The Convention:

• The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage,  an international agreement adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972.
• It was founded  on the premise that certain places on Earth are of outstanding universal value and as such should  form part of the common heritage of humankind. 
• The nations or States Parties that adhere to the  Convention have become part of an international community, united in a common mission to identify  and safeguard our world’s most outstanding natural and cultural heritage. 
• Without raising any questions on the domestic ownership of the monuments, the  States Parties to the Convention recognise that the protection of the World Heritage is the duty of the  international community as a whole. 
• A total of 42 properties from India are inscribed on the World  Heritage List. The monuments in the list are divided under three categories namely Cultural (34), Natural (7) and Mixed (1).

Prominent Heritage Sites from India:

• Archeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara: This site is located in Bihar and comprises the archeological remains of a scholastic and monastic institution which functioned from 3rd century BCE to 13th century CE. 
  • The site testifies the development of Buddhism into a religion with strong monastic traditions.
• Champaner-Pavagadh archeological park: A concentration of largely unexcavated archaeological, historic  and living cultural heritage properties cradled in an impressive  landscape which includes prehistoric (chalcolithic) sites, a hill  fortress of an early Hindu capital, and remains of the 16th-century  capital of the state of Gujarat. 
  • The Kalikamata Temple on top of Pavagadh Hill  is considered to be an important shrine, attracting large numbers  of pilgrims throughout the year. 
  • The site is the only complete and  unchanged Islamic pre-Mughal city. 
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus: The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, formerly known as Victoria  Terminus Station, in Mumbai, is an outstanding example of Victorian  Gothic Revival architecture in India, blended with themes deriving  from Indian traditional architecture. 
  • The building, designed by the  British architect F W Stevens, became the symbol of Bombay as the  ‘Gothic City’ and the major international mercantile port of India.  
  • It is an outstanding example of the meeting of two cultures, as  British architects worked with Indian craftsmen to include Indian  architectural tradition and idioms thus forging a new style unique  to Bombay.  
• Churches and Convents of Goa: The churches and convents of Goa, the former capital of the  Portuguese Indies – particularly the Basilica of Bom Jesus, which  contains the tomb of St Francis-Xavier – illustrate the evangelisation  of Asia. 
  • These monuments were influential in spreading forms of  Manueline, Mannerist and Baroque art in all the countries of Asia  where missions were established.  
• Dholavira: A Harappan City  The ancient city of Dholavira, the southern centre of the Harappan  Civilisation, is on the arid island of Khadir in the State of Gujarat.  
  • Occupied between ca. 3000-1500 BCE, the archaeological site, one of  the best preserved urban settlements from the period in Southeast  Asia, comprises a fortified city and a cemetery.
  • The site had a complex water conservation system as it was present in a water scarce region.
  • This site also had a long text in Harappan script which came to be known as ‘Dholavira Signboard’.
• Fatehpur Sikri:  Built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor  Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was the capital of the Mughal  Empire for only some 10 years. 
  • The complex of monuments and  temples, all in a uniform architectural style, includes one of the largest  mosques in India, the Jama Masjid.  
• Group of Monuments at Pattadakal: This site located in Karnataka shows the highpoint of architecture under the Chalukyas. It is a blend of northern and southern architectural forms.
  • It includes Hindu and Jain temples and the most famed among them is the  Virupaksha temple.
• Hill Forts of Rajasthan: The serial site, situated in the state of Rajastahan, includes  six majestic forts in Chittorgarh; Kumbhalgarh; Sawai Madhopur;  Jhalawar; Jaipur, and Jaisalmer.
  • The grand architecture of the forts,  some up to 20 kilometres in circumference, bears testimony to the  power of the Rajput princely states that flourished in the region from  the 8th to the 18th centuries. 
  • Enclosed within defensive walls are major  urban centres, palaces, trading centres and other buildings including  temples that often predate the fortifications within which developed  an elaborate courtly culture that supported learning, music and  the arts.
• Jaipur City, Rajasthan: The walled city of Jaipur, in India’s north-western state of Rajasthan  was founded in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh II. 
  • Unlike other cities in the  region located in hilly terrain, Jaipur was established on the plain  and built according to a grid plan interpreted in the light of Vedic  architecture. 
  • The city’s plan shows a mixture of Hindu, Mughal and the Western ideas.
• Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple: This temple located in Telangana is also known as Ramappa temple, was built by the Kakatiyan rulers Rudradeva and Recherla Rudra.
  • The building features  decorated beams and pillars of carved granite and dolerite with  a distinctive and pyramidal Vimana (horizontally stepped tower)  made of lightweight porous bricks, so-called ‘floating bricks’, which  reduced the weight of the roof structures.
• Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya: The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is one of the four holy sites  related to the life of the Lord Buddha, and particularly to the attainment  of Enlightenment. 
  • The first temple was built by Emperor Asoka in the  3rd century BC, and the present temple dates from the 5th or 6th centuries.  
  • It is one of the earliest Buddhist temples built entirely in brick, still  standing in India, from the late Gupta period. 
• Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat:  Rani-ki-Vav is an 11th century stepwell built in Maru-Gurjara architectural style. 
  • It is located on the banks of Saraswathi river.
  • It was designed as an inverted temple highlighting the sanctity  of water, it is divided into seven levels of stairs with sculptural panels  of high artistic quality. 
• Khangchendzonga National Park: This park is located at the heart of the Himalayan range in northern India (State of Sikkim), the Khangchendzonga National Park includes a unique diversity of plains, valleys, lakes, glaciers and spectacular, snow-capped mountains covered with ancient forests.
  • It includes the world’s third highest peak, Mount Khangchendzonga. 
  • Mythological stories are associated with this mountain and with a great number of natural elements (caves, rivers, lakes, etc.) that are the object of worship by the indigenous people of Sikkim. 
  • The sacred meanings of these stories and practices have been integrated with Buddhist beliefs and constitute the basis for Sikkimese identity.
  • This is the only Mixed heritage site from India to be included in the list.
• Santiniketan: It was established in rural West Bengal in 1901 by the renowned poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore.
  • Santiniketan was a residential school and centre for art based on ancient Indian traditions and a vision of the unity of humanity transcending religious and cultural boundaries. 
  • A ‘World University’ was established at Santiniketan in 1921, recognising the unity of humanity or ‘Visva Bharati’. 
  • Distinct from the prevailing British colonial architectural orientations of the early 20th century and of European modernism, Santiniketan represents approaches toward a pan-Asian modernity, drawing on ancient, medieval and folk traditions from across the region.
• Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks: Nestled high in West Himalaya, India’s Valley of Flowers National Park is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. 
  • This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep. 
  • The gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park. 
  • Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya, praised by mountaineers and botanists for over a century and in Hindu mythology for much longer.