LITERATURE AND INFORMATION
A. SAHITYA AKADEMI The Sahitya Akademi financed wholly by the Union Government was set up 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 programme of the Akademi is mainly directed to meet the challenge posed by an anamoly of the multi-lingual Indian Society that while Indian literature is one, writers and readers in one language generally do not know much of what is being written in other languages in the country. The Akademi, therefore, 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. The programme adopted by the Akademi to meet the need comprises several significant activities, an outline of which is given in the paragraphs that follow.
2. Publication of Informative Material Regarding Literary Activities in All the Languages.-This item includes such important publications as (1) Who's Who of Indian Writers (already published); (2) National Bibliography of Indian Literature (1900-1953) (in 4 volumes-Vol. 1 published); (3) Histories of Literatures in the various Indian languages (9 volumes inclusive of translation already published); (4) Contemporary Indian Literature (a symposium surveying literary trends in different languages, already published essays, and folk-songs in each of the major Indian languages (36 volumes inclusive of translations already published); (6) Selections of distinguished poets and authors in Indian languages (16 already published); (7) Short informative biographies of eminent Indian writers (15 already published) and; (8) Bi-lingual and multi-lingual dictionaries (1 already published).
3. Publication of Translation on Literary Classic Both Old and Modern from One Indian Language into the Other Languages.-The list of classics to be so translated is approved by the Executive Board of the Akademi. The Akademi has published 235 volumes of such translation on the recommendation of the Advisory Boards concerned.
4. Publication of Translation of Important Foreign Classics into All Indian Languages.-The Classics to be so translated include world- famous writings by Shakespeare, Milton, Walt Whitman, Thoreau, Moliere, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Geothe, Ibsen, Tolstoy and several others. The Akademi has already published 95 volumes of such translations.
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5. Publications of Selected Works.-Three critical editions of Kalidasa's works, one volume on collected works in Urdu by the late Maulana Azad and three volumes of a comprehensive Anthology of Sanskrit Literature out of seven volumes have already been published. A list of publications brought out by the Akademi is given in Annexure V.
6. Publication of Journals.-Of Indian Literature (in English) 15 issues and of Sanskrita Pratibha (in Sanskrit) 10 issues have been published besides the Monthly News Bulletin.
7. Seminars, Conferences etc.-A number of Seminars, Conferences and Literary meets were organised by the Akademi to bring together the writers of all Indian languages and to provide them with an opportunity for free exchange of ideas.
8. Awards.-Annual awards of Rs. 5,000 each are given to the most outstanding book of literary quality in each of the major Indian languages. The Akademi has already made 100 such awards up to 1964. The awards for the year 1965 were declared on 2nd February, 1966.
9. Exhibition of Books.-The Akademi participated in the following book exhibitions during the year 1965 :
1. Exhibition of books by the Rotary Club, Gwalior, in April, 1965.
2. Exhibition of books held at the annual conference of the All-India Hindi Pracharak Sangh at Jaipur in May, 1965.
3. Exhibition of books held at the Third All-India Telugu Writers' Conference at Tirupati from 30th May to 2nd June, 1965.
4. Exhibition of books at the Perambur Hindi Prachar Silver Jubilee celebration at Madras on 11th and 12th December, 1965.
10. Recognition of Maithili.-The Akademi recognised Maithili as a literary language for purposes of its programmes.
11. The Akademi's Other Activities.
11.1. Tagore Birthday Celebrations.-The 105th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore was organised by the Akademi in collaboration with the Lalit Kala Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi at a special function held on 9th May, 1965 at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Dr. B. Gopala Reddi. Dr. R. K. Das Gupta of the Delhi University gave a talk about Rabindranath's image in India.
11.2. Tiruvalluvar in Urdu.-One of the Indian classics on the translation programme of the Akademi is Tirukkural the ancient masterpiece by the Sage Tiruvalluvar. On the occasion of the publication of its Urdu version by the Sahitya Akademi, the Akademi organised a special function at Hyderabad on the 8th August 1965 under the chairmanship of Dr. B. Gopala Reddi, President of the Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi.
11.3. Sholokhov Evening.-To offer felicitations to the veteran Russian author Mikhail Sholokhov on the occasion of his receiving the Nobel Award
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for literature 1965, the Sahitya Akademi organised a function under the chairmanship of Shri K. P. S. Menon, a former Indian Ambassador to the U.S.S.R. at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, on 11th November, 1965. The evening programme included talks in English by (1) K. Nikolayev of the Cultural Department of the U.S.S.R. Embassy on Sholokhov's role in modem Soviet literature; (2) Gunada Mukherjee of Delhi University on several aspects of Sholokhov's personality and genius and (3) Nina Gaurushina on the influence of Sholokhov on Indian literature.
11.4. Pooran Singh : Jivani Te Kavita.-The Sahitya Akademi sponsored the publication of collected works in Punjabi of Sardar Pooran Singh- a pioneer in the field of modern Punjabi literature--in two volumes. The first of these volumes entitled Pooran Singh :- Jivani Te Kavita containing the collected poetical writings of the veteran author besides valuable reminiscences of his by his wife, the late Srimati Maya Devi, was released.
12. Programme for 1966-67.-The existing programmes in hand will be continued. In the series "Indian Men of letters", monographs on 16 eminent writers are likely to be published. The bi-annual journal "Indian Literature" will be converted into a quarterly. 76 books (Assamese : 7, Bengali 9, English : 5, Gujarati 4, Hindi : 6, Kannada : 9, Malayalam: 4, Marathi 6, Oriya : 7, Punjabi 4, Sanskrit : 3, Tamil : 2, Telugu : 6, Urdu : 3, Tibetan : 1 and Manipuri : 1) which are in press are likely to be released.
B. OTHER LITERARY ACTIVITIES OF THE MINISTRY 13. Preparation of "Who's Who" of Persons Who Took Part in the Struggle for Freedom.-A "Who's Who" of persons who took part in India's struggle for freedom is being prepared by the various State Governments and Union Administrations under the advice and partial assistance of the Union Government. Under this scheme financial assistance is being given generally at 33 1/3 of the approved expenditure on the entire work subject gene of a ceiling of Rs. 6,000 per annum for two years or Rs. 12,000 in all.
13.1. Delhi and Tripura have completed their projects and the States of Punjab, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Orissa and Mysore are likely to complete the work during 1966.
14. History of Freedom Movement.-The work on the second volume of the History of the Freedom Movement was completed and the script sent for printing. The publication is likely to be out some time in the middle of 1966. The work on the third volume has been taken in hand. Records, contemporary journals and writings of Indian readers are being studied to explain the freedom struggle waged under Netaji's leadership. It is hoped that the project will also be completed by the end of 1968.
15. Copyright.-The Copyright Act, 1957 (14 of 1957), which amended and consolidated all previous laws on the subject, came into force in January, 1958. It provides for the establishment of a Copyright Board for adjudicating on certain matters specified in the Act. The Government of India
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also ratified the Universal Copyright Convention and it came into force in respect of Indian with effect from January 21, 1958. Until December 31, 1965, the copyright of 4,534 works comprising 2,696 literary (including 10 foreign) works,, 1,835 artistic Works and 3 cinematograph films, were registered by the Copyright Office. The Government have also extended the operation of the 1957 Act to the works of more than 40 foreign countries.
15.1. During the year 1965, 13 cases were filed before the Copyright Board under the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957. The Board heard 5 cases for disposal at its two sittings during the same period.
16. International Congress of Orientalists.-The work relating to the publication of the proceedings of the XXVI International Congress of Orientalists held in January, 1964, is in progress. The first volume will be out shortly. The remaining three volumes are expected to be out during 1966-67. The proceedings of the two Symposia--Role of Oriental Studies in the Humanities' and 'Changes in Muslim Personal Law' have, already both published and despatched to the delegates.
17. Gazetteers Unit.-The work relating to Gazetters Unit has been reported in the Annual Report of Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals. The subject has however, been transferred to the Ministry of Education with effect from 1st February, 1966.
C. CLEARING HOUSE FUNCTIONS 18. One of the major functions of the Union Ministry of Education is to serve as a clearing house of ideas and information in all fields of educational activity. This function is discharged through the agency of three units, namely those of Information, Statistics and Publication, maintained in the Ministry of Education. These provide for the dissemination of educational information relating to statistics and facilities for study at home and abroad and publish reports, periodicals and other literature pertaining to the fields of education, science and culture. An outline of the activities of these units during the period is given in the paragraphs that follow.
19. Information Unit.-During the year under review the Unit attended to 13,000 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 material in the form of prospectuses, syllabi, calenders, hand-books, annual reports etc. relating to educational institutions in India and foreign countries.
19.1. The Students Advisory Bureaux continued to be supplied with the informative material on educational courses in India and abroad. Besides, the Unit sent 700 copies of the prospectuses/calendars etc. of various institutions to Advisory Bureaux attached to the Indian Universities for their use.
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In addition to this, 2,100 forms of application for admission to undergraduate courses in the universities/institutions in the U.K. and four issues of the quarterly journal "Educational Facilities in India and Abroad" were distributed to the Students Advisory Bureaux, State Governments etc.
19.2. The various organisations like the All-India Radio, Regional Passport Office, Inter-University Board, Indian Council for Cultural Relations have agreed to implement the recommendations of the first National Seminar of Students Advisory Bureaux held at Calcutta.
