UNESCO has recognized India’s religious and sacred fest of Kumbh Mela as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The move has been made by UN’s Intergovernmental Committee for safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the 12th Session going on in Jeju, South Korea. The meeting opened on December 4 and will go on until December 9. The revelation was made by the official page of UNESCO on social media.
Kumbh Mela just inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Congratulations, #India #IntangibleHeritage #12COM
ℹ️ https://t.co/Vt9a4zn4rl pic.twitter.com/fwIxbHmAg3
— UNESCO (@UNESCO) December 7, 2017
In this list, some prominent elements are from Botswana, Venezuela, Morocco, Mongolia, Columbia, Turkey, and UAE. As soon as the news broke out, Union Minister of Stae for Culture and MOS- Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma mentioned it on Twitter as a proud moment for India:
A very proud moment for us as sacred #KumbhMela is just inscribed as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by @UNESCO
Kumbh Mela is considered to be the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth, attended by millions irrespective of caste, creed or gender. pic.twitter.com/8Lq6z4vKyf
— Dr. Mahesh Sharma (@dr_maheshsharma) December 7, 2017
PM Modi also expressed his views on the occasion:
A matter of immense joy and pride for India. https://t.co/eKBPUh2fMj
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 8, 2017
Considered as the “world’s largest congregation of religious pilgrims”, Kumbh Mela is a highly scared and valuable occasion for Hindus to gather and bathe in the holy river. It’s unknown as to how old the festival is but according to mythological tales, Lord Vishnu had dropped some elixir (Amrit) which he was carrying in a Kumbh.
These four places identified as Allahabad, Haridwar, Nasik, and Ujjain host the Kumbh Mela periodically where people bathe in the holy river in order to cleanse their soul. The festival is highly auspicious and represents Hindu beliefs towards gaining “an eternal life free of sins”.
