CHAPTER XIII LITERATURE AND INFORMATION
A. SAHITYA AKADEMI The Sahitya Akademi was inaugurated in March, 1954 to work actively for the development of Indian letters and to set high literary standards, to foster and co-ordinate literary activities in all the Indian languages and to promote through them all, the cultural unity of the country. The Akademi endeavours to devise ways and means whereby Indian writers may come to know one another across the barriers of language and script and whereby the readers may, gain access to the variety and complexity of the country's literary heritage.
2. The programme adopted by the Akademi to meet this need comprises several significant activities, an outline of which is given in the following paragraph,,.
3. General Council: On, his assuming the office of the Presi- dent of India in May 1967, Dr. Zakir Husain tendered his resignation as Vice-President of the Sahitya Akademi. Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji was unanimously elected as the Vice-President of the Akademi in this vacancy.
4. A meeting of the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi was 'held at Madras, on 23rd December, 1967 under the chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan when the Executive Board elected the members of the new General Council in accordance with the procedure laid down by the constitution of the Akademi.
5. Annual Awards, 1967: The Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi, at its meeting held at Madras on 23rd December, 1967, selected the following books in various Indian languages for the Akademi Annual Awards for 1967:
(i) Assamese: ADHUNIK GALPA SAHITYA (Literary Criticism) by Trailoqyanath Goswami; (ii) Bengali: TAPSVI O TARANGINI (Drama) by Buddhadeva Bose; (iii) English: SHADOW FROM LADAKH (Novel) by Bhabani Bhattacharyya; (iv) Gujarati: GUJARATI BHASHANUN DHWANI-SWARUP ANE DWANI PARIVARTAN (Linguistic Study) by P. B. Pandit; (v) Hindi: AMRIT AUR VISH (Novel) by Amritlal Nagar (vi) Kannada: SHRIMADBHAGVADGITA TATPARYA ATHAVA JIVANDHARMAYOGA
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(Philosophical Exposition) by D. V. Gundappa; (vii) Kashmiri: LAWAH TE PRAWAH (Poems) by Amin Kamil; (viii) Malyalam: THAMARATHONI (Poetry) by P. Kunhiraman Nair; (ix) Marathi: BHASHA: ITIHAS ANE BHOOGOL (Linguistic Study) by N. G. Kalelkar; (x) Oriya: ODIA SAHITYARA ITIHASA (History of Literature) by Suryanarayana Das; (xi) Punjabi: LOONA (Verse Play) by Shiv Kumar; (xii) Sanskrit: CHITRAKAVYA KAUTUKAM (Poems) by Ramaroop Pathak; (xiii) Tamil: VIRAR ULAGAM (Valour in Ancient Tamil Literature) by K. V. Jagannathan; (xiv) Urdu: PATHAR KI AWAZ (Short Stories) by Qurratul Ain Hyder.
6. An informal Writers' Meet was proposed to be held in February, 1968 when the above award winners would be invited to speak about their literary experiences in general and about their Award Book in particular before a gathering of members of the Sahitya Akademi and local writers.
7. Informal Literary Forum: To provide a nucleus for literary discussions and exchange of views among local writers and visiting literateurs the Sahitya Akademi arranged periodical sessions of its Informal Literary Forum. During the year, 15 such forums were held up to the end of December, 1967.
8. Publications: Besides bringing out the various numbers of the journals "Indian Literature" and "Sanskrit Pratibha", the Sahitya Akademi released a large number of publications in various languages during the year under report. Their details are given in Annexure III.
B. CLEARING HOUSE FUNCTIONS 9. One of the major functions of the Ministry is to serve as a clearing house of ideas and information in all fields of education. This function is discharged through the agency of three units in the Ministry, namely, Information Section, Statistical Section and Publications Section. These provide for the dissemination of information through published reports, periodicals and other literature as well as through correspondence, etc. A brief account of the activities of these Units is given below.
10. Information Unit: During the year under review, the Unit attended to about 11,200 enquiries of various types seeking information on facilities for different courses in India and abroad received from the public, educational institutions, government bodies, national and international institutions. The Information Library attached to the Unit continued to be developed and equipped with the latest informative literature in
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the form of prospectuses,' syllabi, calendars, handbooks, codes, annual reports, etc., relating to educational institutions in India and in foreign countries. About 1,100 visitors visited the library for reference and consultation.
