Foreword

Throughout the world, indigenous cultural traditions are under threat, from social and political changes, from the impact of development, from government policy that hinders rather than helps. Many of these issues came to my attention during my tenure as President of the World Archaeological Congress from 2003 to 2014. As this book demonstrates, all countries have unique cultural heritage traditions and unique challenges to the protection of these traditions. This volume focuses on these traditions in relation to the 3,000-year-old cottage industries of glass-making and glass-working in northern India.