Achievements of The Ministry of Culture During 2007

YEAR END REVIEW - 2007

The mandate of the Ministry of Culture is to preserve and promote all forms of art and culture. Along with programmes for the preservation of India’s ancient heritage, the activities of the Ministry encourage and disseminate a variety of contemporary creative arts as well. During the year 2007, the Ministry with its two attached offices (ASI and NAI), six subordinate offices, 33 autonomous organizations and two missions (National Mission for Manuscripts and National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities) have worked ceaselessly to generate cultural awareness at the grassroot level and to promote cultural exchanges at the national and international level. While numerous activities were undertaken by the Ministry, the significant events are highlighted below-

1. World Heritage Site: During the year an ASI protected monument -Red Fort was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. In June 2007 the World Heritage Committee accepted the nomination of the Red Fort Complex for inscription on the World Heritage List. In this connection, the Director General, UNESCO formally handed over a certificate to Secretary (Culture) in the presence of Secretary (Tourism) and unveiled the plaque, at a function held at the Red Fort on 29th November, 2007.

2. World Heritage Day/Week: World Heritage Day was celebrated at important monuments all over the country on 18th April, 2007. Archaeological Survey of India also celebrated the World Heritage Week from 19th November to 25th November, 2007. It was decided to introduce a pledge by school children on 19th November every year for the protection of monuments against vandalization.

3. Rigveda inscribed in UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” Register: Rigveda was selected for inscription in UNESCO’S “Memory of the World” Register 2007.

4. International Cultural Exchange Programmes : During the year 2007, CEPs were signed with 12 countries. This included Portugal, Tunisia, France, Italy, Russia, Belarus, Cyprus, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Netherlands, Bahrain.

The International Cultural Relations (ICR) Division of the Ministry organized the fourth round of talks between India and Pakistan on “Promotion of friendly exchanges” at Islamabad on 28th to 29th 2007. Other high-level meetings on bilateral cultural cooperation were held between Smt. Ambika Soni, Minister Tourism & Culture and corresponding cultural counterparts of Hungary (Dr. Istvan Hiller), China (Mr. Sun Jiazheng), Thailand (Ms.Khunying Khaisri Sriaroon), France (Ms. Christine Albanel), and Republic of South Africa (Dr. Pallo Jordan) during the year.

(a) India @ 60: In September 2007 a major festival of India called “India @ 60” was organized at New York as a joint effort of the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Textiles, CII and others. On this occasion the Ministry of Culture showcased the various art forms of India at a scintillating performance at the Lincoln Centre, which was attended by important members of the Council of Ministers including Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs and Shri P. Chidambram, Minister of Finance and important members of the international and national community from the fields of media and industry.

Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts organized an exhibition of masks from its collection for the exhibition at Lincoln Centre, New York, as part of this festival from September 23rd to 27th, 2007.

(b) Other events:

• The year saw the culmination of ‘Year of Poland in India’. At this various exhibitions and performances of Polish artists and littérateurs were staged across the country. This included an exhibition of Jan and Plotr Miodzeneic’s visual poetry and Exhibition of Oriental Polish Posters.
• Under the Indo Italian Cultural Exchange Programme, an exhibition of contemporary artists from Italy and Indian artists from the National Gallery of Modern Art’s collection was inaugurated at Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata on February 12, 2007 by Mr. Ramano Prodi, H.E. Prime Minister of Republic of Italy and H.E. the Governor of West Bengal.
• The National Museum Institute (History of Art, Conservation and Museology) organized a two day Seminar on “Indo-Thai Cultural and historical Linkages” during 10th – 11th August 2007 in collaboration with the Thai Embassy to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Indo-Thai cultural relations.
• Minister (Tourism & Culture) inaugurated the UNESCO Experts’ meeting on Intangible Cultural Heritage in New Delhi on 2nd April 2007.
• An exhibition entitled the ‘Golden age of Classical India: Gupta Empire’ was inaugurated at Grand Palais, Paris by Secretary (Culture) and the French Minister of Culture on 2nd April, 2007.
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies organized a bilateral seminar in collaboration with ISRS Tashkent, on Central Asia on April 11-12, 2007. Dr. Anita Sengupta, Fellow presented a paper titled Russia-China-US Three Bilateral Relations in Central Asia.
• Minister of (T&C) inaugurated exhibition on “Dreams in Italy” – Two Hungarian Artists on their way to India through Italy – Paintings by Elizabeth Sass Brunner and Elizabeth Brunner on 12.6.2007 at IGNCA, New Delhi.
• H.E. Massimo D’ Alema, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Italy and Mrs. Ambika Soni, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism & Culture, India, jointly inaugurated “Triennale – 100 Objects of Italian Design” Exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi on 10.10.2007.
• National Gallery of Modern Art mounted an exhibition on Japanese Contemporary Art” on 12th October, 2007.
• A Seminar for US Educators was organized by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, New Delhi in collaboration with United States Education Foundation in India (USEFI) on the topic “What the US can learn from India” commenced from 30th June, 2007 to conclude on August 4th 2007.
• An exhibition entitled ‘Beauty in Asia, comprising of 52 objects, including paintings, sculptures, Bronzes and Decorative Art objects was sent to Asian Civilization Museum, Singapore. The exhibition remained open till September, 2007.
• ‘Unity in Diversity’, an exhibition of paintings and photographs was held in the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in collaboration with the Delegation of European Union as part of the European Cultural Week 2007 from November 22nd to December 2nd, 2007.

