LITERATURE AND INFORMATION

A. SAHITYA AKADEMI

1. The Sahitya Akademi was set up in 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 programme of the Akademi is mainly directed to meet the challenge posed by an anomaly 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.

2. To fulfill these objectives, the Akademi undertook several significant activities, an outline of which is given in the following paragraphs.

3. Akademi Awards:

The Akademi has a scheme of annual awards of Rs. 5,000 for works in Indian languages. The following books won the Akademi Awards for the year 1965:

Assamese: BEDANAR ULKA (Poetry) by (Late) Ambikagiri Roychoudhury; Bengali: NISI-KUTUMBA (Novel) by Manoj Basu: Hindi: MUKTIBODH (Novelette) by Jainendra Kumar; Kannada: HAMSA DAMAYANTI MATTU ITARA RUPAKAGALU (Musical Plays) by P. T. Narasimbachar; Maithili: MITHILABAIBHAV (Philosophical Treaties) by Yashodhar Jha; Malayalam: KAL JEEVITHOM THANNA (Essays ) by K.M Kuttikrishna Marar; Marathi: SRI SHIV CHHATRAPATI (Historical Research) by (late) T. S. Shejwalkar; Oriya: BANKA-O-SIDHA (Poems) by Godava-

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rish Mahapatra: Sanskrit: BHOJA'S SRINGARA PRAKASH ( Aesthetics by Dr. V. Raghvan; Sindhi: SURAUI (Poems) by Lekhraj Aziz; Tamil: VALALAR KANDA ORUMAIPPADU (Biography) by M. P. Sivagnam.

The President, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, gave away these awards to the recipients at a special function held on 11th March, 1967.

4. Keshavsut Centenary:

To celebrate the birth centenary of Keshavsut, the poineer of modern Marathi Poetry, the Akademi arranged a special function at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi on 28th December, 1966. On this occasion, the English and Hindi editions of Sahitya Akademi monograph on Keshavsut (in the series, 'Makers of Indian Literature') were released.

5. Exhibition of Books:

During the year, the Akademi participated in the following book exhibitions; (i) at the India International Centre, New Delhi, organised by the United States Educational Foundation in India in October, 1966; (ii) the National Book Fair at Bombay, organised by the National Book Trust in November, 1966, and (iii) Book Display at All India Writers' Conference at Alwaye, Kerala.

6. Literary Forum:

The first meeting of the Literary Forum, held at Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, on 16th January, 1967, was addressed by Shri Ka. Naa. Subramanyam, a distinguished Tamil poet, novelist and critic. He spoke on 'A New Look at Old Tamil Classics' and presented a critical analysis of some of the anthologies during the Sangam period of the 2nd to 10th century A.D., containing poems of Jain, Brahmin, Buddhist and other poets.

7. The second meeting of the Literary Forum was held on 23rd January, 1967, when the distinguished Yugoslav novelist, Madame Grozdana Olujik, spoke on 'Modern Yugoslav Literature' with particular reference to poetry and fiction.

8. Publications:

During the year, the Akademi brought out 4 publications in Hindi and 2 in Urdu, besides the journal entitled, 'Indian Literature'. The Hindi publications include the translation of a Malayalam novel (Professor), short stories from Bengali, a symposium on contemporary Hindi literature and an anthology of Indian poetry. The Urdu publications included

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Riyasat (Republic by Plato ) translated by Dr. Zakir Husain and Ghubar-i-khatir by the late Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

B. CLEARING HOUSE FUNCTIONS

9. 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 Publications, maintained in the Ministry of Education. These provide for the dissemination of educational information and that 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:

10. Information Unit:

During the year under review, the Unit attended to about 12,525 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, calendars, handbooks, annual reports etc. relating to educational institutions in India and foreign countries. About 1,006 visitors visited the Library for consultations.

11. The Students Advisory Bureaux attached to various universities continued to be supplied with informative material on educational courses in India and abroad. 750 copies of the prospectuses/calendars etc. of various institutions 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 'Bulletin of Educational Developments in States' were also distributed to those organisations.

12. In view of the recommendations made by the First National Seminar of the Students' Advisory Bureau/Committees functioning at various universities, held at Calcutta, another seminar was organised at Karnatak University, Dharwar from 15th

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to 18th March, 1967. This seminar provided a national forum to take stock of the present situation and suggested a fresh line of action to tackle the problem of educating a large population of students about numerous courses of studies/training in India and abroad in a comprehensive way. The seminar recommended an integrated programme of educating the students on a mass scale; associating the students themselves with the task and a concerted drive by the Bureaux to produce ready-made compiled material covering a wide range of studies etc.

