NATIONAL – DIARY OF EVENTS

GI tag for Basohli painting and Ladakh’s wood carving

  • The world famous ‘Basohli Painting, popular for its miniature art style from Kathua district of Jammu & Kashmir has obtained the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag following approval by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Jammu.
  • Ladakh’s wood carving has been given GI tag to make cultural traditions popular. 

About GI tag:

  • A geographical indication (GI) tag is a sign used on locally produced products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities that are due to that origin. A product can be given a GI tag if it is a specialty of a given place.
  • A total of 33 products have been given the GI tag during 2022-23.

Mission to map rural India’s cultural assets:

  • In a bid to harness the unique cultural heritage of rural India, the government has identified and documented distinctive features of more than one lakh villages across the country.

Cultural Asset Mapping:

  • In this cultural asset mapping, villages have been broadly divided into seven-eight categories based on
  • whether they are important ecologically, developmentally or scholastically,
  • if they produce a famous textile or product, and
  • if they are connected to some historical or mythological events such as the Independence struggle or epics like the Mahabharata.
  • Ecological category:
  • Bishnoi village near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, which is a case study for living in harmony with nature
  • Uttarakhand’s Raini village, which is famous for the Chipko movement.
  • Developmental importance: 
  • Modhera in Gujarat, which is the first solar powered village in India
  • Historical importance:
  • Suketi in Himachal Pradesh, Asia’s oldest fossil park,
  • Pandrethan in Kashmir, the village of Shaivite mystic Lal Ded  classified for their historical importance.
  • Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (My Village My Heritage) programme:
  • The entire exercise has been carried out under the Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (My Village My Heritage) programme of the National Mission for Cultural Mapping    (NMCM).
  • The NMCM aims to develop a comprehensive database of art forms, artists and other resources across the country.
  • The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) has undertaken the cultural asset mapping of these villages through field surveys.
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