Rajasthan's built heritage, in the past few years, has gained recognition for its heritage tourism potential. The Government of Rajasthan, in 2015, created multiple initiatives, which supplemented existing national and state legislation, to ensure the protection and preservation of the built heritage in the state. The recent initiatives focused on the built heritage that was not designated "protected monument", by national or state legislation, and was privately owned. This thesis looks at the privately-owned heritage structures that have been the focus of the Government of Rajasthan's initiatives to understand the disconnect between governmental intent and heritage homeowner needs. The privately-owned havelis (urban townhouses) of Shekhawati fit the parameters of governmental focus, as they are privately owned structures that are not covered by existing legislation.

Since the recent initiatives supplemented existing legislation, this thesis looks at the legislative protections supported by the government alongside economic incentivization measures to grasp governmental thinking. In addition to legislative protection provided by the government, the financial difficulties faced by haveli-owners was also a central part of the discussion.

I incorporated a variety of primary and secondary sources, including documents from the digital archives of the numerous departments of the Government of India and the Government of Rajasthan, journal and newspaper articles, and scholarly publications. In addition, I have also included interviews with haveli owners, who have different approaches to monetization, caretakers of havelis, and townspeople in Shekhawati. In these interviews, I have sought to understand the localized understanding of best practices and the impact of the governmental decisions on haveli, and non-haveli, affiliated individuals. Through these informal and semi-structured interviews, this thesis grasps the situation as it exists today.

At the core of the haveli heritage debate are the rights of the private property owner. Havelis are privately owned heritage structures, which are faced with the push of heavy governmental interest in private property. The interviews in Shekhawati determined that the best practice sought by the haveli owners is protection, rather than preservation or restoration. The threat of sale, dismantling or demolishing, cannot be prevented by government mandates. Additionally, Shekhawati's heritage protection efforts are threatened by ability of loopholes to circumvent the enforcement of strict mandates and laws that protect the built heritage. The government can help by engaging with the issues that the haveli owners cannot tackle, the infrastructure of the cities and their services. Protection without engaging with the rights of the property owner is key to the immediate action that needs to be taken in Shekhawati.