5. Remembering Gandhiji:

• Hon’ble Prime Minister administered a pledge to the nation and released a set of four commemorative postage stamps on the occasion of International Day of Non – Violence on 2.10.2007.
• Gandhi Peace Prize for 2005 was awarded to Archbishop Desmond Tutu by the President of India at a glittering ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 31st January, 2007.
• During the year, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library has added to its archival holdings an important collection of the papers of Mahatma Gandhi. These Gandhi papers acquired by the ICCR from London and handed over to the Navjivan Trust were donated by the Trust to the NMML.
• During the year, “Dandi Heritage Corridor Project” was approved by the Ministry with a project cost of Rs.20 crore for the development of places where Gandhiji made night halts during the historic Dandi Yatra.

6. Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of First War of Independence, 1857:

• The inaugural function of the 150th anniversary of the First War of Independence was held on 11th May, 2007, at the Red Fort. This was attended by dignitaries including the Hon’ble President Shri A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Vice President Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh. While the function was organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the cultural component was executed by the seven Zonal Cultural Centres under the Ministry of Culture. Nearly 2000 artistes from all over the country were part of the audio-visual presentation at the function.
• A programme was also organized at Bombay in association with the Government of Maharashtra on 8th August 2007 to commemorate the Quit India Movement.
• A mobile exhibition on train showcasing the First War of Independence and the freedom struggle was flagged off on 28th September 2007. The train will tour the entire country and make halts at important places connected with the freedom struggle.
• Other autonomous institutions and attached/subordinate organizations of the Ministry of Culture also marked the occasion by convening national symposiums (Khuda Baksh Library) and lectures on the topic. The North Central Zonal Cutlural centre organized an exhibition of rare manuscripts to commemorate the occasion.

7. Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of Indepenendence :

• “Bharat Utsav” organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Government of Delhi, was held at Talkatora Indoor Stadium to celebrate 60 years of Independence. The week-long programme was staged before Vice-President Shri Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Somnath Chatterjee, Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Shri Tejendra Khanna and Chief Minister Smt. Sheila Dikshit, and was witnessed by a large number of people..
• Nehru Memorial Museum and Library organized a function to inaugurate the “Year long celebration of 60 Years of Independence” on Sadbhavna Diwas on 20th August 2007. Several activities like cultural programmes by school children, screening of films, lecture and presentation of a Sufi musical programme were organized. Hon’ble Minister Smt. Ambika Soni attended the Sufi Musical programme. Prof. Shantha Sinha, Magsaysay awardee and Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, was the Chief Guest.

8. Commemorating the Birth Centenary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh:

• Ministry of Culture organized two national programmes on 20th September, 2007 at Amritsar and Delhi in collaboration with State Governments of Punjab and Delhi to celebrate the Birth Centenary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his comrades.
• On the occasion of the Birth Centenary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library organized a “Freedom Week” from 26th September 2007 to 3rd October 2007. A variety of programmes were held during the week, significant among which were screening of short films on 1857, release of Dr. S. Irfan Habib’s Book – “To Make the deaf Hear: Ideology and Programme of Bhagat Singh and his Comrades”, recitation of Revolutionary poetry and a live performance by Ms. Zohra Segal, ‘Jang-e-Azadi’.

9. Commemoration of Tercentenary of Guru-ta-Gaddi of Shri Guru Granth Sahib: The tercentenary of Guru-ta-Gaddi of Shri Guru Granth Sahib is to be celebrated at Nanded in 2008. Two Meetings of the national committee headed by the Home Minister, Shri Shivraj V. Patil to oversee the progress of the project have already been held. These include developmental plans of the route of last journey undertaken by Shri Guru Govind Singhji from Talwandi Sabo where got the final version of Shri Guru Granth Sahib complied to Nanded Sahib where the holy Granth was consecrated as eternal Guru. The route passes through five states and covers parts of some national highways. It was also decided to take up the development of the towns of Anandpur Sahib and Talwandi Sabo as part of the commemoration.

