Lawmakers Suggest Renaming Intangible Cultural Heritage Bill

Kathmandu. Members of Parliament have suggested changing the name of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Protection) Bill. At a meeting of the International Relations and Tourism Committee under the House of Representatives, lawmakers suggested replacing the word 'Abhautik' (intangible) with 'Amurt' (abstract) or 'Maulik' (original) in the bill. This bill, previously passed by the Legislation Management Committee under the National Assembly after extensive discussion, is currently under discussion in the committee of the House of Representatives. During the discussion, CPN-UML lawmaker Pramesh Hamal mentioned that the Nepali translation of UNESCO's 2003 Convention also uses the term 'Amurt Cultural Heritage'. He stated that 'Amurt' is a more appropriate Nepali translation for 'intangible' and further discussion is needed on this. Speaking at the meeting, lawmaker Hamal said, 'Currently, 'Amurt' is more commonly used for 'intangible'.' He added that UNESCO also uses 'Amurt' in its Nepali translation, and 'I also looked at the laws related to cultural heritage in Hindi, and they also write 'Murt-Amurt' there.' Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Bhodhanarayan Shrestha also said the bill's name needs reconsideration. He suggested that committee meetings should include not only ministry representatives but also community and external experts. CPN-UML lawmaker Ganesh Bahadur Bishwakarma suggested 'Maulik Sampada' (original heritage) instead of 'Abhautik', and objected to the provision that only the Adivasi Janajati Utthan Pratisthan (Indigenous Nationalities Development Foundation) would be represented. Nepali Congress lawmaker Sandeep Rana Magar opined that intangible heritage should not be classified at local, provincial, and national levels, and all should have equal importance. He emphasized the need to include provisions related to biological traditional knowledge and intellectual property rights, citing the risk of foreign companies patenting Nepal's herbs and traditional remedies. He said, 'Turmeric has been ours traditionally, but turmeric has already been patented from abroad.' Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Anushka Shrestha mentioned that cultural heritage has been preserved for centuries even without laws, and it should be clear what the responsibilities of the community and the state are after UNESCO listing. She suggested considering a 'de-listing' provision if necessary in the future. Similarly, Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Jagdish Kharel said that the investment and role of all three tiers should be clarified in the law, while CPN-UML lawmaker Bhumika Limbu Subba demanded that songs and music related to democratic and social movements should also be protected as intangible heritage. Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Dr. Dhananjay Regmi said that the state should pay special attention to the preservation of the culture of the Sherpas in the Himalayan region. Responding to the issues raised in the discussion, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Khadakraj Paudel urged not to repeat the same discussion on the bill's name as it had already been discussed at length in the National Assembly.