Bihar Study Notes: UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India

UNESCO world heritage sites in India

These Sites are the places which have been officially recognized by a specialized agency of the UN (United Nations), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) based on their natural, cultural, historical, and scientific importance.
UNESCO-
UNESCO is a specialized agency of the UN, whose objective is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through educational, scientific, and cultural reforms. Its headquarter is in Paris, France.
The list of World Heritage sites is maintained by World Heritage Programme which is administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
UNESCO World Heritage Committee-
It is composed of 21 UNESCO member states which are elected by the UN General Assembly.
These are areas of importance of cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, 1972.
Italy has the highest numbers of World Heritage Sites in the world.

These criteria are explained in the World Heritage Convention, 1972.
These criteria are regularly revised by the World Heritage Committee to reflect the evolution of the World Heritage concept itself.
Before the revised Operational Guidelines, World Heritage sites were selected based on six cultural and four natural criteria.
With the adoption of the revised Operational Guidelines, only one set of ten criteria.

All countries are required to submit their Tentative Lists of places which they consider to be a cultural or natural heritage of outstanding universal value and therefore suitable for inscription on the World Heritage List.
Tentative Lists is not considered exhaustive and need to submit one year prior to the submission of any nomination.
Countries are required to re-examine and re-submit their Tentative List at least every ten years.
If any site is listed in World Heritage Sites, then it must be removed from the tentative list.

There are 38 (30 Cultural, 7 Natural and 1 Mixed) World Heritage Sites in India after the inclusion of Wall City of Jaipur in July 2019.
First time from India two sites Agra fort and Ajanta Caves were included in World Heritage Sites in 1983.
In 2016, the following three sites have been listed in World Heritage Sites-
(i) Nalanda Mahavihara University, Bihar
(ii) Capitol Building Complex– Chandigarh
(iii) Khangchendzonga National Park, Sikkim
In July 2017, Ahmedabad became India’s first city to be listed in World Heritage Sites.
In July 2018, Victorian and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai listed as 37^th World Heritage Sites from India.
In July 2019, Walled City of Jaipur listed as 38^th World Heritage Sites from India.
Only one mixed-criteria site in India is Khangchendzonga National Park, Sikkim.
The Ministry of Culture recommends one property every year for nomination to UNESCO.

S No.	Site	State
1	Agra Fort	Uttar Pradesh
2	Ajanta Caves	Maharashtra
3	Ellora Caves	Maharashtra
4	Taj Mahal	Uttar Pradesh
5	Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram	Tamil Nadu
6	Sun Temple, Konârak	Orissa
7	Churches and Convents of Goa	Goa
8	Fatehpur Sikri	Uttar Pradesh
9	Group of Monuments at Hampi	Karnataka
10	Khajuraho Group of Monuments	Madhya Pradesh
11	Elephanta Caves	Maharashtra
12	Great Living Chola Temples 12	Tamil Nadu
13	Group of Monuments at Pattadakal	Karnataka
14	Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi	Madhya Pradesh
15	Humayun's Tomb	Delhi
16	Qutb Minar and its Monuments	Delhi
17	Mountain Railways of India (Includes Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway)	Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tamilnadu
18	Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya	Bihar
19	Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka	Madhya Pradesh
20	Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park	Gujarat
21	Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus)	Mumbai
22	Red Fort Complex	Delhi
23	The Jantar Mantar	Jaipur, Rajasthan
24	Hill Forts of Rajasthan (Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore Fort, Gagron Fort, Amber Fort and Jaisalmer Fort)	Rajasthan
25	Rani-ki-Vav at Patan	Gujarat
26	Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University)	Bihar
27	Capitol Building Complex - The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier	Chandigarh
28	Historic City of Ahmadabad	Gujarat
29	Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles	Mumbai, Maharashtra
30	Walled City of Jaipur	Jaipur, Rajasthan

S No.	Site	State
1	Kaziranga National Park	Assam
2	Keoladeo National Park	Rajasthan
3	Manas Wildlife Sanctuary	Assam
4	Sundarbans National Park	West Bengal
5	Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks	Uttarakhand
6	Western Ghats	Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra
7	Great Himalayan National Park-Conservation Area	Himachal Pradesh