This hidden gem in Madhya Pradesh with immense potentials hasn’t been discovered by tourists

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh has links with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, late BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj and Madhya Pradesh ex-chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The small town may have come under the spotlight from time to time but has not managed to create an identity for itself as a popular tourist destination as it hasn’t been discovered by tourists as yet.

Historians suggest that Vidisha, flanked by world heritage sites like Sanchi and Bhim Baithika, are home to many historically important sites including the 10th-century Bija Mandal.

These sites need to be promoted among travellers, so that they are showcased to the world and attract a large number of visitors for their unique sites.

“It is a fact that a large number of tourists visit Sanchi, a renowned Buddhist site. But very few among them visit the city of Vidisha which is hardly 10 km from the world heritage site despite having historically and archaeologically important places like Bija Mandal,” historian Govind Deolia told PTI. He claimed that the “design of the new Parliament building in Central Vista (in New Delhi) is inspired by the Bija Mandal-Vijaya Mandir”.

Vidisha is surrounded by historical places like the Udaygiri caves having the world’s oldest Ganesh idol and the Heliodorus Pillar, which is among the few monuments of the Before-Christ era, Deolia said. If Udaipur’s Shiva temple and Gyaraspur are promoted well, it will create a lot of jobs in the tourism sector, he added. “Not just the new Parliament building, but the old one’s design was inspired by the 11th-century Chausath Yogini Mandir in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district,” he claimed.

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He averred, “It is unfortunate that architects do not mention where they got the idea of designing the structure (Parliament building) from… It happened with the earlier Parliament building as well as the new one constructed under the Central Vista project,” Deolia said.

Vidisha features in an old map of India displayed in the new Parliament building mentioning three important cities, including Varanasi and Maheshwar, from the spiritual and historical point of view. Deolia said the people of Vidisha have urged Chouhan to ensure that there is a mention of the Bija Mandal-Vijaya Mandir’s design in the new Parliament building.

He stressed that authorities have not promoted Vidisha as a tourist destination. “Even Sanchi was not promoted by government agencies. It got prominence just because it is associated with Buddhism, which has an international recognition,” he said. Another historian Vijay Chaturvedi said the history of Vidisha has been rich since ancient times, there is a Heliodorus Pillar of 113 BC and there are historical caves of Udayagiri, but due to lack of promotion, tourists return from Sanchi.

With inputs from PTI.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow