India’s heritage is a living and evolving resource, shaped by the pressures of urbanisation, climate change, migration, tourism, development and changing identities. Managing it today requires approaches that combine rigorous scholarship with community participation, policy, conservation and new technologies.

"The Future of the Past: Managing India’s Heritage in a Changing Present" brings together archaeologists, historians, conservators, museum professionals, policymakers and community practitioners to explore how India’s tangible and intangible heritage can be documented, protected and made meaningful for future generations. The seminar is held in the spirit of World Heritage Week, reaffirming our shared responsibility to safeguard the past.

The seminar also marks ten years of Pleach India Foundation's "Preserve Heritage for Posterity" (PHP), its community-based heritage documentation and conservation initiative and ten years of teaching-learning at the Department of Archaeology, Cotton University, which has contributed to archaeological teaching, research and professional training in Northeast India.

Bringing these experiences together, the seminar will reflect on the achievements, challenges and future of heritage management in India, with particular attention to community participation, sustainability, digital documentation, ownership and climate resilience.