New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- India will host the 20th session of Unesco's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for the first time this December at Delhi's Red Fort, officials aware of the matter said. All sessions of the meeting, scheduled from December 8 to 13 will take place inside the fort complex. More than 1,000 delegates from around the world are expected to attend the event, they added. India's Permanent Representative to Unesco, Vishal V Sharma, will chair the session, which will focus on the country's two cultural submissions-Deepawali and Chhath Mahaparva. The meeting will coincide with the twentieth anniversary of India's ratification of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which it joined in 2005. The Unesco body meets annually to evaluate nominations submitted by member states for inclusion in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Sharma said India's ongoing nomination of Deepawali and discussion on its upcoming submission for Chhath Puja will form the core of discussions this year. "We get a chance to nominate only one element every two years. Deepawali was submitted earlier, and now we have initiated the process for Chhath Puja which will be submitted in 2027," he said. He added that Unesco's advisory body is expected to announce its recommendation on Diwali's inscription around November 10. The intergovernmental panel examines practices and traditions that represent living cultural expressions. Unlike the World Heritage Committee, which focuses on monuments, architecture and sites, the Intangible Cultural Heritage list recognises festivals, rituals, oral traditions, performing arts and craftsmanship that communities continue to practice and transmit. "Intangible cultural heritage is more hotly contested than world heritage because it is dynamic and resonates deeply with communities," Sharma said. "Monuments require immense conservation efforts and resources, while cultural practices appeal more widely and cost less to safeguard." India currently has 15 elements on Unesco's Representative List, including Durga Puja in Kolkata, Yoga, Kumbh Mela, Garba of Gujarat, and Vedic chanting. If Deepawali is inscribed, it will join this list as one of India's most widely celebrated festivals. India's nomination describes Diwali, or Deepavali, as a festival of light that signifies the triumph of virtue over vice and light over darkness. The dossier focuses on its cultural meaning rather than its religious aspects, describing it as a celebration of renewal, abundance and social unity....