UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage: India's Latest Entry Explained
Which one of the following was the latest inclusion in the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of UNESCO?
- Chhau dance
- Durga puja
- Garba dance
- Kumbh mela
Answer: (c) Garba dance
Statement-wise explanation
- a: incorrect — Chhau dance was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. That makes it one of India's older entries. It is a martial-flavoured dance tradition of eastern India, found in the Seraikella, Purulia and Mayurbhanj styles. It was inscribed in the same year as Kalbelia and Mudiyettu.
- b: incorrect — The element 'Durga Puja in Kolkata' was inscribed in 2021, at the 16th session of the Intergovernmental Committee. That made it India's 14th element on the Representative List. It is recent, but one Indian element was inscribed after it and before the 2024 exam.
- c: correct — 'Garba of Gujarat' was inscribed on 6 December 2023, at the 18th session of the Intergovernmental Committee in Kasane, Botswana. It became India's 15th element on the Representative List. On the exam date (16 June 2024) it was India's most recent inscription.
- d: incorrect — Kumbh Mela was inscribed in 2017, the year after Yoga (2016). It is described as the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on Earth. It came four years before Durga Puja and six years before Garba.
How to eliminate
You can only solve this question by knowing the facts. There are no absolute words to test, and all four options are genuine Indian elements on the UNESCO list, so you cannot rule any out as fake. You do get an edge if you keep a rough timeline. Chhau is from the first wave of inscriptions (2008–2010), and Kumbh Mela (2017) sits next to Yoga (2016). That leaves the two Navaratri-season festivals: Durga Puja (2021) and Garba (2023). The question is tagged as current affairs, which points to the inscription closest to the exam, from December 2023. Remember Garba as India's 15th element, inscribed in Kasane, Botswana in 2023. Also note what came after the exam: Nawrouz (2024, a multinational file) and Deepavali (2025).
Know more
UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) comes from the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. ICH means living practices rather than monuments: oral traditions, performing arts, rituals and festivals, traditional crafts, and knowledge about nature. The Convention keeps three registers:
- Representative List of the ICH of Humanity: all of India's elements are on this list.
- List of ICH in Need of Urgent Safeguarding: India currently has no element on it.
- Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.
An Intergovernmental Committee of 24 States Parties decides inscriptions at its annual session. In India, the Sangeet Natak Akademi (Ministry of Culture) is the nodal agency that prepares nomination dossiers.
India's 16 elements (Representative List)
| Year | Element(s) |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Kutiyattam; Tradition of Vedic chanting; Ramlila |
| 2009 | Ramman (Garhwal) |
| 2010 | Chhau dance; Kalbelia (Rajasthan); Mudiyettu (Kerala) |
| 2012 | Buddhist chanting of Ladakh |
| 2013 | Sankirtana of Manipur |
| 2014 | Thathera brass and copper craft, Jandiala Guru (Punjab) |
| 2016 | Yoga; Nawrouz (multinational) |
| 2017 | Kumbh Mela |
| 2021 | Durga Puja in Kolkata |
| 2023 | Garba of Gujarat |
| 2025 | Deepavali |
India joined the multinational Nawrouz file, which was re-inscribed in an extended form in 2024. Do not confuse ICH with World Heritage Sites. World Heritage Sites are physical places listed under the 1972 Convention, such as Sarnath. ICH elements are practices listed under the 2003 Convention.
In the news
Garba was inscribed in December 2023, about six months before the June 2024 Prelims. It was widely reported as India's 15th ICH element. UPSC turned that recent news into a question on chronology.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Kumbh Mela: Kumbh Mela is one of the four options, so you need to know what the element is and roughly when it was inscribed.
- Yoga UNESCO intangible heritage: Yoga was inscribed in 2016 and is a useful anchor for dating the middle period of India's ICH inscriptions.
- Tradition of Vedic chanting: Vedic chanting was in India's first batch of inscriptions (2008), which marks the starting point of the ICH timeline.