Our Pride
Heritage is what gives us an identity, a connection to our roots. As a
country which loves to be identified as the birth place of Buddha, Nepal has all the more
reasons to preserve its heritage. The hints recently, by the chairperson of the UNESCO
World Heritage Committee that it might recommend to put heritage sites of the valley in
the list of World Heritage in danger at the WHC gives rise to a fresh cause of concern. It
is shameful that, we, who rely on tourism for our economy to run, pay so little attention
towards preservation of our treasured heritage. For us it is not only a question of pride
that we may bask in our rich legacy, but something that is directly related to our bread
and butter. Our heritage is not only our history, but also the key to our economy and
prosperity. This realisation should bring more initiatives form the native inhabitants of
the city at community level as well as the government. However, at this stage Prime
Minister Koirala’s commitment to protect heritage and develop Kathamndu valley into a
tourism city does bring in some hope. Prudent steps at urban planning even now will help
the matter, as all is not lost yet. In fact, we should not always be looking outwards for
grants and donations for preservation, but harness our own resources to preserve our
heritage sites. A general awareness about how precious our heritage is, may make the
inhabitants of this city balk when they feel this urge to litter, write signs or encroach
upon the heritage site area. At government level, preserving heritage should be made a
priority. If the people at community level and the government organisations join hands, it
should not be an impossible task to preserve what our ancestors built for us. The
responsibility to take care of our heritage and hand it over to the future generation
intact lies with us.
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