Union Minister for Culture Prahlad Singh Patel launched the draft national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of India in New Delhi, which includes more than 100 elements. 

The minister said that India houses a repository of unique Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) traditions, 13 of which have also been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

He said that the list aims to raise awareness about the various ICH from different states of India at national and international level and ensure their protection. This initiative is also a part of the Vision 2024 of the ministry of culture.

Significance of Intangible Cultural Heritage

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.

While fragile, intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalisation. An understanding of the intangible cultural heritage of different communities helps with intercultural dialogue, and encourages mutual respect for other ways of life.

The “intangible cultural heritage” means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills — as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith — that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage. 

This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

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 country, and is as important for developing nations as for developed ones.

Following UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, this list has been classified into five broad domains in which intangible cultural heritage is manifested:

1) Oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage.

2) Performing arts.

3) Social practices, rituals and festive events.

4) Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe.

5) Traditional craftsmanship.

National list of ICH in India

The draft national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of India is an attempt to recognize the diversity of Indian culture embedded in its intangible heritage. It aims to raise awareness about the various intangible cultural heritage elements from different states of India at national and international level and ensure their protection.

The present items in the list have been collated from the projects sanctioned under the scheme for ‘Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Diverse Cultural Traditions of India’ formulated by the ministry of culture. 

Beginning in 2013, the scheme aims at reinforcing the diverse cultural expressions that are necessary for the continuous evolution and interpretation of intangible cultural heritage in India, as well as their transmission to future generations. 

It also includes the 13 elements of India that have already been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

They are: 

1) Tradition of Vedic chanting

2) Ramlila - the traditional performance of the Ramayana

3) Kutiyattam (Koodiyattam) - Sanskrit theatre

4) Ramman - religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas

5) Mudiyettu - ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala

6) Kalbelia - folk songs and dances of Rajasthan

7) Chhau dance

8) Buddhist chanting of Ladakh - recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region

9) Sankirtana - ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur

10) Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab

11) Yoga

12) Nowruz

13) Kumbh Mela

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