19.3. The Unit has taken up from this year a programme to bring out handy information pamphlets in printed form at a reasonable price. These pamphlets on subjects like Medicine, Management Studies & Architecture which are mostly sought after by students have already been compiled. Another popular pamphlet 'General Information for Indian Students Going Abroad' has been revised and will be printed soon.
20. Statistical Unit.-The main functions of the Statistical Unit are to collect, maintain and interpret educational statistics, to bring out statistical publications, to disseminate statistical information about education and to undertake all such activities as may be required to improve the quality of educational data.
20.1. Collection of Statistics.-During the year, the collection of statistics for the year 1963-64 from most of the State Governments and Union Territories was completed. Collection of statistics for 1964-65 was under way. Collection of statistics for 1962-63 from universities was completed. Most of the universities have supplied statistics for 1963-64 also.
20.2. Publications.-A series of statistical publications are either under print or the manuscripts on publications like (i) Directory of Institutions for Higher Education, 1965 and (ii) Education in India--Graphic Representation, have been completed for being sent to the Press for printing. A list of publications brought out by the Statistical Unit is given in Annexure V.
20.3. In-service Training Courses in Educational Statistics.- To improve the reliability and timely supply of educational statistics, the Statistical Unit has been giving technical assistance to the States and Union Territories and the Universities to organise short In-service Training Courses in Educational Statistics for the benefit of their staff. Financial assistance has been given to the universities at the rate of 50% and to States and Union Territories at the rate of 100% of the total expenditure on such courses. Under this scheme, courses were conducted for Shivaji University and Delhi University and the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madras, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and the Union Territories of Goa, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, L.M. & A. Islands and Pondicherry.
20.4. Third National Seminar On Educational Statistics.- Implementation of the recommendations of the Third National Seminar on Educational Statistics held in January 1965 was taken. Accordingly, the scheme for the strengthening of Statistical Units in the States and Union Territories to form
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part of the Advance Action during the remaining period of the third Plan was taken up and an amount of Rs. 4.25 lakh was sanctioned to the States for the purpose.
20.5. Statistical Enquiries.-During the year under review, 199 major enquiries were attended to.
20.6. Bulletin of Educational Developments in States.-Two bulletins giving brief accounts of the latest educational developments in the various States of the country were issued. This activity will be continued in 1966-67 as well.
21. Publications Unit.-This Unit is the main publishing agency of the Union Ministry of Education, although a few publications are also brought out by other units. Besides publishing five quarterly 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, and of the meetings, conferences convened by it and other publications on different aspects of Ministry's responsibility, viz. education, science and culture. Special mention in this connection may be made of a publication entitled, "Education in 18 Years of Freedom", which is a brief review of the progress of education, science and culture since independence. The Unit sells and helps to promote the sale of the various publications and journals brought out by it. It also organises exhibitions or displays of books and participates on behalf of the Ministry in such exhibitions organised in the country and abroad.
21.1. Journals.-The Unit continued to bring out the five quarterly journals of the Ministry, namely 'The Education Quarterly', 'Secondary Education', 'Youth', 'Cultural Forum', and 'Sanskriti'. In order to reach the clientale more extensively and more usefully two of these journals, viz. 'Secondary Education' and 'Youth' have been made bilingual with their first issues of the year 1965 onwards. All these journals have been in continuous publication, although in a subdued from because of the need of economy. During the year under report 'The Education Quarterly' entered its 18th year; 'Secondary Education', 10th; 'Youth', 9th; 'Cultural Forum', 8th and 'Sanskriti', 7th. The 'Cultural Forum' brought out a special number on Museums in connection with the Unesco Seminar on Museums held in India in early 1966. The September-December 1965 issue of 'The Education Quarterly', is a Special Combined Number devoted to theme of International Cooperation and Teachers' Role.
21.2. Publications.-A list of the publications-educational and cultural-brought out during the period is given in Annexure V.
21.3. During 1965, the Casual Sales Depot of the Unit sold publications and journals bringing a total sale-proceeds of Rs. 11,285.
21.4. Exhibitions.-Among the exhibitions organised or participated by the Unit during the period, mention may be made of the exhibitions/displays, on the occasion of the State Education Ministers' Conference at Srinagar in
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June, 1965, 32nd Meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education at Chandigarh in October, 1965 and the Indian National Exhibition at Belgrade in July, 1965. The Unit is presently engaged in the collection and selection of exhibits for a permanent educational exhibition in Palais D'Wilson, Geneva, which is the secretariat building of the International Bureau of Education.
D. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Sl. Name of the Scheme Provision for1965-66 Budget Esti-
No. mates for
Original Revised 1966-67
Rs. Rs. Rs.
1. Sahitya Akademi 8,00,000 5,78,000 6,20,000
2. Preparation of Who's Who 30,700 12,000 5,000