HM Amit Shah hails UNESCO World Heritage Site status for Santiniketan, Hoysala ensembles

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday hailed the declaration of Santiniketan in West Bengal and the 'Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala' in Karnataka as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, saying these are living testaments to the eternity of India's culture.

In a post on X, Shah said while Santiniketan, the abode of Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore's worldview, fosters the infinite evolution of human potential, the Hoysala temples are the manifestation of the pinnacle of the country's craftsmanship.

''It is a joyous occasion for our nation that two of our cultural legacies have been included in UNESCO's List of World Heritage Sites. Santiniketan in West Bengal and the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas in Karnataka are living testaments to the eternity of our culture," he said.

Shah also extended his ''heartfelt congratulations'' to the citizens on this ''momentous'' occasion.

UNESCO on Sunday announced that Santiniketan, the famed place in West Bengal where poet Rabindranath Tagore built Visva-Bharati over a century ago, has been inscribed on its World Heritage List.

On Monday, the world body announced that the 'Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala', the Hoysala temples of Belur, Halebid and Somnathapura in Karnataka, have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.