Cultural Zones of India


The Cultural Zones of India are seven overlapping zones defined by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of various regions of India. Each of these zones has been provided with a zonal centre. 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".
The city of Kolkata, formerly the capital of British India and West Bengal, is also known as the "Cultural Capital of India."

The zones

Each zone has a zonal headquarters where a zonal cultural center has been established. Several 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.
ZoneZonal CentreExtent
South Culture ZoneSouth Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur, Tamil NaduAndhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep
South Central Culture ZoneSouth-Central Zone Cultural Centre, Nagpur, MaharashtraMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Goa
North Culture ZoneNorth Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala, PunjabChandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand
North Central Culture ZoneNorth-Central Zone Cultural Centre, Allahabad, Uttar PradeshUttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand
East Culture ZoneEast Zone Cultural Centre, Kolkata, West BengalBihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
North East Culture ZoneNorth East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur, NagalandAssam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim
West Culture ZoneWest Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur, RajasthanGoa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli