MAJULI, HIMALAYA, INDIA, 25 June, 2005: The world’s largest river island of Majuli, set in the immense Brahmaputra river, is all set to be listed as a World Heritage Site with hundreds of islanders waiting to celebrate its international recognition. “Majuli deserves to be listed as a World Heritage Site for its great cultural landscape and hence we sent a detailed proposal to UNESCO to list it as a site of outstanding universal properties,” said C. Babu Rajiv, director general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The island of Majuli, 350 km. east of Guwahati, once covered a prosperous 1,500 sq km that was dotted with Hindu monasteries. But today Majuli is in danger – the island has reduced to half its original size and is prone to extensive flooding and erosion.
“Saving this unique place on earth will be possible only if it is accorded international recognition,” said Assam’s Culture Minister Hemoprova Saikia. “We expect to get help from experts worldwide on how to save Majuli from the wrath of the annual flooding if UNESCO lists the island as a heritage site.” The threat to Majuli’s existence began in 1950 after a severe earthquake shifted the river bed and caused massive silting that in turn led to heavy river erosion. For the 150,000 islanders, the fear of Majuli disappearing from the map is very real. “Hundreds of villages have simply vanished without a trace before our eyes with the Brahmaputra river eating away a large chunk of the island year after year,” said a principal of a local college in Majuli.
The island is considered the seat of Vaishnavism, a sect of Hinduism with many followers in Assam. “We had about 65 monasteries in Majuli about 50 years ago. But today there are only 20 with the rest being wiped out from the area following continuing erosion and flooding,” said the head of a Hindu monastery in the island. The prospect of Majuli being listed as a World Heritage Site has led to optimism among the islanders. “We are all waiting with great hope to find Majuli listed as a heritage site. Majuli’s future is at the hands of the UNESCO and we are praying for the good news soon,” said R.L. Pegu, a lawmaker from Majuli.
Majuli Island covers nearly 250 square miles (650 sq km), which is half as big as it was 50 years ago. It’s been continuously settled for 3,000 years, but since the arrival of a saint, Shankara Deva, at the start of the 16th century, it has become best known for its religious institutions, a form of monastery called Satras. These differ from mainstream Hinduism by preaching devotion to only one god, Vishnu, and rejecting the use of icons or images.