Guwahati: It took Assam nearly four decades to get its third World Heritage Site.
The last two sites from Assam that were declared World Heritage Sites were Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park in 1985. Though Manas lost its World Heritage Site in 1996 due to insurgency resulting in the destruction of Park infrastructure and the depletion of forest habitat and wildlife populations it got back the tag in 2011 due to improved conditions.
But have we forgotten the River Island of Majuli in the midstream of the Brahmaputra River in Assam which has been on the tentative list of Unesco since 2004? Majuli is also in Upper Assam like Moidams.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), an advisory body of the Unesco World Heritage Centre, carried out a detailed evaluation of Majuli Island in 2005. Based on the Icomos report, the nomination came up for consideration before the World Heritage Committee in 2006 but was referred back asking the government to assemble more information on the satras remaining on the island and how they had influenced its landscape and culture.
The committee had also asked the government to create an inventory of architecture and spatial patterns associated with the satras and to come up with legal protection to safeguard the river island.
Numerous discussions were held but nothing happened and there is no news on whether the government will make a bid for Majuli or not.
Let’s talk of the good news of Assam getting its third World Heritage Site- Moidams – the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty which was inscribed today in the ongoing 46th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi. This is the only property to be nominated by India as a cultural property.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and others took to X thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Members of the
UNESCO World Heritage Committee and to the people of Assam for getting its third World Heritage Site.
The Moidams – the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty were recommended on two criteria (iii) and (iv)” but not on criterion (v). Criteria (v) is that it is an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land use, or sea use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change.
Criteria (iii) is that it bears a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization that is living or which has disappeared; while criteria (iv) is that it is an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history.
ICOMOS considers that criteria (iii) and (iv) are demonstrated, but not criteria (v). “However, the nominated property is focused on the necropolis and funerary traditions of the Tai-Ahoms, and relatively little is documented or included in the nomination concerning the relict landscape created by the traditions of six centuries of Tai-Ahom settlement. For these reasons, it considers that criterion (v) is not demonstrated” ICOMOS says.
“The nominated property is well-maintained, and there are no adverse effects of development. The moidams are mostly undisturbed” ICOMOS says.
“No settlements, modern high-rises, electricity infrastructure, industries, or agriculture are within the nominated property. There is minimal threat of development or encroachment, and the nominated property is well protected. The visual integrity is well established. While moidams are found in other areas within the Brahmaputra Valley, this particular cluster is regarded to be the most significant, and the continuing rituals in this landscape enhance its overall significance” ICOMOS says.
Not only India and Assam are celebrating the inscription of Moidams – the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynastymake as a World Heritage Site, but even Thailand too.
Thailand in India Embassy took to X to express their happiness- “Congrats for the latest inscription on #UNESCO World Heritage List & marking NER’s 1st list under the Cultural category! & enjoy age-old cultural ties & deep-rooted linkages including 800-year-old connection btw Tai-Ahoms & Thais – Amb Pattara,” it wrote.
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There is an 800-year-old connection between Tai-Ahoms and Thais. The nominated property contains the royal necropolis of the Tai-Ahom. Before the arrival of the Tai, this part of India was ruled by several smaller kingdoms. The Tai arrived from Mong-Mao (also known as Maulung), an area bordering today’s Myanmar and China in the 13th century. The Tai Prince Siu-ka-pha established Charaideo as the first permanent capital of the Tai-Ahom. The Tai-Ahom became a powerful dynasty between the 13th and 19th centuries, ending with the British colonial period.
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