September 18, 2013 New Delhi -It gives me great joy to be here this evening in a spot that is replete with the grandeur of nearly five hundred years of Indian history. The famous architect, Frank Gehry, once said: “In the end, the character of a civilization is encased in its structures.” This complex is an important marker of our civilization and it is, therefore, a privilege for me to join you at this ceremony marking the completion of almost seven years of painstaking restoration work by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India, and with the support of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
India has one of the richest repositories of heritage anywhere in the world and it is critical that we find practical and innovative ways to preserve and maintain this heritage. I recall that, in November 2004, speaking at this very spot on the occasion of the presentation of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, I had expressed the hope that a public private partnership could be created to maintain and restore historic monuments.
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