Sarnath, where lord Buddha gave his first sermon, Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Sikhism holiest shrine, Assam’s river island Majuli and Mughal Gardens in Srinagar are among 46 Indian sites on UNESCO’s tentative list for consideration for nomination as World Heritage Sites.
Thirty-two cultural and natural sites in India already figure in the World Heritage list, Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma told the lok Sabha in a reply on Monday.
“Moreover, there are 46 sites including Indian cities, monuments, archaeological sites, on UNESCO’s tentative list, which is a mandatory requirement before a site is finally considered for the nomination,” he added.
The tentative list includes Temples at Bishnupur in West Bengal; Mattanchery Palace, Ernakulam in Kerala; Group of Monuments at Mandu in Madhya Pradesh; Ancient Buddhist Site, Sarnath, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh; Sri Harimandir Sahib, Amritsar in Punjab; and River Island of Majuli in midstream of Brahmaputra River in Assam.
The list also includes Mughal Gardens in Kashmir; Delhi - A Heritage City; Ekamra Kshetra - The Temple City in Bhubaneswar, Bahai House of Worship in New Delhi and Jaipur city of Rajasthan.
To another query, he said the two nomination proposals on cities — ‘Delhi’s Imperial Capital Cities’ and ‘The Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai’ — were submitted to World Heritage Centre in January, 2014 in which Delhi was prioritised.