UNESCO Acknowledges Tangail Saree as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Bangladesh

On the ongoing twentieth Session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held throughout December 7-13, Bangladesh has achieved a long-standing aim by securing recognition for the Tangail saree’s weaving craft as an “intangible cultural heritage”.

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The event is important additionally from the bilateral India-Bangladesh standpoint, as India had secured the GI tag for “Tangail Saree of Bengal” in  2024, which was met with criticism in Bangladesh, with sections there claiming that India’s determination was an infringement of Bangladesh’s cultural heritage.

“This recognition is a matter of immense delight for Bangladesh. It is a international recognition of the weavers of Tangail who’ve been perfecting this craft for greater than two centuries,” mentioned Ambassador Ok.M. Talha, who represents Bangladesh on the UNESCO Basic Convention, who devoted the popularity to the weavers and girls of Bangladesh. Diplomatic sources mentioned that Bangladesh will obtain a certificates for the popularity of Tangail saree’s weaving craft on Wednesday (December 10, 2025) within the UNESCO assembly in New Delhi.

India’s grant of Geographical Indication (GI) to Tangail saree attracted criticism from Bangladesh whereas India’s determination on this regard has been considered as a case of cultural heritage and mental property rights. “The latest incident may be very disgraceful. The important thing standards for GI recognition is the placement and Tangail is nowhere close to India. It is part of Bangladesh. India ought to have given a second thought earlier than doing this,” Chandra Shekhar Shaha, chairman of the Nationwide Crafts Council of Bangladesh, had informed The Enterprise Customary of Bangladesh in 2024 in response to India’s GI for Tangail saree. 

The GI tag was awarded to West Bengal State Handloom Weavers Co-Operative Society Restricted. Whereas processing the appliance from West Bengal, New Delhi had cited many years of manufacturing of the saree in West Bengal by weavers who had migrated there from Bangladesh, whereas Bangladesh has argued that Tangail sarees originate from the weaving workshops of Tangail, a centrally situated district within the nation on the banks of the Jamuna.

The Bangladesh delegation on the UNESCO assembly in New Delhi, nonetheless, described that Bangladesh securing “intangible heritage” tag for Tangail saree handicraft isn’t going to conflict with India’s GI tag because the matter was settled at a world stage. “This inscription was achieved by means of a world conference the place Bangladesh and India are each members. That’s the reason this recognition is legitimate from the standpoint of worldwide regulation. That aside, the Tangail sarees are common among the many girls of each Bangladesh and India and so they too will really feel proud about this,” mentioned Bangladesh’s Excessive Commissioner to India Riaz Hamidullah.

On December 7, the twentieth Session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee was launched right here by Exterior Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who referred to the inscription of Durga Puja as an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity” and mentioned the Authorities of India has intensified efforts over the previous decade to protect tangible and intangible cultural heritage. “There’s a a lot deeper dedication to the observance of traditions, to celebrations of festivals, to expressions of religion and beliefs and to help for arts and craftsmanship,” mentioned Mr. Jaishankar in his inaugural speech on December 7, 2025.