World heritage as a bridge in a divided world
Carved into the basalt cliffs of Maharashtra, the Ajanta Caves offer a compelling starting point for understanding how World Heritage Sites bridge a fractured globe. Created between the 2nd century BCE and the 6th century CE, Ajanta was shaped by artists, pilgrims and traders moving along the Silk Roads. Long before the terms “Global North” and “Global South” entered political vocabulary, these caves embodied a shared cultural economy in which ideas, materials and aesthetics travelled freely.
Ajanta’s murals are not merely religious expressions; they are visual records of early globalisation. Painted with pigments sourced from distant lands, including lapis lazuli likely imported from Central Asia and the Iranian Plateau, the murals depict Buddhist narratives alongside foreign merchants, elaborate textiles, animals and landscapes. Today, art historians from Europe, conservators from East Asia, students from Africa and pilgrims from Southeast Asia stand before the same murals, interpreting them through diverse cultural and intellectual traditions. Centuries later, Ajanta continues to function not only as a heritage site, but also as a contemporary meeting ground for global scholarship.
Nearly 80 years after the UN committed the world to a shared vision of peace and cooperation, divisions rooted in economics, power and access to technology continue to shape global relations. Yet World Heritage Sites like Ajanta demonstrate that culture often succeeds where institutions struggle, binding people across borders through memory, meaning and shared human experience. Ajanta is not an exception; it is part of a wider pattern visible across World Heritage Sites in India and beyond. Sites such as Ellora, where Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves coexist within a single complex, offer a rare architectural testament to philosophical coexistence. Carved within a few centuries of one another, Ellora’s monuments reveal how distinct belief systems shared artisans, techniques and spatial imagination.
Similarly, India’s Indo-Islamic architectural heritage—seen in the Taj Mahal, Humayun’s Tomb, Fatehpur Sikri and the Red Fort—reflects the fusion of Persian, Central Asian and Indian design traditions. Foreign visitors have long remarked on the universal geometry, symmetry and emotional resonance of these structures. The Taj Mahal, in particular, is frequently described not merely as a Mughal monument, but as a global symbol of love.
These heritage sites function as instruments of cultural diplomacy in subtle but powerful ways. International conservation efforts, UNESCO collaborations and academic exchanges bring together experts fostering trust through shared responsibility. Beyond architecture, they also act as transmitters of artistic language. The pictorial traditions of Ajanta influenced mural painting across Central Asia, China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Motifs and animal imagery travelled widely, evolving into regional styles.
For young India, this inheritance carries both responsibility and opportunity. In a world increasingly fragmented by geopolitics and inequality, heritage offers a non-confrontational path to leadership. By investing in conservation, research and global cultural engagement, India can position its World Heritage Sites as spaces where the Global North and South meet on equal terms. This cultural capital also translates into tangible economic value. Cultural tourism accounts for nearly 40 per cent of tourist arrivals in India. Maharashtra, home to Ajanta and Ellora, recorded the highest foreign tourist inflow in the country in 2024, with 3.71 million international visitors.
As the UN reflects on eight decades of striving to bridge global divides, World Heritage Sites remind us that cooperation is not forged only in conference halls. It is also carved into stone, painted onto cave walls and sustained through shared care. Where markets and technologies often divide, culture continues to connect—quietly, persistently and across centuries.