Can you say something about the diverse nature of India and its peoples in relation to ICH?

India's rainbow peoples represent great diversity and their ICH appears interrelated and interdependent. Archaeological and historical evidence has provided us with an understanding of the successive periods of Indian history, which in turn facilitates reconstructions of our cultural history. However, recent research has focused on the cultural study of distinct communities and has yielded valuable insights into the contemporaneous aspects of tangible and intangible cultural heritages.

Contemporary intangible cultural traditions have distinct observable forms and it is possible to consider them objectively as expressions of human behaviour. In India references are made to intangible cultural traditions in prestigious publications, but also in newspapers, which in my opinion are reliable bearers of evidence concerning the current patterns of individual and collective human behaviour.

Is language a very significant form of ICH in India?

Language is an important vehicle of intangible cultural heritage all over India and is common to all communities irrespective of their religion. Sanskrit is the oldest language, but we are unsure where it originated, whether in India or elsewhere. Its relation with the people who lived in India during different periods is now a matter of intense debate. Efforts are currently being made to document and conserve tribal languages; the magazine Dhol (‘Drum’) has been very active in this regard. These languages – which have no written form since they are transmitted only orally, but embody the life and society of ancient civilizations – are fast disappearing owing to a lack of developmental support from the Indian Constitution.