India’s nomination of Dholavira, the Harappan City in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list on Tuesday (July 27).
Earlier in January 2021, India submitted the nomination dossier for Dholavira: A Harappan City to the World Heritage Centre. The site was on the UNESCO’s tentative list since 2014 and is one of the very few well-preserved urban settlements in South Asia dating from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi took to twitter and expressed his elation over its inclusion in the World Heritage list.
He wrote that he was absolutely delighted by the news. He elaborated that Dholavira was an important urban centre and is one of our most important linkages with our past. It is a must visit, especially for those interested in history, culture and archaeology. With this successful nomination, India has 40 world heritage properties overall, which includes 32 cultural, 7 natural and one mixed property. In addition to being the 6th largest in the 1000 Harappan sites discovered so far, Dholavira also displays its multifaceted achievements in terms of urban planning, construction techniques, water management, social governance and development, art, manufacturing, trading, and belief system.
With extremely rich artifacts, the well preserved urban settlement of Dholavira paints a vivid picture of a regional centre with its distinct characteristics that also contributes significantly to the existing knowledge of Harappan civilization as a whole.