13 Intangible Cultural Heritage elements from India inscribed on UNESCO’s List till date: Dr. Mahesh Sharma

A total of 13 Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) elements from India have been inscribed till date on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

For inclusion of an element in the UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the state parties are required to submit nomination dossier on the relevant element for evaluation and examination of the UNESCO Committee.

The Ministry of Culture has appointed the Sangeet Natak Akademi, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Culture, as nodal office for matters relating to the intangible cultural heritage including for preparation of the nomination dossiers for the Representative List of UNESCO. The Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) accordingly makes necessary interaction with the stakeholders, experts/officials etc. prior to finalization of the dossier in respect of element identified for the nomination. Being the nodal office the SNA maintains a National Inventory of ICH elements and the inclusion of the identified element for UNESCO in the National Inventory/Register etc. of the applicant member state is also a pre-requisite for inclusion in the UNESCO’s Representative List of ICH.

The Ministry of Culture makes regular Schemes as well as organisations make efforts towards preservation, protection and promotion of intangible cultural heritage in the country. Various autonomous bodies under the Ministry of Culture have comprehensive mandates in this regard and are functioning in various spheres of preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage and diverse traditions of the country. Some of the major organisations involved in preservation of propagation of ICH are named below:

1. Sahitya Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi
2. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
3. National School of Drama
4. Centre for Cultural Resources & Training