India gets its 37th WORLD UNESCO World HERITAGE SITE

On June 30, 2018, At the 42^nd session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO at Manama in Bahrain , India’s nomination of the “Victorian and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai ” was inscribed on  UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

As recommended by the World Heritage Committee, India accepted the renaming of the ensemble as “Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai”.

About the nomination:

• This makes Mumbai city the second city in India after Ahmedabad to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.
• This achievement is expected to give a tremendous fillip to domestic and international tourism leading to increased employment generation, creation of world-class infrastructure and augmentation of sale of local handicrafts, handlooms and heritage memorabilia.

About India’s standing in UNESCO Heritage list:

• India has managed to get inscribed seven of its properties/sites on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.
• India now has overall 37 World Heritage Inscriptions with 29 Cultural, 07 Natural and 01 Mixed sites.
• In addition, 42 sites from the country figures in the Tentative List of World Heritage and the Ministry of Culture would be recommending one property every year for nomination to UNESCO.
• India stands second largest in number after China in terms of number of World Heritage properties in ASPAC (Asia and Pacific) region, it is overall sixth in the world.

About the Victorian and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai :

• The Ensemble consists of 94 buildings primarily of 19^th century Victorian Gothic revival and early 20^th century Art Deco style of architecture with the Oval Maidan in the centre. Together, this architectural ensemble represents the most remarkable collection of Victorian and Art Deco buildings in the world.
•  The 19^th century Victorian buildings form part of the larger Fort precinct situated to the east of the Oval Maidan. These public buildings include the Old Secretariat (1857-74), University Library and Convention Hall (1874-78), the Bombay High Court (1878), the Public Works Department Office (1872), Watson’s Hotel (1869), David Sasoon Library (1870), the Elphinstone College(1888), etc. The Art Deco styled buildings to the west of the Oval Maidan were raised in early 20^thcentury on the newly reclaimed lands at Marine Drive and symbolised the shift in expression to represent contemporary aspirations.

UNESCO Heritage Sites: