Whose Culture And Whose Rights: Beyond Museums Lies The Legal Battle For Living Heritage

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Dhiya Madhan, Christ (Deemed to be University), Pune Lavasa Campus

ABSTRACT

Intangible cultural heritage the songs patterns and knowledge passed down through generation lives in the hands and voices of communities, not in museums or lists. Yet, while UNESCO’S 2003 convention Celebrates these living traditions, it feels to protect the custodians from appropriation modification and dispossession. This paper argues that recognition without enforceable rights is a hollow promise, allowing brands to profit from sacred designs (Kente, tatreez, Maasai beads, Navajo patterns) And states to claim communal heritage as their own through critical analysis of recent literatures, real world cases and communal resistances and it exposes systematic failures in international law. The study proposes bold reforms Community cultural rights, benefit-sharing fees, and prior consent to shift power back to the barriers. The safeguarding begins not with certificates, but with justice for the grandmothers who keep the culture alive.

Keywords: Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), Cultural appropriation, UNESCO 2003 Convention, community rights, intellectual property, Living Heritage.

448. WHOSE CULTURE AND WHOSE RIGHTS- BEYOND MUSEUMS LIES THE LEGAL BATTLE FOR LIVING HERIT

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