APPENDIX A (N) : REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR COOPERATION WITH UNESCO
Constitution With a, view to securing better implementation of Unesco's programme in the country, the Interim Indian National Commission was placed on a permanent footing and the constitution of the permanent Commission was finalised in 1952. The main functions of the Commission are: (a) to promote the understanding of objectives and purposes of Unesco in the country, (b) to serve as a liaison agency between Unesco and the institutions working in the various fields of Unesco and (c) to advise the Government of India in all matters relating to Unesco.
The Commission has three Sub-Commissions, one each for education, science and culture. Important organisations and institutions of all- India character working in the various fields of Unesco have been given representation on the Commission. The Minister for Education is the President of the Commission and the Educational Adviser to the Government of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Executive Board of the Commission. The Executive Board is the executive body of the Commission and consists of 11 members. The Ministry of Education provides necessary funds and staff for the work of the Commission.
EDUCATION The Ministry of Education and the Indian National Commission have collaborated with Unesco in the supply of such information and literature as the Organisation has asked for from time to time.
Educational Missions The Government of India, and the Indian National Commission have fully cooperated in Unesco's programme of sending expert missions to member states for advising on problems of education. While India has sent experts to Liberia, Iraq, the Lebanon, the Philippines, Indonesia, Libya, Ceylon and Thailand, she has accepted the services of experts sent by Unesco for development of Social and Rural education, preparation of easy-to-read literature and material for neo-literates, development of compulsory education in Madhya Pradesh and strengthening of library movement.
The Indian National Commission and the Government of India
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have collaborated with Unesco in its programme of associated ex- periments in Fundamental and Adult, education. Documentation and technical information about these experiments in the country have been submitted to Unesco from time to time. A number of projects and agencies in Fundamental and Adult, education which are active in the country have been accepted for association with Unesco in its programme for Fundamental and Adult education. Indian experts have, at the instance of Unesco, prepared studies dealing with the problems of compulsory education and of women's education in India.
Free and Compulsory education The Government of India participated in Unesco conferences on different aspects of public education organised jointly with the International Bureau of Public Education in 1952, 1953 and 1954. The recommendations of these conferences were brought to the notice of State Governments for early implementation.
Regional Conference on Free and Compulsory Education in South Asia
and the Pacific The Government of India in the cooperation with the Government of Bombay , assisted Unesco in organising at Bombay, the Regional Conference on Free and Compulsory Education in South Asia and the Pacific in December, 1952.
The conference discussed the problem of free and compulsory education in the participating member states with special reference, to the planning of compulsory education schemes taking into consi- deration the factors hindering or promoting the introduction of compulsory education in the States of the Region and the possibilities of' international assistance in this field.
Fundamental and Adult Education Unesco's programme in the field of Fundamental education is being fully utilised for the development of education in the country.
In cooperation with the Government of India and the State Government of Mysore, Unesco started in 1953 a centre at Mysore for the training of specialists in Fundamental education. Fellow- ships were awarded by Unesco to Indian students and the Government of India also sponsored students for the two training courses organised in this Centre.
Youth The Ministry of Education and the Indian National Commis-
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sion have given encouragement to youth organisations in promoting international understanding. The Government of India acted as host to the United Nations Seminar on Youth Welfare held in 1952 and the Unesco Seminar on Status of Women in South Asia in 1953.
International Understanding The Government of India have always considered United Nations as the biggest hope for the preservation of world peace and have collaborated with Unesco in implementing its programme of popularising the objectives of United Nations and its specialised agencies. Information about United Nations has been included in school and college, courses and the Human Rights Day and the United Nations Day are widely celebrated in educational institutions. At the instance of the Indian National Commission, some universities have set up Unesco Clubs for popularising Unesco.
Unesco Project for Travel Grants In 1952, Unesco launched a, project for the award of travel grants to Youth leaders, students etc., to enable them to participate in international conferences, seminars and work camps organised by international organisations having consultative status with Unesco.
Gift Coupons Scheme The Indian National Commission and the, Ministry of Education cooperated with Unesco in its scheme of Unesco Gift Coupons, Some institutions in India have received aid under the scheme.
Unesco Coupons In 1948 Unesco devised the Book Coupons Scheme under which the participating countries in the soft currency areas could purchase publications from hard currency areas by making payments in their own national currency. The Government of India have been participating in this scheme from the very beginning and various institutions and individuals have, up-to-date, utilised coupons worth $2,83,000 for purchase of books and periodicals, $3,40,000 for scientific material and $30,000 for films. The scheme has been welcomed by educational and scientific institutions and organisations in the country. It has enabled India to obtain much needed scientific and technical publications, equipment and films from hard currency areas without spending any dollars.
Gandhian Seminar One of the important activities of the Indian National Commission since its inception, has been to focus attention on peaceful
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methods in solving national and international disputes. The Commission has given serious consideration to this problem in the light of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1953, the Government of India and the Commission organised an International Seminar on the Contribution of Gandhian Outlook and Techniques to the Solution of Tensions between and among Nations. This Seminar was a unique gathering of leaders of thought both from the East and the West. The Seminar examined the problems of applying Gandhian. Outlook and Techniques to the solution of national and international tensions. A report based on the recommendations of the Seminar was submitted to the Second Extraordinary Session of the General Conference of Unesco in 1953, and the Conference adopted a resolution on the subject. It is hoped that the recommendations of the Seminar will be incorporated in the programme of Unesco, in coming years.
