Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Mughal emperor Humayun's mausoleum here, said to be the Indian subcontinent's first garden tomb, reopens Tuesday after a $650,000 (Rs 31 million) facelift that has added scintillating lights, refreshed fountains and made the tourist site disabled-friendly.
The 16th century monument was renovated under a programme taken up jointly by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Aga Khan Foundation for Culture and the Oberoi Group of Hotels.

The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, began a six-day official visit to India Monday during which he will meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Abdul Kalam, officials said.It is his first visit to India in 11 years. He will meet Kalam and Vajpayee later Monday and is also expected to meet deputy premier Lal Krishna Advani and Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, an Indian government official said.

L'Aga Khan était en Inde pour un séjour de six jours. ? son arrivée à New Delhi, le prince, qui est le chef spirituel des Ismaéliens, la secte musulmane indienne et pakistannaise créée en 1880 par Hassan Ali shah, a rencontré Vinod Khanna, le ministre indien des Affaires étrangères.

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh gave away the 9th Agha Khan Award for Architecture, here today. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister hoped that more public private partnership can be evolved to maintain and restore the monuments which often lie in neglected conditions in our cities and towns. The Prime Minister emphasized that every Indian must take pride in his or her legacy and should contribute to ensure that there remains a legacy for which our descendents can be proud.
Following is the text of the Prime Minister?s address on the occasion:

Promising all out efforts to confront terrorism in Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf has said his country would demonstrate its seriousness and sincerity in resolving all outstanding issues, including Kashmir with India.Speaking at a dinner hosted in honour of Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual head of Ismaili community in Islamabad on Friday night, Musharraf said Pakistan stands for peaceful settlement of all issues with India, including Kashmir and was ready to enter into a dialogue.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for evolving more public and private partnerships for maintaining India?s heritage and termed the first privately-funded restoration of a world heritage site here ?an unqualified success?, reports our correspondent.Singh was speaking at a ceremony to announce the seven winners of the 2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture ? a triennial prize fund of $500,000. The ceremony was held this evening on the gardens of Humayun?s Tomb complex, whose waterways and fountains were restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

HUMAYUN'S TOMB, one of the 23 heritage sites in India, has come alive - at a cost of Rs.3 crore thanks to the Aga Khan - with dormant fountains playing again, old forgotten wells being redug and lights illuminating the mausoleum whose garden, in which tobacco was given till 1915, has been redesigned.

A Central team today visited the Agra Fort and Mehta Bagh, near Taj Mahal, to assess the feasibility of the Uttar Pradesh Government's plan of holding the 350th anniversary celebrations of the monument of love there and decided to recommend to the Supreme Court in favour of the programme.The team led by Union Cultural Joint Secretary K Jayakumar, and comprising Advisor to the Union Culture Minister besides other Archaeological Survey of India officials made an on-the-spot inspection of the place, official sources told PTI.

The Department of Posts will bring out a set of two postage stamps to commemorate the Ninth Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The two stamps in the denomination of fifteen rupees each feature the Agra Fort. The 2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture stamps depict three views from different angles of Khas Mahal (Private Palace) built entirely of marble by Shah Jahan in 1637. The stamps will be released at Agra by the Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology, Dr.

Andhra Pradesh government on Friday decided to provide 100 acres of land free of cost to Aga Khan Foundation for setting up a Center of Excellence and a string of educational institutions on the city outskirts.The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy here.

Head of Ismailia sect Prince Aga Khan, who is on a visit to India, today assured to establish a Centre of Excellence here.Aga Khan called on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and acquainted himself with the development activities carried out by the state government, an official spokesman said here.
During the meeting, he assured Reddy that a Centre of Excellence will be establish here with the assistance from Aga Khan Foundation, for which the state government agreed to provide a 50 acre plot.

The Aga Khan Tuesday lamented the loss of Iraqi cultural treasures amid widespread looting and warned that much of the world's heritage was at risk.The billionaire spiritual leader of the world's 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims also called for greater tolerance between cultures.
'The need for better understanding across cultures has never been greater in what is clearly a defining moment in world history,' he said.

The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, today discussed with President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee possibilities of his development network working together with India in education, health, rural development and other areas.On his first visit to India in 11 years, Aga Khan spoke about the potential for cooperation also in areas like healthcare, micro credit, financial services, humanitarian assistance and in the promotion of non-governmental organisations.

Whether through neglect or wilful destruction, the disappearance of physical traces of the past deprives us of more than memories. Spaces that embody historic realities remind us of the lessons of the past.
This was stated by the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, while speaking at the inauguration on Wednesday of the restored gardens that surround the tomb of the Mughal emperor Humayun.

A centuries-old marvel will come to life on Tuesday evening. The numerous fountains and water channels in the 16th century Humayun?s Tomb will have water flowing in them after 400 years. The gardens have been restored to their pristine and original Mughal glory, thus erasing the colonial character it had wrongly acquired since 1860s.

As the Humayun tomb glowed like a jewel, the 9th Aga Khan Architecture Awards were presented by the Aga Khan in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.During early dusk, the cacophony of the birds trying to find their perch for the night almost drowned out the Aga Khan?s speech. Behind him, the serried arches of warmly lit red sandstone stretched and deepened.
The tomb rose to etch its domed silhouette against the sky. It was the perfect backdrop for the content of the Aga Khan?s speech which dwelt on the motivation behind the award and what it has achieved.

Prime Minister,Excellencies,Distinguished Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,It is a great pleasure to be here in Delhi this evening to recognise the winners of the ninth cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, today discussed with President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee possibilities of his development network working together with India in education, health, rural development and other areas.On his first visit to India in 11 years, the Aga Khan spoke about the potential for cooperation also in areas like healthcare, microcredit, financial services, humanitarian assistance and in the promotion of non-governmental organisations.

The Aga Khan, spiritual head of the world's 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims, said on Saturday survival of an interdependent globe hinged on people showing tolerance of the cultures, values and faiths of others.Prince Karim Aga Khan, speaking to Reuters in an interview in the aftermath of the Iraq war, said the need for better cross-cultural understanding had never been greater at what he called a 'clearly a defining moment in world history.'

Former Finance Commission chairman A M Khusro, who died in New Delhi on Sunday night, was a distinguished academic, scholar and a towering personality.
Besides heading the 11th Finance Commission, he was the chairman of the Aga Khan Foundation, president of the Federation of Indo-German Societies and chairman of the Institute of Economic Growth.

Khusro, who died at the age of 78 after a recent bye-pass surgery, had served the Planning Commission as a member and was also a consulting editor of the Financial Express and director of the Indian Express (Mumbai).