Charaideo Maidams: Ministry of Culture sends draft dossier to UNESCO headquarters

 World Heritage Site tag for Charaideo Maidams

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has forwarded the draft dossier for inclusion of the Charaideo Maidams in the World Heritage list, to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. In the next meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, the proposal for the inclusion of the Charaideo Maidams – near Sonari town in the Charaideo district– in the World Heritage list will probably be put up for consideration.

The previous Government of Assam had taken a policy decision to examine if there was a possibility for inclusion of the Charaideo Maidams of the Ahom era in the World Heritage list. The government formed a committee for preparation of a dossier in this regard. The committee included Dr KC Nauriyal, cultural expert; Dr Deepirekha Kouli, Director, Archaeology; Dr Nabajit Deori, Deputy Director; Dr Chabina Hassan, Technical Officer; Ajit Kumar Bora, State Archaeological Engineer; Simran Sambhi, Exploration Officer; and Kangkonjyoti Saikia, Senior Conservation Officer.

The committee prepared a draft dossier which was sent to the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The Ministry of Culture studied the draft dossier and was satisfied with the justification given for the inclusion of the Charaideo Maidams in the World Heritage list. The Ministry of Culture then forwarded the draft dossier, containing more than 100 pages, to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. In the next stage, the Government of Assam will be sending the final dossier to the UNESCO headquarters through the Ministry of Culture.

The Assam Government is keen on promoting the Charaideo Maidams of the Ahom era and has already earmarked Rs 25 crore for the preservation, protection and preparation of the dossier for the World Heritage site proposal. Charaideo was the first permanent capital of the Ahom kingdom established by the first Ahom king Chao Lung Siu-Ka-Pha in 1253. Even though the capital moved to other places over the 600 years of Ahom rule, Charaideo remained the symbol of Ahom power. The royal maidams are found exclusively at Charaideo; whereas other maidams are found scattered in the region between Jorhat and Dibrugarh towns.

The maidams constructed in the Ahom style preserve the typically mummified mortal remains of the Ahom royalty and nobles. Structurally, a maidam consists of vaults with one or more chambers. The vaults have a domical superstructure that is covered by a hemispherical earthen mound that rises high above the ground with an open pavilion at the peak called chow chali. An octagonal dwarf wall encloses the entire maidam.

The maidams are stretched over 578 bighas of land in Charaideo of Upper Assam. While the large four maidams are being looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), 34 others are under the Directorate of Archaeology.

A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area which is selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance and is legally protected by international treaties. The sites are judged important to the collective interests of humanity.

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