Guwahati: Ambassador & Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO Vishal V Sharma came from Paris and visited the maidams – burial mounds of the Ahom dynasty in Charaideo on Friday.
Sharma arrived at the maidam site in the morning and visited the site.
He also held a meeting Sonari MLA Dharmeshwar Kunwar along with district magistrates of Sivasagar and Charaideo Nividan Das Patwari and Aditya Vikram Yadav along with the officials of the Archaeological Society of India (ASI).
He was briefed about the efforts of the centre and the state government on the conservation and promotion of the maidams.
In the meeting, the cultural expert of the Assam government Dr KC Noriyal gave a powerpoint presentation on the historical Charaideo maidam area and also talked about the ongoing work at the maidam site.
Ambassador Sharma expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for promoting Assamese culture internationally.
Sharma appreciated the excellent work of preservation and conservation of the rich cultural heritage of Assam by the state government, the Archeological Survey of India and the local community.
He said that the words spoken by PM Modi, “Vikas bhi aur Virasat bhi”, are the guiding light for a new India, as they connect our past with our future.
He said that India is a cultural superpower and the Ahom dynasty is a pride of Indian culture, and the whole world is now hearing and appreciating Assamese culture and history.
Earlier, Sharma paid a courtesy visit to Assam chief secretary Paban Kumar Barthakur and was briefed on Assam’s nominations to the World Heritage Convention.
He was accompanied by Ranjan Sharma, secretary (ITFC), Prof Deepirekha Kouli, director of state archaeology and Madan Singh Chauhan, joint DG of ASI and other senior officials.
Moidams are India’s nomination for the 2023-24 cycle of UNESCO’s World Heritage nominations and efforts are on to get them inscribed on the prestigious World Heritage List.