In August 2025, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Ministry of Culture (MoC), Government of India (GOI), has nominated “Sarnath”, an ancient Buddhist site for inscription on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List for the 2025-26 cycle.
- World Heritage Convention, 1972: Under the Convention, each State Party can nominate only one site per year for inscription on the World Heritage List. The nomination process takes approximately 1.5 years from the date of submission.
Exam Hints:
- What? India has nominated a site for UNESCO World Heritage Site List
- Site: Sarnath, an ancient Buddhist site
- Nomination cycle: 2025-26
- Who submitted? Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), MoC
- Sarnath: Gautama Buddha delivered his First Sermon
About Sarnath:
Location: Sarnath is situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ganga and Varuna in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Birth of Buddhism: Gautama Buddha delivered his first religious speech (first sermon) in Sarnath, following the attainment of enlightenment at Bodh Gaya (Bihar), marking the birth of Buddhist community.
Sacred site: It is one of the four most sacred sites for Buddhist community, including Lumbini (Nepal), the birthplace of Buddha; Bodh Gaya, where Buddha attained enlightenment under a sacred Bodhi tree; Sarnath; and Kushinagar (UP), where he died.
Features: Sarnath features various monuments, sculptures, inscriptions, and monastic ruins, spanning from 3rd century Before Common Era (BCE) to the 12th Common Era (CE).
- It includes Dhamek Stupa, an approximately 44-metre-high cylindrical stupa, built by Ashoka, former emperor of the Maurya Empire, marking the spot of first sermon by Buddha.
- It also includes Chaukhandi Stupa, where he met his first five disciples; Ashokan Pillar, the national emblem of India, erected by Emperor Ashoka; Mulagandha Kuti Vihara, a temple built in 1931 by Japanese artist Kosetsu Nosu, and Sarnath Museum, first site museum of ASI, which accommodates the original Lion Capital, and sculptures.
World Heritage Site:
It is an area recognized by UNESCO for its cultural, historic, scientific, or natural significance, and legally protected by international treaties.
- Currently, 42 Indian sites, comprising 34 cultural, 7 natural, and 1 mixed have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
- India currently ranks 6th globally and 2nd in the Asia-Pacific in terms of the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and has 62 sites on its Tentative List.
About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):
Director-General – Audrey Azoulay
Headquarters – Paris, France
Establishment – 16 November 1945
