Country Statement-India presented by Culture Minister Shripad Naik at the 3rd SAARC Meeting of Culture Ministers in New Delhi

Following is the Country StatementIndia, presented by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture Shri Shripad Naik at the 3rd SAARC Meeting of Culture Ministers here today: Culture plays a critical role in ultimately shaping the development agenda of a nation. It represents a set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices. Culture and its children the arts manifest themselves subtly in almost all economic, social and other activities. A country as diverse as India is symbolized by the plurality of its cultures. While many of the tasks of the government are undertaken by it directly, its cultural agenda is facilitated by a network of organizations attached, subordinate and autonomous. Through its own activities and those of its institutions, the Ministry of Culture aims at the protection, development and promotion of three different aspects our cultural treasures: Tangible Heritage, Intangible Heritage and Knowledge Resource Heritage. In addition, the Ministry harbours the responsibility of maintaining Gandhian Heritage and commemoration of important historical events, as well as celebrating the centenaries of great personalities. Through the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Ministry is engaged in the protection of monuments of national importance, as also the accomplishment of excavation and exploration programmes. The Ministry is also promoting a Museum Movement in the country. Most of Indias finest museums, the National Museum, the Indian Museum, the Salar Jung Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art, are directly under the purview of the Ministry of Culture. In addition, the Ministry promotes regional and local museums by way of providing financial support through grants in-aid. India is one of the worlds largest repositories of music, dance, theatre, folk traditions, songs, performing arts, rites and rituals, paintings and writings that are known, collectively, as Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). In order to preserve these elements, the Ministry implements a number of schemes and programmes aimed at providing financial support to individuals, groups and cultural organizations engaged in theatre and peformance, visual studies and literary arts. This endeavour is supported by the three national academies Sahitya Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi, as well as the National School of Drama and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, which represent a confluence of the finest creative minds in the literary, performance and visual arts. The Ministry aims to recognize excellence achieved in these fields through the prestigious awards it has instituted, such as those bestowed by the three Akademies. The seven Zonal Cultural Centres under the Ministry involve themselves in activities focussed on the folk and traditional art forms. The National Library, Kolkata, has, as one of its important functions, the acquisition and conservation of all significant books and publications in the country. The Ministry endeavours to promote library development in a big way, and extends grants-in-aid through the Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation, Kolkata, to achieve this objective. The National Mission on Libraries and the National Mission on Manuscripts are major efforts in conservation and promotion of ancient and contemporary literary traditions of India. The maintenance of all archival records of the country is the responsibility of the National Archives of India. The Government of India has undertaken a major initiative in weeding out records, and in training personnel in records management practices. The transfer of official records to the National Archives of India for historical record-keeping is a significant initiative of the government. The Ministry is also involved in protection and promotion of Buddhist and Tibetan Culture and is doing this through several institutions located at Sarnath, Varanasi, Leh and Dahung as also the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda. The Ministry of Culture extends its activities in the international arena too, by way of organizing various activities abroad, such as exhibitions and performances. It is also responsible for implementation of various UNESCO Conventions in the field of Culture, and has entered into bilateral cultural agreements with 126 countries and has initiated Cultural Exchange Programmes with 55 countries. Festivals of India abroad have been organized in countries as far-flung as Peru, Cuba, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, South Africa, China and Japan. In the SAARC countries, India proposes to conduct Buddha Mahotsava in Bhutan, Cricket Connects Exhibitions in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan. We would explore, under the National Virtual Library of India mission, the vast potential for online promotion of SAARC culture. India has also been actively associated with the restoration of the Pashupati Nath Temple in Kathmandu, the development of the Gandhi Heritage Sites in Noakhali in Bangladesh, the restoration of temples of Jaffna, Sri Lanka and the establishment of a science museum in Sri Lanka. Millions of Sri Lankan Buddhist devotees paid homage to sacred relics of the Buddha from the National Museum, New Delhi, and the event symbolized the cultural harmony of the region. The Indo-Bangla joint commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore provided the two countries an opportunity to build a vibrant and forward-looking relationship. India seeks to collaborate with SAARC member states in formulation of transnational nominations for world heritage sites. India also seeks collaboration under Project Mausam with countries of the Indian Ocean rim to preserve the common maritime heritage of the region. The declaration of 201617 as the SAARC year of Cultural Heritage will bring significant impetus to promotion of common cultural heritage.

Country Statement-India presented by Culture Minister Shripad Naik at the 3rd SAARC Meeting of Culture Ministers in New Delhi

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