Why Dholavira (Gujarat) was in news recently?

Correct — option (2), Recently included in UNESCO’s world Heritage site.

On 27 July 2021, "Dholavira: a Harappan City", in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. PIB's release of that day said it made India's total 40 World Heritage properties.

India had submitted the nomination dossier to the World Heritage Centre in January 2020. The site had been on UNESCO's Tentative List since 2014.

UNESCO's listing gives the date of inscription as 2021, under cultural criteria (iii) and (iv). It describes Dholavira as the southern centre of the Harappan Civilization, occupied between about 3000 and 1500 BCE.

The idea to remember: Dholavira (Gujarat) became India's 40th World Heritage property on 27 July 2021.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Declared as Tiger Reserve — Dholavira is an archaeological site, a Harappan city, not a wildlife area. The news of July 2021 was its inscription on the World Heritage List.

  UNESCO's listing notes that the property's buffer zone overlaps the Kachchh Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, but the July 2021 news concerned heritage status, not a tiger reserve.

• (3)
  Included in the list of National Parks — Dholavira was in the news for World Heritage status, not as a national park. The site is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India as an ancient monument of national importance, under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.

  National parks are protected areas for wildlife under a different law.

• (4)
  This site was hit by terrorist attack — No such event is reported in PIB's release or UNESCO's listing. Dholavira was in the news on 27 July 2021 because it was inscribed as a World Heritage property.

  PIB's release quotes the Prime Minister and the Union Culture Minister welcoming the inscription.

The World Heritage List is kept by UNESCO under the World Heritage Convention. A country first places a site on its Tentative List, then submits a nomination dossier, and the World Heritage Committee decides whether to inscribe it.

A cultural site must meet at least one of the cultural criteria. Dholavira was inscribed under criteria (iii) and (iv).

PIB describes the property as two parts: a walled city and a cemetery to its west. The walled city has a fortified castle with a bailey and ceremonial ground, a middle town and a lower town.

Key facts

• 27 July 2021: Dholavira: a Harappan City was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, India's 40th World Heritage property.
• PIB: India's 40 properties then comprised 32 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed.
• The site had been on UNESCO's Tentative List since 2014; the dossier was submitted in January 2020.
• Dholavira lies on Khadir island in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, and was occupied for about 1,500 years.
• The Rudreswara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana, became India's 39th World Heritage property a few days earlier.

Common traps

• Two inscriptions in July 2021: Ramappa Temple became India's 39th World Heritage property, and Dholavira a few days later the 40th.
• Heritage versus wildlife status: Dholavira is an archaeological site; a wildlife sanctuary overlapping its buffer zone does not make it a tiger reserve or national park.
• Tentative List versus World Heritage List: Dholavira was on the Tentative List from 2014, but it was inscribed only in 2021.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2018 here once that paper is published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which of the following became India's 39th World Heritage property in July 2021, a few days before Dholavira?

  • (a)Rudreswara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana
  • (b)Jaipur City, Rajasthan
  • (c)Rani-ki-Vav, Gujarat
  • (d)Hill Forts of Rajasthan
  Answer(1) — PIB's release of 27 July 2021 says Dholavira's inscription followed a few days after the Rudreswara (Ramappa) Temple became India's 39th. Options (2), (3) and (4) are other sites, not the 39th property inscribed in July 2021.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Dholavira, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2021, is located on which island?

  • (a)Khadir
  • (b)Bet Dwarka
  • (c)Diu
  • (d)Piram
  Answer(1) — UNESCO and PIB both place Dholavira on the island of Khadir in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. Options (2), (3) and (4) are other islands, not Dholavira's location.