Jharkhand Folk Drum Mandar Conferred Geographical Indication Tag

What happened

The Geographical Indications Registry, functioning under the Government of India in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, has officially granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Jharkhand's traditional percussion instrument, the Mandar. Registered under the title 'Mandar of Jharkhand', the recognition provides legal protection and official intellectual property status to this ancient folk drum.

The formal application for the GI registration (Application No. 777) was submitted on 24 September 2021 by the Raidih Mandar Producer Company Limited, situated in Jarjatta village within the Raidih block of Gumla district, Jharkhand. The legal and technical processes were guided by Dr. Satyadeep Singh, an Intellectual Property expert and visiting faculty member at the National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL), Ranchi, who represented and argued the case at the registry's final hearing conducted in Delhi in January 2025.

The Mandar is a double-headed drum integral to folk music, traditional dance, and social gatherings across the Chotanagpur plateau. The drum's structural shell is indigenously crafted using locally procured red clay or soil, and both ends are layered with animal leather utilizing traditional artisanal techniques passed down through generations.

Holding profound cultural reverence, the instrument is tied especially to the Oraon community as well as other indigenous tribes of Jharkhand. It provides foundational rhythmic accompaniment for key traditional celebrations, most notably the Sarhul and Karma festivals, and sets the beat for regional folk dance forms including the Jhumar.

To validate its continuous historical and geographical lineage, the GI dossier submitted to the registry cited prominent documentary evidence. These references included anthropological studies by Sarat Chandra Roy (1915), documentation by ethnologist Tarak Chandra Das (1931), W.G. Archer's work 'The Blue Grove' (1940), the Patna Museum Annual Report of 1920, the Government of India publication 'Folk Dances of India' (1956), and historical entries within the Bihar District Gazetteer for Ranchi.

📅 Important dates

📝 What candidates should do

• Note the Mandar under the list of registered Geographical Indications from Jharkhand for Art & Culture modules.
• Memorize the associated tribal community (Oraon), festivals (Sarhul, Karma), and folk forms (Jhumar) for State PSC and SSC General Awareness questions.
• Review historical literature associated with tribal studies in India, specifically works by Sarat Chandra Roy and W.G. Archer cited in the registration.

🔍 PrepZen analysis

From an examination perspective, intellectual property registrations involving indigenous arts frequently appear across UPSC Prelims, State Public Service Commissions (specifically JPSC), and SSC exams. Questions are typically framed across three dimensions: the administrative details of the certification, the material craft, and the ethnographic context.

Aspirants should link this development with broader cultural topics such as Chotanagpur tribal traditions, indigenous percussion instruments, and regional harvest or spring festivals like Sarhul and Karma. JPSC and UPSC Art & Culture questions often test candidates on the raw materials used in traditional crafts and the literary records that substantiate tribal history.

✍️ Practice questions

❓ FAQs

Prepared by the PrepZen Editorial Team from official releases and verified reports, for exam preparation. Spotted an error? Write to prepzen.app@gmail.com.