In India, an effort to preserve

As India’s economic transition reshapes landscapes and lives, social historians are trying to collect and archive stories about what is being lost. Here are some images of a changing India.

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Nov. 13. 2011

Tourists look at the Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Agra, India. With the aim of boosting tourism, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formed an inter-ministerial committee comprising senior officials from 14 ministries to put tourism projects on the fast track.

/ AFP/Getty Images

Feb. 4, 2012

Pedestrians walk past New Delhi’s landmark “Red Fort.” The 17th-century complex is an example of Mughal architecture and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

Prakash Singh / AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 11, 2012

A Bangalore Metro Rail Corp. train moves along an elevated track in Bangalore, India. The Center for Public History at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology is recording the oral histories of Bangalore residents who live and work along the city’s new Metro route.

Namas Bhojani / Bloomberg

July 1, 2007

Tourists visit the 16th-century Mughal-built Humayun's Tomb, a World Heritage Site, in New Delhi.

Christophe Archambault / AFP/Getty Images

January 2006

Construction workers build a replica of New York's Empire State Building in Bangalore, India. As a result of growth, Bangalore, like many cities, is largely defined by images of dug-up roads, inadequate public transport, pollution, traffic jams, landmark buildings being torn down and endless construction zones.

Carsten Snejbjerg / Getty Images

July 1, 2007

Tourists take a walk at the 16th-century Mughal-built Humayun's Tomb, a World Heritage Site, in New Delhi.

Christophe Archambault / AFP/Getty Images

Nov. 1, 2011

Workers fix a street lamp outside the headquarters of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corp., a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Mumbai.

Indranil Mukherjee / AFP/Getty Images

Sept. 21, 2006

An Indian shepherd covered in a plastic sheet stands guard over his flock of sheep near a group of high-rises during a heavy monsoon downpour in Kolkata.

Deshakalyan Chowdhury / AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 9, 2009

People walk through the headquarters of Infosys Technologies Ltd. in Bangalore, India. Just over a decade ago, Bangalore was the model of India’s success story – a center for outsourcing jobs and a launch pad for IT entrepreneurs, with a young, educated workforce. Its promise drew hundreds of international high-tech companies. Bangalore soon also became a microcosm of India’s challenges. The population nearly doubled in the past decade to more than 9.5 million people. Poor infrastructure, inefficient governance coupled with higher incomes and rising expectations created chaos like never before.

Namas Bhojani / Bloomberg

April 11, 2008

An Indian laborer takes a nap inside the Virupaksha Temple in Hampi, near the southern Indian city of Hospet. Hampi is located within the ruins of the city of Vijayanagar, the former capital of the Vijayangar empire. The village of Hampi, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains several other monuments belonging to the old city.

Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP/Getty Images

Jan. 9, 2006

A worker cleans one of the stone lion structures at the entrance of the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in Mumbai. The CST, formerly known as Victoria Terminus, was included on the World Heritage Site list by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.

Indranil Mukherjee / AFP/Getty Images

July 19, 2011

Indian laborers fit loud-speakers on a pole at the Brigade Parade grounds, with the Victoria Memorial seen in the background, ahead of a mass rally organized by the ruling Indian political party Trinamool Congress to celebrate their historic win in a state election in Kolkata. In cities such as Kolkata, in eastern India, neighbors are getting together to record their memories and preserve photographs of their changing neighborhoods.

Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP/Getty Images

Jan. 19, 2006

A security person stands guard at his post outside the Karnataka state legislative building Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore, India. In May, historians from across India gathered in Bangalore to form India’s first oral history association, which aims to promote initiatives across India that record people’s experiences in contemporary India. Next year, they plan to showcase all the oral history projects at national conference in the northern city of Lucknow.

Gautam Singh / AP

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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Johnathon Carrington, valedictorian at Dunbar High School, laughs with family and friends after his school's graduation ceremony at Howard University on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Washington, DC. Carrington, who grew up in Tyler House public-housing apartments and is graduating from one of DC's low-performing high schoolsy, where academic expectations are high. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

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LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 16: Reenactors dressed as knights stage a medieval jousting competition at Eltham Palace on June 16, 2013 in Eltham, England. The 'Grand Medieval Joust' event at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property which was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to give a great insight into life at the palace during the medieval period. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

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In this June 8, 2013 photo, youth compete in the Sao Carlos slum local soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pitch is just dirt and the incandescent lights aren't so bright. But when the boys' feet strike the football in the Sao Carlos slum as night falls every Saturday, big league dreams glow, inflated by the hope of escaping the shantytown with sporting skills. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 16: Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady reacts after being crowned Miss USA during the 2013 Miss USA pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on June 16, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Miss USA 2013

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