UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites

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Gujarat’s Vadnagar town, the iconic Sun Temple at Modhera, and the rock-cut sculptures of Unakoti in Tripura have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

• With this, India now has 52 sites on UNESCO Tentative List. The list indicates the rich cultural and natural wealth of India and shows the huge diversity of our heritage. 

About 

• The Sun Temple, Modhera dedicated to Surya Dev is the earliest of such temples which set trends in architectural and decorative details, representing the Solanki style at its best.
• Vadnagar is a municipality under the Mehsana district of Gujarat. 
  • A multi-layered historic town, the history of Vadnagar stretches back to nearly the 8th century BCE. 
  • The town still retains a large number of historic buildings that are primarily religious and residential in nature.
• Unakoti, located in the northeastern region of Tripura, is known as an ancient holy place associated with Shiva worship. 
  • The site is a massive gallery set in a forested area displaying a number of towering low-relief images in a unique style, making it a masterpiece of human creative genius.

About  UNESCO tentative list

• It is an “inventory of those properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination”.
• States Parties are encouraged to submit their Tentative Lists, properties which they consider to be cultural and/or natural heritage of outstanding universal value and therefore suitable for inscription on the World Heritage List.
• States Parties should submit Tentative Lists, which should not be considered exhaustive, to the World Heritage Centre, at least one year prior to the submission of any nomination.

Source:TH