13. Statistical Unit:

The main functions of the Statistical Unit are to collect, compile and interpret educational statistics to bring out statistical publications---embodying the data thus collected, 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 1962-63 and 1963-64 from all the State Governments and Union Territories and universities and institutions 'deemed to be universities' was completed.

15. Inservice Training Course in Educational Statistics:

With a view to improving the reliability of educational statistics, the Statistical Unit continued to organise in-service training courses in educational statistics, in collaboration with the universities, for the benefit of the colleges affiliated to the universities and the university staff. Financial assistance has been given to the universities at the rate of 50 per cent. Under this scheme courses were conducted in Bihar, Marathwada, Banaras, Magadh, Madras and Rabindra Bharti Universities.

16. 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 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.

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17. 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.

18. Journal:

With a view to improve the quality of the journals and to effect economy in the publications work, two journals, viz., 'Secondary Education' and 'Youth' have been merged with 'The Education Quarterly' with effect from January, 1967. The Unit, at present, is thus bringing out three quarterly journals of the Ministry, namely, 'The Education Quarterly', 'Cultural Forum' and 'Sanskriti.' The 'Sanskriti' is bringing out a special number on Libraries which is in the process of printing.

19. A list of publications---educational and cultural-brought out during the period is given in Annexure III.

20. During 1966-67, the Casual Sales Depot of the Unit sold Ministry's publications and journals bringing in total proceeds of about Rs. 20,068. This Unit has further taken a project of' selling publications brought out by autonomous organisations/ subordinate offices of the Ministry from February, 1967.

21. Exhibitions:

The Unit also displayed Ministry's publica- tions on the occasion of the State Education Ministers' Conference at Madras on 18th-19th June. 1966, Academic Programme Workshops for 1966- 67 by Rajasthan Education Department at Mount Abu on 18th-24th May, 1966 and the National Book Fair organised by the National Book Trust at Bombay from 5th November to 20th November, 1966.

22. Budget:

Budget provision for the Publications Unit during the year 1966-67 is Rs. 23,000 and the budget estimate for the year 1967-68 is Rs. 20,000.

C. LITERARY AND OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE MINISTRY

23. National Foundation for Teachers Welfare:

The Foundation was set up in 1962 under the Charitable Endowments Act, 1890, with the objective of providing relief to the teachers and their dependents in distress and also to sanction ex-gratia grants to such of the selected teachers, upon their retirement, as

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may have rendered exceptionally meritorious service. A General Committee has been set up under the chairmanship of the Union Education Minister for the management and administration of the Foundation. The funds of the Foundation are made up of the contributions paid by the Union and State Governments and the collections made by the States/Union Territories on the occasion of the Teachers' Day which is celebrated on the 5th September, every year.

24. During the year ending 4th September, 1966, a sum of Rs. 19.37 lakh was released in favour of the State Working Committees. According to information available, the State Working Committees gave financial 'assistance of Rs. 8.1 lakh to 1,351 teachers.

25. Histroy of Freedom Movement :

Work on the third volume of the History of Freedom Movement in India, which covers the period from 1905 to 1947 is in progress. It involves study not only of the archives, but proceedings of the Indian National Congress and other political organisations, writings of political leaders, biographies and private papers of the Governors-General, contemporary journals and other relevant publications. Material for the period 1905 to 1920 has been collected from the archives, and chapters on Partition of Bengal, Morley-Minto Reforms, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement and economic background have been drafted.

The printing of the second volume is now in progress and is likely to be out in May, 1967.

26. Copyright:

Under the Copyright Act 1957 (14 of 1957) 174 literary works and 322 artistic works were registered during the Period 1st April, 1966 to 31st January, 1967.

27. The Copyright Board was reconstituted with effect from 1st August, 1965. It met twice during the period under review.

28. B.I.R.P.I. (United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property) organised in New Delhi in January, 1967 an East Asian Seminar on Copyright, which was attended by delegates from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Ceylon, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, 'Singapore, Thailand and observers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel, Spain, United Kingdom and Unesco

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and other international organisations like ABU (Asian Broadcasting Union), EBU (European Broadcasting Union), IFPT (International Federation of Phonographic Industry), FIM (International Federation of Musicians), and FIAV (International Federation of Variety Artists), and two experts provided by B.I.R.P.I. The seminar considered formally a draft Model Law for domestic situations and the special provisions needed in the Berne Convention for developing countries.

