Past forward

THE WEEK Heritage Awards is an initiative to transform India's glorious history into a living experience

- BY K. SUNIL THOMAS

When it comes to India's rich heritage, everyone is emphatic that it needs to be preserved and maintained.

But when it comes to action, there is much of a slip between the cup and the lip. “Our heritage gives us pride in being Indian. Our tangible and intangible heritage is a symbol of our history. Previous generations handed it to us and that is a responsibility on us—we need to come together to protect it, or else, future generations will not forgive us.” That was Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat speaking at the first THE WEEK Heritage Awards in New Delhi on September 13. “When a society gets inspired from its history, it can learn how to right the wrongs,” he said. Shekhawat pointed out how India’s rich history and heritage suffered in the past, especially when the nation was enslaved. “Our heritage was taken out with impunity. Even after independence, it kept going out, legally and illegally," he said. "Those responsible for preserving India's heritage got lazy, but we are now bringing in an ecosystem to preserve it."

Highlighting how the Modi government is turning the preservation of heritage into a mass movement, the minister commended THE WEEK for the Heritage Awards venture and remarked how it would contribute to the preservation of the nation's history and heritage.