Centre bringing in an ecosystem to preserve India's heritage, says Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at THE WEEK Heritage Awards
Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat with awardees at THE WEEK Heritage Awards 2025 | Sanjay Ahlawat
Those responsible for preserving India’s heritage got lazy, but we are now bringing in an ecosystem to preserve it, said Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at THE WEEK Heritage Awards 2025 in New Delhi on Saturday.
The Union government’s commitment is to make India developed (while) respecting its heritage, he said, adding, "Our heritage is a chance for us to assimilate our history — our history was distorted, but now finally, it’s coming into its own.”
The minister emphasised the importance of protecting the nation’s heritage and harked back to how it was in danger of disappearing at one point in time. “Especially during the period the nation was enslaved, our heritage was taken out with impunity. Even after independence, it kept going out, legally and illegally.”
Shekhawat said those days are now over, with the Modi government now turning preserving our heritage into what he called a “mass movement”
“Our heritage gives us pride in being Indian. Our tangible and intangible heritage is a symbol of our history. Previous generations handed it to us and that is a responsibility on us — we need to come together to protect it, or else, future generations will not forgive us.”
“When a society gets inspired from its history, it can learn from it — how to right the wrongs,” Shekhawat said.
The minister highlighted how India under PM Modi is today the "new guardian of the world" and added, "it also gives our tourism great opportunities." The minister also commended THE WEEK for the Heritage Tourism Awards venture and remarked how it will contribute to the preservation of the nation’s history and heritage into a mass movement.
In his vote of thanks, THE WEEK’s Chief Associate Editor & Director Riyad Mathew assured the minister that the magazine will do its best to promote culture, tourism and heritage through such initiatives and through the magazine’s reportage.
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