New Delhi: India’s Deepavali — the festival of light — was on Wednesday inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The decision was taken during a key meeting of UNESCO being hosted at the Red Fort in Delhi.
This is the first time that India is hosting a session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
Deepavali, also known as Diwali, is the most widely celebrated Hindu festival in India. The decision to have the festival on the cultural heritage list was reportedly taken during a key meeting of UNESCO being hosted at the Red Fort in Delhi.
Reacting to the festival’s inclusion in the list, India’s Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that the festival is deeply emotional for Indians and has lived through generations.
“This UNESCO tag is also a responsibility; we must ensure Deepavali remains a living heritage,” Shekhawat was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Notably, the 2025 session on the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) will be chaired by HE Vishal V Sharma, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of India to UNESCO.
The 20th session of the panel is underway from December 8 to 13 at the Red Fort.
Countries represented on the heritage list
Not just India, cultural heritage symbols of several countries made it to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Have a look:
- Iceland’s Swimming Pool Culture
- The Compas of Haiti
- Ghana’s highlife music and dance
- Georgian wheat culture
- Ethiopia’s Gifaataa, Wolaita people’s New Year festival
- El Salvador’s Confraternity of flowers and palms
- Egypt’s Koshary, a daily life dish
- Czechia’s amateur theatre acting
- Cyprus’s Commandaria wine
- Cuba’s practice of Cuban Son
- Yemen’s Hadrami Dan gathering
