Art & Culture Current Affairs — Last 6 months · Page 4 of 4 | Daily News + MCQs

🎭 Heritage & UNESCO 📍 Tamil Nadu Important

Smithsonian returns three Tamil Nadu temple bronzes, including a Chola Shiva Nataraja of c. 990 CE

On 13 May 2026 Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced the repatriation of three Tamil Nadu temple bronzes — a Chola Shiva Nataraja (c. 990 CE), a 12th-century Somaskanda and a 16th-century Saint Sundarar with Paravai — from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art.

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🎭 Heritage & UNESCO 📍 Gujarat Important

PM Modi joins Somnath Amrut Mahotsav marking 75 years of the restored Somnath Temple's consecration (1951)

On 11 May 2026 PM Narendra Modi took part in the Somnath Amrut Mahotsav at Prabhas Patan, Gujarat, marking 75 years since the restored Somnath Temple was consecrated in 1951.

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🌟 Persons in News 📍 India

PM pays tribute to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on Pochishe Boishakh

On 9 May 2026 PM Narendra Modi paid tribute to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on Pochishe Boishakh, Tagore's birth anniversary as per the Bengali calendar.

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🎓 Education, Health & Society 📍 Maharashtra

National Commission for Minorities holds national seminar on Parsis in Modern India in Mumbai

On 9 May 2026 the National Commission for Minorities held a national seminar, 'Parsis in Modern India: Navigating Cultural and Socio-Economic Pathways', in Mumbai, where Union Minister Kiren Rijiju spoke on preserving Parsi heritage and reviving the Avestan language.

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🎭 Festivals & Events 📍 Maharashtra

19th Mumbai International Film Festival to be held from 15 to 21 June 2026; delegate registrations open

On 9 May 2026 delegate registrations opened for the 19th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), South Asia's oldest festival for documentary, short fiction and animation films, to be held at the NFDC premises in Mumbai from 15 to 21 June 2026.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 Italy Important

India Pavilion opens at the 61st Venice Biennale with 'Geographies of Distance: remembering home'

On 7 May 2026 the Pavilion of India opened at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia with 'Geographies of Distance: remembering home', curated by Dr Amin Jaffer, marking India's return to the Biennale Arte since 2019.

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🎭 Heritage & UNESCO 📍 Gujarat Important

National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal: Phase 1 targeted for July 2026

Union Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reviewed the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) under construction at Lothal, Gujarat, and set July 2026 as the target for Phase 1, the Ministry said on 6 May 2026; India has signed NMHC MoUs with 10 countries.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 India

IIMC releases special issue of 'Sanchar Madhyam' marking 200 years of Hindi journalism

On 5 May 2026 Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh released a special issue of IIMC's research journal 'Sanchar Madhyam' marking 200 years of Hindi journalism, recalling Udant Martand, the first Hindi newspaper, published from Calcutta in 1826.

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🎭 Heritage & UNESCO 📍 Ladakh Must know

Amit Shah inaugurates exposition of Lord Buddha's sacred relics in Leh on Buddha Purnima

Home Minister Amit Shah on 1 May 2026, Buddha Purnima, inaugurated the 'Sacred Exposition of the Holy Relics of the Tathagata' in Leh, bringing relics linked to the Piprahwa Stupa to Ladakh after 75 years; the exposition runs until 14 May and will also travel to Zanskar.

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🎭 Festivals & Events 📍 Goa Important

Ashutosh Gowariker appointed Festival Director of 57th IFFI

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on 1 May 2026 appointed filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker as Festival Director of the 57th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), to be held in Goa.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 India Important

'Padma Doree' textile initiative blending Eri silk and Chanderi launched

The North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation, a CPSE under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, on 1 May 2026 launched 'Padma Doree', a textile initiative blending Northeast India's Eri (Ahimsa) silk with Madhya Pradesh's Chanderi weaving.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 India Must know

Photographer Raghu Rai, first Indian invited to join Magnum Photos, dies at 83

Raghu Rai, one of India's foremost photojournalists and the first Indian photographer invited to join Magnum Photos in 1977 on the nomination of Henri Cartier-Bresson, died in Delhi on 26 April 2026 at the age of 83; Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled his death.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 Ladakh Important

Ladakh to host first-of-its-kind exposition of Lord Buddha's holy relics from 1 to 15 May

Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said at a curtain raiser at the National Museum on 22 April 2026 that Ladakh will host a Sacred Exposition of the Holy Relics of Tathagata from 1 to 15 May 2026, the first time in India that relics preserved at their original repository are brought out for public exposition.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 India

'Vishwa Sutra' showcases 30 Indian handloom weaves through 30 countries' styles at 61st Femina Miss India

The Office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms) and NIFT unveiled 'Vishwa Sutra – Weaves of India for the World', a collection of 30 state handloom weaves reinterpreted through 30 countries' styles, at the 61st Femina Miss India in Bhubaneswar, the Textiles Ministry said on 19 April 2026.

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🎭 Heritage & UNESCO 📍 India Important

PIB backgrounder: ASI protects 3,686 centrally protected monuments; India has 44 UNESCO World Heritage Sites

A PIB backgrounder of 18 April 2026 on monument conservation said the Archaeological Survey of India safeguards 3,686 centrally protected monuments and that India has 44 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Maratha Military Landscapes.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 Karnataka

PM inaugurates Sri Guru Bhairavaikya Mandira at Sri Kshetra Adichunchanagiri, Mandya

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sri Guru Bhairavaikya Mandira at Sri Kshetra Adichunchanagiri in Mandya district, Karnataka, on 15 April 2026, and made nine appeals to citizens, including cutting cooking oil use by 10%.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 India Important

135th birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar observed at Prerna Sthal, Parliament House complex

The Dr. Ambedkar Foundation under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment marked the 135th birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar on 14 April 2026 at Prerna Sthal in the Parliament House premises, where the Vice-President, Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker paid floral tributes.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 Delhi

Scindia opens 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' philatelic exhibition at Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurated the philatelic exhibition 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat: Celebrating India's Unity & Democracy through Postage Stamps' at the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya on 14 April 2026, running until 17 April.

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🎭 Heritage & UNESCO 📍 Punjab Important

Nation remembers Jallianwala Bagh martyrs on the massacre's anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage on 13 April 2026 to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, where people were killed or wounded on 13 April 1919; the site's memorial is governed by the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951.

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🎭 Festivals & Events 📍 Delhi

NCST Chairman addresses Chakma Yuva Samvad and Bizu festival celebration in Delhi

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes Chairman Antar Singh Arya called for stronger education, skilling and jobs for tribal youth at the 'Chakma Yuva Samvad' and Bizu festival celebration in New Delhi on 12 April 2026.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 India Must know

Nationwide commemoration of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule's 200th birth anniversary begins

The Government launched the nationwide commemoration of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule's 200th birth anniversary on 11 April 2026, with floral tributes at Prerna Sthal in the Parliament House Complex offered for the first time.

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🎭 Festivals & Events 📍 India

Nation marks Parkash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur, 'Hind di Chadar'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah paid homage on 7 April 2026, the Parkash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru revered as 'Hind di Chadar'.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 India

Doordarshan and ICCR sign MoU to take Indian cultural content worldwide

Doordarshan (Prasar Bharati) and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations signed an MoU on 7 April 2026 at Doordarshan Bhawan, New Delhi, to broadcast ICCR cultural content across TV, radio, OTT and social media.

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🎭 Festivals & Events 📍 Delhi

Bharat Tribes Fest 2026 concludes at Sunder Nursery, New Delhi

Bharat Tribes Fest 2026, organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs with TRIFED, concluded on 5 April 2026 at Sunder Nursery, New Delhi, after 19 days and over 1.5 lakh visitors.

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🎭 Art & Culture 📍 India

Vice President addresses Global Conference of Meditation Leaders at Bharat Mandapam

Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan on 5 April 2026 addressed the Global Conference of Meditation Leaders at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, citing the Tamil sage Thirumoolar.

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