CULTURE Culture Nodal Ministry Minister of State (Ind. Charge) Objective Functions Ministry of Culture Dr. Mahesh Sharma The main objective of the Ministry is preservation of all art forms and culture, their promotion and effective dissemination through various activities like maintenance and conservation of heritage, historic sites and ancient monuments, promotion of literary, visual and performing arts and proper documentation through administration of libraries. Besides, the Ministry promotes institutions and organisations of Buddhist and Tibetan studies, and institutional and individual nonofficial initiatives. Similarly it observes the centenaries and anniversaries of important national personalities and events. Above all the Ministry has entered into cultural agreements with many world nations. The Ministry of culture acts as a nodal ministry in creating cultural awareness from the grassroots level to international cultural exchange level through protection, development and promotion of heritage and culture. For this the Ministry has identified three areas namely tangible Heritage, intangible Heritage and knowledge Heritage apart from propagating Gandhian Heritage. TANGIBLE, INTANGIBLE AND KNOWLEDGE HERITAGE India with a rich history along its timeline has witnessed dissemination of various cultures which have contributed immensely to the structure of the social fabric that exist today. The footprints in the tangible form include buildings and historic places, monuments, artefacts and other objects with archaeological, architectural, scientific and technological significance. The Ministry of culture is committed in preserving the cultural heritage in its tangible form. The definition of intangible Heritage is given by the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage under UNESCO. The Convention defines the intangible cultural heritage as a practices, representations, expressions as well as the knowledge and skill (including instruments, objects, artefacts, cultural spaces) that communities groups and in some cases individuals recognize as a part of their cultural heritage. In a bid to preserve the intangible cultural heritage, the Ministry of culture focuses upon preservation of oral traditions and expressions, innumerable languages and dialects, performing arts and traditional craftsmanship. Further the Ministry has laid out plans for preserving and promoting social practices, rituals and festive events-particularly concerned with the nature in their original form. Similarly in the knowledge Heritage domain, the Ministry resort to established resource institutions as mentioned below. Knowledge Resources Heritage National Archives of India Nava Nalanda Mahavihara Anthropological Survey of India Central Institute of Himalayan Cultural Studies Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti National Library Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya Delhi Public Library copyright@upscpatrika.com Asiatic Society Rampur Raza Library Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian studies Central Reference Library Central University of Higher Tibetan Studies Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji Mahal Library PERFORMING ARTS IN INDIA MUSIC Indian classical music has mainly two branches-Hindustani and Carnatic, both of which are extensively pursued in the realm of art. The diversity of practice led to formation of various traditions of which gharanas and sampradayas have evolved through generations of oral practice. Gharana – Definition Gharana is a system of music adhered to by musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship. It is a comprehensive musicological ideology which varies substantially from one Gharana to another. Gharanas influence the thinking, teaching, performance and appreciation of music. Gharanas Distinguishing Feature Founders Gwalior Gharana Oldest among all the Khayal Gayaki (vocal) styles Ustad Hassu Khan Lucid and Simple Ustad Haddu Khan Ustad Nathu Khan Agra Gharana Kirana Gharana Atrauli (Jaipur) Gharana Rampur Sahaswan Gharana Forcefulness and deepness in the voice Haji Sujan Khan Powerful and resonant notes Swara is used to create an emotional mood Ustad Ghagghe Baksh Abdul Karim Khan Elongation and use of Kana Abdul Wahid Khan Complex and melodic form which arises out of the involutedly and undulating phrases Ustad Alladiya Khan Stress on the clarity of swara Ustad Inayat Khan Khuda Development and elaboration of the raga is done through a stepwise progression Patiala Gharana Use of greater rhythm play and by Layakari with the abundant use of Bols, particularly Bol-tans Ustad Fateh Ali Khan Delhi Gharana Pleasing vistaar and exquisite compositions. Ustad Mamman Khan Bhendi Gharana