Parl panel suggests setting up of `culture cadre`

New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has recommended setting up of an overarching body, including eminent persons from the field of art and culture, to monitor and facilitate the functioning of Akademis, museums and other cultural institutions.

The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture in its report on functioning of national Akademies and other cultural institutions suggested the Culture Ministry to constitute a high powered committee to examine issues raised in its present report, as also in the Bhabha Committee (1964), Khosla Committee (1972) and Haksar Committee (1989) reports. "The proposed high powered committee can review the mandate and composition of these bodies and suggest measures to monitor their performance and a coordination mechanism for these institutions," the report stated. After presenting the report to Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari, committee chairman Sitaram Yechury said, "The Committee feels that a cultural cadre distinct from the regular administrative cadre needs to be created to man the functioning of the Akademis, museums and other cultural institutions. "There is a need for establishing a separate culture cadre," he said, adding there should be a close link between education and culture, while courses should be introduced for education in various art forms like theatre, dance, music, poetry, literature and painting among others. The `cultural cadre` would manage arts and culture institutions as it has been found that people who manage these institutions have little knowledge about Arts and Culture and many lack professionalism required for the field, the report said. Yechury said government should take this initiative and also called for a mechanism to redress grievances of artists and steps to ensure their security and livelihood in old age by formulating an insurance scheme.