Situated in the heart of New Delhi, the Ministry of Culture (MoC) is in charge of “preserving, promoting and disseminating all forms of art and culture” in the country and abroad. These tasks range from protecting India’s ancient heritage, supporting cultural creativity and encouraging international cultural exchanges.

To fulfill this mission, the ministry is supported by a network of 41 organizations, which includes two attached and six subordinate offices as well as 33 autonomous institutions.

The Minister of Culture is generally a member of the Council of Ministers, which encompasses the Prime Minister and the Indian government’s most senior ministers. But the MoC is not considered an important ministry and has not always been a separate entity. The head of cultural affairs often holds another portfolio, In 2009-2010, for instance, the Prime Minister himself was in charge of the department. The culture secretary is, therefore, a key player in the cultural affairs of the country.

Since its creation, the Ministry of Culture has always had one mission:  “to preserve, promote and disseminate all forms of art and culture.” To achieve those goals, the department was assigned a number of tasks defined by the Government of India’s Allocation of Business Rules of 1961.

They include the maintenance and conservation of heritage, historic sites and ancient monuments, the administration of libraries, the promotion of literary, visual and performing arts, the observation of centenaries and anniversaries of important national personalities and events, the promotion of institutions and organizations of Buddhist and Tibetan studies, the promotion of institutional and individual non-official initiatives in the fields of art and culture, and entering into cultural agreements with foreign countries.

It already had its two attached offices, the Archaeological Survey of India and the National Archives of India, as well as a number of subordinate one and autonomous organizations.

However, the MoC has not always been a separate entity . From 1961 to 1979, cultural activities and scientific research were united under one administrative agency, the Ministry of Scientific Research and Culture Affairs. A department of Culture was created in 1971 with its own Culture secretary. Starting in 1979, Ministry of Education oversaw it for about six years.

When the Ministry of Human Resource Development was created in September 1985, cultural affairs became a Department of the Ministry along with the department of Education, of Arts, of Youth Affairs and Sports, and of Women’s Welfare.

According to the Annual Report of 1985-86, the idea was to build up “the all-round personality of human beings and to this end, integrating under one umbrella as many relevant activities as possible, with a view to evolving a package of input.”

Interestingly, art and culture were separated. The Department of Culture was in charge of developing and promoting cultural creativity, whereas the Department of Arts was created solely to undertake the various programs of the Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts related to research, publication, training and creative activities.

At that time, the dissemination of culture was mostly done at a local and national level. This is when the Department of Culture set up seven Zonal Cultural Centers in different regions of the country, their main objective being to emphasize cultural linkage that would extend beyond territorial and linguistic boundaries.

In 1999, the Ministry of Human Resource Development was reorganized. The Department of Culture and Art merged into one entity. The Department of Youth Affairs and Sports were united under one administrative agency, the Ministry of Culture, Youth Affairs & Sports.

Eight months later, the Department of Youth Affairs & Sports became a Ministry of its own and the Department of Culture was integrated to the Ministry of Tourism, which changed its name to Ministry of Tourism and Culture.  In Tk, the Ministry of Culture became a separate entity.

The Ministry of Culture was created for three main reasons: to maintain and protect India’s cultural heritage, historic sites and ancient monuments; to develop and sustain ways and means to favor cultural creativity; and to promote it on a local, national and international level.

While some of the activities to achieve those goals are undertaken by the department directly, a wide range of services are provided by a large number of institutions and organizations throughout the country, which are affiliated to the MoC.

To preserve the cultural heritage of the country, the ministry uses the services of institutions like the Archaeological Survey of India, museums, the National Archives of India, and public libraries.

The Archaeological Survey of India, for example, which is directly attached to the MoC, is in charge of conducting archaeological researches, explorations and excavations, maintaining ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance. It also regulates all archaeological activities related to the 1958 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act and the 1972 Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, acquires and controls the export trade of antiquities and art treasures and tries to prevent smuggling and fraudulent dealings of those pieces of art.

The second attached office of the MoC, the National Archives of India is responsible for the management and digitalization of archival records of the government of India since 1748 (although some archives from the earlier period can also be found).