29. Revision of Gazetters:

The scheme 'Revision of Gazet- teers' has been included in the fourth Plan as a spill-over from the third Plan. An amount of Rs. 40 lakh has been provisionally allocated for it.

(a) Gazetteer of India: The 'Gazetteer of India': Indian Union, as the revised Imperial Gazetteer Volumes are entitled, is to be published in four volumes. Volume I entitled 'Country and People' has been published. A second edition of the Volume is in the press and will be published shortly. Volume II entitled, 'History and Culture' is being edited. Volumes III & IV entitled 'Economic Structure and Activities' and 'Administration and Public Welfare' respectively are under preparation.

(b) District Gazetteers: During the period under review, nine District Gazetteers have been published, eleven are in the press and thirty-two more are expected to be sent to the press shortly. Drafts of ten District Gazetteers have been approved for publication and 6 drafts have been returned to the States for revision.

The State of Jammu & Kashmir has taken up the work of the revision of the District Gazetteers. Thus this scheme is now being implemented in all the States and Union Territories.

30. Four Zonal Conferences of State Editors, Gazetteers, were held during this year to discuss the problems relating to the work of the revision of the District Gazetteers and to find ways and means of expediting the work in the States.

31. A brochure entitled, 'Gazetteer of India' containing the text of the talks broadcast from the All India Radio by the State Editors on the utility and importance of the Gazetteers has been published.

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32. A sum of Rs. 1,99,532 was paid as grants-in-aid to the State Governments during 1966-67. A provision of Rs. 5 lakh has been made in the Budget Estimates for 1967-68. The Central subsidy for compilation of District Gazetteers has been raised from Rs. 6,211 to Rs. 14,800 per volume. It will help in the expeditious completion of the project.

33. 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 of Education in 1961. This work is mainly the responsibility of the State Governments and Union Territories. The Centre coordinates and supervises the work in the States. The scheme is nearing completion in many States. The compilation of an All India Directory of Freedom Fighters will be taken up as soon as the work is completed in all the States.

34. A sum of Rs. 2,528 was paid as grants-in-aid to the State Governments during 1966-67. A provision of Rs. 10,000 has been made in the Budget Estimates for 1967-68.

D. GENERAL

35. Wakf:

The implementation of Wakf Act 1954 began from 1955 onwards. This Act is in force all over the country except the States of Bihar, UP, West Bengal, J & K, Gujarat (excluding Kutch Regions) and Maharashtra (excluding districts of Aurangabad division). Wakfs in these States are governed by separate State Wakf Acts, as for example, the Bengal Wakf Act, 1934, the Bombay Public Trust Act 1950 etc. Among the Union Territories, the Wakf Act 1954 has been brought into force in Delhi, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar and Laccadive and Aminidivi Islands.

36. The Wakf Boards established in the States and Union Territories and the activities undertaken by them are at various stages of stablisation and development. The survey of Wakf properties in the Kutch region of Gujarat and the States of Kerala, Madras and Rajasthan has been completed. The survey is in progress in other States. So far, over 75,000 properties valued at over Rs. 61 crore with an annual income of over rupees one crore are reported to have been registered/surveyed. The total income of various Wakf Boards in the country set up under

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the Central Act was Rs. 24.40 lakh and expenditure Rs. 23.35 lakh during the year 1965-66.

37. The biggest problem facing the Wakf Boards, is the restoration of thousands of Wakf properties which have been unauthorisedly occupied by individuals and in certain cases by various State Government departments and local authorities. Efforts are being made to seek return of these properties through, administrative measures. As, however, the permanent remedy for taking back these properties from the illegal occupants is by instituting legal proceedings against the offenders, the Wakf Boards in the country have stepped up their efforts to file suits against the tresspassers in as many cases as possible.

38. In view of the judgment of Kerala High Court relating to the definition of "net annual income" of a Wakf, it became necessary to amend relevant provisions of the Wakf Act 1954. Accordingly an amendment bill was introduced in Parliament. The Bill-the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 1966, as passed by the Rajya Sabha in August, 1966, was proposed to be moved in the Lame Duck Session of the Lok Sabha. As this session was not held, the bill now stands lapsed.