ITANAGAR, 2 Dec: The Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH), in collaboration with the state’s research directorate, inaugurated the INTACH’s Arunachal Pradesh chapter in a function held at the auditorium of JN State Museum here on Saturday.
Cultural Affairs Minister Taba Tedir, who inaugurated the function, said that launching the INTACH’s state chapter would immensely help Arunachal in documenting and preserving its diverse tangible and intangible heritage, protect the historical and archaeological sites, and upgrade its two tentatively listed UNESCO World Heritage sites: Thembang fortified village and the Apatani cultural landscape, Ziro.
He especially stressed on protecting the endangered languages of the state, and
the INTACH’s involvement in this regard.
INTACH Arunachal Chapter Convener Oken Tayeng said that “the opening of INTACH Arunachal chapter creates a bridge between the state’s research directorate and the INTACH to glorify the culture of the state.”
Earlier, INTACH Chapter Division Director, Captain Arvind Shukla, presented a brief on the objective of the INTACH and its importance in the context of Arunachal, where there has been a gradual erosion of traditional arts and architecture, rituals and other forms of heritage due to the onslaught of modern forces.
The INTACH’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Principal Dr Nerupama Y Modwel spoke about the INTACH’s work in the northeastern region in the fields of conservation, research, documentation, outreach programme, organisation of people’s museum, etc, and its plan for Arunachal, “which would involve cultural mapping, identification and documentation of diverse cultural elements, studying of cultural expressions from different communities, organising programmes for tourism in promoting local culture, community engagement, network building, collaboration, and more.”
The function was attended also by Padma Shri awardees Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi and Mamang Dai, RGU Dean Prof Sarit Kumar Choudhuri, Art & Culture Director Tabang Bodung, IPR Director Onyok Pertin, Gazetteer Director Sokeph Kri, and Research Director Kanggo Tayeng.
