Culture and Diplomacy: Maritime Cultural Heritage of the Western Indian Ocean

Himanshu Prabha Ray
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Himanshu Prabha Ray: Himanshu Prabha Ray is Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Oxford.

India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, 2020, vol. 76, issue 3, 375-391

Abstract: The article argues that UNESCO’s 1972 World Heritage Convention provides a global platform for projecting not only India’s maritime cultural heritage but also building bridges and collaborative networks with other Indian Ocean littoral countries for the promotion of shared cultural practices and traditional knowledge systems of the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, this collaborative research aspect of the World Heritage Convention has yet to be tapped for nominating and inscribing transnational heritage or cultural routes across the Ocean. This is despite the fact that India was the founder member of the intergovernmental organisation, Indian Ocean Rim Association, one of whose thrust areas relates to promoting cultural heritage on the UNESCO platform. Given India’s rich maritime past, there is an urgent need to implement measures to establish academic networks with littoral countries for not only creating awareness of the maritime cultural heritage of the Indian Ocean but also harnessing linkages between maritime communities for building a culturally diverse but harmonious future.

Keywords: UNESCO; World Heritage; Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA); navigation; Nalanda (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:indqtr:v:76:y:2020:i:3:p:375-391

DOI: 10.1177/0974928420936112

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