India’s Deepavali — the pageant of lights — was on Wednesday (December 10, 2025) inscribed on the UNESCO’s Consultant Listing of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, sparking celebrations to mark the incomes of the coveted tag.
The choice was taken throughout a key assembly of UNESCO being hosted on the Crimson Fort in Delhi.
Chants of ‘Jai Hind’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ hire the air as UNESCO introduced that the celebrated pageant has been added to the celebrated record after a dialogue by its committee.
Artistes dressed in several conventional apparel carried out in entrance of the principle stage whereas pictures of the Deepavali pageant performed on the large display screen.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the addition of Deepavali to the UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage Listing, saying it would contribute to the pageant’s world reputation.
“Folks in India and all over the world are thrilled,” PM Modi mentioned in a put up on X, responding to a put up from UNESCO itemizing Deepavali in its Intangible Heritage Listing.
sixteenth factor from India
Union Tradition Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat delivered an announcement on behalf of the nation proper after the inscription was introduced throughout the twentieth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
That is the sixteenth factor from India to be inscribed on the Consultant Listing of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Fifteen different parts already inscribed on this UNESCO record embody the Kumbh Mela, Durga Puja of Kolkata, Garba dance of Gujarat, yoga, the custom of Vedic chanting and Ramlila — the standard efficiency of the epic ‘Ramayana’.
Mr. Shekhawat and different members of the Indian contingent sported a conventional headgear to mark the event.
“Deepavali” — the pageant of lights — is without doubt one of the timeless festivals of India, which can also be now celebrated in lots of different components of the world.
On this event, folks adorn their houses with conventional lamps or ‘diya’, and buildings are illuminated, presenting a stunning sight at evening.
India had despatched the Deepavali nomination file to UNESCO in 2023 for the 2024-25 cycle.
‘UNESCO tag a duty’
“For each Indian, Deepavali is deeply emotional, it’s felt, lived, absorbed throughout generations,” Mr. Shekhawat mentioned in his deal with.
The Union Minister mentioned that with this inscription, “UNESCO honours the everlasting human eager for renewal, peace and the triumph of excellent”.
He mentioned from potters to artisans, thousands and thousands of fingers maintain this heritage alive.
This UNESCO tag can also be a duty, and “we should guarantee Deepavali stays a residing heritage,” Mr. Shekhawat mentioned. Our youngsters should know that Deepavali is the pageant of Ram Rajya, i e, good governance, he mentioned.
He mentioned that on the approaching Deepavali, folks ought to “gentle an additional lamp, a lamp of gratitude, a lamp of peace, a lamp of shared humanity, and a lamp of excellent governance”.
Mr. Shekhawat, in his deal with, invoked the Sanskrit chant of ‘Tamso Maa Jyotirgamaya’ (from darkness take me to gentle) and ended it with, “Jai Hind, Bharat Mata ki Jai, Raja Ram Chandra Ji ki Jai”.
That is the primary time that India is internet hosting a session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
The twentieth session of the panel is underway from December 8 to 13 on the Crimson Fort advanced, a UNESCO World Heritage Website.
Pakistan congratulates India
Pakistani diplomat Shoaib Sarwar Sandhu, who’s posted on the nation’s Excessive Fee right here, in an interplay with PTI, mentioned, “My congratulations to India on Deepavali inscription”.
A day in the past, Boreendo or Bhorindo, an historical dying people musical instrument and its melodies, information, and expertise, from Pakistan, Paraguay’s ancestral ceramic craftsmanship and Mwazindika religious dance of the Daida neighborhood of Kenya, amongst 11 parts, have been inscribed on UNESCO’s Listing of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Want of Pressing Safeguarding.
A complete of 67 nominations submitted by almost 80 nations shall be examined throughout the course of the almost week-long key session of UNESCO.
On Tuesday, the standard saree weaving artwork of Tangail from Bangladesh and Behzad’s model of miniature portray from Afghanistan have been among the many parts inscribed on UNESCO’s Consultant Listing of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The abilities and practices of creating ‘Bisht’ (males’s Abaa or robe), a transnational nomination, have been additionally inscribed on this record.
On Wednesday, different contemporary inscriptions within the Consultant Listing of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity class included, Al-Muhaibis: social practices and traditions related to it, from Iraq; Al-Mihrass tree: information, expertise and rituals related to it, from Jordan; and the Diwaniya, a unifying cultural observe in Kuwait.
Printed – December 10, 2025 11:51 am IST
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