New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) A discussion about historical sites located in different countries of the Indian Ocean Region, which exemplify inter-country relations and may qualify for “trans-national nomination” for a UNESCO tag, was held here during a national conference hosted by the ASI, officials said on Saturday.
The two-day conference — ‘Jaladhipurayatra: Exploring Cross-Cultural Linkages along the Indian Ocean Rim Countries’ — was organised on the theme of Project Mausam launched by India’s Ministry of Culture at UNESCO’s 38th World Heritage Committee Meeting held at Doha, Qatar, in 2014.
With the objective of promoting further research and broadening understanding of this subject, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) organised a two-day national conference from October 7-8, a senior official said.
The conference comprised a plenary session followed by six academic sessions, each dealing with a particular aspect of India’s maritime interactions, the ASI said in a statement.
“One session exclusively dealt with issues relating to the world heritage properties, with special reference to identification of historical sites and structures located in different countries of the Indian Ocean Region and exemplifying inter-country relations, thus qualifying for trans-national nomination for UNESCO World Heritage certification,” it said.
This was followed by a unique session in which the representatives and ambassadors of the different Indian Ocean Region countries “discussed different aspects of the region’s inter-country ties and trans-national nomination of important sites in the region for the (UNESCO) world heritage status,” the ASI said.
Project Mausam was launched in an attempt to understand monsoon winds and other climatic factors, and the ways in which these natural elements impacted, at different periods of history, the interactions between different countries in the Indian Ocean region, the statement said.
Currently, Project Mausam is being administered by the ASI, it said.
Minister of State for Culture and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs Meenaskashi Lekhi, Union Culture Secretary Govind Mohan, and ambassadors of several Indian Ocean Region countries, participated in the conference, the ASI said.
Lekhi, in her address, stressed on the need for “unbiased research” on several aspects of India’s economic and cultural relations with other lands.
A brochure on the objectives and scope of Project Mausam with a brief outline of the maritime heritage of India and a catalogue of India’s world heritage properties were released on the occasion, the statement said.
On the second day, issues related to Project Mausam were discussed with ambassadors, particularly inter-country links pertaining to textiles, spices and spicy cuisine, architecture and other aspects of intangible cultural heritage, it added.
More than 20 scholars from different parts of India participated in the academic sessions, who included meteorologists, archaeologists, historians and internationally-renowned experts in the fields of climate change, underwater explorations and intangible cultural heritage, the statement said. PTI KND RHL
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Source: The Print
