India's cultural heritage receiving growing recognition at global level: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India's music, dance, cinema and cuisine continue to connect the country with societies across the world, asserting that its cultural heritage is receiving growing recognition internationally.

In a written message to the participants at the 'Brihattar Bharat: International Conference on Bharat's Cultural Connections Across the Globe' being held here from October 14-16, Modi also said besides preserving monuments, the government is also preserving India's manuscript heritage through the Gyan Bharatam initiative.

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Union Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal read out the prime minister's message at the inaugural session of the conference.

Efforts to bring back antiquities from foreign countries have gained a "renewed momentum", while India's cultural heritage is receiving growing recognition at the international level, Modi said.

The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), under the Ministry of Culture, is hosting the conference themed on India's cultural legacy and its wider civilisational heritage beyond borders.

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Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was also present at the inaugural session.

The conference brings together delegates, ambassadors and scholars from different countries to deliberate on India's historical and contemporary cultural connections with the wider world.

It also marks the centenary of the Greater India Society, also known as the Brihattar Bharat Parishad, established in then-Calcutta on October 14, 1926, by a generation of Indian scholars, with Rabindranath Tagore as its spiritual guide, the IGNCA said.

Modi said for centuries, India's civilisational journey has been "a story of cultural exchange".

Centres of learning such as the ancient Nalanda University strengthened the exchange of knowledge between India and other parts of Asia. "Monks, scholars, traders and travellers carried India's ideas to different parts of the world, through land and maritime routes," he said.

Sites such as the Angkor Wat and others in Southeast Asia have been witness to these cultural dialogues, Modi said in his message.

"Indian traditions interacted with local cultures and took distinctive form. And, the cultural dialogue continues to evolve even today. Indian philosophy music, dance, literature, cinema and cuisine continue to connect India with societies across the world," he added.

The prime minister asserted that preserving this rich archaeological and cultural heritage is an "important responsibility".

He underlined that India's cultural heritage is "also receiving growing recognition at a global level", and cited that presence of various Indian cultural sites on the List of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites is a welcome recognition of their values to humanity.

Modi pitched for preserving heritage for passing it on to the next generations.

He said this conference is also significant as it marks the 100 years of the establishment of Greater India Society.

He wished that the deliberations may further strengthen international cultural cooperation.

The conference is being organised as part of the Brihattar Bharat Scheme (2026-2031), administered by IGNCA under the Global Engagement Scheme of the ministry.

The initiative aims to advance research, documentation, publication, preservation, promotion and digitisation of shared cultural and civilisational heritage through collaborative research, archival projects, exhibitions, publications, outreach programmes and international academic partnerships, a senior official said.

The Great India Society laid the foundation for systematic scholarly engagement with India's wider civilisational interactions, the IGNCA earlier said.

The conference seeks to renew this intellectual endeavour through fresh research, interdisciplinary perspectives and international collaboration, it said in a statement.

The concept of 'Brihattar Bharat' refers to the wider civilisational sphere shaped by the transmission, adaptation and interaction of Indian cultural, philosophical, artistic, linguistic and religious traditions across regions and continents.

Shekhawat in his address said India's cultural heritage also serves as a "robust bridge for our historical and civilisational ties with the rest of the world".

He underscored the importance of understanding and showcasing, on the global stage, those cultural links that have connected various countries and societies for centuries.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, "we are committed to the preservation, promotion, and global dissemination of our rich cultural heritage", the Union minister said.

Initiatives like 'Brihattar Bharat', by giving a new direction to research on shared heritage, international cooperation, and cultural dialogue, will further strengthen India's global cultural identity.

Fiji's High Commissioner to India Jagnnath Sami, Ambassador of Lithuania to India, Diana Mikeviciene, and various other foreign diplomats, scholars, and monks from different countries were part of the plenary session.

In his address, Sami urged the Indian government to consider seeking a UNESCO World Heritage tag for Kolkata port and ports of Visakhapatnam and Madras (now Chennai), to commemorate the historic oceanic journeys of 'girmityas'.

He pitched for cultural institutions of the two countries to join hands to preserve archives and document their shared heritage.