Modi, Prabowo launch Prambanan Temple conservation project in Yogyakarta

Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Yogyakarta to launch a joint conservation project for the Prambanan Temple complex. The visit underscored the enduring civilisational links between India and Indonesia and may boost tourism and cultural cooperation.

In Short

• Modi praised Indonesians for preserving the 1,200-year-old Hindu heritage site
• He said shared cultural legacy links people beyond national boundaries
• Chants of Mahamrityunjay and Om Namah Shiva deeply moved the Prime Minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday thanked Indonesia and its people for preserving the “grand heritage” of the Prambanan Temple complex in Yogyakarta, saying cultural legacy connects people across geographies. Visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Modi said it was an honour for him to be part of the inauguration of a joint conservation project for the temple complex.

The visit came a day after India and Indonesia exchanged a Letter of Intent to begin conservation and restoration work at the site with assistance from India. Modi had said at a joint press meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday that he would have the privilege of joining President Prabowo in Yogyakarta to launch the project, describing the over-1,000-year-old temple as a timeless symbol of the shared cultural heritage of India and Indonesia.

Addressing the Indonesian leader as “friend, President Prabowo”, Modi said, “By visiting this place with friend, President Prabowo, this occasion has become special for me.” The warmth between the two leaders was visible through the visit, with cordial handshakes, waving at the gathering and a hug at the end.

The centuries-old Prambanan Temple Compound, about 17 kilometres northeast of Yogyakarta city, is considered Indonesia’s largest Hindu temple. Built in the 10th century, it is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. While delivering his remarks, Modi and President Prabowo stood at their podiums with the temple spires in the background, and a new plaque reading “Indonesia-India Collaborative Cultural Heritage Conservation for Prambanan Temple” was placed between them.

Modi said, “In conversations I hear, the winds here carry a scent of culture. That scent which we feel every moment on the soil of India. This scent, this cultural heritage, connects us.” He added, “1200 years..I thank the people here (in Indonesia)..the way they have preserved this grand heritage, and maintained it, and done it with a devotional faith. So, I also wholeheartedly greet people of Indonesia and all the rulers (of Indonesia) who have been, so far.”

He also said the visit had deeply moved him. “I saw chants of ‘Mahamrityunjay’ and ‘Om Namah Shiva’ being offered in this temple; this indeed touched the heart. As we begin the conservation and restoration work at Prambanan Temple complex, which is a UNESCO World Heritage, I am very assured that Indian tourists will definitely visit this place,” he said.

Referring to the wider cultural links, Modi said, “In far-off places of the world, wherever we go, we witness the cultural heritage of India. In South East Asia, this is the second largest identity of our heritage. This temple has statues of Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, and Lord Ganesha. For centuries, people have offered worship at this temple, and today I, too had the fortune to visit this temple and offer prayers at this temple.” According to the UNESCO website, three temples rising above the concentric squares are decorated with reliefs illustrating the Ramayana and are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, along with three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them.

Modi described his visit to the complex as a “Chaitanyapurn chhann” or a moment imbued with a sense of divinity. “I prayed to the Almighty for strengthening the India-Indonesia friendship, for the welfare of citizens of the two countries, and for swift development of the two nations, and offered worship with devotional faith,” he said.

The joint conservation project will have the Archaeological Survey of India as the lead agency from the Indian side. Modi said he was confident that President Prabowo, “who plans everything methodically”, would ensure the project was completed before the stipulated time. He said he had sought a promise that this would be done before 2029, adding, “I will have to visit again. I assure you that I will definitely come here and celebrate that festival with you after the conversation.”

Modi arrived in Jakarta on Monday to a red-carpet welcome in the first leg of his three-nation tour, which will also cover Australia and New Zealand, with a focus on cooperation in areas such as trade, security and rare-earth minerals under the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of 2018. Concluding his address, he thanked Indonesia for the “grand welcome, hospitality, and warmth” extended to him on behalf of the people of India and himself, as the two leaders embraced at the end of a visit that centred on the shared cultural bonds between the two countries.

With PTI Inputs

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