Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya to Declare Open BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Demonstration Games 2026 in Ahmedabad

1. At a Glance

• A non-competitive sports-and-culture event run by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) together with the Government of Gujarat, held under India's BRICS Chairship [1].
• It brings together delegations from BRICS Member and partner countries to show their traditional and indigenous sporting practices [1].
• The stated aims are cultural exchange, heritage preservation and people-to-people cooperation through sport [1].
• UPSC relevance: it links BRICS (GS-II, international groupings), soft power and cultural diplomacy, and intangible cultural heritage (GS-I). India's entries are Mallakhamb, Yogasana and Kalaripayattu, which are typical Prelims material [1].

2. Why in the News

• PIB release dated 10 October 2026: Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya will open the Games at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, Ahmedabad, on 12 October 2026 [1].
• Dignitaries attending the inauguration [1]:
• Shri Harsh Sanghavi, Deputy Chief Minister, Gujarat
• Smt. Raksha Nikhil Khadse, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports
• Dr. Jayram Gamit, Minister of State for Sports, Gujarat

3. Background & Evolution

• Origin: organised as part of India's BRICS Chairship in 2026 [1]. The release does not call it a recurring series or give an earlier edition.
• Rationale: a platform for the demonstration, documentation and exchange of traditional sporting practices, with weight on cultural significance, practitioner interaction and knowledge-sharing [1].
• Wider international context: UNESCO's view is that traditional and indigenous games, dances and sports express the world's cultural heritage and must be protected and promoted [2].
• Earlier milestones: UNESCO recognition of practices that also appear at these Games
• 2010: Iran's Pahlevani and Zoorkhanei rituals inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity [5].
• 2014: Brazil's Capoeira circle inscribed on the same Representative List [3].
• 2022: Azerbaijan's Pehlevanliq culture: traditional zorkhana games, sports and wrestling inscribed [4].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
Official name (release body)	BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Sports Demonstration Games 2026 [1]
Organiser	MoYAS, Government of India, with the Government of Gujarat [1]
Venue	Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, Ahmedabad [1]
Date	12 October 2026 [1]
Inaugurated by	Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports [1]
Framework	India's BRICS Chairship [1]
Nature	Non-competitive: demonstration, documentation and exchange [1]
Participants	Delegations from BRICS Member and partner countries [1]
Side events	Bilateral meetings with visiting delegations on sports cooperation [1]

Country-wise showcase [1]

Country	Practices
Belarus	Gorodki
Bolivia	Lucha de Cholitas, Tinku, Rayuela, Trompo, Cachinas, Carrera de Sacos
Brazil	Zarabatana (indigenous blowpipe), Corrida de Toras (log race), Brazilian Para-Jiu-jitsu, Capoeira
China	Wushu, Lion Dance, Health Qigong
Ethiopia	Ethiopian Wrestling (Tegel), Ethiopian Gena (field hockey), Selus Gebeta/18-12/Bube/Shahe
India	Mallakhamb, Yogasana, Kalaripayattu
Iran	Zoorkhaneh, Haft Sang, Ghanieh
Kazakhstan	Asyk Atu, Togyzkumalak, Qazaq Kuresi
Russia	Gorodki, Sambo
South Africa	Kgati, Iintonga
UAE	Al Tabbah

• Count: 11 countries are listed [1].
• Shared sport: Gorodki is listed for both Belarus and Russia [1].

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Geopolitical / Strategic

• Hosting the Games under the Chairship lets India set the BRICS agenda in a low-politics area: culture and sport rather than security or trade [1].
• Including partner countries alongside members points to a widening BRICS circle, and India is using its presidency to bring that circle into its cultural programme [1].
• The bilateral meetings on the sidelines turn a cultural event into a channel for sports cooperation agreements [1].

Cultural / Historical

• The stated focus on heritage preservation and documentation matches UNESCO's call to protect traditional sports and games [1][2].
• Several showcased practices already carry UNESCO intangible heritage status:
• Capoeira circle (2014) [3]

• Iran's Zoorkhanei rituals (2010) [5]

• Soft power: India is presenting Yogasana, Mallakhamb and Kalaripayattu, practices tied to Indian civilisational identity, on a multilateral stage [1].

Social

• Being non-competitive, the format puts practitioner interaction ahead of medals, so community-based and indigenous practitioners get visibility [1].
• The list includes inclusive and gender-specific forms:
• Brazilian Para-Jiu-jitsu (disability sport)
• Lucha de Cholitas (Bolivia) [1]

Administrative / Federal

• The event is jointly run by a Union ministry (MoYAS) and a State government (Gujarat), an example of cooperative federalism in hosting multilateral events [1].
• Ministers of State from both levels attend the inauguration, which shows joint ownership [1].