10. 2550th Year of Mahaparinirvana of Lord Budhha :

• The anniversary of Lord Budhha’s Mahaparinirvana was celebrated from 13th May, 2006 to 2nd May, 2007. Several programmes and activities formed part of the celebration. Grants were also provided to Buddhist organizations for holding programmes and constructions projects. The concluding function of the event was held at Kushinagar on 2nd May, 2007 which was attended by Hon’ble President of India and dignitaries from India and abroad. At this function the President also released the Pali- Hindi Volume –I (Part –I).
• An international conference was organized by the Ministry at Bodh Gaya from 4th to 6th February, 2007 where eminent scholars from India and abroad presented a rich collection of papers on ‘Buddha and the 21st century’.
• Nav Nalanda Mahavihara a deemed university under the Ministry of Culture in association with Pune University also organized an International Seminar “Mahaparinirvana year of the Lord Buddha teaching and research finding new horizons” in April, 2007.
• A photo exhibition on “Cultural Heritage of Nalanda” was organized by Patna circle of Archaeological Survey of India in association with State Museum, Patna, from 2nd to 4th October, 2007. The photo exhibition was inaugurated by the Chief Guest His Excellency Shri R.S. Gavai, Governor of Bihar, on 2nd October, 2007. On this occasion, a booklet, “Cultural Pride of Bihar – Nalanda, Rajgir & Vaishali” was also released.
• An exposition of relics of Lord Buddha was organized at Leh and Zanskar.
• The North East Zonal Cultural Centre (NEZCC) organized a three-day art exhibition under the theme “This Sacred Land” in at Kohima in April, 2007.

11. Xuan Zang Memorial Hall: Xuan Zang who visited India in 7th century A.D. is considered a symbol and an instrument of Cultural Exchange Programme between the two great civilizations of India and China.

The Government of India had received of relics of Xuan Zang along with endowment for the construction of a Memorial Hall from the Chinese Government at a function at Nav Nalanda Mahavihara,Nalanda.

The Xuan Zang Memorial Hall was handed over to Nav Nalanda Mahavihara in 2001 for renovation, restoration and creative development. After completion of the work with the assistance of Chinese authorities, the Memorial Hall was inaugurated on 12th February, 2007 in the presence of several Indian and Chinese dignitaries which included Governor of Bihar, Chief Minister, Bihar, Union Minister of Tourism & Culture, Chairman, ICCR, and Foreign Minister of China.

12. Zonal Cultural Centres: All the seven Zonal Cultural Centres have carried out a number of activities to promote and disseminate folk aft and culture at the grassroot level. During the year these centres have organized a variety of programmes/events in remote areas and at district/state headquarters and the quality of these programmes has been widely appreciated. Besides implementing the National Cultural Exchange Programme, all the ZCCs have come together to organize a number of festivals at the national level, which includes Lok Tarang, Prakriti and Octave.

• The Ministry of Culture as part of the Republic Day Celebrations hosted “Lok Tarang” – the National Folk Dance Festival at Delhi from 24th to 29th January, 2007. The festival was inaugurated by H.E. the President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi.
• The children contingent of South Zone Central Cultural Centre which presented “Gedi Nritya” at the Republic Day Parade 2007 at New Delhi was awarded the first prize.
• A national festival of tribal arts ‘Prakriti 2007’ was organized at New Delhi in December 2007 with the collaboration of Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

13. Sahitya Akademi: Besides its various other events, Sahitya Akademi organized a National Seminar on Sanskrit at the Calicut University, Kerala, a Literary Forum programme with Manipuri and Marathi writers, and a seminar on Santhali poetry at Bhubaneswar. The newly-built Book Shop of the Akademi was inaugurated by Sri Bhalchandra Mungekar, Member Planning Commission.

14. Lalit Kala Academy: Shri Somnath Chatterjee, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha gave away the “Lalit Kala Ratna” awards to thirteen eminent art personalities on 10.9.2007.

15. World Book Day: World Book Day was celebrated by the National Library, Kolkata on 23rd April, 2007. On the occasion, important Litterateurs and Professors of Jadavpur and Calcutta Universities delivered lectures at the National Library.

The Golden Jubilee of the Indian National Bibliography (which is part of the entrusted responsibilities of the Central Reference Library, Kolkata), was marked by yearlong celebrations, inaugurated by Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the Governor of West Bengal.

16. Activities in the North-East : The Ministry of Culture as well as its autonomous attached and subordinate organizations play an active part in promoting the rich cultural heritage of the North-East region. As part of this endeavour not only do the regional units of the autonomous organizations of the Ministry play an active part but also there is a focused effort to expose the rest of the country to the varied and intricate cultural forms of the North-East.

