Kalaburagi monuments miss UNESCO tag, people criticise governments

Kalaburagi

Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat informed Rajya Sabha that no Karnataka monuments are being considered for UNESCO nomination. Shekhawat answered an unstarred question asked by Lahar Singh Siroya, saying, however, four properties, monuments and forts of the Deccan Sultanate, monuments of Srirangapatna island town, evolution of temple architecture,  Aihole-Badami-Pattadakal and Hire Benkal megalithic site, are already included in the tentative list, which is a prerequisite for the further inscription process, he added.
His reply led to a debate among history enthusiasts, who termed it another discrimination towards the North Karnataka region by state and Union governments. Dr Krishna Kolhar Kulkarni, Convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), told that the tentative list was cancelled at UNESCO 2 years ago. As per UNESCO's new policy of accepting nominations, a monument should be independent. There is a need for the Deputy Commissioner concerned to submit a revised proposal. The proposal should be prepared in a specified proforma by involving history and tourism experts, and it should go through the official channel in Deputy Commssioner, state government, union governmentt, and then to UNESCO.  .
Dr Rehaman Patel, an artist and researcher in Kalaburagi, said that it was shocking news for Kalaburagi people that no new monuments in Karnataka were presently under consideration for nominations for the UNESCO tag. The department of archaeology, museums, and heritage submitted a proposal to the World Heritage Advisory Committee through the Union department of culture, in February 2014, to include the monuments and forts of Kalaburagi, Bidar, and Vijayapura districts under the title Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate on the World Heritage Tentative List. From Kalaburagi, the Bahmani Fort and Haft Gumbaz are recommended for the UNESCO tag, he mentioned.