Project for Research on Social Tensions The Indian National Commission continued its Project on Social Tensions in India and grants were given to 13 research teams engaged in research on various group tensions-religious, provincial, linguistic, economic and racial. The research teams have conducted research in various aspects of social tensions such as Communal Tensions, Caste Tensions, Linguistic Tensions etc. Emphasis has now been laid on the study of impact of policies and measures of the Government and other agencies on different groups and communities, and also study, in proper perspective and in wider context, the attitudes of different classes, communities and political and other groups. Some of the research teams have submitted their reports on their work to the Indian National Commission and the question of utilising the results of research work will be taken up when final reports are received from all research teams. It has now been decided to conduct further research in this line through universities.
SCIENCE The Government of India have, since the very beginning, been closely associated with Unesco's Programme on Arid Zone. A member from India sits on the Unesco Advisory Committee on Arid Zone which advises and recommends to the Organisation, programmes relating to the development of Arid Zone. The Government of India have been supplying to Unesco, information about the research on scientific and technical problems concerning the Arid Zone. Experts were nominated by the Government on Unesco panels of experts in the various fields of Arid Zone, such as Arid Zone Hydrology and Hydrogeology, Arid Zone Biology and Arid Zone Climatology. The Jaswant College, Jodhpur is included in the Unesco System of Associated Projects. On the recommen-
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dations of the National Commission, financial assistance for the continuance of research connected with Arid Zone problems has been received from Unesco by some research teams working in India. The Government of India, have also collaborated with the Organisation in organising the Unesco Science, Exhibition on Arid Zone in connection with which necessary literature, photographs etc. dealing with this problem in India were sent to the Organisation. A Regional Symposium on Wind and Solar Energy in the Arid Zone in South Asia was held in New Delhi from the 22nd to 28th October, 1954. The Symposium was organised on behalf of the Government of' India by the National Institute of' Sciences in cooperation with Unesco. Delegates from various Asian countries participated. The Symposium was preceded by the 8th Session of the Advisory Committee of the, Unesco Arid Zone Research from the 19th to 21st October, 1954.
The Government of India and the I. N. C. have also collaborated with Unesco for organising Science Exhibitions in the Country. One such exhibition `Our Senses and the Knowledge of the World is at present being shown in the country.
CULTURE In the field of cultural activities, an important project in which the Government of India and the Indian National Commission have been deeply interested is the Translation of' Classics. The Commission appointed a Committee for this purpose at an early stage. During 1953, it was decided to participate in the Unesco project for Translation of Indian Classics into European languages. Necessary funds for the project have been provided by the Government and the preliminaries for the work on this project have been completed. The Indian National Commission has recommended certain Indian classics for translation into English and French in cooperation with Unesco. The Indian National Commission are also exploring a scheme of bilateral translations of classics in cooperation with Asian and African National Commissions.
The Government of India and the Indian National Commission have welcomed Unesco's efforts in building up art exhibitions. Unesco brought out an Album of Ajanta Paintings as the first volume of Unesco Reproductions on World Art. The Unesco Exhibitions on `Colour Reproduction' `Education and Peace', `Reproductions of the Drawings of Leonardo-da-Vinci' were received from Unesco and circulated all over the country. The Government have purchased one set of Reproductions of Drawings of Leonardo-da-Vinci. The Commission has also received Unesco Exhibitions on `Man Against Jungle', and `Horizons of the Cinema'.
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The question of their circulation is under the consideration of the Commission.
Liaison with National Commissions of Other Member States The Indian National Commission has made special efforts to establish cultural links with some of the neighbouring countries and in this connection, special mention may be made of the art material from India which was supplied to the National Commissions of Italy, Ceylon and Japan for their exhibitions.
In response to a request received from the Indonesian National Commission for Unesco, the Indian National Commission supplied educational texts and other books in connection with the Exhibition of Foreign Text books in English organised by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and the Indonesian National Commission for Unesco at Djakarta in November, 1954.
The Indian National Commission received 135 radio sets as a donation from the Norwegian U.N.A.C. Committee for the implementation of the Government of India's compaign regarding Social education.
First Conference of the Indian Commission for Unesco In 1954, the First Conference of the Permanent Indian National Commission for Unesco was convened. The Indian National Commission has all long felt that the programme of Unesco needs to be reorientated towards the needs and aspirations of the under-developed areas. It was, therefore, decided that Fraternal Delegates from Asian countries should be invited to this Conference. The response to the Commission's invitation was highly encouraging and ten Delegations and one Observer participated in this Conference. The Conference adopted important resolutions and recommendations for reorientation of Unesco's programme. The Conference was in a sense, the first Regional Conference of National Commission of Unesco. Among the important resolutions adopted at the Conference, mention may be made of the resolutions relating to the Peaceful Utilisation of Atomic Energy : Contribution of Gandhian Ideas to the Solution of Tensions: Need for the Dissemination of Asian and African Culture and the Peaceful Co-existence of Different Ideologies and Systems. The proceedings of the Conference have since been published. The recommendations of the Conference are being implemented by the Commission and our Delegation to the eight General Conference of Unesco has been advised to press for inclusion of the main recommendations of the Conference in the Programme of Unesco for 1955- 56.
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