• As part of this exercise, Ministry of Culture along with its various attached and autonomous organizations organized the 2nd Octave – the annual festival of the North East from 17-25 February, 2007 at Hyderabad. The 8-day festival was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on the 17th February, 2007. Organised by the North East Zonal Cultural Centre, the Sangeet Natak Akademy, Lalit Kala Akademy and Sahitya Akademy, the festival presented music, dance, theatre, literature, costumes, handicrafts and cuisine of the eight North Eastern States, over 600 artistes and artisans participated in this major event.
• The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts organized a series of heritage activities in Manipur from 18th to 29th of July, 2007. A workshop of the surviving traditional painters of Manipur was held, in which four senior masters presented their works.
• Under the Travelling Exhibition series of the Indira Gandhi Manav , ‘Sacred Groves of India’ was organized at two places in Manipur, Imphal (21-23 May), and INA Museum Moirang (25-27 May).

17. Exhibitions/Seminars/Workshops:

• On the occasion of the 8th World Hindi Conference held at New York the National Archives of India (NAI) mounted an exhibition “Hindi : Desh se Pardes Tak”, at New York, from 13th to 15th July, 2007. This exhibition was also organized in the premises of National Archives at New Delhi from 5th July to 31st July, 2007.
• To commemorate 150 years of Presidency Universities in India(1857-2007) , an exhibition based on public records, private papers and material collected from universities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai was organized at NAI in January, 2007 and subsequently at various other places.
• NAI along with the National Mission for Manuscripts mounted an exhibition at the National Archives in February,2007 called “The Word is Sacred: Sacred is the Word”. It was formally declared open by Shri N. Gopalaswamy, Chief Election Commissioner on 7th February, 2007. The exhibition was an illuminating history of Indian Manuscripts and was also displayed earlier at Frankfurt..
• The exhibition “Amrita Shergil” was inaugurated at the TATE Modern Gallery, London on February 28, 2007, the exhibition was organized in collaboration with the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA).
• H.E. The President of India inaugurated exhibition “India’s March to Freedom from 1857 to 1947, Kranti to Gandhi, Raj to Swaraj” organized by Gandhi Smriti & Darshan Samiti on 11.9.2007.
• A Nizam Jewellery exhibition was inaugurated at National Museum, New Delhi by Smt. Ambika Soni, Union Tourism & Culture Minister. The collection comprises 173 precious items of exquisite workmanship that covers a period ranging from 18th to 20th century.
• The IGNCA hosted an exhibition of a rare 230-meter-long scroll painting, from its archives, by Smt.Santokba Dudhat, depicting the life and achievements of Smt. Indira Gandhi on the occasion of her 90th birth anniversary.
• Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts organized ‘Baha : The Spring Festival of the Tribal Communities in Central and Eastern India’ which had a number of tribal workshops as also a seminar on the theme ‘Folk Festivals and Ecological Wisdom’, where participants drawn from tribal communities shared their experiences with academicians and scholars.
• Anthropological Survey of India organized as 3-day National Conference on the topic ‘Man in Bioshphere’ at Nagpur, for 26-28 February, 2007. 120 delegates participated in this conference which addressed issues of linkages between Cultural diversity and Bioshpher diversity and the larger issues of conservation and development.

18. Exploration, Excavation, Conservation and Restoration Activities of ASI:

• During the course of exploratory work, a unique Paleolithic site was discovered at Balambur Ghati on Bhopal Sanhei Road.
• During the course of explorations carried out by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Satari, Talluk, panels of Gajalakshmi and Mahishsur Mardani were discovered.
• Excavations at Bangarh District in West Bengal revealed a massive wall, two bases of pillars, terracotta tiles, Sultanate glazed ware and red-ware herds among other items.
• Important findings of the excavation work carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India at Patna include potsherds of Northern black polished ware, black slipped ware, grey ware, and red ware.
• In addition, conservation work was carried out at important monuments like Suri Temple and Jageshwar Group of Temples, Almora, Shore Temple at Mamallapuram and other monuments in Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Thrissur and other circles of Archaeological Survey of India.

19. National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities: The Mission was formally launched by the Minister of Tourism & Culture, Smt. Ambika Soni on 19th March, 2007 at a function held at New Delhi. Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission was the Guest of Honour.

• Compilation of the museums directory as part of the National Mission on monuments and antiquities is under progress. More than 180 sites of Kerala have already been documented. Digitization of all the published volumes of the Indian Archaeology review is underway.
• State Culture Secretaries of Rajasthan, Kerala, Assam and NCT of Delhi and other States have been approached to set up State level implementation Committees of the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities.

20. National Mission on Manuscripts: Fourth Anniversary of the National Manuscripts Mission was celebrated on 14.02.2007. A function was held to commemorate the occasion. In the programme 45 manuscripts were recognized as manuscript treasures of India.

Source: Press Information Bureau
Date: January 04, 2008

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