You have also undertaken cultural mapping across India. What is the larger objective?

India is a very diverse country. It is often said that after every 10, 15 or 20 kilometres, things change. Language changes, dialect changes, food habits change, customs change and sometimes beliefs change.

We have therefore started cultural mapping at the village level and so far have mapped approximately six lakh villages. Apart from that, we have taken a multilateral initiative to study India’s cultural footprints in other countries.

India has had relationships with other countries for thousands of years through knowledge, religions such as Buddhism and through trade. It is an established fact that we have a 5,000-year-old trade relationship with other countries, including Central Asian, European and Southeast Asian countries.

Through Project Mausam, we are establishing and reinventing cultural and trade relations and routes with those countries and documenting India’s cultural footprint. These are among the new initiatives we have taken.

How is India performing in getting its heritage recognised on global platforms such as UNESCO?

Apart from conservation activities, another thrust given by the Honourable Prime Minister has been the recognition of India’s heritage on global platforms. Recently, Sarnath was inscribed as a World Heritage monument by UNESCO.

We are also getting opportunities for intangible heritage recognition. We have had multilateral opportunities through which the Natya Shastra, Ramayana and Gita have been inscribed on the Memory of the World Register.

Our cultural heritage is therefore increasingly being recognised and inscribed on global platforms. India has 45 World Heritage monuments and ranks sixth in the world, and the number is continuously growing.

There is a limitation because one country could previously get only one inscription in a year, which restricted our prospects. We have been advocating for more opportunities, and UNESCO has now allowed multilateral and bilateral dossiers to be submitted without affecting a country’s right to have one inscription. They can be separately and simultaneously inscribed.

We have also brought intangible practices into this process. Mehndi is a common shared legacy of Indians, Pakistanis, Iranians and many other countries. Pattachitra, which is practised in several countries, is another example. Chhath Puja, practised wherever Girmitiyas have gone, is also among the practices we have proposed for inscription.