Svetlanabpd at 18:00, 17 November 2025

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{{Short description|Zones defined by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India}}
The '''Cultural Zones of India''' are seven overlapping zones defined by the [[Ministry of Culture (India)|Ministry of Culture]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indiaculture.nic.in/indiaculture/index.asp|title=Zonal Cultural Centers|publisher=[[Ministry of Culture (India)|Ministry of Culture]]|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808091005/http://www.indiaculture.nic.in/indiaculture/index.asp|archivedate=2011-08-08}}</ref> of the [[Government of India]] to promote and preserve the [[cultural heritage]] of various regions of [[India]].<ref name="wzccsite">{{Citation | title=West Zone Culture Center | publisher=West Zone Culture Centre | accessdate=2010-12-15 | url=http://www.wzccindia.com/ | quote=''... West Zone Cultural Centre (WZCC) with its headquarters at Udaipur is one of the seven Zonal Cultural Centres set up during 1986–87, under the direct initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India ...''}}</ref> Each of these zones has been provided with a zonal centre.<ref name="szccsite">{{Citation | title=South Zone Culture Center: Other Zones | publisher=South Zone Culture Centre | accessdate=2010-12-15 | url=http://www.szcc.tn.nic.in/ | quote=''... North East Zone Cultural Centre – Nagaland – Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland & Meghalaya ...'' | archive-date=2011-03-03 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303015522/http://www.szcc.tn.nic.in/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> Most zonal centres were announced by the then-[[Prime Minister of India]], [[Rajiv Gandhi]], in 1985 and formally began functioning in the 1986–87 period. Their stated goal is "''to strengthen the ancient roots of Indian culture and evolve and enrich composite national culture''".<ref name="nzccsite">{{Citation | title=North Zone Culture Center | publisher=North Zone Culture Centre | accessdate=2010-12-15 | url=http://www.culturenorthindia.com/ | quote=''... Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated the North Zone Cultural Center on 6th Nov. 1985 the then Prime Minister of India ... one of the seven cultural centers established in the country to strengthen the ancient roots of Indian Culture and evolve and enrich composite National Culture ... Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan & Chandigarh (U.T.) ...''}}</ref>

The city of [[Kolkata]], formerly the capital of [[British India]] and [[West Bengal]], is also known as the "Cultural Capital of India."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kolkata.citydetails.in/city-guide-leftmenu-117/359-kolkata-the-cultural-capital-of-india.html |title=Kolkata-the cultural capital of India |accessdate=2015-04-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002244/https://kolkata.citydetails.in/city-guide-leftmenu-117/359-kolkata-the-cultural-capital-of-india.html |archivedate=2013-12-03 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Pielou|first=Adrianne|title=India: Calcutta, the capital of culture|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/travel/1245/india-calcutta-the-capital-of-culture.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116230616/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/travel/1245/india-calcutta-the-capital-of-culture.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 16, 2013|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=March 4, 2011}}</ref>

==The zones==

Each zone has a zonal headquarters where a zonal cultural center has been established.<ref name="szccsite"/> Several [[States of India|states]] have membership in multiple zones, but no state subdivisions are utilized in the zonal divisions. In addition to promoting the culture of the zones they are responsible for, each zonal center also works to cross-promote and create exposure to other cultural zones of India by organizing functions and inviting artistes from other zones.

