INTACH Journal of Heritage Studies

Volume 6, Issue 1, 2025: Heritage and Communities

Associate Editor

The INTACH Journal of Heritage Studies is a peer-reviewed journal first published in 2015 as a critical step towards INTACH’s mission of sensitising the public about the pluralistic nature of Indian culture. It aims to provide a novel space for academic expression for experts, emerging scholars and researchers, thereby fostering intellectual dialogue and discussion on all matters concerning Indian heritage. Additionally, it is meant to serve as a catalyst for promoting critical thinking and debate over the meaning of heritage and its relevance to society at large.

Volume 6, Issue 1, 2025 is based on the theme ‘Heritage and Communities’, examining the interconnectedness of heritage and communities through diverse case studies, exploring how these connections manifest in diverse local settings, while also situating the discourse in a broader global framework. The issue is structured into five sections: the first section is ‘Perspectives on Culture and Communities’, the second section is ‘Craft Communities: Challenges and Opportunities’, the third is ‘Visual Diaries’, followed by ‘Documentation Feature’ and ‘Reviews’.

This issue presents two distinct yet interconnected lines of thought emerging from global conversations on heritage, with a particular focus on the vital relationship between heritage and communities. The first centres on the nature-culture nexus, with an emphasis on bringing marginalised communities to the forefront, ensuring diversity and inclusivity and promoting sustainability in the face of climate change. This framework is explored in the preceding issue by Badman and in the current issue by Dutta, Batra and Katoch, finding expression also in the ‘Documentation Feature’. The second thread explores the significance of indigenous knowledge, positioning communities as key stakeholders in heritage conservation, the importance of their involvement in decision-making and ensuring that heritage practices are not only preserved but also remain relevant to contemporary communities. This perspective is examined in papers by Dutta, Das, Gopalakrishnan and Raghavan, and Mehta and Nagar. Together, these contributions offer a thorough examination of the dynamic relationship between heritage and communities, addressing both contemporary challenges and opportunities that shape this intersection.

INTACH Research Programme 2024 & 2025

The INTACH Research Programme is aimed at fostering multidisciplinary research in the field of heritage that builds knowledge by developing an in-depth understanding of phenomena related to lesser-known heritage resources of India; addressing issues and challenges that confront our heritage; informing further research or a future course of action. The outcomes of the research would be an in-depth, holistic and multi-perspective collection and analysis of data that can add value as an independent body of new knowledge or pave the way for developing appropriate strategies.

Research may be undertaken in the following areas:

• Nature-culture linkages

• Built heritage typologies 

• Conserving, safeguarding and sustaining heritage

• Traditional materials and techniques

• Traditional or indigenous knowledge

• Influences across boundaries

• Heritage tourism

• Heritage education 

• Heritage interpretation and presentation

My role as Research Associate includes the following tasks associated with this project:

1. Conceptualisation and acquiring necessary approvals for every new cycle of the research programme

2. Designing creatives for the announcement of the programme in coordination with the designer; website changes and social media updates for programme promotion

3. Coordinating submission of draft reports by the awardees; coordination with candidates for queries and sorting of applications; adjustments to awardees’ budgets in accordance with guidelines

4. Conducting and coordinating the Selection Committee Meeting

5. Acquiring necessary approvals for the finalised awardees

6. Preparation of offer/selection letters

7. Coordinating and conducting online meet-and-greet for awardees

8. Coordinating announcement/introduction of awardees through social media

9. Coordination of timely submission of reports by awardees

10. Coordinating and conducting stage-wise Review Committee meetings

11. Sending feedback to awardees

12. Coordinating the dispersal of installment-wise funds to awardees

(Click to know more about the project)

'Conserving Culturally Significant Places in India'

Symposium marking the 20 years of INTACH Charter

6-7 December 2024

Seminar Room 1 & 2, IIC, New Delhi and Zoom

Led my INTACH Heritage Academy team to the successful organization and completion of INTACH Symposium on 'Conserving Culturally Significant Places in India'.

The 21st century brought forth ideation and debates about the need for a national charter for conservation in India. This process led to the development of the 'INTACH Charter for the Conservation of Unprotected Architectural Heritage and Sites in India', adopted at the INTACH National Convention on November 4, 2004. As we reached the milestone of the Charter turning 20, it provided an opportunity to reflect on how the idea and practice of conserving culturally significant places has evolved in India over the last two decades. Academics and practitioners were invited to present their perspectives and systematic enquiries on global frameworks, reflections of multiculturalism, responses to contemporary challenges and socio-economic impact of conservation.

The symposium was accompanied by the publication of a Book of Abstracts: a compilation of 48 selected abstracts out of 125 that were received as a response to the call for papers. The selection committee included the members from the Editorial Advisory Board and Editorial Team of INTACH Journal of Heritage Studies (IJHS).

Documentation Training Workshop, 16-17 March 2024

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) offers a nation-wide awards programme for interdisciplinary documentation of heritage in India. The Awards programme has been established with an objective to develop and promote sensitivity and awareness towards heritage in undergraduate students across the country. The motivation is to encourage a holistic understanding of heritage by mapping and interpreting the intricate relationship between the built environment, cultural practices and natural surroundings.

For the 2024 cycle of the awards programme a two-day introductory workshop was conducted for participants in an online mode. The workshop introduced the different heritage ecosystems and helped with site selection. The sessions also introduced the different tools and methodologies for documentation that may aid in the process. The recorded sessions can be viewed on the academy's YouTube channel. 

As part of the workshop I conducted the session elaborating on the guidelines for the programme as well as on report writing and referencing.

Documentation Archives

Since 2015, the INTACH Heritage Academy has been involved in heritage documentation awareness, encouraging its practice among undergraduate students through its INTACH Awards for Interdisciplinary Heritage Documentation programme. To make the documentation work more accessible and increase its visibility through our website we have created the Documentation Archives. On this archive, documentation projects undertaken by undergraduate students from across the country, submitted since 2015, have been uploaded, and projects from future Awards cycles will also be consecutively added.

(Click to access the archives)