Prelims · Art & culture · 10 questions

Festivals, UNESCO heritage & miscellany

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Asked in 5 of 11 years · most in 2024 (2)

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Prelims 2024 · Q60

Easy

Which one of the following was the latest inclusion in the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of UNESCO?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) Garba dance

Garba of Gujarat is the most recent of the four, inscribed in December 2023. The other three were listed earlier: Chhau dance in 2010, Kumbh Mela in 2017 and Durga Puja in Kolkata in 2021.

✓ (c) UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee inscribed Garba of Gujarat on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at its 18th session in Kasane, Botswana, in December 2023. It was India's 15th inscription.
✗ (d) Kumbh Mela was inscribed in 2017 (12th session of the Committee), six years before Garba.
✗ (b) Durga Puja in Kolkata was inscribed in 2021 (16th session), two years before Garba.
✗ (a) Chhau dance is the oldest of the four, inscribed in 2010 (5th session).

Remember · Chhau 2010, Kumbh Mela 2017, Durga Puja in Kolkata 2021, Garba of Gujarat 2023 (India's 15th ICH inscription).

Sources

Garba of Gujarat, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ↗ “Inscribed in 2023 ( 18.COM ) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”
Garba of Gujarat inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List, UNESCO news ↗ “during its 18th session, taking place in Kasane, Botswana from 5 to 9 December 2023. The inclusion of Garba now makes it India’s 15th inscription on the List.”
Durga Puja in Kolkata, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ↗ “Inscribed in 2021 ( 16.COM ) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”
Kumbh Mela, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ↗ “Inscribed in 2017 ( 12.COM ) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”
Chhau dance, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ↗ “Inscribed in 2010 ( 5.COM ) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2024 · Q65

Medium

Consider the following properties included in the World Heritage List released by UNESCO:

1.Shantiniketan
2.Rani-ki-Vav
3.Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas
4.Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodhgaya

How many of the above properties were included in 2023?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Only two

UNESCO's own records show two of the four were inscribed in 2023: Santiniketan and the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas. Rani-ki-Vav joined the World Heritage List in 2014 and the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya in 2002.

✓ 1. Santiniketan, the residential school and art centre set up by Rabindranath Tagore in rural West Bengal in 1901, was inscribed in 2023. UNESCO spells it Santiniketan.
✗ 2. Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen's Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat, was inscribed in 2014.
✓ 3. This serial property of three Hoysala temple complexes in Karnataka (Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura) was inscribed in 2023.
✗ 4. The Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya in Bihar was inscribed much earlier, in 2002.

Remember · India's 2023 World Heritage additions: Santiniketan and the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas. Rani-ki-Vav is 2014; the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya is 2002.