818 to the forces of the British East India Company at Bombay as part of the Peshwa territory.

5) Hire Benakal

The site is a megalithic burial complex at Hire Benkal in Koppal district in Karnataka. 
It bears a unique testimony to the Megalithic cultural tradition forming one of the largest clusters of Megalithic burial monuments in India.

The word ‘Megalith’ has been derived from two Greek words ‘megas’ meaning large and ‘lithos’ meaning stone. The megalith is a nomenclature used for a certain burial style which involves stone erect structures for the dead.

The site is located on top of castellated granite hillock within the zone of peninsular gneissic complex of the Dharwad series of rocks. 

The site is a part of Reserve Forest. Another unique feature of Hire Benakal is prehistoric rock paintings. In Hire Benkal so far 11 rock shelters have been discovered.

6) Temples of Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram or Kanchi is a well-known and celebrated ancient Indian city. All known religious sects of ancient India found a foothold here. It was a significant centre of learning, mostly specialising in the religious and associated philosophical thoughts. With the advent of the Pallavas, it became politically important too.

Kanchipuram was the capital of the Pallava dynasty, which ruled present day state of Tamil Nadu, from 6th to 9th century A.D.

Among the temples of Kanchipuram town,  the following representative examples are included in this tentative list:

1) The Rajasimhesvara or Kailasanatha Temple

2) Piravatneswara Temple

3) Iravathanesvara Temple

4) Parameswara Vinnagaram Vaikunta Perumal Temple

5) Muktesvara Temple

6) Arulala or Varadharaja Perumal Temple

7) Ekambaresvara Temple (Thirukachiekambam)

8) Jvaraharesvara Temple

9) Pandava Dootha Perumal Temple

10) Yathothkari Perumal Temple

11) Ulagalanda Perumal Temple.

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