New Delhi: India and Indonesia have partnered for the restoration of the Prambanan Temple complex in the Special Region of Yogyakarta in southern Java.
Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon met a team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Monday to discuss preservation of the temple complex within the broader cultural landscape, which includes Sewu and Plaosan temples.
In a statement, the minister said, “Prambanan is not a standalone complex but part of a wider cultural landscape with Sewu and Plaosan, so conservation must restore temples while safeguarding the entire cultural ecosystem.”
According to a report by the Indonesian news outlet Antara, after preliminary inspection of the site, ASI experts determined that the process of restoration and additional preservation would be completed through the anastylosis technique, a process of reassembling buildings using the original stones discovered on location. This method is primarily used to preserve the originality of the place. However, new stones can be utilised to preserve the structural integrity of the complex.
The ASI team also highlighted that the scattered architectural blocks across the grounds make the work challenging, as matching stones to specific temples demands meticulous cataloging.
While emphasizing the emerging technological process that can be used for the restoration, the Indonesian minister said, “We are also open to utilising technological developments, including digital approaches and artificial intelligence, to help identify and reassemble the temple stone components.”
The Prambanan compound is a 9th-century UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated to the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
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India’s cultural diplomacy
New Delhi has been a key provider of assistance to Southeast Asian nations in preserving cultural and religious heritage and monuments. In the past, India has worked on major restoration sites in other countries, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos.
At the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “India considers the preservation of global heritage as its responsibility, and hence, we are providing support for heritage conservation not only in India but also in countries of the Global South.”
He added, “India is assisting in the conservation of many heritages like Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Cham Temples in Vietnam, and Bagan Stupa in Myanmar.”
Initial restoration work on Angkor Wat, considered to be the largest Hindu temple complex, was undertaken by ASI from 1986 to 1993. During the process, the main sanctum was restored by vegetation removal, drainage improvements and bas-relief conservation.
Similarly, while restoring Vietnam’s Mỹ Sơn temples, the ASI discovered Shiv lingas that were worshiped during the ancient Champa Kingdom. In Myanmar, India has restored the 11th to 13th century Ananda Temple and Bagan Pagodas which were damaged during the 2016 earthquakes.
In Laos, the ASI restored Vat Phou Temple in two phases at a cost of Rs 17 crore and Rs 24 crore for an ancient Khmer-Hindu Shiva site, which was later converted for Buddhist use.
These efforts are part of India’s diplomatic outreach to Southeast Asia through India’s Act East policy, which advocates strengthening economic, strategic, and cultural ties with Southeast and East Asian nations.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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