Every year, the 18th of April marks World Heritage Day. This year, the World Heritage Day theme is "Heritage and Climate". The day is celebrated to spread awareness about the preservation and conservation of the world’s precious sites and it also honours the history and diversity. The idea of the world heritage day was presented on 18 April 1982 in Tunisia to The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) during a conference. Later, it was approved by the UNESCO General Conference in its 22nd session in November 1983.
The sole reason for this day is to be grateful to the people like geographers, archaeologists, architects, engineers, civil engineers, and artists for working hard to preserve the world’s heritage for the future generation and value our monuments. India is extremely rich in heritage, culture, nature, and history. It has 40 UNESCO heritage sites in the world and ranks sixth on the list of the largest number of UNESCO sites in the world with 3691 protected monuments, palaces, forts, wildlife sanctuaries, and sites. All these preserved heritages add to India’s glory which attracts tourists from worldwide.
It has preserved sites in three different categories-- natural, cultural, and mixed. Where in nature comes the wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, western ghats, etc. Taj Mahal, Hampi, Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Sanchi, Rani Ki Vav, Hill Forts of Rajasthan, and others come under cultural sites.
Indian states also have cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Hampi, Khajrao, etc that are known as World Heritage Cities. All these majestic heritages are preserved to narrate the story of its greatness which will help our future generation to recall its rich history. The government of India is trying its level best to preserve and protect the sites.
