Karnataka miffed as Centre sits on Deccan Sultanate tourism initiative for 10 years

The Karnataka government, going out on a limb to boost tourism in the state, is upset with the Centre.

Way back in February 2014, shortly before Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister, the Karnataka government, then too headed by Siddaramaiah, sent a proposal to the Centre. It sought help to get the prestigious UN World Heritage tag for 12 forts and monuments classified as Deccan Sultanate properties.

Nearly 11 years hence, the proposal continues to be in cold storage.

On December 6, Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat dashed whatever little hope was left — he said no new properties in Karnataka were under consideration for nomination as a World Heritage site.

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What are these monuments?

The 'Deccan Sultanate' refers to five kingdoms in South India that were ruled by Muslim dynasties over the centuries. They were largely located between the Vindhyas and River Krishna — Ahmadnagar, Berar, Khandeshi, Bijapur, and Golconda.

Experts say the monuments of the Deccan Sultanate demonstrate an exemplary convergence of national and international styles of Islamic architecture and their intersections with the prevalent Hindu architecture of the period.

The 12 monuments classified under the Deccan Sultanate bracket are: Gulbarga Fort of Kalbaburagi, Haft Gumbaz tombs, Bidar Royal Citadel, Bidar City Fortification, Tombs of Astur, Bijapur Royal Citadel (Vijayapura), Bijapur City Fortification, Ibrahim Rouza, Gol Gumbaz, Golkonda Royal Citadel (Hyderabad), Golconda City Fortification and Qutb Shahi Tombs.

They have been on the ‘tentative’ list of Unesco World Heritage Sites for a long time. The Karnataka government, which has sent repeated reminders to the Centre, is accusing the latter of apathy in this regard. 

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Karnataka’s plea

Karnataka submitted a proposal to the World Heritage Advisory Committee through the Union government in 2014 to include the monuments of the Deccan Sultanate and forts of Kalaburagi, Bidar and Vijayapura districts of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region on the World Heritage tentative list.

Documents in possession of The Federal show that the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICoMOS) committee of Unesco reviewed and accepted this proposal on April 15, 2014. The monuments were added to the tentative list.

A document was created in collaboration with the Indian Heritage Cities Network Foundation (IHCNF) on nine Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected heritage structures in January 2019. The ASI sent the records to Unesco in January 2020. The accompanying note read: “The above monuments are covered under the following criteria under the operational guidelines of the World Heritage Committee.”

But, there has been no movement since then.

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Expert flays Centre

“What can one expect from a government whose mission is to divide the society on religious lines?” asked Sajjad Shahid, a historian, architectural conservationist and a visiting professor at the University of Hyderabad.

Shahid, however, offered a clean chit to the ASI. “The ASI did not discriminate between monuments while sending the proposals to Unesco,” he told The Federal.

The ASI also recommended the Dholavira-a Harappan city, the Ramappa temple in Telangana and the sacred ensembles of Hoysalas from Karnataka in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Now, it is set to send two more sets of monuments including the temples of Kalyani Chalukyas in Gadag’s Lakkundi and Gomateshwara in Shravanabelagola of Hassan district.

Why World Heritage tag

HM Siddanagoudar, a former Director (Museums) in the state's Department of Archaeology, attributes the lack of progress to a change in Unesco policies.

“The monuments continue to be on the tentative list due to a change in Unesco policy in accepting nominations from countries. Earlier, more than one entry (monument) was allowed for nomination. From 2020, Unesco restricted nomination to one monument per country because of the intense competition to get the World Heritage tag,” he told The Federal.

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"The tag offers global recognition, and helps in attracting more domestic and foreign tourists. Unesco provides the sites with resources for conservation, preservation and maintenance," he added. 

Karnataka’s tourism pledge

Meanwhile, Karnataka Tourism Minister HK Patil said on December 13 that the state has drafted a blueprint to develop 44 tourism spots in Vijayapura and Bagalkot districts under the PPP model under the New Tourism Policy for 2024-29.

The subsidy will be extended to private investors, and the government will take up development projects in these two districts at an investment of Rs.1,674 lakh.

According to the state tourism department, the number of tourists rose to 28.50 crore in 2023 from 18.27-crore in 2022. This was the highest number recorded in the last seven years.

But of the 28.50 crore, only about 4 lakh were foreign tourists, which is less than 0.14 per cent of the total.

“We need more tourists from other countries as well as other states. And this could be achieved if the Deccan Sultanate Monuments get the World Heritage tag,” Patil noted.