Ethical / Governance

• Prioritising documentation and knowledge-sharing over competition raises a question: can heritage be showcased without being commodified or turned into spectacle? This fits UNESCO's safeguarding approach [1][2].

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• 10 Oct 2026: PIB announces the Games [1].
• 12 Oct 2026: inauguration by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya in Ahmedabad [1].
• On the sidelines: bilateral meetings with visiting delegations on sports cooperation within the BRICS framework [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• The Games were organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports together with the Government of Gujarat, not the Ministry of Culture or the MEA [1].
• Venue: Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, Ahmedabad [1].
• Inauguration date: 12 October 2026 [1].
• The format is non-competitive: demonstration, documentation and exchange [1].
• Held under India's BRICS Chairship (2026) [1].
• India's entries: Mallakhamb, Yogasana, Kalaripayattu [1].
• Gorodki is the shared entry of Belarus and Russia [1].
• Sambo is Russia's entry [1].
• Togyzkumalak, Asyk Atu and Qazaq Kuresi are Kazakhstan's entries [1].
• Zoorkhaneh is Iran's entry. Iran's Pahlevani and Zoorkhanei rituals were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List in 2010 [1][5].
• Capoeira is Brazil's entry. The Capoeira circle was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List in 2014 [1][3].
• Corrida de Toras (log race) and Zarabatana (blowpipe) are Brazil's indigenous entries [1].
• Tegel (wrestling) and Gena (field hockey) are Ethiopia's entries [1].
• Kgati is South Africa's entry. Al Tabbah is the UAE's entry [1].
• Health Qigong and Wushu are China's entries [1].

8. Why a One-Day Show Cannot Save a Dying Game

• A traditional game survives only if young people keep playing it in their own village or town
• UNESCO says traditional games are disappearing worldwide. Its answer is to get young people involved, not to hold more stage shows [8].
• The Ahmedabad Games are a stadium event held on one day, 12 October [1]. Visiting troupes perform, and then they go home.

• So the event can make a game more visible. It cannot by itself bring a new generation of players to the game.

• The release promises "documentation" but does not say where the record will be kept

• The stated purpose is demonstration, documentation and exchange [1].
• The release does not mention any archive, video library or public database. Without one, the documentation ends when the cameras are switched off.

• Compare UNESCO's Open Digital Library on Traditional Games (ODLTG), launched in 2015. It is an online library that collects rules and records of traditional games, and it has a plan to reward young people who add to it [8].

• "Non-competitive" helps the performers but not the sport

• With no medals at stake, community practitioners can take part without needing to be elite athletes [1].
• But there is also no league, ranking or return event that gives a player a reason to keep training. The release does not describe this as a recurring series [1].

9. What India Chose to Show and What It Left Out

• India sent its best-known forms, not its most endangered ones
• India's entries were Mallakhamb, Yogasana and Kalaripayattu [1]. All three already have national visibility and government backing.

• The event's name promises indigenous sports, but India's list includes no game played by a tribal community.

• This does not match India's own domestic policy

• The Khelo India Scheme has a separate component, "Promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games", set up to showcase the country's traditional sports [9].

• A BRICS stage was a chance to give one of those less-known tribal or rural games international attention. India used it for forms that already get that attention.

• Why this matters for the soft power argument

• Soft power (influence that comes from attraction to a country's culture, not from force or money) depends on what other countries see.
• If only famous forms like Yoga are shown, the message becomes national branding. It stops being heritage protection, which is the aim the event states [1].

10. Who Owns a Game That Crosses Borders?

• The same tradition can appear on UNESCO's lists under two different countries
• Iran's Pahlevani and Zoorkhanei rituals were inscribed in 2010 [5].
• Azerbaijan's Pehlevanliq culture: traditional zorkhana games was inscribed separately in 2022 [4].

• The roots are shared, but there are two separate national entries.

• The Ahmedabad list shows the same overlap

• Gorodki is listed for both Russia and Belarus [1].

• When a multilateral event (one with many countries taking part) lists games by country, it quietly pushes each country to claim a game as its own.

• A better model exists: joint nomination

• North and South Korea jointly inscribed traditional Korean wrestling (Ssirum/Ssireum) on UNESCO's list [8].
• Two countries that are technically still at war filed a single heritage entry. This shows that shared heritage can bring countries together instead of becoming a source of rivalry.
• Tocatì is a shared programme run by several countries to safeguard traditional games and sports. UNESCO lists it as a good safeguarding practice [10].

11. What Would Make This More Than a Ceremony

• This event carries out a commitment that already exists
• Traditional and indigenous sports were one of the focus areas of the sports track at the BRICS Youth and Sports Ministers' Meeting in Visakhapatnam (22–23 August 2026) [6].

• The real test is follow-up after Ahmedabad: an archive, exchanges and joint projects.

