Published Paper Details:

Ajmer-Merwara is one of India's unique and heritage-rich regions where religious and secular heritage monuments are situated in a multi-layered, cultural, ecological and political context. This investigation provides a systematic account of the region's architectural body from temples, dargahs, and mosques to forts, havelis, lakes, sarais and colonial civic institutions into an integrated interpretive perspective. Utilizing an Integrated Heritage Analytical Model (IHAM) rooted in the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) paradigm, the research is using mixed methods--archival survey and site mapping, field based documentation and heritage-function audit--to understand how sacred-secular interfaces facilitated Ajmer-Merwara's urban metamorphosis. Findings show that the gravity nodes of social-spiritual formation were sacred sites like the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Adhai-din-ka-Jhopra, Pushkar Sarovar and Brahma Temple; while those of political authority/economic mobility/civic order were secular edifices such as Taragarh Fort, Akbari Palace, merchant havelis and colonial civic architecture. Spatial analysis uncovers closely knit sacred-secular clustering facilitated by long-distance trade routes, water circuits and pilgrimage circuits, attesting to the long duration of a pluralistic morphology in the region. What is more, the work emphasizes how ecological infrastructures--particularly lakes and stepwells--mediate ritual, livelihoods, and environmental resilience. Together, the results confirm Ajmer-Merwara is an archetype syncretic heritage system wherein religious pluralism, civic utility and political sponsorship combine to produce cultural resistance and present-day heritage value.