Dr. Lakshmi Niwas Kalwar
India has officially nominated Chhath Mahaparv, popularly known as Chhath Puja, for inclusion in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The nomination by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has brought a global spotlight on a festival that is not just a religious observance but a living blueprint for ecological living, community-led conservation and climate consciousness. At a time when the world is searching for sustainable alternatives to consumerist festivals, Chhath offers an ancient, tested model.
An Ancient Heritage Rooted in Nature: Chhath Mahaparv is considered one of the oldest living Vedic traditions of India, dedicated to Surya, the Sun God, and Chhathi Maiya. Its origins are traced to the Rig Veda, where hymns describe the worship of the sun as the ultimate source of energy and life. What makes Chhath fundamentally different from most contemporary festivals is its framework. There is no large-scale idol immersion, no artificial decoration, no synthetic colours, and no loudspeakers dominating the river. The entire ritual takes place directly on the banks of natural water bodies - rivers, ponds, lakes and reservoirs. Devotees offer Arghya, sacred offerings of water, milk and flowers, to both the setting sun and the rising sun. This is unique in the world. While most sun-worshipping cultures worship only the rising sun, Chhath worships the setting sun first, on the third day, and the rising sun the next morning. It symbolizes an unbroken cycle of life, gratitude in abundance as well as in decline, and complete ecological equilibrium. The four-day discipline includes Nahay-Khay, Lohanda-Kharna, Sandhya Arghya and Usha Arghya, marked by strict fasting, purity and self-control.
The Core Pillars of Chhath’s Ecological Ethos: The UNESCO dossier highlights Chhath not as a ritual but as an ecosystem. Its core pillars are deeply relevant to today’s climate crisis.
1. Sacred Water Body Conservation: In the week leading up to Chhath, entire communities voluntarily clean, sweep and restore local ghats and riverbanks. Silt is removed, garbage is cleared, and access paths are repaired. This collective labour, done without government orders or payment, transforms river maintenance into a shared civic duty. It is the largest community-driven water body rejuvenation exercise in India.
2. Zero-Waste and Seasonal Offerings: The prasad is entirely natural, locally sourced and seasonal – wheat, rice, jaggery, ghee, and fresh fruits like banana, custard apple, coconut and sugarcane. There is no processed food, no plastic packaging. Everything offered is later consumed as prasad, ensuring zero food waste.
3. Biodegradable Craftsmanship: All worship materials are carried in hand-woven bamboo baskets called ‘daura’ and ‘soop’ and in earthen lamps and pots. This heavy reliance on biodegradable materials completely avoids plastic pollution and directly supports rural economies – basket weavers, potters and small farmers. It is a circular economy in action.
4. Mindful Austerity and Solar Science: The 36-hour Nirjala fasting and standing waist-deep in water during sunrise and sunset expose the body to low-angle sunlight where ultraviolet radiation is filtered by the atmosphere and beneficial infrared light reaches the body. It regulates circadian rhythm, boosts immunity and reflects an ancient understanding of solar therapy. The minimal consumption reflects a philosophy of living within planetary limits.
Global Reach and Cultural Diplomacy: While its heartland is Bihar, Jharkhand, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal, Chhath has travelled across the globe with the Indian diaspora to Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the UAE, the USA, the UK and the Netherlands. To strengthen the proposal for the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage cycle 2025-26, the Ministry of Culture has collaborated with the Sangeet Natak Akademi, INTACH and international partner nations. Initiatives like the ‘Arghya’ exhibition organised by INTACH have showcased how folk arts, Mithila paintings, Bhojpuri folk songs and oral traditions of women are intricately tied to the festival. The nomination file includes documentation, audio-visual archives and community consent from Chhath practitioners across India and abroad, a mandatory requirement for UNESCO.
Why UNESCO Recognition Matters: India already has 15 elements on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List, including Kumbh Mela, Durga Puja and Garba of Gujarat. Chhath’s inclusion will be significant for three reasons. First, it will validate Chhath not merely as a regional religious observance of Bihar but as a universal model for climate-conscious living wide across India. In an era where modern cities grapple with river pollution and excessive consumerism, Chhath’s ethos - treating rivers as lifelines and the sun as the ultimate source of energy - offers a timely lesson in ecological stewardship. Second, it will empower the custodians - mainly women. Chhath is one of the few major festivals in India where women are the primary priests and decision-makers. UNESCO recognition will bring global respect to this women-led intangible heritage. Third, it will link heritage to climate action, directly supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals on clean water, responsible consumption and climate action. It proves that sustainable living is not a new Western concept but a lived Indian tradition.
As the world prepares for COP summits and climate negotiations, a festival where lakhs of people voluntarily clean their rivers and worship the setting sun with folded hands reminds us that conservation cannot be saved by fences alone; it is saved when people become its custodians. Chhath Puja’s journey to UNESCO is therefore not just about a tag. It is about India offering the world an alternative way to celebrate - with gratitude, not greed; with nature, not against it. And the devotees, by their pious nature, would not let their pristine nature go down; it will definitely deserve the title of eco-festival, and UNESCO would be happy enough for the environmental conservation enrouted by the sustainable heritage of the Chhath festival, which very often fails in the international forums.