Twenty years ago, promotion of arts through cultural institutions, as the Haksar Committee painfully pointed out, fell in a shadow between idea and reality. Now it has slipped further and got miserably trapped between inaction and inefficiency. At the core of the problem, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture in its recent reports noted, is the Ministry of Culture's lack of seriousness, improper planning and unwillingness to change its ways. While reviewing the Ministry's demand for grants (2012-13), the committee found that year after year, even the meagre funds allotted remain underutilised. Of the Rs. 805 crore sanctioned last year, only about Rs. 570 crore was used. This has seriously undermined the demand for more government spending on cultural activities, which is as low as 0.16 per cent of the total Eleventh Plan allocation. Poor management is not just limited to finances. Despite the special needs of cultural institutions, the Ministry still insists on antiquated recruitment procedures and has kept many posts under UPSC purview. As a result, many posts remain vacant for years. For instance, the Institute of Archaeology has remained non-functional since 1985 because of lack of staff. In the case of the National School of Drama, professorial pay scales fall short of UGC norms and do not help attract the talented.
Lack of institutional autonomy has impaired nurturing of talents and practices. Since the state remains the biggest patron and taxpayers' money is involved, the government justifies its intervention. If the bureaucratic approach and interference continue, fears expressed by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay a few decades ago may come true: The Ministry's meddling would bring ‘an end of all cultural activities in this country.' The performance of the cultural institutions has not helped the cause either. The Parliamentary Committee has pulled up art academies for their lack of transparency and lethargic attitude. The National Museum has not acquired artefacts for a long time because it claims sufficient storage space is not available. The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities could achieve only half of its target. The Sangeet Natak Akademi, even after 20 years, has not produced a large body of literature on performing arts which it had committed itself to. The way forward is to adopt an arm's length approach. The government should increase its funding, but should not compromise institutional autonomy. For their part, institutions must be transparent in their dealings, be open to public scrutiny, and abide by a framework of administration they evolve for themselves. The appointment of suitable and qualified persons to lead cultural institutions is critical to achieve this.
Keywords: Sangeet Natak Akademi, Ministry of Culture
The article rightly pointed out the way forward to improve the abmysal
condition our arts our facing today.
Miiserably trapped between inaction and inefficiency the Ministry of
Culture is lagging behind in the promotion of the culture and art for
which the ministry was created. The Parliamentary Standing Committee
on Transport, Tourism and Culture in its recent reports noted that
the Ministry of Culture's lack of seriousness, improper planning and
unwillingness to change its ways has costed a lot to the culture and
art. While reviewing the Ministry's demand for grants (2012-13), the
committee found that the ministry has been inactive and inefficient
in spending the allotted fund for the culture. Of the Rs. 805 crore
sanctioned last year, only about Rs. 570 crore was used. This has
clearly undermines the demand for more government spending on
cultural activities. It should be noted that only 0.16 per cent of
the total Eleventh Plan allocation was allocated for the ministry of
culture.
There is now a need for comprehensive review of the whole Ministry of
the Culture and its working.
What deserves a closer look is how Culture is dealt with in popular
perception -- where we can perhaps use media coverage as a proxy. Just
mine The Hindu's archives to understand this -- government policy is a
much lesser contributor.
Its a shame that a country boasting of a 2000 year old civilization
and a rich history of arts and culture is spending just a fraction of
the miniscule 0.16 percent of its GDP that it allocates. Having said
that, i feel the Government cannot be entirely blamed for this. This
sort of inaction results from the callous attitude towards the arts
that is present in the society. How many schools in the country
provide training in the classical arts? And where is the opportunity
for the trained to showcase their talent? Without a complete change in
the society's outlook towards the liberal forms, Indian cultural
artforms would struggle to get an audience. This is becoming
increasingly difficult in the age of Western pop culture invading our
popular space.
It is a pity that the state of the institutions, incumbent with the responsibility of promoting art and culture have deteriorated to such an extent. I think one of the major reasons for the same is the lack of talent and prudent minds not just on the administrative side but also on the receiveing end. The enthusiasm for the diverse arts, history and culture among the youth which can be considered as bright minds is continuously seeing a fall. Youth, today, inspite of being interested in the a particular field of art, is forced to choose the stream having better materialistic prospects. If similar remains the case, it is not too far that we would 'again' see people going after the field of arts, especially, to be looked down upon by others, the trend a few decades ago. The remedy could be proper publicity of the field of arts, history and culture with respect to professional aspects. It is utmost important to gain credibility that the path chosen does lead into nowhere.
People of india want to witness their heritage but they are not given a proper platform, otherwise a cultural fair in pragati maidan should not go this packed. Rightly said in the editorial is the lack of institutional autonomy, Archaeological survey of india declaring a monument a national treasure does not changes condition of the place as local police is asked to look after it which hardly understands its importance. In order to attract foreign tourism we are destroying the indian touch of our heritage. Our traditional dances, songs, etc have lost its essence. Apart from lack of personnel, there is also a lack of concern.
Instead of cursing bollywood we shoule learn from it the following things
1. Giving chance to a talent to perform.
2. Incorporating diverse ideas to attract every generation.
Government institutes like National School of Drama are attracting the
young but the private colleges in the field of Mass communication and
Theatre are the pioneers of their field. This is due to the improper
utilization of the funds like the way it can be seen in most of the
central universities. The crowd at most of the conventional programmes
in Delhi signifies the decline in interest of the people towards these.
It should be encouraged at the earliest ..
Very vital questions.
Institutions like IGNCA, NMM&L etc also need mention here for their non-performance when it comes to publishing qualitative research outputs.
Also, who will monitor whether the funds allocated for preservation of tribal arts and culture are utilised properly and whether they are utilised at all, in the first place?
Art, History and Culture are very important for the identity of any nation. They determine how we view ourselves. India is a country that has been blessed with an abundance of diverse arts, history and culture. However, we have neglected our traditions and today all that passes in the name of Indian culture is Bollywood song and dance. The government has got too much on its plate, so it cannot be expected to look into all this. Running a cultural institution requires passion and not policy. These academies should be privatised and eminent and qualified people from the world of arts should run all these institutions. The help of corporates can also be taken to find sponsorship for these academies. Arts can be better served if run privately. Like airlines and sports the government should get out of arts as well.
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