Amidst the hype and hoopla over Jaipur’s Jantar Mantar being conferred World Heritage Site status by Unesco recently, the over a century old Matheran light railway’s failed bid to also acquire this prestigious tag may not have hit the headlines. But the fact is that India decided to withdraw its application seeking this toy train’s inscription as a World Heritage Site at the last minute — and thereby hangs a tale.
One that is seeing Indian officialdom blaming Unesco for its “Euro-centric tilt”. They point out that of the 911 properties accorded World Heritage Site status, over 700 are in Europe and the US.
It is also pointing an accusing finger at the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) — it is the body under Unesco that assesses the applications — for not only suggesting rejection of the Matheran light railway application but even getting some of its facts wrong in its assessment report.
They’re also questioning the locus standi of the ICOMOS for having recommended that the series of India’s mountain railways be closed for any further inscription by the Unesco.
Built by a private company, the Matheran railway started chugging in 1907 and continues to run to this day between Neral in the Ulhas Valley to Matheran in Maharashtra’s Raigad district. running on the narrow gage, it climbs 700 metres over just a 20 km stretch negotiating many tight curves.
India withdrew its Matheran application during the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of Unesco held late in July in Brasilia, Brazil, despite the painstaking work that had gone in for preparing the application by the railways as also the lobbying that India did among members of the World Heritage Site.
India was hoping that it would be able to push Matheran’s case at the WHC meeting despite the thumbs-down for it from the ICOMOS by lobbying among its 21-member nations, pushing it to the point of a voice vote.