{{Location map many | India
| label1 = [[Patiala]]
| pos1 = right
| coordinates1 = {{coord|30.33|76.39}}
| label2 = [[Prayagraj]]
| pos2 = right
| coordinates2 = {{coord|25.44|81.83}}
| label3 = [[Kolkata]]
| pos3 = right
| coordinates3 = {{coord|22.58|88.41}}
| label4 = [[Chümoukedima]]
| pos4 = right
| coordinates4 = {{coord|25.90|93.74}}
| label5 = [[Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology|Thanjavur]]
| pos5 = right
| coordinates5 = {{coord|10.78|79.14}}
| label6 = [[Nagpur]]
| pos6 = right
| coordinates6 = {{coord|21.15|79.08}}
| label7 = [[Udaipur]]
| pos7 = right
| coordinates7 = {{coord|24.58|73.71}}
}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Zone
! Zonal Centre
! Extent
|-
|North Culture Zone
|[[North Zone Cultural Centre]], [[Patiala]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]
| [[Chandigarh]], [[Haryana]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Ladakh]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Uttarakhand]]<ref>{{cite web |title=North Zone Cultural Centre |url=https://www.culturenorthindia.com/ |website=culturenorthindia |access-date=22 November 2021}}</ref>
|-
|North Central Culture Zone
|[[North Central Zone Cultural Centre|North-Central Zone Cultural Centre]], [[Prayagraj]], [[Uttar Pradesh]]
|[[Bihar]], [[Delhi]], [[Haryana]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Uttarakhand]]<ref>{{cite web |title=NCZCC – North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh |url=https://nczcc.in/ |website=nczcc |access-date=22 November 2021}}</ref>
|-
|East Culture Zone
|[[East Zone Cultural Centre]], [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]]
|[[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], [[Assam]], [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]], [[Manipur]], [[Odisha]], [[Sikkim]], [[Tripura]], [[West Bengal]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre |url=https://www.ezcc-india.org/# |website=www.ezcc-india.org |access-date=22 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115220456/https://www.ezcc-india.org/ |archive-date=15 January 2022}}</ref>
|-
|North East Culture Zone
|[[North East Zone Cultural Centre]], [[Chümoukedima]], [[Nagaland]]
|[[Arunachal Pradesh]], [[Assam]], [[Manipur]], [[Meghalaya]], [[Mizoram]], [[Nagaland]], [[Sikkim]], [[Tripura]]<ref>{{cite web |title=North East Zonal Cultural Centre |url=http://www.nezccindia.org.in/Home/AboutNezcc |website=www.nezccindia.org.in |access-date=22 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Govt notifies jurisdiction for three new districts |url=https://morungexpress.com/govt-notifies-jurisdiction-for-three-new-districts |website=MorungExpress |access-date=7 April 2022}}</ref>
|-
|South Culture Zone
|[[South Zone Cultural Centre]], [[Thanjavur]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
|[[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Karnataka]], [[Kerala]], [[Lakshadweep]], [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Telangana]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Inauguration of SĀDHANĀ |url=https://szccindia.org/ |website=szccindia.org |access-date=22 November 2021 |language=en-gb}}</ref>
|-
|South Central Culture Zone
|[[South-Central Zone Cultural Centre]], [[Nagpur]], [[Maharashtra]]
|[[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Goa]], [[Karnataka]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Telangana]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Application for solo exhibition at Raja Ravi Verma Art gallery, Nagpur|url=http://sczcc.gov.in/Documents/Application%20Form%20-%20Art%20gallery%20for%20Exhibition.docx|publisher=South Central Zone Cultural Center|accessdate=25 May 2017|page=4|format=docx}}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
|-
|West Culture Zone
|[[West Zone Cultural Centre]], [[Udaipur]], [[Rajasthan]]
|[[Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu]], [[Goa]], [[Gujarat]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Rajasthan]]
|}

==See also==
* [[Zonal Councils of India]], five administrative zones in India
* [[Earthquake zones of India]]
* [[List of special economic zones in India]]
* [[List of ecoregions in India]], 46 ecoregions in India
* [[Administrative divisions of India]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://talenmark.com/culturalcenter.html Cultural Center in India]
* [http://www.culturenorthindia.com Official Website of North Zone Cultural Centre]
* [http://www.nezccindia.org/ Official Website of North-East Zone Cultural Centre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404051905/http://www.nezccindia.org/ |date=2019-04-04 }}
* [http://www.szcc.tn.nic.in Official Website of South Zone Cultural Centre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303015522/http://www.szcc.tn.nic.in/ |date=2011-03-03 }}
* [http://www.wzccindia.com Official Website of West Zone Cultural Centre]
* [http://www.udaipurplus.com/wzcc/index.htm Information about West Zone Cultural Centre and Shilpgram.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110053009/http://www.udaipurplus.com/wzcc/index.htm |date=2018-11-10 }}

{{Cultural Zones of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culture Of India}}
[[Category:Cultural organisations based in India]]
[[Category:Culture of India]]
[[Category:Ministry of Culture (India)]]

Cultural Zones of India - Revision history

Svetlanabpd at 18:00, 17 November 2025