Deccan Sultanate bid for global heritage tag headed for Unesco

BENGALURU: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has given green signal to the joint proposal by Karnataka and Telangana for ‘global heritage’ tag for monuments of the erstwhile

Deccan Sultanate

. The Centre will now make a recommendation to Unesco.


Monuments from Karnataka that will be part of the proposal are Vijayapura’s Gol Gumbaz, Kalaburagi’s Haft Gumbaz and the Bidar Royal Citadel. It’s the first time two states have submitted a joint proposal.

Venkatesh T, commissioner of the department of archaeology, museums and heritage, told STOI the dossier is with the secretary of ministry of culture and may be cleared this week. The final nomination dossier may be submitted by February 1 to Unesco World Heritage Centre in Paris. The declaration from Unesco is likely during June or July.

KS Raykar, executive director, Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN), told STOI, “The Unesco World Heritage nomination dossier has been sent by ASI to the ministry of culture for approval.”

The Deccan Sultanates were five dynasties that ruled Bijapur, Golconda, Bidar, Ahmednagar and Berar. The kingdoms became independent in the late 15th and early 16th century as the Bahmani Sultanate broke up. Though rivals, they were allies against the Vijayanagara empire in 1565. The kingdoms were taken over by Mughals in the 17th century. Their architecture is predominantly Indo-Islamic, with influence from Persia and Central Asia.

The Deccan Sultanate capitals characterise an ensemble of royal, religious, funerary monuments (tombs and mausoleums), defence structures commissioned for the royal citadel and urban quarters. They bear testimony to the distinct cultural traditions of the sultanate kingdoms within Indian and Middle Eastern cultural traditions and their influence on art, music, languages and literature. Each component – Kalaburagi, Bidar, Vijayapura and Golconda – represents different origins and attributes of the architectural and cultural traditions of the Deccan Sultanate.