NEWS

The Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala — the famed Hoysala temples of Belur, Halebid and Somananthpura in the State — has been finalised as India’s nomination for consideration as World Heritage for 2022-23.

DETAILS

• Background – They are on UNESCO’s Tentative list since 15th April, 2014
• What happens next –
  • UNESCO will communicate back by early March
  • Site evaluation will happen in September /October 2022
  • Dossier will be taken up for consideration in July /August 2023.
• What is World Heritage site – Place that is listed by UNESCO for its special cultural or physical significance
• Who maintains the list – International ‘World Heritage Programme’, administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
• Benefits –
  • Help maintain a legacy for the future.
  • Once a site is declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, it is accepted as prima facie evidence that such a site is culturally sensitive and warrants legal protection pursuant to the Law of War under the Geneva Convention, its Articles, Protocols and Customs.

ABOUT THE TEMPLES

• Built in the 12th-13th centuries
• Represented by the three components of Belur, Halebid and Somnathapura
• Attest to the creativity and skill of the Hoysala artists and architects
• ‘Hoysala Temple’ form.
  • Have a basic Darvidian morphology
  • Show strong influences of
    • Bhumija mode widely used in Central India
    • Nagara traditions of northern and western India
    • Karntata Dravida modes favoured by the Kalyani Chalukyas
  • Hoysala architects made considered and informed eclectic selections of features from other temple typologies which they further modified and then complemented with their own particular innovations.
• Hoysala temples are protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and therefore conservation and maintenance will be done by ASI.
• The District Master Plan of the state government will also incorporate the buffers of all monuments and build an integrated management plan.
• State government will also look at the traffic management issues to be looked into especially around the designated property.