PM says culture must become people's movement

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today regretted that many of India's monuments, works of art and historical remains were lying in neglect despite the fact that the world associated the country with these cultural showpieces.

"The fact of the matter is also that, despite our best intentions, the manner in which we preserve and display our artifacts, both cultural and historical has fallen behind contemporary world standards," he said in Kolkata.

He was speaking after dedicating the new campus of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian studies and laying the foundation stone of the second phase of the Science City there.

Dr Singh, who also holds the portfolio of Culture, said there was no reason why the Indian Museum or the country's other premier museums should not be on par with the Smithsonian in Washington, the Hermitage in St Petersburgh or the British Museum in London.

He said the Ministry had taken up the revamp of museums in the country on a priority basis. He said he also asked the Central Advisory Board on Culture to suggest a plan of action to make Indian museums world class.

"We will have to draw upon the best expertise available in conservation, multi-media display, design, lighting, narration and communication so that visits to our museums become experiences to remember," he said.

The Prime Miniser said the Government was giving added emphasis to the promotion of the performing and creative arts. He said the Government had recently doubled the amount of annual salary grants to theatre and dance groups.

In fact, there was a demand from theatre personalities in Kolkata for assistance in setting up small, intimate performing spaces known as "studio theatres" for smaller audiences, he said, and announced that the Ministry was finalizing a scheme of financial assistance for setting up such facilities.

Noting that, in recent years, there has been a profusion of writing in various Indian languages and that Indian writers in English have gained world renown, Dr Singh said there was much that needed to be done to popularise contemporary writing in other Indian languages, particularly among the younger generation since many of the writers were young and dealt with contemporary themes.

He said the National Translation Mission was making progress. He also said that the coordination committee of the three National Academies had met last week and one of the decisions taken was to systematically popularise Indian literature abroad. The modalities and funding for this was now being worked out.

"I do hope that in the coming years, modern Indian literature and our classics would be available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish and English. It is equally important to expose ourselves to outside cultural influences. We should make an effort to promote regional studies and study of foreign languages in our country," he said.

Dr Singh said technological upgradation of the archives of various institutions was one of the Government's key priorities. He said institutions such as the Sangeet Natak Academi, the Films Division, the Zonal Cultural Centres, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and others had a wealth of valuable audio-visual materials which needed immediate preservation. The Ministry of Culture will extend whatever assistance is required to preserve, digitize and popularize these audio-visual materials that document the country's contemporary cultural history, he said.

He also spoke about the priority being accorded by the Ministry to oversee the professionalisation of the management of the country's cultural resources and institutions.

"The task of preserving our ancient historical and cultural treasures must devolve on the best professionals available in our country. We recognize that bureaucratisation tends to negate cultural expression and preservation," he remarked.

He said that, as a decisive first step, the Governnment had liberalized the rules for recruiting the executive heads of eight national level cultural institutions. He said outstanding professionals would be appointed soon to head the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and other institutions.

Dr Singh also said the the Government would ensure these institutions functional autonomy and flexibility. He said funds would never be a constraint when it came to the question of preserving the country's cultural heritage and asserted that proper accountability and oversight would also be ensured.

"Whether it is the field of archaeology or archives, there is a wealth of knowledge, resources and expertise that is available in the country. Both the Archaeological Survey of India as well as the National Archives will strengthen networking with State level bodies and increase outreach to talent available outside the government," he said.

He said the Ministry was working out how, in the long run, the talent pool of professional cultural administrators and managers could be increased. "We have to encourage studies in art appreciation, antiquarian studies and museology and also set up an international-level post graduate course in museum management. The government could consider funding chairs in select universities to enhance interest and studies in such areas," he said.

Dr Singh also spoke about the efforts being made by the Government to revive the cultural scene in Bengal and mentioned that almost Rs 90 crore had been given as a special allocation to premier institutions located in the city - the Asiatic Society, the Indian Museum, the Victoria Memorial and the National Library.

"Each of these institutions is a cultural icon of the country. Unfortunately, these institutions have not been able to fully utilize this grant in the first year. The modernization of the National Library is among our priority tasks. I am glad to learn that almost the entire catalogue of 24 lakh books of the National Library would be available in digital format online, within the next six months or so. I do hope that these four institutions will work harder to use the allocated funds to introduce state of the art systems of preservation, display and storage of their priceless antiquities, paintings and manuscripts," he said.

He said the Government had, during the current financial year, given substantial additional funds to the Khuda Baksh Library of Patna, the Rampur Raza Library of UP and the Delhi Public Library.

He recalled that the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi had recently increased its space by six times and has also opened a branch in Bangalore, meeting the long-standing demand of that city.

He said West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had written to him proposing the setting up of a Kolkata Museum of Modern Art through a public-private partnership. The Government was examining this proposal, he said.

Dr Singh said teh Government was also keen to convert the Acharya Bhawan of India’s great scientist J.C. Bose into a science heritage museum and had taken steps for improving the Sir Jadunath Sarkar Archives and Museum. The Ministry of Culture will also assist in the revival of other historic cultural institutions of Kolkata like the Academy of Fine Arts and the Government College of Art, he said.

He said India and Bangladesh would jointly celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of poet Rabindranath Tagore. He said a most fitting commemoration would be an organic revival of Viswa Bharati University, pointing out that the Government had already sanctioned Rs 95 crore for its upgradation.

"We are working to preserve Shantiniketan’s cultural properties. Over the next four years we expect to restore many of its priceless paintings, sculptures and murals and the hand-written manuscripts of the poet laureate. We hope to take up the modernization of both the Rabindra Bhavan and the Kala Bhavan. I am told that there is a possibility of displaying, for the first time since the 1930s, exhibitions of the gems from Tagore’s art works in Paris and other important cities. We are also assisting in fulfilling two long-standing needs: the publication of a Rabindra Chitraa-vali depicting the genius of Tagore’s paintings and a comprehensive edition of Tagore’s literary works," he said.

He said the Government proposed to use the 150th birth anniversary of spiritual thinker Swami Vivekananda to popularise his powerful teachings and thoughts, which had contemporary relevance.

The Prime Minister said the Government believed in the plurality of Indian culture, in the freedom of cultural expression and in the importance of culture in the country's social progress and the spiritual development.

"We seek to strengthen and promote our cultural diversity by ensuring that the distant states and regions of India find due representation in our cultural arena.

"For its long term salvation, culture must become a people’s movement. We have to give culture a contemporary feel and relevance. Art in public spaces needs to be encouraged to integrate aesthetics and culture with urban life. Youth should be encouraged to discover in art and culture a joy and inspiration that mass media does not offer. We truly need a renaissance in the way in which we preserve, protect and propagate art and culture in the country," he added.

NNN