‘Hamari Dharohar‘ (meaning Our Heritage) is a Government scheme for preservation of the heritage of Minority Communities of India. Launched in 2014-15, the scheme undertakes various activities to curate the rich heritage of minorities under the concept of Indian Culture. Hamari Dharohar is implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs and it covers the heritage of all the six notified minority communities in India.
Background
Unity in diversity is one of the prominent features of Indian Culture. The Constitution of India grants equal rights and opportunities to all communities to profess their religion and culture. Good knowledge about culture and heritage of different communities helps in developing better understanding among people and also strengthens tolerance in society. In current scenario, there is a lack of information about the cultural heritage of minority communities. So, Government of India felt the need to curate and preserve the rich heritage and culture of minorities, specially those with smaller population such as Parsis and Buddhists. In the year 2014-15, the Ministry of Minority Affairs launched ‘Hamari Dharohar’ scheme. The project duration is the remaining 3 years of 12th Five Year Plan period (2014-15 to 2016-17).
Objectives and activities:
The key objective of Hamari Dharohar scheme is the preservation of rich culture and heritage of minorities of India through selective intervention. Under the scheme, rich heritage of minorities will be curated; their literature or documents will be preserved and support will be provided for research and heritage development activities.
Objectives of the scheme:
- Curate rich heritage of minorities.
- Curating iconic exhibitions.
- Preservation of literature, historic documents etc.
- Support and promotion of calligraphy etc.
- Research and Development.
Activities under the scheme:
- Curating exhibitions including iconic exhibitions.
- Support and promotion of calligraphy etc.
- Preservation of literature, documents, manuscripts etc.
- Documentation of oral traditions and art forms.
- Support to ethnic museums for showcasing and preserving heritage of minority communities.
- Support for organizing heritage related seminars or workshops.
- Fellowship for research in preservation of heritage and development.
- Other support to individual or organization related to the cause of protection and promotion of heritage of minorities.
Implementation:
The Hamari Dharohar is a 100% Central Sponsored scheme. It is implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, in consultation with Ministry of Culture and selected knowledge partners such as Archeological Survey of India; National Museum; National Archives of India; National Gallery of Modern Arts; Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts (IGNCA); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural heritage (INTACH) and World Monument Fund.
Various Project Implementing Agencies are selected for Hamari Dharohar scheme. Example: State archaeological departments; reputed registered minority community organizations; recognized cultural institutions of minority communities; recognized universities or research institutions; renowned organizations like Aga Khan heritage trust etc.
Example of projects under Hamari Dharohar:
The Everlasting Flame series of international exhibitions, to be held at New Delhi from May 19 to May 29, 2016. It consists of three exhibitions namely “The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination”, “Threads of Continuity” and “Painted Encounters – Parsi Traders and the Community”.
Project for Digitization, Translation from Arabic to English, and also reprinting of Medieval documents on Medicines, Mathematics, Science and Literature and rare manuscripts kept at Dairatul Maarifil Osmania, Osmania University, Hyderabad.