Ahmedabad - India's first World Heritage City

As a Barodian, I envy the city for this honour; as an Indian I feel proud. The city is indeed beautiful – reflecting a glorious blend of traditional vernacular architecture of the ‘pols’, the Indo-Islamic monuments that stand testimony to the rulers that ruled over the city/country, the post-independence wave of Modernism that has given the city some iconic buildings, and the more recent additions to the infrastructure such as the ringed expressways and dedicated bus corridors! So while the old walled precinct retains the old-world charm the newer development makes it a world-class contemporary city. 

Ruchira Kamboj, India’s permanent representative to UNESCO, who lobbied hard for Ahmedabad’s candidature, is obviously thrilled. “The city has stood for “peace” and “unity”, and is one of the finest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture and Hindu-Muslim art,” she says. “For over 600 years, Ahmedabad has stood for peace, as a landmark city where Mahatma Gandhi began India’s freedom struggle. It has stood for unity with its elegant carvings in its Hindu and Jain temples as well as standing as one of the finest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture and Hindu Muslim art. And beyond this, it epitomizes the United Nation’s objective of sustainable development as it accelerates in its development.”

UNESCO defines World Heritage as the “designation for places… of outstanding universal value to humanity… to be protected for future generations.” The UNESCO committee considered Ahmedabad as a ‘living heritage’ because of the peaceful co-existence of about four lakh Hindus, Muslims and Jains in the 600-plus ‘pols’ (century old clusters of wooden residences). Besides the city’s unique architectural heritage, the city won brownie points for being the epicentre of India’s non-violent freedom struggle, as well as the historic Dandi March.

The UNESCO tag brings brand value to the city and is expected to add significantly to tourism footfall, which, in turn, affects the growth of employment in allied industries. Besides, the tag comes with financial assistance from the international body. 

But as of now, let's soak in the honour and pride that this acknowledgement brings our way!