• w:Varanasi

• b:Development Cooperation Handbook/Stories/Responsible Development - Varanasi

• v:The Varanasi Heritage Dossier

• w:Kautilya Society

Protecting the Varanasi Heritage

Hindu culture, have attributed supreme importance to the preservation of tradition Classical civilizations, and especially the Indian one, have attributed supreme importance to the preservation of tradition. Its central idea was that social institutions, scientific knowledge and technological applications need to use "heritage" as a "resource". Using contemporary language, we would say that ancient Indians considered, as social resources, both economic assets (like natural resources and their exploitation structure) and factors promoting social integration (like institutions for preserving knowledge and maintaining civil order). Ethics considered that what had been inherited should not be consumed, but should be handed over, possibly enriched, to successive generations. This was a moral imperative for all, except in the final life stage of sannyasa

The KS members strongly feel, like many other citizens of the world, that India has a responsibility towards the world and towards herself to develop in harmony with her spiritual and cultural identity. Varanasi is a universal heritage city and not just for urban Indian or foreign tourists.^[1] Its architectural heritage is the frame of a natural Sun Temple, that rises on the banks of Ganges in the form of an amphitheater, where the Ghats form the platforms, the water the altar and the sun is the epiphany of God. In Varanasi, the river Ganges, that normally flows eastward, takes a sudden turn towards the North; where the sun rises perpendicularly to the river creating, at dawn, a burning line of refracting light that cuts across the river and allows the bathing devotee to pour the Ganges waters directly into the "yoni" of light. To betray Varanasi and allow its environmental and social decadence or unsustained commercial exploitation of its unique heritage would be a betrayal to Indian tradition and to the patrimony of future generations. ^{[2] [3]}

In 2002, the KS prepared a draft dossier, commissioned by the Varanasi Development Authority, for proposing the enlistment of the Varanasi riverfront Ghats in the list World Heritage sites of Unesco.,^[4] , ^[5], ^[6]

The Indian Government could not forward this proposal to UNESCO because legislations, policies and plans would first need to put in place to protect the site and must be implemented locally. It is not enough that the Varanasi Development Authority declared it a "heritage zone" ^[7] ; nor that the UP Government had issued an order (no. 320/9-A-3-2000-127 of February 5, 2000, and 840/9-A-3-2001 of April 11, 2001) prohibiting new constructions within 200 meters from the Ganges river front: because these were not implemented! And there was a widespread pessimism about whether they would ever be really implemented in the near future. As Mr. R Parshuraman, UNESCO Director in New Delhi said in one of his visits to Varanasi in 2009, "people and local bodies need to show determination in seeing the name of their historical city on the Unesco list of world heritage cities." ^[8], ^{[9] [10]}

In order to react against such pessimistic sloth, the KS started conducting an awareness creation campaign to sensitise the population and to advocate with the Public Authorities that they implement existing laws and constitute a Heritage Committee that proposes new laws and adequate management plans. ^[11]

Vrinda Dar, the General Secretary of KS, had been personally leading the KS activities for heritage protection. She believes that the only way forward for sustainable development is to involve local communities, build their awareness about the cultural and economic value of local resources, build on local resources and hold governments accountable for their policies and actions. She maintains a blog ^[12] where she informs about the progress on heritage preservation in Varanasi.