Syllabus:

GS1: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times. 

Context: 

The Centre has so far documented the cultural heritage of over 4.7 lakh villages under the ‘Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar’ (MGMD) initiative. 

More on the News

• In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, said the portal captures a wide range of cultural data, including oral traditions, festivals, food, attire, art forms, rituals, and local landmarks. 
• The initiative also includes inputs from marginalized communities and lesser-known traditions. 
• In West Bengal, 5,917 of the state’s 41,116 villages have been mapped so far, with the rest currently under documentation. 
• No financial assistance has been provided for the programme on a state-wise basis. 

Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD) initiative

• The programme is being implemented by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) under the National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM). 
• The initiative was launched in June 2023 as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. 
• Aim: It aims to map India’s intangible cultural assets. The MGMD web portal (mgmd.gov.in) seeks to cover all 6.5 lakh villages across the country. 
• The data being collected will help in identifying and preserving traditional knowledge systems, art forms, and folk performances, with the broader goal of strengthening cultural identity and supporting rural development.

National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM) 

• The Ministry of Culture has launched the National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM) to provide a comprehensive overview of the cultural heritage of villages across India.
• NMCM is a significant step towards preserving India’s cultural heritage and empowering rural communities.  
• By documenting and promoting cultural assets, the mission aims to strengthen cultural identity and foster economic development.

Vision & Mission

• To envision and address the necessity of preserving the threads of rich Indian Art and Cultural Heritage.
• To convert the vast and widespread cultural canvas of India into an objective Cultural Mapping.
• To design a mechanism to fulfil the aspirations of the whole artist community of the nation.
• To preserve the rich cultural heritage of this country for future generations.
• To create a strong “Cultural Vibrancy” throughout the nation. 

The NMCM functions at three levels:

• National Directories of artists and living human treasures of cultural industries.
• Creation of National Digital Inventories/ Registers of art expression and artist communities/bearers of tradition.
• Evolve policies toward the preservation of art practices and develop welfare schemes for their practitioners.

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)

• IGNCA encompasses the study and experience of all the arts, each form with its own integrity, yet within a dimension of mutual interdependence, interrelated with nature, social structure, and cosmology.
• The arts here include literature (written and oral), visual arts (like architecture, painting, film), performing arts (music, dance, theatre), and artistic elements in festivals and lifestyle. 
• Through research, publications, training, and performances, IGNCA aims to integrate the arts with natural and human contexts using a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach.

Sources:

https://mgmd.gov.in/about https://www.culturemap.in/about.html#ignca