Will Charminar Bag The UNESCO Tag?

Armed with a 400-year-old history and a glossy dossier that won Charminar a nomination on Unesco’s World Heritage list, the city’s eight million residents are hoping to break into celebrations once the results are announced later this year. While optimists appear to be on a high, heritage experts confess that the monument’s chances do not seem too encouraging owing to the global body’s stringent selection standards. 
    
The designation of ‘World Heritage Site’ is coveted as it gives a monument international recognition and major tourism boost. It also secures commitment from the home country for the monument’s protection. Iconic Charminar’s first attempt at bagging the tag was made in 2001 when a document was presented to Unesco to nominate Hyderabad as a heritage city. However, the submission fell through as it was not sent through the Union HRD ministry, whichis authorisedtosend allsuch proposals. Another feeble attempt made in 2005 was turned down as the submission was not in the format prescribed by the World Heritage Committee (WHC). The last attempt madein 2010 to putCharminar on the list of hopefuls along with Golconda and Qutub Shahi Tombs under the theme ‘Qutub Shahi Monuments of Hyderabad’ succeeded. 
    
After a scrutiny of the dossier submitted by WHC and secretariat of its advisory body InternationalCouncilon Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a team from ASI arrived from Delhi to gauge the state of preparedness. It offered suggestions to ensure all goes well during inspection by ICOMOS experts, which was scheduled later that year. 
    
However, when a team from ICOMOS arrived at Charminar in November last, it did not like what it saw. The team noted with annoyance the ugly paan stains and chipped walls though the government officials had tried to hide the defects. Besides the visible lack of upkeep, ASI had no explanation for the presence of religious elements in the vicinity of Charminar. It was also learnt that lack of a concerted effort to manage the environs was a reason for displeasure of the inspection team. 
    
Conservation experts see the urgent need to have a management plan for the Charminar area, award or no award. “A body on the lines of the Buddha Purnima Project Authority should be created to managetheCharminar area.Thiswillhelp bring about architectural control while allowing urban development. There should be a single authority that focuses not just on conservation of monuments but also works to exclusively manage and monitor the area by bringing together monument custodians, various bodies of civic administration, politicians and locals together,” said Vasanta Sobha Turga, citybased architect. 
    
Despite apparent drawbacks, there is some hope as a rejection from WHC would make a new nomination difficult. A heritage activist hopefully said, “We cannot be confident of a win owing to several loopholes on the ground. But recent efforts have taken us the farthest we have ever got.” The world heritage committee is expected to meet in June to announce sites selected for inscription on the World Heritage List. 
  
The Unesco’s World Heritage Tag could play a vital role in saving the Charminar, the soul of Hyderabad, from disintegration. Attempts to get the tag have not fructified because the state has not demonstrated the seriousness it requires. The only way out for the government to save the monument is to send an urgent, clear and strong message to all related agencies that it means business and no one will be spared for missing the target.