GUWAHATI: The Charaideo Maidams (or Moidams) in Assam have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage list under the category of cultural property. This is Northeast’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the cultural category and India’s 43rd World Heritage Site, joining Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park which are listed under the natural category.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was ecstatic. “THIS IS HUGE. The Moidams make it to the UNESCO World Heritage list under the category Cultural Property a great win for Assam. Thank You Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji , Members of the @UNESCO World Heritage Committee and to the people of Assam,” Sarma wrote on X.
He said the Maidams of Charaideo embody the deep spiritual belief, rich civilisational heritage and architectural prowess of Assam’s Tai-Ahom community.
Modi had announced the nomination of the Charaideo Maidams at the ongoing 46th session of the World Heritage Committee. This was India’s lone nomination in the cultural category. In March, Vishal V Sharma, who is the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO, had visited the site of the necropolis.
The Maidams are the mound-burial system of the Ahom dynasty (13th century-19th century). Out of the 386 Maidams explored so far, 90 royal burials at Charaideo are the best preserved, representative, and most complete examples of this tradition.
The Maidams enshrine the mortal remains of Ahom royalty previously, those of the deceased with their paraphernalia were buried, but after the 18th century, the Ahom rulers adopted the Hindu method of cremation, entombing the cremated bones and ashes in a Maidam at Charaideo.
The highly-venerated Maidams make the Charaideo district an attractive tourist destination. The Maidams are comparable to the pyramids of Egypt and they exhibit brilliant architecture and expertise of the artisans and masons of Assam of the medieval era.
When the 400th birth anniversary of Ahom General Lachit Borphukan was celebrated, Modi had viewed an exhibition at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. It had a model of the Maidams that showcased the unique burial architecture and tradition.