Presentation of Khayal, which is open voice, using Akar Ustad Chajju Khan Ustad Ali Baksh Bazaar Stress on breath-control and singing of long passages in one breath Benaras Gharana Lilting style of khayal singing known by Thumri singers of Benaras and Gaya Pt Gopal Mishra Mewati Gharana Importance to developing the mood of the raga through the notes forming it and its style is Bhava Pradhan Ghagge Nazir Khan Equal importance to the meaning of the text Apart from the vocal tradition, India is rich in its diversity of musical instruments ranging from string instruments, percussion instruments to wind instruments. String instruments which produce sound from a copyright@upscpatrika.com vibrating string stretched between two points include sitar, Santoor, sarod,veena etc. percussion instruments include those consisting a hollow cylinder and a stretched membrane at the ends. They may either be drum percussion instruments like Tabla, Pakhwai etc., or non-drum percussion instruments like bells, gongs, ghunguru etc. finally, the wind instruments using a vibrating mass of air to their convenience include float, harmonium, saxophone, clarinet etc. famous personalities who has excelled in various forms of music are tabulated below. Music - Famous Personalities Vocal Instrumental Hindustani Vocalists Instrument Instrumentalist String Instruments Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Sitar Pandit Ravi Shankar Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Santoor Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma Sarod Ustad Amzad Ali Khan Ustad Bismillah Khan Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Pandit Kumar Gandharva Veena Pandit Ravi Shankar Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (Mohan Veena) Pandit S. D. Batish (Rudra Veena) Ustad Zakir Hussain Sarangi Ustad Sultan Khan Nagaraja Rao Havaldar Violin Smt N. Rajam Anant Manohar Joshi L. Subramaniam Vishnu Digambar Paluskar Percussion Instruments Jagannathbuwa Purohit Tabla Saraswati Rane Ustad Zakir Hussian Ustad Allarakha Jagannathbuwa Purohit Pakhawaj Pandit Bhawani Shankar Carnatic Vocalists Mrudangam Pazhani Subramanya Pillai M. Balamuralikrishna G. Ramakrishnan M. S. Subbulaksmi Wind Instruments T. V. Gopalakrishnan Harmonium T. V. Sankaranarayanan Sri Madurai Seshagopalan R. K. Srikantan Mehmood Dhaulpuri Pandit R K Bijapure Maha Meru TN Flute Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia Shehnai Ustad Bismillah Khan Nityashree Mahadevan Nadaswaram Sheikh Chinna Moulana Sudha Ragunathan Saxophone Kadri Gopinath DANCE Indian dance forms primarily attribute their origin to the rich mythology and folklore’s which laid the platform for creation of legends and classical literature. In its true form Indian dance forms can be classified into classical and folk. While the classical dance forms are based on ancient dance principle and discipline with rigid rules of presentation, the folklores and tribal dances garner for the richness of Indian culture. Classical Dance Forms Dance Form Region Bharatanatyam Tamil Nadu Main exponents Alarmel Valli Anita Ratnam copyright@upscpatrika.com Balasarswati Mallika Sarabhai Mrinalini Sarabhai Padma Subramanyam Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai Rukmini Devi Yamini Krishnamurthy Kathakali Kerala Kalamandalam Gopi Kalamandalam Kesavan Namboodiri Kalamandalam Krishna Prasad Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody Kavungal Chathunni Panicker Kottakkal Sivaraman Kathak North India Kartik Ram - Kalyan Das Kumudini Lakhiya Malabika Mitra Manisha Gulyani Pandit Birju Maharaj Shovana Narayan Sitara Devi Kuchipudi Andhra Pradesh Bhavana Reddy Kaushalya Reddy Raja and Radha Reddy Sonal Mansingh Yamini Krishnamurthy Yamini Reddy Manipuri Manipur Guru Naba Kumar Guru Nileshwar Mukharji Guru Senarik Singh Rajkumar Jhaveri Sisters – Darshana and Ranjana Mohiniyattam Kerala Gopika Varma Jayaprabha Menon Pallavi Krishnan Radha Dutta Smitha Rajan Sunanda Nair Vijayalakshmi Odissi Odisha Aadya Kaktikar Aditi Bandhopadhyay Anita Babu Arpita Venkatesh Aruna Mohanty THEATRE copyright@upscpatrika.com Traditionally Indian theatre art forms relied more on mythology, legends and classical literature. Today theatre has evolved to reflect the social conditions although in its classical form the survival is confined to certain areas. However the theatre art is promoted through institutional setup like Sandeep noetic Academy. Compared to the classical theatre art forms, folk theatre can be seen in its regional variants practically in every region. Besides, India has a rich tradition of puppet theatre, prevalent forms being puppets, rod puppets, glove puppets and leather puppets (shadow theatre). Various forms of traditional theatre