Minister Ashish Shelar to visit France to receive Unesco World Heritage certificate for 12 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj forts

Shelar will lead an official government delegation during the February 11-16 visit. He will also pay homage to the half-bust statue of Dr B R Ambedkar installed at the Unesco headquarters by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Maharashtra.

Shelar stated that this tribute to Dr Ambedkar in Paris is a step that powerfully reiterates the values of Indian democracy on the international platform.

During the visit, Shelar will also hold separate meetings with the director-general of Unesco, subject experts and India’s permanent representative to the UN agency, Vishal Sharma. He expressed confidence that this visit would further strengthen the Government’s ongoing efforts to secure World Heritage recognition for the Konkan rock art, Maharashtra’s sea forts and intangible cultural heritage traditions such as the Pandharpur Wari, Ganeshotsav, and Dahi Handi.

Additionally, the delegation will study renowned museums in Paris, focusing on their management practices, exhibition design and the use of digital technologies to further enrich the development of the proposed Maharashtra Museum, currently being established in Bandra, Mumbai.

In February 2025, a four-member delegation of the Maharashtra Government led by Shelar visited Paris to present a comprehensive technical and strategic case before Unesco.

The Government presented a half-bust statue of Dr Ambedkar to the Unesco headquarters to mark 75 years of the Constitution of India. It was installed in Paris on November 26, 2025, on the occasion of Constitution Day.

Dr Ambedkar’s enduring ideals of social justice, equality, fraternity, and empowerment through education resonate deeply with Unesco’s core mission, the statement said, adding that the official visit was expected to further strengthen Maharashtra’s cultural heritage, enhance its tourism potential, and reinforce the state’s global standing.