11. The Students Advisory Bureaux attached to various universities in India continued to be supplied with informative material on educational courses in India and abroad. About 800 copies of the prospectuses/calendars, etc., of various institutions in India and abroad, along with 2,000 forms of applications for admission to undergraduate courses in the universities/ institutions in the UK were distributed among Students Advisory Bureaux, State Governments, etc. Four issues of the quarterly journal, 'Educational Facilities in India and Abroad' and one issue of the "Bulletin of Educational Developments in States" were also distributed to these organisations.
12. Among the distinguished visitors who visited the Unit during the year, were the Ambassador of India in Congo, the officials of the Embassies of USA, France and the High Commissions of Australia and Canada.
13. Statistical Unit: The main functions of the Statistical Unit are to collect, compile and interpret educational statistics, to bring out publications on educational statistics, to disseminate statistical information about education and to undertake all such activities as may be required to improve the quality of educational data pertaining to institutions at all levels.
14. Collection of Statistics: During the year, the collection of statistics for the year 1963-64 from almost all the State Governments. Union Territories and universities, etc., was completed. The collection of statistics for the year 1964-65 was in progress.
15. Statistical Publications : During the year, 5 statistical publications were brought out, the details of which are given in Annexure III.
16. Training Courses:To improve the reliability and timely supply of educational statistics by universities, the Ministry pro- vided technical and financial assistance to the universities of Andhra, Bangalore, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Jiwaji, Kurukshetra, Mysore, Panjabi, Poona, Punjab, Indore and Ranchi for conducting inservice training course in educational statistics for the benefit of their officials. The pattern of financial assistance by the Centre was 50 per cent of the expenditure on approved items.
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17. Statistical Enquiries: As usual, enquiries from various international organisations, like UNESCO, ECAFE, Commonwealth Foundation, Commonwealth Secretariat etc., as well as from various Ministries of the Central Government and private agencies and individuals within India were attended to. The number of major enquiries replied to during the year was 82.
18. Publications Unit: This Unit is the main publishing agency of the Ministry, although a few publications are also brought out by other units. Besides publishing journals, the Unit brings out periodic publications like the administrative report of the Ministry, reports of the various committees, commissions, etc., set up by the Ministry, reports of the important meetings, conferences, etc. convened by it and pamphlets and brochures on different aspects of education, science and culture.
19. The Unit sells and helps to promote the sale of the various publications and journals brought out by it. It also organises book exhibitions and participates on behalf of the Ministry in such exhibitions organised in the country and abroad.
20. Journals and Publications: At present, the Unit is bringing out three quarterly journals, namely, The Education Quarterly', 'Cultural Forum', and 'Sanskriti'. Besides, some 20 titles were published, a list of which is given in Annexure W.
21. Sale of Publications: During 1967-68, the Sales Depot of the Unit sold publications and journals worth about Rs. 12,000 till l2th December, 1967. This Unit has also taken up the sale of Publications brought out by autonomous organisations/subordinate offices under the Ministry.
22. Budget: The budget provision at the disposal of this Unit is as given below
Sl. Name of the Scheme B.P. for R.E. for B.E. for
No. 1967-68 1967-68 1968-69
Rs. Rs. Rs.
1. Publication of Journals, Pam-
phlets, Brochures etc. inclu-
ding Translation Work (Non-Plan), 20,000 18,000 17,500
2. Translation and Publication of
the Report of the Education
Commission in Regional
Languages (Plan) 1,50,000 1,20,000 1,000
C. OTHER ACTIVITIES 23. History of Freedom Movement: Volume I of the History of Freedom Movement, which was out in 1961 has been publish-
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ed in Hindi. Volume II covering the period 1800-1905 has been brought out in English and steps are being taken to publish it in Hindi also.
24. Copyright: Under the Copyright Act, 1957 (Act 14 of 1957), 322 literary works and 565 artistic works were registered during the period from 1st April, 1967 to 31st December, 1967.
24.1. The Copyright Board reconstituted under the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957, met twice during the same period and decided 5 cases.
24.2. India is a member of the Berne Convention on copyright as revised from time to time and Universal Copyright Convention 1952. Under the provisions contained in these Conventions, the works of Indian nationals are entitled to copyright protection in all the countries who are members of any or of both the Conventions.
24.3. The Berne Convention was revised at a Diplomatic Conference held in June-July, 1967 at Stockholm. The Stockholm text of the Berne Convention includes for the first time certain special provisions for the benefit of developing countries.
