Bangladesh is one of the world's richest repository of cultural heritages-- courtesy its language, literature, philosophy, music, architecture, painting, cuisine, art and religion. As a post-colonial nation, the cultural nuances of Bangladesh owe a good deal to the collective heritage of the subcontinent. However, the events leading to the Partition of India in 1947, the Language Movement in 1952 and the War of Independence in 1971 gave the country a distinctly characteristic political, social and cultural setting. Various cultural activities, such as -- plays, poetry, songs, paintings and festivals reflect our society's unity despite differences in religious beliefs and practices, language and ethnic diversities, ecological and regional variations.
SIGNIFICANCE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE OF BANGLADESH: The cultural heritage of Bangladesh is actually composed of our nation's physical artefacts and attributes that are inherited from its past generations. This includes tangible-intangible resources and natural heritages.
Examples of tangible/immovable heritages in Bangladesh include Tanguar Haor, Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Sundarbans, Cox's Bazaar, Saint Martin's island etc. Archaeological sites also fall under tangible/immovable heritages. Some of these sites in our country include Mahasthangar, Mainamati and Ahsan Monjil. Festivals, music, language, art and crafts, and religious rituals, on the other hand, fall under intangible/movable heritages. Examples of these include mongol shubhajatra on Pahela Baishakh, tajia rally on Ashura, urs at Hazrat Shahjalal's shrine, holi festival, durga puja, jatra, palagaan, bolikhela, celebration of victory day, ekushey February, independence day, Lalon festival in Kustia, Bhawaiya (Songs of bullock cart drivers of the North), Bhatiali (music of fishermen and boatmen), nakshi katha, jamdani sharees, pottery and others.
All these heritages are visible symbols of our identity and give us a strong sense of bonding. They also reflect other important symbolic meanings that promote social inclusion, tolerance and respect for diversity. These play a catalytical role for improvement of the social-milieu, creation of social capital, strengthening the feeling of cohesion and belongingness.
Among the above-mentioned heritages some have gained worldwide recognition. These include the world's largest mangrove forest which is the Sundarbans (World Heritage site inscribed in 1987 by UNESCO), the wetland of Tanguar Haor (UNESCO declared Tanguar Haor as one of the Ramseur sites in 2000), the sea beach at Cox's bazaar, the famous Muslin and Jamdani Sharees (included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013) and the spiritual baul songs (this cultural expression was inscribed as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005).
IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT (CHM) IN BANGLADESH: The issue of Cultural Heritage Management (CHM) has emerged as an important global concern for designing sustainable strategies for identification, documentation, preservation and protection of heritages around the world. Many of the world's largest museums such as the National Museum of Nature and History in the USA, the British Museum, National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan and the Ethnology Museum in Paris, France have taken up various research and training programmes for raising awareness about cultural resource management. In many countries, heritage management practices have been transformed from the old and traditional form to a very organised and institutional form using modern tools, techniques and digital technologies for electronic storage and archiving, digital and virtual cultural heritage mapping by using GIS technology along with the development of various legislations and decrees for protecting heritages from looting and destruction and forgery. Some countries have started using integrated and high density surveying techniques, photogrammetric and XML documentation techniques (for 2D and 3D modelling of large UNESCO world archaeological heritage sites) and aerial and satellite imagery documentation procedures.
Introduction of courses on cultural heritage management by universities, museums, libraries and heritage management institutions is now essential for raising awareness among different sections of the people and for enhancing capacity for the management of diverse cultural heritages. Sharing of success stories of heritage management among different countries has now become a priority to the cultural anthropologists, archaeologists, folklorists, museum professionals, students in social sciences, government workers, lawyers and the staff members of other non-government organisations concerned with cultural heritage. Issues of minority and indigenous community, religion, race, ethnicity, role of state, education, local government and politics, environment and climate change, local knowledge and people's participation (community and community organisations) are very important for heritage management studies. Thus the key strategies for cultural heritage management of Bangladesh should include: 1) research, information and knowledge management, 2) sustainable development and management, 3) promotion and raising awareness, 4) cooperation, partnership, institutional arrangement and policy, and 5) resource mobilization.
