Sites of Saytagrah, India's non-violent freedom mo

First TWHS review of 2024? If so, yay! :D 

I did not give much attention to this TWHS simply because it was overshadowed by all other outstanding WHS and TWHS in my itinerary. Yes, a UNESCO WHS is not about superlatives, grandness, or exceptional experiences, but it is natural for us to set aside those that are not as flashy. However, this serial nomination represents an important part of modern Indian history and a movement/ideology/philosophy founded by Mohandas Gandhi--the satyagraha. During my visit to Ahmedabad and India post-Christmas December 2023, I spent some time exploring the following four properties listed in this serial nomination. 

1. Sabarmati Ashram (Ahmedabad) - if you happen to be in Ahmedabad, a visit to Sabarmati Ashram is a good and easy way to tick off this serial nomination. It pretty much represents the serial sites well, as this is where Gandhi lived from 1917 to 1930 and became one of the main centres for the teaching and cultivation of saytagraha. It also served as a school where self-sufficiency was taught through manual labour, agriculture, and literacy. The ashram is also a significant site as it was where Gandhi led the Dandi March in protest of the British Salt Law. 

Entry to the ashram is free. Visitors should start exploring the site through the Gandhi Memorial Museum before moving to other buildings such as the Magan Niwas, Somnath Chhatralaya, and Udyog Mandir. The museum has excellent exhibitions and panels chronicling the major …

I visited two sites included in this serial nomination back in 2019, the Sabarmati ashram (Gujarat) and the Asiatic Society of Mumbai Town Hall (Maharashtra). The sites are interesting, but they apparently face the same dilemma as the Luther sites in Germany: what is celebrated in these sites are not what were built per se, but more of what had happened in them. Is it a bad thing? Not necessarily. If we look past the unassuming structures, we realize that what transpired in these places are truly worth celebrating and the ideas that were cultivated here are indeed to be emulated. Heritage, after all, goes beyond built-structures; a "heritage" ought to have a spirit, a meaning, and these places certainly possess those. While the whole idea of Satyagraha might be difficult to grasp by just visiting one or two sites, it does not preclude the fact that the careful selection of representative component sites comprising this nomination can make a sound case for an outstanding universal value. The Sabarmati/Ghandi ashram in historic Ahmedabad (another memorable WHS for me!), for example, is undoubtedly a world-class memorial and a continuing living heritage space (so much so that even the principles employed in managing the site are highly Ghandian!) whose importance transcends beyond national level.

I have also visited related sites in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa where the idea was conceptualized and was first observed. The whole essence of non-violence social protest would, likewise, resound much later on in my country during …

I only visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmadabad, which is a well-developed tourist site with a nice ghandi museum and the barracks of the ashram itself. The site seems to be one of the more prominent ones in the proposal, there are a lot of minor sites whose relevance is a bit dubious. The Ahmadabad ashram is certainly an interesting and moving visit - but strictly because of the political and historical background. The buildings itself are quite sober - plain barracks without decorations, fitting Ghandis austere lifestyle. While I have the highest respect for India's non-violent movement, I don't think that a WHS is a good way to honor it. It's all about the ideas and the philosophy - not about sites and buildings.

Visited: Nov 2015

Importance: 5/5 Beauty 2/5 Uniqueness 5/5 Environment 2/5 Experience 3/5