India has taken a huge step in keeping its cultural heritage in lockstep with Southeast Asia with a joint conservation and restoration project at Indonesia’s famous Prambanan temple. Prime Minister Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto officially launched it during Modi’s visit to Indonesia to cement cultural cooperation between the two countries.
And the project, announced in light of India’s Act East Policy, is a way to conserve one of the world’s most important Hindu monuments while strengthening India’s centuries-old ties with Indonesia.
During the inauguration, Prime Minister Modi described the opportunity as deeply personal and spiritual.
"I am confident that Indians will definitely visit this place. It is the second-largest symbol of our heritage in Southeast Asia. Everyone here was chanting 'Om Namah Shivaay'. Idols of Lord Mahadev, Maa Durga and Ganeshji are present at this Temple," the prime minister said.
Modi said of his long-standing connection to Lord Shiva, he was lucky to have been able to contribute towards the development and restoration of many important Hindu pilgrimage sites.
"It is my good fortune that I always get the chance to connect to Lord Shiv. I was born in Vadnagar where Hatkeshwar Mahadev is located. Somnath Jyotirlinga is in Gujarat and I am responsible for its development. Kashi is my parliamentary constituency, Kashi Vishwanath. Whether it is Kedarnath, Mahakal in Ujjain or now Prambanan, I consider it my great fortune to be associated with the restoration of these sacred places," he said.
A Landmark Heritage Partnership
The restoration comes after India and Indonesia signed a Letter of Intent in bilateral negotiations that committed both countries to jointly preserve the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Though technical plans are expected to be finalized in the coming months, we are sure to have heritage conservation experts working with Indonesian authorities to preserve all the ancient stone structures, sculptures and intricate carvings for future generations.
The initiative is in keeping with India’s growing role in preserving cultural monuments abroad. India has supported restoration efforts in Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm temples in recent years, as well as other heritage sites that have been restored in the past decade in the country, and so is a part of India’s greater heritage conservation efforts for the sake of the Asian heritage.
The Story of Prambanan
Prambanan, located in Central Java near Yogyakarta, is Indonesia's largest Hindu temple complex, and the second-largest in Southeast Asia after Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
A large complex was built in the 9th century under the Mataram kingdom that consisted of around 240 temples spread over nearly 40 hectares.
At the centre of it are three huge shrines for the Hindu Trimurti -- Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. The Shiva Temple, at a height of 47 m tall, dominates the whole complex and is known as one of the best examples of Hindu temple architecture in Southeast Asia.
The temple walls have wonderful reliefs of Ramayana and other Hindu epic scenes, and are evidence of the great cultural and religious exchanges between the Indian subcontinent and the Indonesian archipelago through ancient maritime trade routes.
From Ruins to Global Heritage
Prambanan has been a complex and monument in its history. The temple was abandoned in the 10th century due to political changes in Java and repeated volcanic activity from nearby Mount Merapi. Over time earthquakes caused great damage to the complex, much of which is still standing.
The systematic restoration started during the Dutch colonial period and continued after Indonesia's independence, with extensive reconstruction between 1913 and 1953.
In 1991, UNESCO declared Prambanan as a World Heritage Site because of its cultural and architectural significance. Conservation, though after decades of restoration, is still a perennial problem due to earthquakes, volcanic activity and the natural ageing of the monument.
More Than a Restoration Project
For India and Indonesia, the Prambanan project is more than an archaeological partnership; it is a reaffirmation of a shared civilisational heritage that goes back over a thousand years.
By working together to preserve one of Asia’s major Hindu monuments in the Indo-Pacific, both countries are strengthening people-to-people ties and promoting cultural diplomacy. And the project is expected to boost tourism as PM Modi has already assured that more Indians will visit the temple after it is rebuilt.
Prambanan will be the symbol of Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage and a living testimony to India’s longstanding historical and spiritual ties to Southeast Asia and the people of Indonesia as conservation work takes place.
