The decision was taken at the sixteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which is being held from 13 to 18 December.
The meeting, an annual gathering which brings together hundreds of participants – representatives of States Parties, non-governmental organizations, cultural institutions and other stakeholders – from across the globe is being chaired by Punchi Nilame Meegaswatte, Secretary-General, Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO.
“Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers. The festival is characterized by large-scale installations and pavilions in urban areas, as well as by traditional Bengali drumming and veneration of the goddess. During the event, the divides of class, religion and ethnicities collapse as crowds of spectators walk around to admire the installations,” the inscription on the UNESCO website reads.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted:
As per Conde Naste Traveller, Durga Puja had been nominated to the Representative List in 2020.
India’s nominees are proposed by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, which was appointed as the nodal agency for ICH by the Union Ministry of Culture in 2011, as per Conde Naste Traveller.
In September, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had requested the UNESCO to declare Durga Puja, which celebrates the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon king Mahishasur,, as “Intangible Cultural Heritage” and a global festival.
What is the Intangible Cultural Heritage list?
As per UNESCO, inscriptions to the Representative List are one of the several ways by which UNESCO advocates the promotion and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.
But what is cultural heritage?
As per the UNESCO website, the term ‘cultural heritage’ has changed content considerably in recent decades, partially owing to the instruments developed by UNESCO.
“Cultural heritage does not end at monuments and collections of objects. It also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts,” the wesbite states.
“While fragile, intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalization. An understanding of the intangible cultural heritage of different communities helps with intercultural dialogue, and encourages mutual respect for other ways of life. The importance of intangible cultural heritage is not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next. The social and economic value of this transmission of knowledge is relevant for minority groups and for mainstream social groups within a State, and is as important for developing States as for developed ones,” the website states.
The website further explains cultural heritage as being “traditional, contemporary and living at the same time”; “inclusive”; “representative” and “community-based”.
Other Intangible Cultural Heritage elements recognised by UNESCO
At least 14 intangible cultural heritage elements from India have been inscribed till date on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. These include the Kumbh Mela, Novruz, Tradition of Vedic chanting, Ramlila, Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre; Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas; Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan; and Chhau dance.(First Post)
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