Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India will assist in the conservation and restoration of the over 1,000-year-old Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta, reaffirming the deep civilisational and cultural ties between India and Indonesia.
Speaking after delegation-level talks with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Istana Merdeka in Jakarta, PM Modi said the two leaders would jointly launch the conservation project during their visit to Yogyakarta on Wednesday.
“Tomorrow, I will have the privilege of joining President Prabowo in launching the conservation project for the Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta. More than a thousand years old, the Prambanan Temple stands as a timeless symbol of the shared cultural heritage of India and Indonesia,” the Prime Minister said during the joint press statement.
The conservation initiative forms part of India’s broader cultural diplomacy and Act East Policy, aimed at strengthening historical and people-to-people ties across Southeast Asia. Under the project, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will work with Indonesian authorities to restore and conserve several smaller temples within the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Prambanan Temple Complex.
Located near Yogyakarta on Indonesia’s Java island, Prambanan is the country’s largest Hindu temple complex and dates back to the 9th century AD. Dedicated to the Hindu Trinity – Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma – the complex originally comprised 240 temples arranged in three concentric squares.
The most prominent structure is the 47-metre-high Shiva Temple, flanked by the Brahma Temple to the north and the Vishnu Temple to the south. The temple complex is renowned for its intricate stone reliefs depicting the Indonesian version of the Ramayana and is considered one of the finest examples of classical Hindu architecture in Southeast Asia.
Ahead of his Indonesia visit, PM Modi described the Prambanan Temple Complex as “another remarkable testament” to the deep cultural and civilisational links that have connected India and Indonesia for more than a millennium.
The temples suffered extensive damage over the centuries due to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and political upheavals, including the devastating Java earthquake of 2006. Although restoration efforts have been underway since 1918 using both traditional stone interlocking techniques and modern engineering methods, several structures within the complex continue to require conservation.
UNESCO recognised the Prambanan Temple Compounds as a World Heritage Site for representing the pinnacle of classical Shaivite art and architecture in Indonesia. The site was also designated as Indonesia’s National Cultural Property in 1998.
As part of the cultural initiatives announced during the visit, PM Modi also declared that India and Indonesia would jointly celebrate the upcoming year as the “Tagore–Dewantara Year of Cultural and Educational Diplomacy.” The initiative commemorates the centenary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s historic visit to Indonesia and honours the enduring intellectual legacy shared with Indonesia’s first Education Minister, Ki Hajar Dewantara, whose educational philosophy was deeply influenced by Tagore.
PM Modi is on a three-day state visit to Indonesia at the invitation of President Prabowo Subianto.
(With ANI inputs)