and the region they belong to is given in the table below. Traditional Theatre Forms Region Bhand Pather Kashmir Swang Haryana Nautanki Uttar Pradesh Bhavai Gujarat Jatra West Bengal Maach Madhya Pradesh Bhaona Assam Tamaasha Maharashtra Dashavatar Konkan and Goan Regions Krishnattam Mudiyettu, Theyyam Koodiyattam Yakshagaana Kerala Therukoothu Tamil Nadu Karnataka Puppets Forms Region String Puppets Kathputli Rajasthan Kundhei Odisha Gombeyatta Karnataka Bommalattam Tamil Nadu Shadow Puppets Togalu Gombeyatta Karnataka Tholu Bommalata Andhra Pradesh Ravanachhaya Odisha Indian Artists Excelled in Painting Abanindranath Tagore Amrita Shergill F. N. Souza Jamini Roy Jatin Das M. F. Hussain Nandlal Bose Raja Rabi Varma Satish Gujral Rod Puppets Putul Nautch West Bengal S H Raza Yampuri Bihar Tyeb Mehta Glove Puppets Pavakoothu Kerala copyright@upscpatrika.com AUTONOMOUS ORGANISATIONS ORGANIZATIONS DEALING WITH INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE Intangible Cultural heritage - Autonomous Organisations Lalit Kala Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi Sahitya Akademi (Indian National Academy of Letters) National School of Drama Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) Centre for Cultural Resources and Training Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCC) L ALIT K ALA A KADEMI Established in 1954, the Academy seeks to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art at the domestic and international level. This institution established by the government of India has its headquarters at New Delhi and regional centers across the country. The regional centers are called Rashtriya Lalit Kala Kendra’s and established at Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Garhi, Shimla and Bhubaneswar. The regional centres hold workshops in painting, sculpture, printmaking and ceramics. The Academy is committed in conducting annual exhibitions of contemporary art at the national level with 15 national awards worth Rs.50,000 each apart from triennial exhibition conducted at international level TRIENNIAL India. With an attempt to acknowledge eminence in various art forms, the Lalit Kala Academy facilitates artists and art historians annually by electing them as fellows of the Academy. Similarly on its bid to promote awareness about its functions and various art forms among the masses, the Academy brings out publications like bi-annual art journals, Lalit Kala Contemporary (English), Lalit Kala Ancient (English) and Samkaleen Kala (Hindi). Above all the Academy seeks to embrace the innovations, changes and movements across the world in various realms of art. In its endeavour to do so, the Academy participates in international Biennials and Triennials abroad. Further the Academy also foster contacts with international artists, it sponsors exchange of artists with other countries under the various Cultural Exchange Programmes and Agreements of the Government. S ANGEET N ATAK A KADEMI With an idea of preserving and promoting the rich intangible heritage of Indian culture government of India established Sangeet Natak Academy in 1952. The Sangeet Natak Akademi serves as the apex body to promote performing art forms in the arena of music, dance and drama for which it has established organisations like National School of Drama in Delhi,(1959;), Jawaharlal Nehru Manipuri Dance Academy in Imphal (1964) and Kathak Kendra in Delhi (1964). Besides, the Academy launched many projects in course of time to recognise the relevance of various traditional art forms. For example, a project on Kutiyattam theatre of Kerala was launched in 1991 to mark the significance of a waning tradition which led to the declaration of Kutiyattam as the masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001 by UNESCO. Similarly Academy initiated projects on Chhau dance of Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal, in 1994 and Sattriya music, dance, theatre and allied arts of Assam, in 2002. Sangeet Natak Academy is well-known for its awards or fellowships aimed at felicitating the renowned artists. While the Academy Awards are the highest national recognition conferred upon artists, the fellowships worth Rs. 3 lakh and scholarship worth Rs. 1 lakh are awarded to 30 living recipients, besides a shawl and a Tamrapatra. copyright@upscpatrika.com S AHITYA A KADEMI (I NDIAN N ATIONAL A CADEMY OF L ETTERS ) Government of India established Sahitya Academy in 1954 with its headquarters at New Delhi and four regional centres at Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangaluru. Academy which recognises 24 Indian languages has two translation centres at Bangalore and Kolkata besides a project office at Shillong for promotion of oral and tribal literature. The Academy also has an archive of Indian literature in Delhi. Academy seeks to promote the cause of Indian literature to great heights. Sahitya Akademi Honorary Fellowhip is the highest honour conferred by the Akademi on a writer, by electing him as its Fellow. The Fellowship is limited to 21 only at a time and is reserved for the immortals of literature. The Academy has instituted Anand Fellowship to entertain scholars from Asian Countries to pursue literary projects of their choice. Similarly, Premchand Fellowship is given to scholars doing research on Indian literature or to creative writers from the countries of the SAARC region other than India. The Sahitya Academy publishes journals in three languages-English Hindi and Sanskrit including Indian Literature (bimonthly in English), Samkaleena Bharatiya Sahitya (bi-monthly in Hindi) and Samskrita Pratibha (half-yearly in Sanskrit). Besides the journals Academy is also launched a project named Encyclopedia of Indian Poetics. Further the Academy is also involved in conducting seminars for the promotion of literature in the country. It holds an annual week-long ‘Festival of Letters’, usually in February with Awardgiving ceremony, Samvatsar Lecture and a National Seminar. Similarly, the Akademi has also introduced a series of programmes entitled Sur Sahitya in 2004-05. N ATIONAL S CHOOL OF D RAMA Currently an autonomous organisation, the National School of Drama was established by Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1959. The National School of Drama which became autonomous in 1975 seeks to train students in all aspects of theatre like history, production, scene design, costume design, lighting, make-up et cetera. In 1964 Repertory Company was set up as a performing wing so as to maintain professional theatre and innovative experimental platform on parallel lines. The school at present has a regional research Centre at Bangalore to promote professionalism in theatre arts particularly in the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and the union Territory of Puducheri. The school has also contributed in developing children’s theatre by establishing Theatre in Education Company in 1989. The theatre was later renamed as Sanskar Rang Toli. In order to enthuse the young population, the school has been organising National Theatre Festival since 1998 in the name ’Jasne Bachpan’. I NDIRA G ANDHI N ATIONAL C ENTRE FOR THE A RTS (IGNCA) The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts is an autonomous organisation established in 1987 to pursue knowledge on cultural heritage and the art forms and their relationship with life in general with a connotation to various disciplines of knowledge. As it is understood various art forms and a rich cultural heritage will have an inseparable bond with a practices and lifestyle of communities in various regions, across various social strata in course of time. The Centre seeks to analyse such an inevitable and unavoidable link the domestic as well as international front. The institution performs its functions through six major functional units, diverse in their activities ranging across documentation to exhibitions. IGCA has regional centres at Bangaluru (Southern Regional Centre), Varanasi (extension of the Kalakosa) and Guwahati (North East Centre). copyright@upscpatrika.com IGCA –Functional Units Functional Unit Function Sutaradhara Administrative section Kala Nidhi Documentation - multi-form library Janapada Sampada Lifestyle studies Kala Kosa Study and publication of fundamental texts in Indian Languages, Indological and Sanskrit studies supported by Varanasi extension Researches and studies related exhibitions Kaladarsana Cultural Lab Informatics Technology tools application for cultural preservation and propagation C ENTRE FOR C ULTURAL R ESOURCES AND T RAINING CCRT was constituted in 1979 at New Delhi under the aegis of Ministry of culture. As indicated by its name CCRT seeks to instill a broader idea of diversity of Indian culture among students and thereby revitalising education system. For this, CCRT emphasized upon integrating knowledge on plurality with current system of education. CCRT has three regional centres at Udaipur, Hyderabad and Guwahati. CCRT organizes training programmes for in-service teachers and Cultural Talent Search Scholarship Scheme for children in the age group of 10 to 14 years to develop their talent in various cultural fields particularly in rare art forms. The Children are selected from recognized schools or from among those belonging to families practicing traditional performing or other arts. Z ONAL C ULTURAL C ENTRES (ZCC) The zonal cultural centres were established in 1985-86 to create public awareness on local cultures. The centres revealed the interrelationship between local cultures and zonal identities with the establishment of zonal centres at Patiala, Kolkata, Thanjavur, Udaipur, Allahabad,Dimapur and Nagpur. The zonal centres actively promote performing arts, literary and visual arts. The cultural centres at each zone have developed a team of folk artists who perform in the Republic Day celebrations. Apart from the cultural fair, crafts fair is also organised during the Republic Day celebrations. The musicians, performing artists and scholars from various zones engage in the Natural Cultural Exchange Programme. This has in turn succeeded in creating awareness about various tribal/folk art forms across the country. Apart from this, the Zonal Cultural Centres documents and manages various folk and tribal art forms. The Zonal Cultural Centres have initiated schemes for Theatre Rejuvenation and scheme of Guru Shishya Parampara to promote new talents in the field of music and dance. The ZCCs also organize Shilpgrams to provide promotion and marketing facilities to craftsmen. copyright@upscpatrika.com ORGANISATION DEALING WITH TANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE Tangible Cultural Heritage – Autonomous Organisations Archaeological Survey of India National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) National Museum National Gallery of Modern Art National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata Anthropological Survey of India National Archives of India Libraries A RCHAEOLOGICAL S URVEY OF I NDIA Established in 1861. major activities of the ASI are : o Survey of archaeological remains and excavations; o Maintenance and conservation of centrally protected monuments, sites and remains; o Chemical preservation of monuments and antiquarian remains; o Architectural survey of monuments; o Development of epigraphical research and numismatic studies; o Setting up and re-organisation of site museums; o Expedition abroad; o Training in Archaeology; o Publication of technical report and research works. Under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, the ASI has declared three thousand six hundred and seventy five monuments/sites to be of national importance in the country which includes twenty one properties that are inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO. Nomination dossiers for the following sites have been sent to the World Heritage Centre for inscription on the World Heritage List of UNESCO : o Shri Harminder Sahib (Golden Temple) at Amritsar, Punjab. o Majuli Island in Mid-stream of river Brahmaputra in Assam. o Valley of Flowers as an extension to the Nanda Devi National Park in Uttaranchal. o Red Fort, Delhi (a deferred nomination). The activities of its various wings are as under; o Underwater Archaeology Wing: Search, study and preservation of cultural heritage lying submerged in inland or territorial waters in Arabian Sea as well as in Bay of Bengal. o Science Branch: with headquarters at Dehradun and field laboratories in different parts of the country carries out chemical preservation of monuments, antiquities, manuscripts, paintings, etc. o Horticulture Branch: maintains gardens in about two hundred and eighty seven centrally protected monuments/sites located in different parts of the country. o Epigraphy Branch: copyright@upscpatrika.com at Mysore carries out research work in Sanskrit and Dravidian languages; at Nagpur carries out research work in Arabic and Persian Expeditions Abroad: conservation project of Ta Prohm, Cambodia under the ITEC programme of Ministry of External Affairs, started as per the assurance of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, during his visits to Cambodia in April and November 2002 for a period of ten years and to be completed in five phases. Launched formally in February 2004 in Cambodia. UNESCO World Heritage Sites Serial Number Site Year Cultural Heritage Sites 1. Agra Fort 1983 2. Ajanta Caves 1983 3. Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi 1989 4. Champaner Pavagadh Archaeological Park 2004 5. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) 2004 6. Churches and Convents of Goa 1986 7. Elephanta Caves 1987 8. Ellora Caves 1983 9. Fatehpur Sikri 1986 10. Great Living Chola Temples 1987 11. Group of Monuments at Hampi 1986 12. Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram 1984 13. Group of Monuments at Pattadakal 1987 14. Hill Forts of Rajasthan 2013 15. Humayun's Tomb, Delhi 1993 16. Khajuraho Group of Monuments 1986 17. Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya 2002 18. Mountain Railways of India 1999 19. Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi 1993 20. Red Fort Complex 2007 21. Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka 2003 22. Sun Temple, Konârak 1984 23. Taj Mahal 1983 24. The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur 2010 Natural Heritage Site 25. Kaziranga National Park 1985 26. Keoladeo National Park 1985 27. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary 1985 28. Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks 1988 29. Sundarbans National Park 1987 20. Western Ghats 2012 copyright@upscpatrika.com N ATIONAL M ISSION ON M ONUMENTS AND A NTIQUITIES (NMMA) Launched on 19 March, 2007 with a mandate for preparation of a National Register for Built Heritage, Sites and Antiques and setting up of a State level database on Built Heritage, Sites and Antiquarian wealth for information and dissemination to planners, researchers etc. and better management of such cultural resources. The time frame prescribed for the NMMA to accomplish its mandate is five years. N ATIONAL M ISSION FOR M ANUSCRIPTS (NMM) Launched in 2003, with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) as the nodal agency, with a primary objective to reclaim India's inheritance of knowledge contained in the vast treasure of manuscripts. N ATIONAL M USEUM set up in 1949; has been functioning as a subordinate office under the Ministry of Culture since 1960, houses over 2.6 lakh art objects dating from prehistoric era onwards. Main activities of the Museum are: Exhibitions, Reorganisation/Modernisation of Galleries, Educational Activities and Outreach Programmes, Public Relations, Publications, Photo Documentation, Summer Holiday Programme, Memorial Lectures, Museum Corner, Photo Unit, Modelling Unit, Library, Conservation Laboratory, and Teaching and Workshop. N ATIONAL G ALLERY OF M ODERN A RT Founded at New Delhi in 1954. Aim: promotion and development of contemporary Indian Art. Objective: to help people look at the works of modern art with understanding and sensitivity. Keeping this in view, NGMA Mumbai was inaugurated in 1996, while a new one is being set up at Bangalore. N ATIONAL M USEUM I NSTITUTE OF H ISTORY OF A RT , C ONSERVATION AND M USEOLOGY an autonomous organisation fully funded by the Ministry of Culture Established and declared a Deemed University in 1989 at New Delhi. the only Museum University in India Main objectives: o To provide education and training in the specialised areas of Art History, Conservation and Museology leading to the award of M.A. and Ph.D. Degrees in these three disciplines. o A few short-term courses - India Art and culture, Art Appreciation and Bhartiya Kalanidhi (Hindi Medium) are also conducted to popularise the Indian culture. o To organise seminars/workshops, conferences and special lectures on Museum Education, Art and Culture in a befitting manner so as to open new areas in this field. copyright@upscpatrika.com Other important museums are: Indian Museum Victoria Memorial Hall, Salarjung Museum and National Council of Science museum. N ATIONAL R ESEARCH L ABORATORY FOR C ONSERVATION OF C ULTURAL P ROPERTY Established in 1976, NRLC is a Subordinate Office of the Department of Culture, and is recognised by the Department of Science and Technology as a scientific institution of the Government of India. Aims and objectives: to develop conservation of cultural property in the country through: conservation services and technical advice; training in different aspects of conservation; research in methods and materials of conservation; and dissemination of the same information through library services to the conservators across the country. Headquarter: Lucknow, Regional Conservation Laboratory at Mysore R AMAKRISHNA M ISSION I NSTITUTE OF C ULTURE , K OLKATA Conceived in 1936 as one of the permanent memorials to Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886) on the occasion of his first birth centenary. formally established on 29 January 1938 as a branch centre of the Ramakrishna Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda to propagate the message of Vedanta as propounded by Sri Ramakrishna A NTHROPOLOGICAL S URVEY OF I NDIA In 1945, Anthropology section of the Zoological Survey was carved out to become the Anthropological Survey of India Objective: to carry out anthropological researches in the area of bio-cultural aspects of Indian population in general and on those who are referred to as the ‘‘Weakest of the Weak’’ in particular Head Office: at Kolkata, has 7 Regional Centres, one Sub-regional Centre, one permanent field station and eight other field stations located in various parts of the country, besides a Camp Office at New Delhi N ATIONAL A RCHIVES OF I NDIA Originally established in Kolkata on 11 March 1891 Shifted to New Delhi in 1926 It is the official custodian of all non-current