UNESCO tag pitched for Durga Puja by Bengal govt
Durga Puja is undoubtedly the biggest festival of the land adjoining the Ganga. With its epicentre in Kolkata, the festival is celebrated widely throughout Bengal, Assam, Tripura and neighbouring Bangladesh.
The Bengal government has pitched for the inclusion of Durga Puja on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage this year. The dossier has been passed on by the state Tourism Department to the Union government, which will recommend it to UNESCO as an entry from India.
A similar recommendation was made to UNESCO in 2019, but the process remained unfinished due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
Chhau Dance from Bengal’s Purulia district and adjoining areas has already made it to the list.
Eminent social scientist and a professor of history with the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, Tapati Guha Thakurta had created the elaborate dossier for the Union Ministry of Culture, highlighting the history, socio-cultural context and inclusivity of the festival, which was endorsed by the Bengal government in 2019.
