CHAMPANER-PAVAGARH TO SHARE THE WORLD STAGE LIST NOW

The ancient ruins of Champaner-Pavagadh will now share the world stage with the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Angkor Wat of Cambodia and the Pyramids of Giza. This unique collection of historical ruins, lying 48 kilometres from Vadodara, has made it to the Unesco’s list along with two other sites from India — the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus better known as the Victoria Terminus (VT) at Mumbai and temples from the Chola dynasty at Tanjavur. With this, Unesco will work with the Indian government and residents of the respective regions to preserve the sites and promote them the world over. In fact, the Central government is bound by a treaty to maintain and preserve the site.

Speaking from the ancient Chinese city of Suzhou, where the World Heritage Conference was held recently, Indian committee member and Vadodara-based architect Karan Grover said this was the first time that three sites from India had made it to the list. "Champaner was the only fresh entry this year. "Of the other two, the terminus was a deferment that was confirmed this year while the Chola temples were an extension." The decision to put Champaner-Pavagadh on the list was a unanimous decision taken by all the 21 countries with voting rights of which India too is a member. Interestingly, the site had been sent for nomination by an NGO, the Heritage Trust of Vadodara, which Grover heads. "This is a big victory for us as it is for the first time that a privately promoted site has made it to the list," Grover added. Champaner has been included despite tough competition from a number of other countries. Nothing less than 48 proposals had come up before the members, but the only other country to put three sites on the list was host China. Experts say that Champaner-Pavagadh is one of the most important archaeological, architectural, historical and also a religious site in the country.

It is spread over six kilometres, most of it buried. Of its 120 identified monuments, 36 are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India . Researchers have even put this site at par with Fatehpur Sikri and Hampi, which have already made it to the list. In fact, one of the most unique aspects about the site is it has archaeological remains from the late Stone Age, Jain temples from the 10th and 11th century and Mughal architecture from the 15th and 16th century. Annually nearly 22 lakh visitors come here but very few are aware of its historical importance. Most people go to the Kali temple at the top of Pavagadh. Sources say that the government along with Unesco will now have to work out a comprehensive strategy for the site as it will now attract a large number of international tourists. This also becomes important as Champaner-Pavagadh is one of the very few living sites in the country where people reside within the protected area.