Inclusion of Jamdani in Unesco’s Heritage List
Bangladesh’s claim to be evaluated next month
Bangladesh’s demand for having Jamdani inscribed as its sole heritage in the UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity will be evaluated in the next month in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The representatives of the ministry of cultural affairs, headed by the secretary of the ministry, will defend the claim at the upcoming eighth session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, which will be held from December 2 to December 7.
Bangla Academy has done the required documentations for the proclamation highlighting the uniqueness of the traditional Jamdani textiles. The representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity has been made up of those intangible heritage elements that help demonstrate the diversity of heritage and raise awareness about its importance.
So far only baul song has been inscribed as the sole heritage of Bangladesh in the ICH list of UNESCO though the organisation has ratified over 250 heritages on the list since 2003.
‘We hope that our claim will be upheld in the convention unless we face any challenge from India, which also has Jamdani craftsmen,’ Dr Ranjit Kumar Biswas, secretary of the cultural affairs ministry, told New Age.
Jamdani, a handloom woven fabric made of cotton, is characterised by geometric or floral designs. Though the reference of the very delicate textile staff is found in the ancient Indian book Arthasastra authored by Kautilya in about 300 AD, the art of making Jamdani reached its zenith during the Mughal rule. Dhaka, Sonargaon, Dhamrai, Titabari, Jangalbari and Bajitpur are famous places for making superior quality Jamdani.
‘We have been working towards having Jamdani included in the UNESCO ICH list since 2010 and we have submitted the proclamation this year. Jamdani experts, Shahidul Islam, Bangladesh’s representative in the UNESCO, and the cultural affairs and foreign affairs ministries helped us during the proclamation process,’ said Md Altaf Hossain, secretary of Bangla Academy, who initiated the plan.
‘It’s difficult to inscribe an element as a sole heritage of a country on the UNESCO list, as several countries of a region sometimes share the same heritages. Moreover Bangladesh and India also share some common heritages,’ Hossain said. Thanks to India’s diplomacy and comprehensive research work on cultural heritage, the country has included many common heritages as their own, he said.
‘If our claim of including Jamdani as our sole heritage is denied in the Azerbaijan convention, we may need to agree to inscribe it in the list as joint heritage,’ Hossain said.
Md Altaf Hossain further said that Bangla Academy is also working on preparig documents for proclamation of rickshaw painting as the sole heritage of the country in the UNESCO list next year.
Bangladesh National Museum and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy are respectively working on Nakshikantha and Jatra pala to be inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
‘We need to establish a separate directorate to initiate such programmes following examples of other Asian countries like India, China and Korea to get advantage in the documentation and diplomacy required for inclusion of the national heritages in the UNSECO list,’ Md Altaf Hossain observes.
-With New Age input
