Remarks by EAM Dr. S Jaishankar at the 20th Session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat ji, Union Minister of Culture
Smt. Rekha Gupta Ji, Chief Minister of Delhi
Mr. Khaled Ahmed El-Enany, Director General of UNESCO
Secretary Vivek Aggarwal,
Ambassador Vishal Sharma,
Chairperson Sandhya Purecha,

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Namaskar, Good evening.

I join you all today in welcoming this gathering at the inaugural event of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for safeguarding intangible heritage. It is fitting that you are assembled in India, which has so much to contribute to the world in regard to such heritage.

As a founding member, India has actively advanced UNESCO’s objectives of promoting global peace and understanding through deeper cooperation in education, science, and culture. In each of these domains, humankind has benefited from the legacy of its forbears. As we forge ahead in the shared quest for progress and prosperity, it is essential that we nurture this inheritance, build on it and pass it on to future generations.

UNESCO’s role in heritage preservation is particularly important and one that has been long recognized by India. We have contributed to its endeavours while drawing strength from its best practices. Besides being home to many UNESCO World Heritage sites, India has itself undertaken many preservation and conservation projects across the world.

A key dimension of that engagement is preservation of intangible heritage. In doing so, we acknowledge that traditions, languages, rituals, music, craftsmanship, festivals and performing arts are invaluable aspects of human inheritance. In many ways, they are the most democratic expression of culture – owned by all, guarded by many, and enriched by each generation.

Our Ambassador to UNESCO has spoken about our commitment to the 2003 Convention on Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. With multiple elements on the Representative List, we are celebrating our weavers, storytellers, healers, dancers, artisans – whose lives are the actual repositories of human continuity. The addition of the Bhagavad Gita and Bharatamuni’s Natyashastra to the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register is truly notable. That Lucknow has joined Hyderabad as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy has also been widely appreciated in this country. Each recognition of intangible heritage has ripples well beyond the immediate decision. Your work, I want to tell you not only evokes cultural pride and strengthens tradition, but impacts lives and livelihoods as well.

Delegates, colleagues, friends,

The world is a fundamentally pluralistic landscape, a landscape whose richness lies in its diversity and intricacy. Far from being flat, it has a vast range of specificities and characteristics, it has creativity that are central to identity, pride and history. What humankind has generated over the centuries will only be fully appreciated when that heritage is carefully nurtured. Challenges in that regard arise when efforts are made to dominate, to sideline, to dismiss or even to erode. In the intangible domain, that can take the form of cultural assertion which fly in the face of mutual respect and mutual appreciation. The last few centuries have actually witnessed that vividly and many societies still bear the scars of that era.

But as decolonization took place and the world began returning to its natural diversity, political and economic rebalancing started to unfold. Voices across geographies that were suppressed found expression again. But that process will remain incomplete until there is also cultural rebalancing. This means the safeguarding and even revival of intangible heritage at home, while simultaneously promoting awareness and respect internationally. The Global South understandably deserves special attention in this context.

As a civilizational state itself, India is particularly sensitive to such concerns. Our own efforts in that regard have intensified over the last decade. There is a much deeper commitment to the observance of traditions, to celebrations of festivals, to expressions of faith and beliefs and to support for arts and craftsmanship. We can see this from the mammoth gatherings at the Kumbh Mela and the vividness of Durga Puja to the promotion of One District One Product, or for that matter, the encouragement extended to the Vishwakarma artisans, or indeed when technology is applied for cultural purposes underlining that tradition and technology march hand-in-hand. It is evident as well when our heritage travels out to other nations and other societies, and when conservation projects are undertaken as in our case in the extended neighbourhood. As a Foreign Minister, I am truly proud that our diplomatic efforts have a notable place for tangible and intangible heritage protection and conservation as part of our diplomacy.

Friends,

The world is indeed becoming more multi-polar, which makes a compelling case for deeper multilateralism. Collectively, we can only prosper through mutual respect and mutual understanding and when we think of the world as a family. UNESCO which is at the forefront of multilateralism makes an invaluable contribution in that regard and its commitment to safeguard intangible heritage is an important facet of that.

I join my colleagues in welcoming you all to Delhi, to India, and I wish you a very productive deliberation. Thank you.

New Delhi
December 07, 2025