Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
“World heritage belongs to all of humanity, and protecting it is our collective responsibility,” asserted Dr Timothy Curtis, Director, UNESCO Regional Office in India, while addressing global dignitaries at AIKYAM 2025 on Saturday at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ellora. The celebration marked the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, blending spirituality, heritage and global cultural dialogue.
Dr Curtis said heritage sites such as Ajanta and Ellora are not only artistic masterpieces but also living repositories of humanity’s spiritual, scientific and intellectual evolution. He stressed that safeguarding them is not the responsibility of governments alone. “The international community must also participate as custodians of our shared human history,” he added. He noted that colonial narratives had long overshadowed India’s achievements, even though traditions like Nalanda University, the spread of Buddhism and the maritime “Sea Road” shaped world civilisation. Delegations from more than 30 countries attended the event, including the High Commissioners of the UK and New Zealand; Ambassadors of France, China, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and Thailand; the UN country head; municipal administrator G Srikant; tourism officials Jaswantsingh and Monika Mohta; divisional commissioner Jitendra Papalkar; director general of police Virendra Mishra; superintendent of police Dr Vinay Rathod; ZP CEO Ankit; and several other distinguished guests.
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“India has given so much to the world”
Dalrymple: “Ellora once linked Rome to Bali”
In a compelling keynote titled “The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World,” historian William Dalrymple said contributions such as Aryabhatta’s calculation of the Earth’s circumference and Brahmagupta’s formulation of rules for computing with zero remain insufficiently acknowledged in Western academic discourse. “Ellora was once the centre of a luminous network stretching from Afghanistan in the west to Bali in the east, from Rome in the far west to China in the north,” he observed. Trade, ideas, Buddhism, mathematics, language and art moved outward from India across continents, he said. Indian mathematics also influenced regions such as Syria and Egypt, Dalrymple added.
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Festival of culture, diplomacy and heritage
Curated heritage tours, showcases of Paithani and Himroo textiles, and traditional Maharashtrian cuisine enriched the cultural experience. The celebration concluded with contemplative visits to the Ajanta caves, reaffirming AIKYAM’s belief that heritage is not just history it is identity, responsibility and a shared future