Hoysala Temples in Karnataka finalised as India’s nomination for World Heritage List for 2022-2023

Team Udayavani, Feb 1, 2022, 8:58 AM IST

New Delhi: The Hoysala Temples of Belur, Halebid and Somnathapura in Karnataka have been finalised as India’s nomination for World Heritage List for the year 2022-2023, the Union Culture Ministry said on Monday.

The ‘Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala’ are on UNESCO’s Tentative list since April 15, 2014, and stand testimony to the rich historical and cultural heritage of this country.

On Monday, Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO Vishal V Sharma formally submitted the nomination of Hoysala Temples to UNESCO Director of World Heritage Lazare Eloundou.

Following the submission of the dossier, technical scrutiny will be carried out.

In a tweet, Sharma said, “India is proud to nominate The Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas for UNESCO’s World Heritage List! Art historians recognize the exceptional sculptural artistry of the ensembles to be among the masterpieces of Asian art.”

The site evaluation will happen in September/October this year and the dossier will be taken up for consideration in July/August next year.

G Kishan Reddy, the Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of Northeastern Region, said, “This is a great moment for India to see the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas temples being submitted for inscription in the World Heritage List.”

“The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to both ‘vikas’ and ‘virasat’ (heritage).

“Our efforts in protecting our heritage is evident from the work the government has been putting in inscribing both our tangible and intangible heritage and also repatriating the cultural heritage that was stolen or taken away from India,” the Minister added.

All the three Hoysala temples are protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India and therefore their conservation and maintenance will be done by its, culture ministry said.

The state government will ensure the conservation of state-protected monuments which are around these three monuments since it would add to the visual integrity of the place, it said.