Cambodia's Angkor Wat to Myanmar's historic pagodas: How India helped revive heritage beyond borders

From conserving key sections of the Angkor heritage complex in Cambodia to providing grant assistance for restoration of one of Sri Lanka's five ancient temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, India has extended help to multiple partners in the past 12 years in reviving the "shared civilisational heritage", according to officials.

Adding another chapter in this cultural diplomacy of New Delhi, India will now assist Indonesia in the conservation and restoration of the Prambanan Temple complex in Yogyakarta, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with President Prabowo Subianto, on Wednesday visited the UNESCO World Heritage site and unveiled a plaque, marking the inauguration of the project.

A day earlier, India and Indonesia exchanged a Letter of Intent on the joint conservation project, in which the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will be the lead agency from the Indian side.


Prior to this, the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has since 2014 offered financial assistance and expertise in material conservation to several countries in a bid to "revive shared civilisational heritage", the officials said.

In July 2015, following the reactivation of a project under the government of India, India had signed an MoU to "provide LKR 326 million in grant assistance for the restoration of the historic Thiruketheeswaram Temple, one of Sri Lanka's five ancient Pancha Ishwarams dedicated to Lord Shiva", they said.

In 2014, an MoU was signed for the restoration of UNESCO-listed My Son Sanctuary in Vietnam, one of Southeast Asia's most significant Shaivite temple complexes and the religious centre of the ancient Champa Kingdom.

Besides, from 2022 onwards, India has helped in the restoration and conservation of "key sections of the Angkor heritage complex, including Ta Prohm, Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear, reaffirming India's commitment to preserving the architectural legacy of one of the greatest centres of Hindu civilisation outside India", they said.

Also, expanding its footprint in cultural cooperation, in 2017, India signed an MoU to restore earthquake-damaged monuments in the UNESCO-listed Bagan Archaeological Zone and undertook restoration of 12 historic pagodas through the ASI.

"India also completed restoration of the historic Ananda Temple," an official said.

The same year, another MoU was signed for a restoration project in Nepal.

Under India's USD 50 million post-earthquake reconstruction assistance to Nepal, the Indian government launched restoration and conservation of 28 cultural heritage sites, including the historic Seto Machhindranath Temple, Budhanilkantha Temple Dharamshala, according to officials.

Besides, in 2020, the Indian government financed the reconstruction of the nearly 300-year-old Joy Kali Mata Temple in Natore through grant assistance.

The government also supported the restoration of the Anandomoyee Kali Mata Mandir and the Ramakrishna Temple, preserving important centres of Hindu faith in Bangladesh, they said.

Again in 2021, the government announced India's assistance for the "reconstruction of the historic Ramna Kali Temple, destroyed during Pakistan's Operation Searchlight in 1971".

The temple was inaugurated in 2021, restoring a major Hindu shrine in Bangladesh and "reinforcing the shared civilisational ties between the two countries", the officials said.

In 2024, as part of a project, India helped restore key structures of the UNESCO-listed Vat Phou Temple in Lao PDR, a nearly 1,000-year-old Shiva temple regarded as one of Southeast Asia's oldest surviving symbols of Sanatan civilisation, they said.

Also in 2019, during his historic visit to Bahrain, PM Modi inaugurated the USD 4.2 million redevelopment project of the 200-year-old Shreenathji (Shri Krishna) Temple in Manama, preserving one of the oldest Hindu temples in the Gulf region, the sources added.

In his address at the Prambanan Temple complex in Indonesia, Modi emphasised that cultural legacy connects people from different geographies.