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.
