A UNESCO honour India must leverage

DEEPAVALI’S inscription on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity marks a turning point for India and arrives at a moment of rare convergence. As the twentieth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage unfolds at the Red Fort in New Delhi, India is both hosting this global forum for the first time and celebrating the elevation of its most widely-observed festival to the world’s foremost register of living traditions. With its addition, Deepavali becomes the sixteenth Indian element on the UNESCO list, joining Yoga, Durga Puja, Kumbh Mela and Vedic chanting. The timing is symbolically potent, offering India a platform and a mandate to shape the next phase of global conversations on cultural preservation.

The announcement was made during the ongoing session chaired by Vishal V Sharma, India’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO. This year, delegates are reviewing sixty-seven nominations ranging from Ethiopian and Bangladeshi rituals to crafts and performance traditions from Georgia and Chile. As UNESCO Director-General Khaled El Enany reminded participants at the opening ceremony, intangible heritage lives within communities, moves across generations and anchors the roots of humanity. Deepavali’s recognition reflects this ethos. It acknowledges the festival as more than a religious observance and instead frames it as a dynamic cultural practice that binds people through renewal, creativity and shared identity.

The inscription also reinforces the core principles of the 2003 Convention, which centres community agency in the creation and transmission of heritage. Deepavali’s many regional forms show how traditions can adapt without losing continuity. The lighting of lamps, the rituals of gathering, the culinary and craft traditions and the diverse ways communities interpret the festival form a cultural tapestry that thrives on innovation as much as inheritance. UNESCO’s decision recognises this plurality and the festival’s role in sustaining local economies, craft ecosystems and community bonds.

India’s hosting of the Committee at the Red Fort adds a layer of symbolism. The fort, a World Heritage site, captures the relationship between tangible and intangible heritage through its architecture, ceremonial history and political significance. Convening the global governance body for intangible heritage here places India’s own cultural journey within an international framework and invites debate on how nations can evolve safeguarding strategies without freezing traditions in time.

This moment should therefore be seen not only as a cultural milestone but also as a strategic opportunity. India has laid the groundwork for safeguarding through mechanisms such as the Scheme for Safeguarding the Intangible Heritage and Diverse Cultural Traditions and the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s capacity-building programmes. Yet Deepavali’s inscription highlights the need to strengthen and widen this effort. Three areas of policy reform are especially urgent.

The first is decentralisation. While Deepavali is deeply-rooted and resilient, many smaller festivals, oral traditions, ritual practices and craft forms are far more vulnerable. Urbanisation, migration, climate impacts and market shifts threaten their survival. State and district inventories require regular updating, and local governments need funding and training to support community-led heritage plans. Empowering local custodians is essential if India is to build a comprehensive safeguarding ecosystem.

The second is livelihood integration. Deepavali already supports vast networks of craftspeople, artisans, sweet makers and textile workers. Its UNESCO inscription will heighten global interest, and that attention must translate into tangible benefits for practitioners. This calls for stronger market linkages, social security for craftspeople and targeted skills investment. Aligning heritage sectors with tourism, retail and international cultural exchange can create inclusive economic opportunities and treat practitioners as contributors to a growing creative economy rather than guardians of a
static past. The third is youth-centred transmission. Heritage survives only when younger generations find relevance in it. Deepavali endures because families enact it each year as part of shared identity. Many other traditions lack that intergenerational anchor. Schools should incorporate local heritage education, while digital documentation can make knowledge accessible. India could use its hosting moment to launch national fellowships for young practitioners, researchers and cultural workers, encouraging youth-led continuity without fossilising practices.

There are wider diplomatic and developmental implications. Deepavali, celebrated globally, long functioned as a symbol of India’s civilisational values and pluralism. Its UNESCO inscription strengthens that soft-power role and positions India to shape global heritage governance, especially at a time when developing nations seek more equitable representation in cultural policy. India can champion ethical tourism, fair resource allocation and community-based safeguarding.

Environmental considerations must also be integrated into this agenda. Deepavali has been at the centre of debates on pollution and sustainability. UNESCO’s recognition is not a preservation order, and it gives India the space to model environmentally conscious practices from within tradition. Eco-friendly crafts, low-emission celebrations and community-driven environmental guidelines can modernise the festival without eroding its authenticity. As deliberations continue at the Red Fort, India finds itself at a pivotal moment. Deepavali’s entry into the UNESCO register is not only a celebration of heritage but also an invitation to reconsider how living traditions can anchor community resilience, economic vitality and democratic values. India is hosting the world at a time when its own cultural narrative is being reshaped. It should seize this moment with vision, ambition and purpose.

The author writes on politics and culture with a keen interest on how performance and rhetoric shapes the politics of power