Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Credit: PTI Photo
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the initiative to ensure that the 600-year-old mound-burial system of the Ahom dynasty - "Moidams" - is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Sarma also thanked Union Culture Minister Gajendra Shekhawat who called to give him the news while the chief minister was addressing a press conference here.
The unique burial mounds, represented by pyramid-like structures known as "Moidams", were used by the Tai-Ahom dynasty that ruled Assam for around 600 years between 1228 and 1826.
''It is great news for Assam as the Charaideo Moidam is now officially a UNESCO Heritage site... Assam will always remain indebted to the Centre for this honour. This inclusion is a great honour for the country and not for Assam alone,'' Sarma told a press conference.
Charaideo was the capital of the Ahom kingdom.
The state government had submitted a dossier to the Prime Minister in 2023 and he selected it among a list of monuments for submission as India's nomination for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List for the year 2023-24.
''The Prime Minister's initiative to recommend the Moidams was the game-changer as only one entry can be made from a country during the year,'' he said.
The 'Moidams' is the first cultural property from the Northeast to get the coveted tag.
The decision to include 'Moidams' was taken during the ongoing 46th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) being held in India.
Sarma thanked the Prime Minister for his initiatives in this regard in a social media post too.
''This is huge! The Moidams make it to the #UNESCO World Heritage list under the category Cultural Property - a great win for Assam. Thank You Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, Members of the @UNESCO World Heritage Committee and to the people of Assam,'' Sarma posted on X later.
The 'Moidams' of Charaideo embody the deep spiritual belief, rich civilisational heritage and architectural prowess of Assam’s Tai-Ahom community, he said.
Apart from the fact that this announcement has been made from the soil of Bharat, its entry also stands out for 2 more reasons, he said.
''It is the first time a site from the North East has made it to the UNESCO World Heritage List under the Cultural Category and after Kaziranga and Manas National Parks, it is Assam’s 3rd #WorldHeritageSite. I urge all of you to come and experience #AwesomeAssam,'' the chief minister said.
The 'Moidams' or the mound burial system of the Ahom dynasty in Charaideo was first listed in the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage site in April 2014.
Giving a timeline of the inclusion of the site, Sarma said that it took nine years for the dossier to reach the nomination status from the tentative status and this was possible only due to the initiative of the Prime Minister.
During the 400th birth anniversary celebrations of Ahom General Lachit Borphukan in New Delhi in 2022, an exhibition was held at Vigyan Bhawan which included a model of Moidam that showcased the unique burial architecture and tradition of the Tai Ahoms.
World Heritage sites are categorised under cultural, natural and mixed.
There was so far no World Heritage Site in the category of cultural heritage from the Northeast out of 32 sites listed in the country. Manas and Kaziranga National Parks in Assam are World Heritage sites under the natural category, of which there are seven in India.
The state Directorate of Archaeology had prepared the nomination dossier which was submitted to the Archaeology Survey of India earlier, following which the chief minister had written to the Prime Minister.
In 2019-20, the state government had made a provision of Rs 25 crore for protection, conservation and development of the Charaideo Archaeological site.
'Moidams' represents the late medieval (13th—19th century CE) mound burial tradition of the Tai Ahoms dynasty which ruled for 600 years in Assam, officials said.
Out of 386 Moidams explored, 90 royal burials at Charaideo are the best preserved, representative, and most complete examples of this tradition.
The Charaideo Moidams, which are highly venerated, enshrine the mortal remains of Ahom royalty.
Initially, the deceased with their personal belongings and other paraphernalia were buried, but after the 18th century, the Ahom rulers adopted the Hindu method of cremation and later entombed the cremated bones and ashes in the Moidams at Charaideo, the officials said.
Charaideo for the Tai Ahoms, who are ancestor worshippers, is the final resting place of their 'Swargadeos' (Kings who are like Gods), other royals and ancestors.