It is commonplace to look at heritage in terms of beautiful buildings, palaces, forts and monuments, artifacts or colourful dances and cultural celebrations. This tendency gets emphasised as tourism is more likely to be linked to these aspects of heritage. Of course, this is important; all things of beauty should be cherished, particularly those with history attached to them.
Nevertheless, overemphasis on beauty and glamour should not lead to the neglect of those aspects of heritage that can be helpful in other important ways for present times, even for meeting urgent needs. A view may be taken by some that keeping in view the advancement of technology, we have better means of meeting our various needs and hence these aspects of heritage are not so important or relevant now. However, this would be too narrow a view in several contexts of the contributions previous generations made in terms of finding local solutions for problems, keeping in view what works best in the more specific local conditions.
It would be a costly mistake to ignore these and move ahead arrogantly with development models that fail to look at specific local needs. This is particularly relevant in the context of water conservation, irrigation and agriculture, aspects that have been of critical importance for the survival and well-being of rural communities over hundreds of years, with each generation benefiting from the legacy of previous generations, supplementing these learnings and passing them on. Such learnings, oral memories and written records, and the structures which embody them are an invaluable part of the heritage of any region or place.
Thus, the historic tanks or wells of a region or other structures created by people for conservation of water, domestic use or irrigation present the accumulated collective experience, wisdom and hard work of people and communities over centuries. Even if a period of neglect in certain circumstances may have led to these being in a rather dismal state today, the thoughtful learner may still be able to absorb important lessons for present times. After all, the collected experiences of generations about the best means for meeting basic needs cannot be ignored. In fact, even when we look at some of the beautiful palaces and forts of historic importance, it adds great value to our understanding of this heritage if we give more attention to how water needs were secured.
After all, the armies of kings had to ensure they would not be deprived of water if they faced a formidable attack on the fort. Thus, they tried to make enough arrangements for water conservation. There can be important learnings from some of these efforts even today. Several palaces and forts like Mahendragarh, Amber, Nahargarh, Chittorgarh and Jal Mahal (Rajasthan), Chitradurg (Karnataka), Mandu (Madhya Pradesh), Janjira (Maharashtra), etc. are known additionally for their water works. But it would be a mistake to look only at forts and palaces for examples of water wisdom. It was the efforts of people to ensure the sustainability of their communities by ensuring water needs were met that are of the greatest significance and learning.
This is important in the context of a region like Bundelkhand where the need for creating water storages has been acute in villages. It has been rightly pointed out that the Chandela and Bundela kings made important contributions to create the vast network of tanks and related water works in Bundelkhand over centuries. While the contribution of the royals must be appreciated, ultimately this heritage of thousands of tanks and many more wells reflect the work and skills of people and communities.
In recent times, when under initiatives such as BIWAL (Bundelkhand Initiative for Water, Agriculture and Livelihoods) several voluntary organizations grouped together for renovation of traditional water tanks and wells, people of many villages responded well with their voluntary work and skills. The result was that useful work could be accomplished in cost-effective ways. While a lot of this work was taken up under corporate social responsibility projects, Niti Ayog also played an important role. No less important is the heritage that is available with farmers and communities for the progress of agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry.
This heritage is best utilised when practices consistent with this are promoted, for example when natural farming is being popularized or when efforts to collect and save traditional seed varieties are being made. On the other hand, when efforts based on technologies inconsistent with traditional wisdom are implemented or when traditional practices are uprooted by artificial impositions, it becomes more difficult to protect and save heritage. Hence, it is important to have an understanding of protecting heritage in a broader framework, so that much more that is of great value can be protected and the entire heritage protection effort can also be of benefit to people in meeting their contemporary needs and aspirations on the path of sustainable development.
(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food and Man over Machine.)