New Delhi. From the Maha Kumbh held in January-February to the beginning of the year-long celebrations to commemorate 150 years of the composition of ‘Vande Mataram’ in November, the year 2025 has been a very busy year for the Culture Ministry. As the years passed, Diwali received UNESCO’s recognition as the festival of lights. India’s cultural heritage was showcased through ‘Kalagram’ during Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Spread over a vast area of 10.24 acres, ‘Kalagram’ was a sensory journey that brought together both the tangible and intangible aspects of India’s cultural heritage.
To mark the occasion, the Mahakumbh logo was displayed on various centrally protected monuments. The Culture Ministry in November launched year-long celebrations to commemorate 150 years of the composition of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’.
Meanwhile, a grand celebration of the 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar was organized in Bhopal and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was celebrated across the country. In July this year, the 125th birth anniversary of Jan Sangh ideologue Syama Prasad Mukherjee was also celebrated in Delhi. In the second half of the year 2025, India received two important recognitions from UNESCO.
First, the ‘Maratha Military Landscape of India’ was included in the World Heritage List during the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Paris in July. 12 components of ‘Maratha Military Landscape of India’ Salher Fort of Maharashtra, Shivneri Fort, Lohgarh Fort, Khanderi Fort, Raigarh, Rajgarh, Pratapgarh, Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort, Vijaydurg and Sindhudurg; And Gingee Fort of Tamil Nadu.
The second recognition came in the form of Diwali being included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 10 December. This is the 16th festival from India to be included in this list. The other 15 festivals include Kumbh Mela, Durga Puja of Kolkata, Garba dance of Gujarat, Yoga, tradition of Vedic chanting and Ramlila. Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that with this marking “UNESCO honors the eternal human aspiration for renewal, peace and the triumph of goodness.” He said that from potters to artisans, lakhs of hands keep this heritage alive. He said this UNESCO tag is also a responsibility and “we have to ensure that Diwali remains a living heritage.”
In December, the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage was held at the Red Fort in Delhi. This was the first time that India hosted this important session. The Red Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The meeting took place almost a month after the Red Fort blast on November 10. 15 people died and more than two dozen were injured in the blast. The government is planning to organize an exhibition of the holy relics of Lord Buddha in Sri Lanka in the coming year. “The plan is to hold an exhibition of the holy relics of Lord Buddha in Colombo in February. These are the Devanimoory relics,” an official source said.
According to the information, these sacred relics were excavated from Devanimori in Gujarat and are currently under the protection of Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara. The sacred relics of Lord Buddha, revered at various sites in the country, have been part of several demonstrations held abroad over the past few years. In November, a part of the remains preserved in the National Museum in New Delhi were taken to Thimphu (Bhutan) for a 17-day public exhibition. In 2024, the sacred relics of Lord Buddha were taken to Thailand along with the remains of his two disciples, Arahant Sariputra and Arahant Maudgalyayana and displayed at various places as part of a 26-day exhibition in February–March.
This was the first time that the sacred relics of Lord Buddha and his disciples were displayed together. These remains date back to the 4th-5th century BCE and were found in the 1970s by a team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials in excavations conducted at Piprahwa, which is believed to be part of the ancient Kapilavastu site. In the past year, India successfully opposed the auction in Hong Kong of a part of the sacred relics of Lord Buddha, which were found at Piprava (in present-day Uttar Pradesh) in 1898.
These priceless relics, including gold, garnet and crystal jewellery, were brought back to India after coordinated legal and diplomatic efforts and were handed over to the Indian government through private acquisition by an Indian industrial house. 2025 turned out to be another important year for the Ministry, as in September it launched a landmark national initiative called ‘Gyan Bharatam’ for the preservation, digitization and dissemination of India’s manuscript heritage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Gyan Bharatam’ portal on 12 September. The conference concluded with the ‘Delhi Declaration’, reiterating the commitment towards the preservation and revitalization of India’s manuscript heritage in line with the spirit of Developed India 2047.
