Dr Satwant Singh Rissam
The talk of ‘cultural heritage’ always puts reflection on the history and identity of every society. And let’s agree that ‘cultural heritage’ faces increasing challenges in the era of ‘smart cities’. Why so? All because the modernization in the name of ‘smart cities’ in times to come will decrease the interest of the younger generation towards their cultural heritage. The lack of formal and informal education contributes to this phenomenon also. The importance of ‘cultural heritage preservation’ should become a priority to preserve cultural heritage for future generations. Among other things that majorly damage cultural heritage are uncontrolled development activities, climate change, and natural disasters. Another challenge is the limitation of conservation resources and the absence of experts due to the lower positioning of ‘heritage preservation’, resulting in a loss of interest and participation in conservation efforts. These many things lead to the degradation of heritage sites and the loss of valuable artifacts.
To begin with, especially among the younger generation, it is required that we raise ‘historical consciousness’ and ‘historical literacy’ in them so that we can preserve cultural heritage. Simply speaking, understanding the past and strengthening a sense of connection to that past need to be done in many ways. With this, the youth can be positively influenced and a perception building towards cultural heritage can be done easily. Besides, this will be a step in the right direction to raise their willingness to participate in preservation and conservation efforts by contributing in their ways. It will play a crucial role in developing communities that understand their history and culture, and the ‘past’ and the ‘present’.
For ‘historical literacy’ museums and heritage sites play a crucial role in promoting cultural knowledge in the younger generation and allow communities to engage with cultural knowledge. Therefore, this literacy on the conservation of cultural heritage should start among high school students in India as this period can play a critical role in influencing the engagement of the younger generation in heritage preservation. Moreover, on a very high note developing educational programs and public policies to enhance students’ participation needs to be developed as a part of the theoretical framework. This will raise ‘historical consciousness’ in the youth across the country. The current and most popular scheme launched by the Government of India – ‘Smart City’ can become an example of the ‘sustainable preservation’ of cultural heritage among the youth.
To champion the cause of heritage preservation, one basic question arises in the era of ‘smart city’- Are we ignoring the history and culture of a place? Depending on the ‘value’ and ‘beauty’ of cultural heritage at any place the answer will come correctly for this question. But the need is to ask this ‘question’ everywhere because only offering illuminating lights and building gates in markets won’t complement developing historical consciousness and proactive heritage conservation endeavors in the younger generation. Jammu enjoys a rich heritage with many historic monuments, buildings, and sites; for this reason, more money should go into the conservation of heritage work. Only transforming the city with different ideas of urban improvement and not preserving the old Jammu city would defeat the idea behind having ‘smart cities’.
The conservation issues are complex but unless this happens, our ‘smart city’ won’t be sustainable. And that will also fail the idea of shaping Jammu’s informed youth who will become custodians of heritage. At the local level in Jammu high-level coordination is required between different Government departments to resolve pending works.
Sometimes bringing these departments together is a little difficult for different reasons, but if done, the conservation of these heritage buildings in Jammu will provide a sense of identity and continuity for future generations. It will also support the local tourism industry. The prevailing situation makes it imperative for Jammuites to participate and raise issues for conserving our heritage. The onus now lies on us to support smart heritage-inclusive cities and not let things be forced on us in the name of ‘transformation’ while the heritage of Jammu City remains isolated in the name of ‘change’.
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