Context: After the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development's recommendation (NABARD), the renowned Basohli painting from the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir has received the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag. An item’s GI tag provides the original manufacturers with legal protection and prevents unauthorised use of the item by third parties. Basohli painting of Kathua is the first independent GI tagged product from Jammu region.
About Basohli painting
- Pahari paintings originated in Basohli, a small town in Jammu region.
- It gave rise to a distinctive genre of miniature paintings where mythology and conventional folk art were combined.
- Basohli paintings reached their height during the reigns of Sangram Pal (1635–1673) and later Kirpal Pal (1678–1693).
- The Ramayana, Gita Govinda and Rasamanjari illustrations by Bhanudatta were ordered by Raja Kirpal Singh.
- The most well-known painter of this school was Devi Das, who is most known for his paintings of Radha Krishna and rulers dressed in white clothing.
Features
- The use of vivid and strong colours in the borders, such as red, yellow, and blue, was one of the distinguishing characteristics.
- A prominent nose and lotus-shaped eyes were two further distinctive characteristics of the face.
- Both men and women are dressed in a style like that found in Rajput or Mughal courts.
- In Basohli art, flora was frequently shown. The vibrant red rhododendron blossoms were the artists' favourite.
- The portrayal of jewellery, which was done with embossed white paint to represent pearls and beetle wings to represent emerald green, was what made these paintings stand out.
- The vibrant contrast of colours that characterises this school is inspired by the Malwa paintings.
Pahari painting
- A form of miniature painting and book illustration that evolved in the autonomous Indian republics at the foothills of the Himalayas.
- The term ‘Pahari Paintings’ applied to a variety of schools that thrived in these smaller kingdoms.
- The Pahari paintings can be divided into two series- the Northern Series from the Jammu or Dogra School, and the Southern Series from the Basholi and Kangra Schools.
- The paintings' topics, which covered everything from mythology to literature, highlighted fresh methods.
- Each figure has a unique composition, colour scheme, and pigmentation.
- Nainsukh and Manaku were two of this school's best artists.
Geographical Indication (GI)
- The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 intends to make provisions for the registration and improved protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India.
- The WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) governs related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights governs and directs it.
- The protection of industrial property and geographic indications was determined and is also indicated in Articles 1(2) and 10 of the Paris Convention as components of intellectual property.
- It is primarily a manufactured, natural, or agricultural product (handicrafts and industrial goods).
- This tag is valid for ten years, after which it may be renewed.
- However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication.
- Darjeeling Tea from West Bengal received the first GI Tag in India.
- The Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is responsible for issuing these tags.
Approaches to safeguard Geographical Indications
- Specific regimes of protection (sui generis systems)
- Collective/certification marks
- Methods for concentrating on business operations, such as the administrative product and approval schemes.
Significance
- After a product receives this designation, no one or business may sell a similar product under that name.
- A product's GI registration gives it legal protection and safeguards against unauthorised use by others.
- The GI tag aids in marketing the product's exports and gives customers confidence in the product's legitimacy.