record of permanent value to the Government of India and its predecessor bodies. It has a Regional Office at Bhopal and three Record Centres at Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Pondicherry. L IBRARIES National Library: Established in 1948 at Kolkata with the passing of the imperial Library (Change of Name) Act, 1948. copyright@upscpatrika.com Central Secretariat Library: originally known as Imperial Secretariat Library, Kolkata was established in 1891. Since 1969 the Library has been housed at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. o The Library has two branches, namely, Hindi and Regional Languages Wing popularly known as Tulsi Sadan Library, Bahawalpur House, New Delhi and a Text Book Library located at R.K. Puram, New Delhi which caters to the needs of the wards of Central Government Employees of Under Graduate level. The other important libraries include: Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation, Delhi Public Library, Rampur Raza library and Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library. OTHER AUTONOMOUS BODIES Organisation/ Institute Established Mandate/ Objectives Notes In 1964, Sanskrit, Pali, Hindi, English and Tibetan Languages were introduced in addition to Buddhist Philosophy Buddhist Institutions Central Institute of Buddhist Studies In 1962 in Leh Established as a centre for monastic Buddhist education Central university of Tibetan Studies In 1967 at Sarnath, became autonomous in 1977 Established with a view to educate the youths of Tibet and Indian Students of the Himalayan border areas Nava Nalanda Maha Viahara In 1951 at Nalanda, Bihar Established as a modern centre for Pali Buddhist studies Central Institue of Himalayan Culture Studies In 2010 Dahung, Arunachal Pradesh at Established with a view to undertake graduate, post graduate and doctoral programmes in Buddhist and Himalayan Studies as well as establish and maintain feeder schools as per requirement at Established as a centre for Asian Studies By Sir William Jones Other Autonomous Bodies The Society Asiatic In 1784 Kolkata Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti In 1984 at Delhi Established with basic aim to propagate the life, mission and thought of Mahatma Gandhi through various socio-educational and cultural programmes Formed by the merger of Gandhi Smriti and Gandhi Darshan Kalakshetra Foundation In 1936 at Adyar, Tamil Nadu Established with a view to culturally revive a country that was losing its identity under the British Rule Founder – Rukmini Devi, a Bharatanatyam proponent Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies In 1993 Kolkata Established as a centre for research and learning with focus a on social, cultural, economic and politico-administrative developments in Asia from the middle of A joint initiative of the Department of Culture and HRD MInsitry; and the Government of west copyright@upscpatrika.com at the 19th Century onwards with special emphasis on their links with India, and on the life and works of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Bengal SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP DIVISION The Scholarship and Fellowship Division of the Ministry operates the following schemes to provide monetary assistance to individuals/organisations engaged in promoting cultural activities in the country: Scheme for Award of Scholarships to Young Artists in Different Cultural Fields – 400 scholarships each year for a period of two years – 5000 per month – 18-25 years of age group; Scheme for Award of Fellowship to Outstanding Persons in the Field of Culture – 125 senior fellowships worth 15000 per month for artists of 40 years and above age group; and 125 junior fellowships worth 7500 per month for artists of age group 25-40 years for a period of two years Scheme of Financial Assistance for Seminars, Festivals and Exhibitions on Cultural Subjects of Not-forprofit organisations (Cultural Functions Grant Scheme) Scheme of Financial Assistance to Cultural Organizations with National Presence Scheme for Visiting Fellows in Art, Culture & Heritage. National Culture Fund Recognizing the need to introduce innovative patterns of cultural funding in India, the National Culture Fund was set up as a trust under the Ministry of Culture in the year 1996 with a purpose to augment governments’ efforts and to facilitate public-private partnership in the field of heritage conservation and promotion. National Culture Fund enables institutions and individuals to perform their rightful role in promoting and preserving India’s rich cultural heritage. The NCF endeavours to preserve and promote our precious tangible and intangible heritage in partnership with the community. copyright@upscpatrika.com