As PM Modi Visits Indonesia's Prambanan Temple, India’s Cultural Diplomacy in Focus
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday visit the historic Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta, Indonesia alongside Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. The Prime Minister will launch a conservation project for the 1,000-year-old temple.
On Tuesday PM Modi described the monument as "another remarkable testament" to deep cultural and civilisational ties that have connected India and Indonesia for over a thousand years.
This conservation project is part of India's cultural diplomacy and Act East policy in Southeast Asia.
In fact, the Indian government under PM Modi has been at the forefront of helping revive shared civilisational heritage across South-Southeast Asia.
In 2014, The Indian government under PM Modi restored the UNESCO-listed My Son Sanctuary, one of Southeast Asia's most significant Shaivite temple complexes and the religious centre of the ancient Champa Kingdom.
How has India’s cultural diplomacy shaped heritage restoration in Sri Lanka and beyond?
In 2015, India helped in the restoration of the Thiruketheeswaram Temple in Sri Lanka. Following the reactivation of the project under the Government of India, India signed an MoU in July 2015 to provide LKR 326 million in grant assistance for the restoration of the historic Thiruketheeswaram Temple, one of Sri Lanka's five ancient Pancha Ishwarams dedicated to Lord Shiva.
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In 2017, India signed an MoU to restore earthquake-damaged monuments in the UNESCO-listed Bagan Archaeological Zone and undertook restoration of 12 historic pagodas through the ASI. India also completed restoration of the historic Ananda Temple.
In 2017, under India's $50 million post-earthquake reconstruction assistance to Nepal, the Modi government launched restoration and conservation of 28 cultural heritage sites, including the historic Seto Machhindranath Temple, Budhanilkantha Temple Dharamshala.
In 2019, during his historic visit to Bahrain, PM Modi inaugurated the $4.2 million redevelopment project of the 200-year-old Shreenathji (Shri Krishna) Temple in Manama, preserving one of the oldest Hindu temples in the Gulf region.
In 2020, India financed the reconstruction of the nearly 300-year-old Joy Kali Mata Temple in Natore through Government of India grant assistance.
The Government also supported restoration of the Anandomoyee Kali Mata Mandir and the Ramakrishna Temple, preserving important centres of Hindu faith in Bangladesh.
In 2021, the Modi government announced India's assistance for the reconstruction of the historic Ramna Kali Temple, destroyed during Pakistan's Operation Searchlight in 1971. The temple was inaugurated in 2021, restoring a major Hindu shrine in Bangladesh and reinforcing the shared civilisational ties between the two countries.
(With inputs from ANI)