In news : Project Mausam has now been extended up to 31st March, 2023.
About Project Mausam
- Ministry: Ministry of Culture
- Aim: To explore the multi-faceted Indian Ocean ‘world’ collating archaeological and historical research in order to document the diversity of cultural, commercial and religious interactions in the Indian Ocean.
- Objective: The main objective of the project is to inscribe places and sites identified under Project Mausam as trans-national nomination for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
- Nodal & Implementing agencies: It is implemented by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as the nodal agency with research support of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and National Museum
- Focusing on monsoon patterns, cultural routes and maritime landscapes, Project ‘Mausam’ is examining key processes and phenomena that link different parts of the Indian Ocean littoral as well as those that connect the coastal centres to their hinterlands.
- Broadly, Project ‘Mausam’ aims to understand how the knowledge and manipulation of the monsoon winds has shaped interactions across the Indian Ocean and led to the spread of shared knowledge systems, traditions, technologies and ideas along maritime routes.
- These exchanges were facilitated by different coastal centres and their surrounding environs in their respective chronological and spatial contexts, and simultaneously had an effect on them.
- The endeavour of Project ‘Mausam’is to position itself at two levels:
- At the macro level, it aims to re-connect and re-establish communications between countries of the Indian Ocean world, which would lead to an enhanced understanding of cultural values and concerns;
- At the micro level, the focus is on understanding national cultures in their regional maritime milieu.
- The Project scope falls under several themes to be explored through various UNESCO Culture Conventions
Significance
- Project ‘Mausam’ is an exciting, multi-disciplinary project that rekindles long-lost ties across nations of the Indian Ocean ‘world’ and forges new avenues of cooperation and exchange.
- The project, launched by India in partnership with member states, will enable a significant step in recording and celebrating this important phase of world history from the African, Arab and Asian-world perspectives.
Source: PIB
