Bhimbetka caves on heritage list

After the Mahabodhi temple complex at Bodh Gaya last year, the rock paintings of Bhimbetka caves, 19 km from Bhopal, have found their place ...

After the Mahabodhi temple complex at Bodh Gaya last year, the rock paintings of Bhimbetka caves, 19 km from Bhopal, have found their place in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.

The decision was conveyed to Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Jagmohan by UNESCO’s Paris office today. In a letter to the minister, UNESCO wrote: ‘‘The proposal for declaring the site has been unanimously accepted by the World Heritage Committee in its 27th meeting held on July 3’’. The Bhimbetka site has been inscribed in the category of cultural landscape.

At present, there are 16 cultural and five natural sites in India that have been declared ‘‘world heritage sites’’.

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Jagmohan said, ‘‘This will go a long way in reinforcing the antiquity of Indian civilisation and promoting tourism.’’

‘‘Rock shelters of Bhimbetka cover 19 sq km. This area has the highest number, density and variety of painted rock shelters in India. The site also has a wealth of archaeological remains and presents evidence of a tradition continuing from the Paleolithic to the Medieval periods.’’ The paintings in Bhimbetka are the earliest evidences of man’s creativity and communication and are a great source of information about evolution.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has sent a strong recommendation for two other sites in India — the Golden Temple at Amritsar and the city of Varanasi. ‘‘We have two other proposals in the pipeline and have sent strong recommendations to UNESCO for the same. While the Golden Temple in itself is a brilliant site, the city of Varanasi has been recommended in the category of one of the most antiquated cities in the world,’’ Jagmohan said.

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