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At the ongoing 20th Session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held during December 7-13, Bangladesh has achieved a long-standing extremity by securing designation for the Tangail saree’s weaving trade arsenic an “intangible taste heritage”.
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The improvement is important besides from the bilateral India-Bangladesh constituent of view, arsenic India had secured the GI tag for “Tangail Saree of Bengal” successful 2024, which was met with disapproval successful Bangladesh, with sections determination claiming that India’s determination was an infringement of Bangladesh’s taste heritage.
“This designation is simply a substance of immense pridefulness for Bangladesh. This is simply a planetary designation of the weavers of Tangail who person been perfecting this trade for much than 2 centuries,” said Ambassador K.M. Talha, who represents Bangladesh astatine the UNESCO General Conference, who dedicated the designation to the weavers and women of Bangladesh. Diplomatic sources said that Bangladesh volition person a certificate for the designation of Tangail saree’s weaving trade connected Wednesday (December 10, 2025) successful the UNESCO gathering successful New Delhi.
India’s assistance of Geographical Indication (GI) to Tangail saree attracted disapproval from Bangladesh whereas India’s determination successful this respect has been viewed arsenic a lawsuit of taste practice and intelligence spot rights. “The caller incidental is precise disgraceful. The cardinal criteria for GI designation is the determination and Tangail is obscurity adjacent India. It is simply a portion of Bangladesh. India should person fixed a 2nd thought earlier doing this,” Chandra Shekhar Shaha, president of the National Crafts Council of Bangladesh, had told The Business Standard of Bangladesh successful 2024 successful effect to India’s GI for Tangail saree.
The GI tag was awarded to West Bengal State Handloom Weavers Co-Operative Society Limited. While processing the exertion from West Bengal, New Delhi had cited decades of accumulation of the saree successful West Bengal by weavers who had migrated determination from Bangladesh, whereas Bangladesh has argued that Tangail sarees originate from the weaving workshops of Tangail, a centrally located territory successful the state connected the banks of the Jamuna.
The Bangladesh delegation astatine the UNESCO gathering successful New Delhi, however, described that Bangladesh securing “intangible heritage” tag for Tangail saree handicraft is not going to clash with India’s GI tag arsenic the substance was settled astatine an planetary level. “This inscription was achieved done an planetary normal wherever Bangladesh and India are some members. That is wherefore this designation is valid from the constituent of presumption of planetary law. That apart, the Tangail sarees are fashionable among the women of some Bangladesh and India and they excessively volition consciousness arrogant astir this,” said Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India Riaz Hamidullah.
On December 7, the 20th Session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee was launched present by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who referred to the inscription of Durga Puja arsenic an “intangible taste practice of humanity” and said the Government of India has intensified efforts implicit the past decennary to sphere tangible and intangible taste heritage. “There is simply a overmuch deeper committedness to the observance of traditions, to celebrations of festivals, to expressions of religion and beliefs and to enactment for arts and craftsmanship,” said Mr. Jaishankar successful his inaugural code connected December 7, 2025.
