In India, the Thangka art tradition holds significant religious and cultural importance wherever Buddhism is practised. This includes Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and parts of Himachal Pradesh. These three-dimensional paintings have panels on scrolls of silk or cotton. They depict peaceful or wrathful gods and goddesses, and meditative mandalas.

The origins of Thangka paintings lie in Nepalese art, and it later became popular in Tibet. Such paintings were commissioned for many different reasons. They are believed to enable meditation and are an expression of gratitude, prayer and a means of accumulating merit in this world. In Tibetan culture, appliquéd and embroidered pieces are more recognised than painted Thangkas. However, painted pieces are more common in the West and considered valuable.

In 2022, Sikkim’s Thangka master artist Khandu Wangchuk Bhutia was awarded the Padma Shri for his contribution to the form. Old appliquéd Thangkas grace international museums. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has a special one from the 19th century, that's part of its permanent collection.