The ministry is also charged with commemorating important historical events and centenaries of key Indian personalities. Through the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, for instance, the Indian department of culture organizes activities to disseminate the life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.

The promotion of contemporary creativity is largely done through programs implemented by the three national academies of India – Sahitya Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi - and the National School of Drama.

Many initiatives have also been taken to develop culture at the grass root level, mainly through the seven zonal cultural centers set up in different parts of the country in the 1980s. Their objective is to favor cultural relationships, which transcend territorial boundaries. According to the website India.gov.in, “the idea is to arouse awareness of the local cultures and to show how these merge into zonal identities and eventually into the rich diversity of India's composite culture.”

And these are just a few examples. In total, the MoC has 41 attached or autonomous bodies under its administrative control, all working towards protecting and developing art and culture in India.

Apart from the activities carried out through its various institutions, the department also runs a number of schemes, incentives, awards and fellowships aimed at financially supporting individuals, groups and voluntary cultural organizations.

The ministry offers 24 grant-in-aid schemes. They include financial aid to the major and regional libraries for them to acquire and conserve all the significant books and publications in the country. They also comprise programs for the preservation and development of Buddhist/Tibetan Culture and Art and the modernization of museums in big cities.

At the international level, the MoC is responsible for putting in place bilateral cultural exchange programs with foreign countries for them to discover Indian culture, usually through festivals and exhibitions, and vice-versa. The department also implements the various UNESCO conventions in the field of culture.

The administrative agency also encourages public and private partnerships. In 1996, it created the National Culture Fund (NCF) to “introduce innovative pattern of culture funding in India.” It helps the administration mobilize extra budgetary funds from governmental and non-governmental agencies, private institutions and individuals to preserve India's cultural heritage.

Attached Bodies and Autonomous Bodies

The Ministry of Culture has two attached offices, six subordinate offices and 33 autonomous organizations under its administrative control (as well as several hundreds of other grant-in-aid institutions).

Attached Offices

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

Founded in 1861 under the British colonial administration, the ASI conducts archaeological research and protects India's cultural heritage. It maintains ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance, conducts archaeological explorations and excavations, sets up and reorganizes Site museums. In 2011, it administrated more than 3000 monuments and archaeological sites.

The ASI also regulates all archaeological activities related to the 1958 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act and the 1972 Antiquities and Art Treasure Act. Among other tasks, it acquires and controls the export trade of antiquities and art treasures and tries to prevent smuggling and fraud. It also provides training to young archaeology professionals.

As an attached office to the MoC, the survey has its own Director General - Dr. Gautam Sengupta since 2010 - and is based in New Delhi. But for administrative purposes, the maintenance of sites and monuments are divided into 24 Circles across the country. Specialized archaeological researches are conducted by 6 Excavation Branches, 1 Prehistory Branch, 1 Building Survey Project, 2 Temple Survey Projects, 2 Epigraphy Branches, 1 Science Branch and Underwater Archaeology Wing in the Archaeological Survey of India.

National Archives of India (NAI)

The NAI is a repository that holds the records of the government of India since 1748, although some archives from the earlier period can also be found. The shelf-space area of about 25 miles is organized in four categories: Public Records, Oriental records, Manuscripts and Private Papers. The documents written in English, Hindi, Arabic, Sanskrit, Persian, Urdu and all kinds of Indian dialects contain all sorts of information about the later Mughals, the East India Company, the British rule as well as on the emergence and growth of India, its social, political, economic and cultural life.

The Private Papers, which have been acquired mainly through donations and gifts and sometimes from foreign countries, constitute a valuable source of information in addition to public records, especially on key Indian personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Azad among many others.

The NAI was created in 1891 in Calcutta, the national capital of the time, as the Imperial Record Department. The repository was moved to New Delhi in 1926, a few years after the city became the new capital of the country. It has a Regional Office in Bhopal and Record Centers in Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Pondicherry.

A computerization and digitalization program was launched a few years ago and is still in process. Since the 1997 Public Record Rules, administrators and scholars can have access to the archives for use of bona fide research.

Subordinate Offices

• Anthropological Survey of India, (An.S.I) Calcutta
• National Museum, New Delhi
• National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
• National Library, Kolkata
• Central Reference Library, Kolkata
• National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property, Lucknow

Autonomous Organizations

• Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal.
• National Council of Science Museum, Kolkata
• Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, New Delhi
• Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi
• Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi
• Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
• National School of Drama, New Delhi
• Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, New Delhi
• Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, New Delhi
• Allahabad Museum, Allahabad
• Delhi Public Library, New Delhi
• Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation, Kolkata
• Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh
• Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Varanasi
• Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata
• Indian Museum, Kolkata
• Asiatic Society, Kolkata
• Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad
• Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library, Patna
• Rampur Raza Library, Rampur
• Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai
• National Institute of History of Art Conservation & Museology, New Delhi
• Nav Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata
• Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi
• Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata
• North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Allahabad
• North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur
• North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala
• South Central Zone Cultural Centre, Nagpur
• South Zone Cultural Center, Thanjavur
• West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur
• National Culture Fund (NCF)

The budget allocated to the Ministry of Culture is mostly distributed to its affiliated organizations and is basically divided into three sections: promotion of art and culture, archaeology, archives and museums, and libraries.

According to the government of India’s Union budget, the MoC received a total of Rs. 1338 crore ($273 million USD) for the year 2011- 2012.

Rs. 398.52 crore ($81 million USD) was allocated to the promotion of art and culture, Rs.  686.14 crore ($140 million USD) to archeology, archives and museums and Rs. 112.49 ($23 million USD) to libraries.

The department’s attached office, the Archaeological Survey of India, is the largest component of the budgetary allocation and accounts for 32.2% of the total expenditure, with Rs. 439 crore ($89.6 million USD). The allocation for each organization can be found on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

Besides, another Rs. 22.35 crore ($4.5 million USD) is given to the Secretariat and social services of the ministry.

However, it is well known that a large number of cultural institutions in the country are not in a very good shape, buildings crumble, artifacts decay and scholars run away to the Unites States or to Europe. But the Ministry dismisses all responsibility. “The autonomous bodies are headed by very senior people. Our job is only to allocate funds to them,” says the culture secretary Jawhar Sircar.

But for the weekly news magazine Tehelka, the ministry receives enough funds. It just doesn’t use them: “The CGA report of 2009-2010 states that of the Rs. 1296 crore ($239.73 million USD) allotted to it that year, the MoC returned Rs. 111 crore ($20.53 million USD). Similarly, Rs. 99 crore ($18.31 million USD) was surrendered in 2008-09 and Rs. 96 crore ($17.76 million USD) in 2007-08. Thrifty? Not really. The budgetary process begins in December with the institutions forwarding their demands to the MoC, which then forwards it to the Ministry of Finance. In the budget session, the Parliament votes on these demands. After several months of such debates, usually close to a year, the MoC receives the funds, which it then allots to the institutions that asked for them.

However, since the institutions are in a state of inertia by then, no action is taken and the funds lapse. The accounts are replete with instances of either non-completion of projects or ‘non-finalization of programs.’”

India’s Decrepit Museums and Libraries 

In an issue of the investigative weekly Tehelka, journalist Janani Ganesan highlighted a disturbing reality: “Imagine the familiar Indian landscape of bad roads and half-done bridges. Now transfer it to the sphere of Indian culture and then you will have a sense of where we are. Incomplete digitization in important archives, abandoned upgradation of public libraries, theft of precious artifacts, perpetual construction, empty museums and dying art forms.”

With so many of these institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, many wonder why the ministry appears to be so doing so little about it.

Museums

At a panel discussion in February 2011 in London, Culture Secretary Jawhar Sircar made a startling admission: “Museums in India lag far behind those in other countries.” 

According to a 2011 report from Transport, Tourism and Culture, the government is not paying enough attention to the National Museum. It found several shortcomings in management, urging the MoC to manage museums more professionally. The report found that “out of 26 galleries in National Museum, seven remained closed for three to four years, the Manuscript Gallery being closed for eight years.” The report also showed that out of 206,000 collections, only 15,681 are on display. 

A 2010 UNESCO survey of eight museums found them badly maintained, poorly lit and had incorrect signs. Its authors saw garbage in front of the Calcutta museum. The report further found that the displays in museums lacked dynamism failed to attract younger crowds. UNESCO also found buildings in poor repair, outdated security arrangements are outdated and epidemic of precious artifacts theft.  

Part of the problem appears to stem from a lack of leadership. The National Museum is headless and the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai hasn't had a dedicated director since 2005.

In January 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government had liberalized the rules for recruiting executive heads and was looking into ways of providing functional autonomy and flexibility to effectively run these institutions. He also asked the ministry to come up with a long-term plan for increasing the skills of professional cultural administrators and managers to run the museums. “We recognize that bureaucratization tends to negate cultural expression and preservation.”

During the same 2011 panel, Sircar promised increases in digitalization and the use of multimedia technologies to improve exhibits.

Libraries

India's libraries are also in rough shape. In 2008, the Times of India reported that an audit of the India National Library in Calcutta had revealed that up to 40% of “rare books, manuscripts and letters associated with Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sarat Chandra Chatterjee and Sarojini Naidu may have been stolen from Kolkata's National Library.” And that “the register containing records of the library's Rare Books Division itself is untraceable.” Mr. Ramachandran, the director of the National Library denied the accusation: “’Not found’ books do not mean that books are stolen or missing. Some books are misplaced while some other are unfit for use. So these books could not be issued to readers when requisitions are placed. It is also to be noted that in big libraries ‘not found’ is not an uncommon phenomenon.” He did not convince many people.

In 2009, a group of 57 scholars raised their voice against the functioning of the prestigious Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in an open letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: “In recent years (…), the institution has been trapped in a culture of apathy and mediocrity,” adding that the library had discontinued its publication program and its acquisition of rare manuscripts, that oral histories had come to a standstill and that it had “abandoned its principled non-partisanship by opening its door to political use and misuse.” A year later, the same group petitioned the Central Vigilance Commission, alleging corruption in NMML.

According to the 2010-11 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, three lakh (300,000) of books did not reach the shelves of the National Library last year due to processing delays. It also mentions that only 1% of rare newspapers were digitalized and that rare letters written by Bose, Tagore and Sarojini Naidu had disappeared. Besides that, the report shows concerns about security measures since 64 of the 83 fire extinguishers in the building had not been refilled for over four years.

In March 2011, MP Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, a leading Indian scholar of classical Indian dance, art and architecture, denounced the lack of coordinated policy regarding oriental libraries to the Parliament: “It is of crucial importance for this country if the written documents in these libraries are not only preserved and conserved.” 

Do We Need a Ministry of Culture? (by Janani Ganesan, Tehelka)

Works of Tagore, Netaji stolen from National Library? (by Pradeep Thakur, Times of India)

Exhibit 'A’: Shame - A UNESCO Report on Eight National Museums Comes as No Surprise (by Prathna Gahilote, Outlook)

Delhi Lashes Museum Report But Learns, Not Calcutta – Unesco Report Dismissed as ‘Inaccurate But Spurs Renovation (by Pheroze L. Vincent, The Telegraph)

Should Mahatma Gandhi’s Belongings be Protected under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972

After it was forced to intervene several times in private auctions of personal belongings of Mahatma Gandhi, the government finally considered amending the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act of 1972.

The legislation, which regulates the trade of items classified as antiquities, was enacted to prevent the smuggling or fraudulent dealings in antiquities. But many argue that it actually has the opposite effect. It destroyed the legitimate domestic trade in antiquities and is inadequate to deal with the increased international trade in arts and artifacts, thereby making the smuggling an attractive option.

Mahatma Gandhi Should Be Added to the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act

Law enforcement agencies such as the CBI and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said they were incapable of effectively dealing with such crimes and that bringing in legal provisions was an absolute necessity.

In 2010, an inter-ministerial committee was constituted to propose a number of amendments. Among other changes, it suggested that all personal belongings of the Mahatma should be included in the definition of “antiquity.” This would enable the government, in particular the Ministry of Culture, to legally intervene whenever such items are auctioned or exchanged for commercial reasons.

Open up Our Treasure Chests (by Suresh Neotia, Hindustan Times)

Mahatma Gandhi Should Not Be Added to the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act

In May 2011, Culture Secretary, Jawhar Sircar told the Indian Press that the inter-ministerial committee still had to agree on certain aspects of the amendment like the exact definition of “personal belongings.”

There also seemed to be some differences of opinion on other key elements of the Act, especially regarding the penal provisions. Some members wanted tougher punishments for international trade than the domestic one, whereas others felt that toning down the penal provisions for both would lead to a better compliance of the law.

Antiquity Law May Include Gandhi Memorabilia (by Amitabh Sinha, Indian Express)

Professionals Administrators to Head Cultural Organizations

A large majority of people in the arts and culture world seem to agree that cultural institutions in India often lack professional administrators, and that it is one of the main reasons why they are in such a bad state.

To address this issue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced in January 2010 that the government had liberalized the rules for recruiting executive heads of eight national cultural organizations, including the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). “It is time for winds of change to blow through our institutions, our museums, our libraries and our academies (...) To my mind, the top most priority of the Ministry of Culture is to oversee the professionalization of the management of our cultural resources and institutions,” said Manmohan Singh.

He said that the government would appoint “outstanding professionals to head the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and other institutions very soon” and that it was looking into ways to provide functional autonomy and flexibility to run these institutions more effectively. He also asked the Ministry of Culture to come up with a long-term plan that would create more proficient administrators through promotion of arts management courses. “We have to encourage studies in art appreciation, antiquarian studies and museology and also set up an international-level post graduate course in museum management. The government could consider funding chairs in select universities to enhance interest and studies in such areas," the prime minister added.

Outstanding Professionals To Head Cultural Bodies: PM (Indo-Asian News Service, Hindustan Times)

“Art Industry in India: Policy Recommendations” From FICCI

In April 2010, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), in association with the law firm Amarchand Mangaldas and the consulting company Deloitte, published a report on “Art Industry in India: Policy Recommendations.”

The objective of the report was to assess the existing legislation on visual arts in India, “identify the issues and challenges facing the art economy and outlines a roadmap for aligning our policies with the global best practices.”

Among other key recommendations, the report suggests the creation of a National Art Policy geared towards fostering the growth of art and the promulgation of cultural ideas through artworks, as well as the establishment of an Independent Regulatory Organization (IRO) that would promote end ensure growth while protecting the interest of the industry, artists and consumers.

It emphasizes the necessity to build “state-of-the-art specialized channels for carrying fragile objects, including artworks at airports, railway stations and ports to ensure safe and undamaged movement of art.”

The report also recommends the abolition of customs duty on the import of artwork, a uniform 1% VAT on those across states in the country and maybe an expense deduction for the amount of donation made to the art sector by corporate establishments.

The Culture Secretary, Mr. Jawhar Sircar, who welcomed the conclusions of the report, said that the Ministry of Culture was planning “museums of modern art in states. A scheme for regional museums is being worked out. The budgets are being up scaled to between Rs. 3-6 crore. Other spheres that are being reviewed are the Antiquities Act, art funds and art authentication.”

He acknowledged that museums and galleries in India needed “considerable improvement in communication, management, business and publication procedures,” adding that there was a need to explore possibilities of launching a course on museum and gallery management.

In February 2011, Sircar also announced that a team of Indian museum officials had gone to the UK, as part of the joint initiative of the Union ministry of culture and the British Council, to help them familiarize with cutting edge knowledge of the best practices at museums abroad.

A Tagore National Fellowship Favoring Cultural Research

In May 2011, the Ministry of Culture announced that a Tagore National Fellowship for Cultural Research had been introduced to boost the institutions under the MoC as well as a number of other independent cultural organizations. The idea is to encourage scholars to work with those institutions on projects of mutual interest.

Tagore National Fellowship for Cultural Research (Hindustan Times)