Issues such as linguistic diversity and cultural or religious identities, which seek to divide us, actually contribute to our cultural and civilisational heritage. The positive spillover is not just into the neighbourhood, but across the world
The current debate on linguistic abilities of our civil service aspirants highlights not only the challenges posed by India’s huge cultural and ethnic diversity, but also its contribution to what is called Bharatiyata — so much a part of being Indian. Often forgotten in this debate is India’s contribution to global cultural and linguistic diversity and world heritage, through the inscription of its sites on the World Heritage list of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. As a member of the UN World Heritage Committee, India is currently seeking international recognition for several projects including the cultural landscape of Majuli Island (on the Brahmaputra river and larger in size than Belgium), the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Chandigarh as the jewel in the crown of le Courbusier project. India is also supporting and working with the Government of Mauritius for recognition of the International Indentured labour Route Project.
Another important Indian initiative is the ongoing effort to revive the two- millennia Spice Route. Traversed by sailors and traders of bygone times, it is one of history’s most significant and enigmatic trade routes. At the centre of this legendary route was Kerala, but other States, notably Gujarat, were also part of this Spice Route. The scent of these spices enticed the world, including Vasco da Gama, who passed away in Kerala. His journey to the Malabar coast, renamed the Spice Coast, was a defining moment in history since it established connectivity between India and Europe and brought the colonisers to India. It laid the foundation for the foreign settlements of the Portuguese and the Dutch, who were then pushed out by the British when the latter established their definitive presence.
The Spice Route resulted in a confluence of major religions, culture and civilisation in these parts of India. After the Egyptians, the Ethiopians and the Greeks, came the Romans and the Chinese searching for these exotic spices. Along or before them came the Jews, in 587 BC and 70 AD, the Christians with the landing of Apostle Thomas in 52 AD and Islam in the seventh century AD with the Arab traders, making this region a true melting pot of culture and civilisation. For this reason, the Spice Route project initially seeks to establish a museum which will connect the tourists and the travellers to the heritage of the past and the flavours of the present. The Spice Route re-establishes India’s maritime trade relations with 31 countries, and seeks to rekindle interest among modern travellers in this ancient maritime route. This project has attracted the attention of the United Nations, international advisory bodies and countries which had historic ties with the Spice Route such as the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom.
The Government of Kerala has recently presented its ambitious Spice Route project to selected representatives and/or Ambassadors from 31 countries, which were part of the ancient sea trade route. The aim is to chalk out a strategy to revive this ancient route that linked India to Asia, North East Africa and Europe.
Apart from the Unesco, the World Tourism Organisation has pledged support to the project. The project is aimed at sharing this heritage among the 31 countries along the ancient route. The initiative is expected to bring in a substantial number of foreign tourists to India to trace this historic journey. The centre-piece of the project is the Kochi-Kodungallur belt in central Kerala, where the ancient spice port Muziris was located and where merchants from West Asia and the Mediterranean region came by sea and land. Evidence points to the spice trade between Muziris — a port that flourished two millennia ago — and the West, before it mysteriously disappeared. Excavations which have commenced in search of Muziris will conclusively demonstrate that this ancient port which, according to the first century annals of Pliny the Elder, could be reached in 14 days from the Red Sea ports of Egypt, was the main hub of the Spice Route.
On July 6, Aapravasi Ghat was inscribed on Unesco’s World Heritage list with India’s support. It represented the most significant surviving manifestation of the indentured labour system that existed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Established after the formal abolition of slavery in 1834, Aapravasi Ghat marks the point in Port louis, Mauritius, where indentured labour, drawn mainly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and also from the southern States of colonial India, would be received. They would then either stay on in Mauritius to work in the sugar plantations or to sail further to destinations such as Guyana, Suriname and the Reunion Island, to name a few.
In the years between 1834, when slavery was abolished, to the early 20th century, more than two million indentured labourers travelled on this route, also known as ‘Coolie Route’, to Mauritius and other destinations. This route represents the development of a new system of a contractual labour. Its conservation is an important part of upholding the civilisational heritage, traditions and values that these people carried with them from India to far off destinations. This movement of labour also resulted, a century later, in the evolution of multi-cultural societies in these host countries as the workers never returned to their homeland.
The International Indentured labour Route Project is being developed for approval by the World Heritage Committee. This project, when adopted, will represent a significant contribution to the Memory of the World Register, similar to the Slave Route. It will also highlight India’s contribution to the cultural diversity of its diaspora spread worldwide, including its oral traditions, such as the Bhojpuri language and songs which are still sung in Mauritius, Guyana, Suriname and all over the Caribbean. They recall the memories of their great motherland, India, and keep alive the cultural traditions brought 150 years ago to these countries.
As an active member of the prestigious World Heritage Committee of Unesco which oversees the conservation and protection of world heritage sites globally, India has been working in close cooperation with the Unesco and other international advisory bodies including International Council on Monument and Sites, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Properties. It is hoped that some of these projects cited above will win approval through this process.
The above serves as a candid reminder that issues such as linguistic diversity and cultural or religious identities, which seek to divide us, actually contribute to our cultural and civilisational heritage. The positive spillover is not just into the neighbourhood but across the world. This has been increasingly recognised and respected. The international attention and interest in our heritage demonstrates the wisdom of the old Sanskrit saying: “Na ratnanan vishyati mrigyatehi tat”. It means: “The diamond does not seek, it is sought after”.
(The writer is India’s former Permanent Representative to Unesco)