Diwali Gets UNESCO Heritage Status

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added Deepavali, India’s spectacular festival of lights, to its 'Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.'

Deepavali, also known as Diwali, is the most widely celebrated Hindu festival in India.

The decision was taken during the twentieth session of the of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, chaired by Vishal V Sharma, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of India to UNESCO. The session of the panel is underway from December 8 to 13 at the Red Fort in Delhi.

This is the first time that India is hosting a session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).

India currently has 15 elements inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and these include the Kumbh Mela (2017), Durga Puja of Kolkata, Garba dance of Gujarat (2023), Yoga (2016), and Ramlila (2008) - the traditional performance of the epic 'Ramayana'.

In 2017, the Kumbh Mela was accorded this recognition. Yoga was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016, traditional brass and copper craft of Punjab in 2014, Manipur's Sankirtana ritual singing in 2013 and the dance forms of Chhau, Kalbelia and Mudiyettu in 2010.

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