25. Revision of Gazetteers: The scheme of Revision of Gazetteers, which now forms part of the Educational Developmental Plan consists of two, parts : (1) the Central Plan Scheme, "Revision of the Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909 (first four volumes)" and (2) the Centrally sponsored Scheme, "Revision of District Gazetteers". While the former is the responsibility of the Ministry, the latter is primarily the responsibility of the Governments of the States and Union Territories with the Ministry acting as a guiding and coordinating body.
26. Gazetteer of India: The "Gazetteer of India : Indian Union", as the revised Imperial Gazetter Volumes are entitled, is to be published in four volumes. Volume I entitled "Country and People" has already been published and is being reprinted. Some of the chapters of this volume on "The Religions of India", "The Physiography of India", "The Languages of India" and "The People of India" are being brought out in the form of booklets so that they may have a wider circulation. Volume II "History and Culture" is being finally edited and made ready for the press. An Advisory Committee of eminent historians has been recently constituted to advise on technical matters concerning this volume. Most of the chapters of Volume III- "Economic Structure and Activities" and Volume IV-"Administration and Public Welfare" have been received.
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26.1. The compilation of the Gazetteer of Bhutan has now been taken up.
27. District Gazetteers: The work on District Gazetters is making steady progress. More than one-third of the scheme has already been completed. It is now being implemented in all the States. During the period under review, 5 District Gazetteers were published, 16 are in the press and 20 more are expected to be sent to the press shortly. Drafts of 8 District Gazetteers have already been approved for publication and by the end of 1967-68 about 14 more are expected to be approved.
28. The brochure entitled, "Gazetteer of India" has been sent to all the important educational institutions and libraries in India and abroad. There has been a good response for the purchase of the District and Indian Gazetteers both from India and abroad. In accordance with the decision of the Planning Commission, it is proposed to increase the Central grant-in-aid to the States for the compilation and publication of District Gazeteers to 100 per cent subject to a ceiling of Rs. 60,000 per volume.
29. A budget provision of Rs. 3.79 lakh exists in the revised estimates for 1967-68 for giving grants-in-aid to the State Gov- ernments and a provision of Rs. 7.00 lakh has been made in the Budget Estimates for 1968-69.
30. Who's Who of Freedom Fighters: The scheme for the compilation of the Freedom Fighters' Who's Who in various States was sponsored by the Ministry in 1961. This work is mainly the responsibility of the Governments of the States and Union Territories with the Central Gazetteers Unit acting as a guiding and coordinating body. The scheme has been completed in some States and efforts are being made to complete it in the remaining States. The project of an All-India Directory of Freedom Fighters has been approved by the Ministry of Education and is being processed.
31. A budget provision of Rs. 9,000 exists in the revised estimates for 1967-68 for giving grants-in-aid to the State Gov- ernments under this scheme and a provision of Rs. 10,000 has been made in the budget estimates for 1968-69.
32. The first Conference of the State Editors, Freedom Fighters' Who's Who was convened in New Delhi and a uniform pattern was drawn up for the guidance of the Editors.
33. Indo-Pakistan Agreement on the Issue of Educational Certificates to Displaced Persons: In accordance with the agreement between the Governments of India and Pakistan, the
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Education Ministry of each country is responsible for the clearance of all applications for educational certificates as well as for the verification of educational qualifications. As against 2,455 applications, 2,432 certificates have been furnished to the Government of Pakistan, the outstanding cases being only 23 fresh applications. The Government of Pakistan, on the other hand have furnished 3,890 certificates against 4,528 applications, thereby 638 applications from Indian nationals are still outstanding with that Government.
34. Financial Assistance to Displaced Students from Pakistan : Under this scheme financial assistance in the form of freeships, up to the school stage and stipends up to the college stage, are given to displaced students from East and West Pakistan through the State Governments and the entire expenditure is met by the Government of India. In the case of such students in Delhi, however, the assistance is given through the Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Directorate, which is a subordinate office of the Department of Social Welfare. This scheme was to be wound up by the end of the Second Plan, but to avoid any hardship to such students as were in the midst of their courses, it was decided to continue the scheme.
38. Recovery and Remission of Educational Loans to Displaced Students: The work relating to the recovery and remission of educational loans advanced to displaced students whose guardians had settled down in Delhi was continued during the year. In respect of students in other States, this work is the concern of the Ministry of Rehabilitation. The Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Directorate has advanced loans amounting to Rs. 7,26,736 to 1,401 loanees so far and a sum of Rs. 6,10,876 has been recovered/remitted by the Directorate up to November, 1967.