{"id":61308,"date":"2025-12-11T18:35:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T13:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=61308"},"modified":"2025-12-13T18:07:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T12:37:26","slug":"deepavali-intangible-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-12-2025\/deepavali-intangible-heritage","title":{"rendered":"Deepavali Added to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/ Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Deepavali has been inscribed on UNESCO\u2019s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during the 20th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee, held in New Delhi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Deepavali<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Deepavali, also known as Diwali, is celebrated on <strong>Kartik Amaavasya<\/strong>, which typically falls in October or November.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Residences, thoroughfares, and temples are <strong>illuminated with numerous oil lamps.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The festival opens with<strong> Dhanteras,<\/strong> when families purchase metalware or essentials as symbols of prosperity.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is followed by <strong>Naraka Chaturdashi.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The third day<\/strong> is the highlight of Deepavali- the <strong>sacred Lakshmi-Ganesha Puja.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Popular Legends of Deepavali<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In the Ramayana<\/strong>, it signifies the return of Lord Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile and their victory over Ravana, celebrated with lamps lighting their path.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the Mahabharata<\/strong>, it marks the <strong>return of the Pandavas<\/strong> after their exile.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Naraka Chaturdashi<\/strong> recalls Lord Krishna\u2019s victory over Narakasura, symbolising the end of evil.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lord Mahavira<\/strong>, the 24th Tirthankar, <strong>attained Nirvana <\/strong>on Deepavali at Pavapuri. Jain devotees celebrate this festival with enthusiasm as Nirvana Day.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>King Bali\u2019s Return:<\/strong> In Maharashtra, Deepavali marks the visit of King Bali, symbolising justice and generosity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Kali Puja:<\/strong> In Bengal, Odisha and Assam, Deepavali coincides with the worship of Goddess Kali for protection and inner strength.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background has-fixed-layout\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>About the Intangible cultural heritage<\/strong><br><br>&#8211; <strong>Intangible cultural heritage,<\/strong> includes the practices, knowledge, expressions, objects, and spaces that communities see as part of their cultural identity.<br>a. Passed down over generations, this heritage evolves, strengthening cultural identity and appreciation of diversity.<br>&#8211; <strong>Historical Background: <\/strong>For the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, UNESCO adopted the <strong>2003 Convention<\/strong> during its 32nd General Conference in Paris.<br>a. India ratified the convention in <strong>2005.<\/strong> <br><br><strong>Other India\u2019s Intangible Cultural Heritage Inscribed by UNESCO<\/strong><br><br>&#8211; To date, <strong>16 Indian elements<\/strong> have been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List (including Deepavali) and the country has served on the <strong>UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for three terms.<\/strong><br><br><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"553\" height=\"213\" src=\"blob:https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ba21b198-d6fc-4547-9f0e-7781995e93a5\"><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2201375&amp;reg=3&amp;lang=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>PIB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Deepavali has been inscribed on UNESCO\u2019s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during the 20th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee, held in New Delhi.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>About Deepavali<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Deepavali, also known as Diwali, is celebrated on Kartik Amaavasya, which typically falls in October or November.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Residences, thoroughfares, and temples are illuminated with numerous oil lamps.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The festival opens with Dhanteras, when families purchase metalware or essentials as symbols of prosperity.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It is followed by Naraka Chaturdashi.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The third day is the highlight of Deepavali- the sacred Lakshmi-Ganesha Puja.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-12-2025\/deepavali-intangible-heritage\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61308"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61315,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61308\/revisions\/61315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}