Nupur Prothi-Khanna
Heritage Conservation & Management (University of York, U.K) Landscape Architecture & Planning (School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi)
Conservation professionals in India and other countries of the developing world are continuously facing inconsistencies between significance of historic environments and the use the treatment that they are subjected to in the contemporary scenario. The different ‘agendas’ of those responsible for administering the resource and others concerned with its conservation or protection has lead to many a tragic situation as has been seen at the Taj Mahal and other eminent sites over the last few years. The political system working on a time bound mechanism serves as an imperative to perform or deliver within the stipulated period of governance. As most of the eminent monuments and sites are under the jurisdiction of the Archaeological Survey of India which itself is a government agency, there are many a tricky situations whereby the political decisions are short sighted and not in keeping with the best interests of the future of our historic environment. While the above is a case of conflicting perceptions associated with our heritage contemporary practices of conservation also demonstrate the risk of giving undue attention to one value (in this case architectural, artistic or aesthetic) while ignoring a host of other factors of significance such as its setting, its place in the historic evolution of design, political and economic pressures, amongst others. In this context, the difference in perception towards our heritage outside as well as within the conservation community remains one of the foremost dilemmas plaguing protection of our historic environment. In keeping with research related to the significance of multiple values of heritage as is being rediscovered in the West, as well as in an attempt to represent the aspirations of traditional cultures, there has been a change in the approach towards World Heritage. This broadening of the definition of heritage to move beyond buildings and sites has
HERITAGE
US/ICOMOS Abstract: Cultural Landscapes World Heritage Sites