Consider the following statements: 1. Kozhikode has been included in UNESCO's creative cities network as the 'City of Music' 2. Garba of Gujarat has been declared by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage 3. Gwalior has been included in UNESCO's creative cities network as the 'City of Literature' How many of the above statements is/are correct?
- (a)None
- (b)1
- (c)2
- (d)3
Correct — B, 1 (exactly one statement is correct). Only statement 2 is right: Garba of Gujarat was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 6 December 2023. Statements 1 and 3 reverse the labels — Kozhikode joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of LITERATURE (not Music) and Gwalior as a City of MUSIC (not Literature), both in 2023 — so both are incorrect.
- (a)None — Statement 2 (Garba as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage) is correct, so 'None' is wrong.
- (c)2 — Only one statement is correct; statements 1 and 3 have the Kozhikode/Gwalior designations swapped, so they are both wrong — the count is 1, not 2.
- (d)3 — All three cannot be correct — two of the statements mislabel the Creative-City designations; this is the raw store's wrong answer.
Two different UNESCO recognitions are being tested. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (started 2004) admits cities across seven creative fields (Crafts & Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, Music). Separately, the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) list safeguards living traditions like dance and ritual. Garba is on the ICH list; Kozhikode and Gwalior are Creative Cities.
The trap is a straight label-swap: candidates who know Kozhikode and Gwalior joined the network in 2023 may not recall WHICH field each got. Kozhikode = Literature, Gwalior = Music. Garba's ICH inscription (Dec 2023) is the only true statement.
- Kozhikode (Kerala) — UNESCO Creative City of LITERATURE (2023).
- Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) — UNESCO Creative City of MUSIC (2023).
- Garba of Gujarat — inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list on 6 December 2023.
- Other Indian Creative Cities: Jaipur (Crafts), Varanasi & Chennai (Music), Mumbai (Film), Hyderabad (Gastronomy), Srinagar (Crafts).
- Swapping the Kozhikode (Literature) and Gwalior (Music) designations.
- Confusing the Creative Cities Network, the Intangible Cultural Heritage list and the World Heritage list.
Current-affairs GK — match a city to its UNESCO creative field, or identify the latest Indian ICH inscription.
Which one of the following was the latest inclusion in the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of UNESCO?
- (a) Chhau dance
- (b) Durga puja
- (c) Garba dance
- (d) Kumbh mela
Answer(c) Garba dance
Same concept and same year: UPSC Prelims 2024 asked for the latest Indian inclusion on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list — Garba — which is exactly the true statement (2) in this NDA item.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Kozhikode was added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (2023) in which creative field?
- (a)Music
- (b)Literature
- (c)Gastronomy
- (d)Film
Answer(b) Literature — Kozhikode is a UNESCO City of Literature.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which Indian tradition was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in December 2023?
- (a)Durga Puja
- (b)Kumbh Mela
- (c)Garba
- (d)Chhau
Answer(c) Garba — inscribed on 6 December 2023.