Bangladesh secures ‘intangible cultural heritage’ tag for Tangail saree at UNESCO meet

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 goal by securing recognition for the Tangail saree’s weaving craft as an “intangible cultural heritage”.

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The development is significant also from the bilateral India-Bangladesh point of view, as India had secured the GI tag for “Tangail Saree of Bengal” in  2024, which was met with criticism in Bangladesh, with sections there claiming that India’s decision was an infringement of Bangladesh’s cultural heritage.

“This recognition is a matter of immense pride for Bangladesh. This is a global recognition of the weavers of Tangail who have been perfecting this craft for more than two centuries,” said Ambassador K.M. Talha, who represents Bangladesh at the UNESCO General Conference, who dedicated the recognition to the weavers and women of Bangladesh. Diplomatic sources said that Bangladesh will receive a certificate for the recognition of Tangail saree’s weaving craft on Wednesday (December 10, 2025) in the UNESCO meeting in New Delhi.

India’s grant of Geographical Indication (GI) to Tangail saree attracted criticism from Bangladesh whereas India’s decision in this regard has been viewed as a case of cultural heritage and intellectual property rights. “The recent incident is very disgraceful. The key criteria for GI recognition is the location and Tangail is nowhere near India. It is a part of Bangladesh. India should have given a second thought before doing this,” Chandra Shekhar Shaha, chairman of the National Crafts Council of Bangladesh, had told The Business Standard of Bangladesh in 2024 in response 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 application from West Bengal, New Delhi had cited decades of production of the saree in West Bengal by weavers who had migrated there from Bangladesh, whereas Bangladesh has argued that Tangail sarees originate from the weaving workshops of Tangail, a centrally located district in the country on the banks of the Jamuna.

The Bangladesh delegation at the UNESCO meeting in New Delhi, however, described that Bangladesh securing “intangible heritage” tag for Tangail saree handicraft is not going to clash with India’s GI tag as the matter was settled at an international level. “This inscription was achieved through an international convention where Bangladesh and India are both members. That is why this recognition is valid from the point of view of international law. That apart, the Tangail sarees are popular among the women of both Bangladesh and India and they too will feel proud about this,” said Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India Riaz Hamidullah.

On December 7, the 20th Session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee was launched here by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who referred to the inscription of Durga Puja as an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity” and said the Government of India has intensified efforts over the past decade to preserve tangible and intangible cultural heritage. “There is a much deeper commitment to the observance of traditions, to celebrations of festivals, to expressions of faith and beliefs and to support for arts and craftsmanship,” said Mr. Jaishankar in his inaugural speech on December 7, 2025.