HERITAGE MANAGEMENT-- NEEDS AND POTENTIALS IN BANGLADESH: Bangladesh as a country of rich cultural heritage needs to formulate a comprehensive master plan for identifying, developing, preserving and protecting its cultural traditions and cultural properties which have historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ecological, ethnological or anthropological values. An integrated cultural heritage management plan needs to provide an institutional architecture to connect wide range of agencies from both public and private sectors. Governments agencies, civil society organisations, NGOs, corporate institutions, international agencies and academic institutions need to be brought under a common operational framework to work together to implement the cultural heritage management plan.
For successful heritage management, we need to establish a separate authority in the form of a Centre or Institute for the management of cultural heritages, which can conduct trainings, workshops, seminars, study programmes and courses on heritage management for the staff of concerned bodies including librarians, museum curators, archaeologists, anthropologists, ecologists, urban planners, community leaders of the heritage sites, students of social sciences, architects, local level heritage site managers and other stakeholders. The country needs more funding for capacity building, developing tools and techniques for preparing a digital cultural heritage data base, heritage based tourism/ eco-tourism, and tours for heritage management staffs to different heritage sites around the world to gather practical knowledge about heritage management. Seeking cooperation and collaboration from various international organisations are required for large-scale funding to address the various issues of risks and threats in heritage protection and management.
HERITAGE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK IN BANGLADESH: Formation of such a heritage management plan is also required for Bangladesh to map out the efforts of different public and private institutions in developing capacities in implementing measures to protect the cultural resources and heritage within the boundaries of the country. Therefore, the plan should involve actions to identify, assess and adopt programmes to protect culturally significant places, objects and practices from probable threats of various dimensions.
During the past decades, Bangladesh experienced several attacks on many of its cultural, religious, architectural or environmental heritages. The declaration of Urdu as a state language instead of Bangla in 1952, killing of intellectuals in 1971, bomb blast at Ramna Botomul during Pahela Baishakh, attack on the Udichi Cultural Programme in Jessore, destruction of Shahid Minars in different places, destruction of Buddhist temples at Ramu, attacks on Hindu temples, attack on Bauls by radicals, oil spill in a river near Sundarban are some of the examples of such threats.
Therefore, the proposed CHMP of Bangladesh demands an integrated approach and management system including appropriate multi-sectoral policy, strategy, objectives, actions and management structure. This integrated and multi-sector approach would address multiple objectives: (1) protection of cultural heritage values of Bangladesh; (2) managing the needs of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage involving all relevant public and private stakeholders; (3) coordinating sector-wise policies, concepts, plans, actions etc., which affect historic sites and their cultural heritage; (4) managing and balancing conflicting uses/ functions of heritage sites; and (5) developing attractive, competitive and multifunctional heritage sites.
CONCLUDING WORDS: Protection of cultural, architectural and natural resources and heritages is not only required for taking them to the future generations but is also required for showcasing the beauty and diversity of our country to other regional and global cultures. Such protection requires learning about the success stories of cultural resources and heritage management of various countries for developing an integrated and sustainable cultural heritage management strategy. Identification, conservation, restoration and protection of cultural heritage of Bangladesh thus requires different forms of global and regional cooperation, financial assistance and technical support to face the various challenges and threats of heritage management. It is also important for sustaining the value, meaning, and significance of historical, cultural, architectural, and natural resources and transmission of such resources from the past, for the use of the present generation and for the inspiration of future generations.
This article is adapted from a paper presented at an International Conference on "Tradition As Cultural Resources and Local Development" held in South Korea in January 2015. Dr. Saifur Rashid and Hasan Shafie are respectably Professor and Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology at the University of Dhaka.
saifur_rashid66@hotmail.com, hasan.shafie@du.ac.bd
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