• MoYAS should publish everything recorded at the Games as an open archive

• The ODLTG model shows how: a free online library, in more than one language, built on open-source software [8].

• This would make the "documentation" aim [1] something that can be checked.

• India should link BRICS work to the Kazan Action Plan

• The Kazan Action Plan was adopted at UNESCO's sports ministers' conference MINEPS VI (Kazan, 13–15 July 2017). It counts traditional and indigenous sports and games as part of "sport" [7].

• It treats sport for all, including traditional games, as an area where governments should act [7]. Using this framework gives BRICS commitments a common yardstick to measure them against.

• BRICS culture tracks could support joint UNESCO nominations

• Examples are Gorodki (Russia and Belarus) [1] and zurkhaneh (Iran and Azerbaijan) [4][5].

• This follows the Ssireum precedent [8] and turns overlapping claims into shared work.

• The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) should field a tribal or rural game through Khelo India

• The next time India shows its heritage abroad, it can draw on the Khelo India indigenous games component [9]. That gives an endangered form a platform, not only the famous ones.

12. Anchors for Answers

• Data: 11 countries (BRICS members and partners) showcased traditional sports at Ahmedabad, 12 October 2026 [1]
• Data: UNESCO's Open Digital Library on Traditional Games, running since 2015 [8]
• Report/Committee: UNESCO Kazan Action Plan (MINEPS VI, 2017), which treats traditional and indigenous sports as part of "sport" [7]
• Law/Case: UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the basis for the Capoeira (2014) and zurkhaneh (2010, 2022) inscriptions [3][4][5]
• Comparison: North and South Korea's joint inscription of Ssireum wrestling, where shared heritage was filed as one entry and not two rival ones [8]
• Comparison: Tocatì, a multi-country programme listed by UNESCO as a good safeguarding practice for traditional games [10]
• Scheme: Khelo India, "Promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games" component [9]
• Policy link: BRICS Youth and Sports Ministers' Meeting, Visakhapatnam, 22–23 August 2026, with traditional and indigenous sports as a sports track focus [6]

13. Mains Relevance

• GS-I: Indian culture, covering the salient aspects of art forms and traditional practices.
• GS-II: Important international institutions, agencies and fora; bilateral, regional and global groupings involving India (BRICS).
• GS-II/GS-III (crossover): soft power and sports diplomacy, a common theme in essay and IR questions.
• Question stems: 1. Sports diplomacy is an under-utilised instrument of India's soft power. Examine with reference to India's BRICS Chairship initiatives in 2026. 2. Traditional and indigenous sports are living intangible heritage. Discuss the challenges in safeguarding them, and the role of multilateral platforms. 3. Can people-to-people initiatives offset the growing heterogeneity of an expanded BRICS? Critically analyse.

14. Related Topics to Study Next

• BRICS expansion and the partner-country model: explains why non-members such as Belarus, Bolivia and Kazakhstan took part.
• India's BRICS Chairship 2026, priorities and ministerial tracks: the wider agenda this event sits in.
• UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage: the basis for "heritage preservation" claims.
• India's elements on UNESCO's ICH list: Yoga is a likely Prelims link.
• Khelo India Scheme, indigenous games component: domestic promotion of Mallakhamb, Kalaripayattu and similar sports.
• Indian martial arts by region (Kalaripayattu, Gatka, Thang-Ta, Silambam): standard state-to-art-form matching questions.
• Fit India / International Day of Yoga: the yoga diplomacy track.
• Cultural diplomacy institutions (ICCR, MEA Public Diplomacy): the institutional side of soft power.

15. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Cooperative federalism (Polity): The Games are jointly run by a Union ministry and the Gujarat government, which the note cites as cooperative federalism.
• Yoga (History): Yogasana is one of India's three entries, and Yoga is a likely Prelims link in the soft power argument.
• Traditional knowledge (Economy): Traditional sports are inherited community practices like traditional knowledge, so this helps explain why they need safeguarding.
• Community (Polity): The Games centre on community-based and indigenous practitioners who pass these sports down, so the safeguarding argument rests on communities.

16. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Name confusion: the PIB headline says "BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Demonstration Games". The release body says "…Indigenous Sports Demonstration Games" [1]. Both refer to the same event.
• Not all participants are full BRICS members. The release says "Member and partner countries" [1]. Check the current member and partner lists on mea.gov.in before matching countries.
• Wrong ministry: the organiser is MoYAS, not the Ministry of Culture or the MEA [1].
• It is not a competition: there are no medals or rankings [1].
• Gorodki is listed for both Belarus and Russia [1]. Don't assign it to only one.
• UNESCO inscriptions: don't confuse Iran's Zoorkhanei inscription (2010) [5] with Azerbaijan's Pehlevanliq/zorkhana inscription (2022) [4].