REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF CABE ON A NATIONAL CULTURAL TRUST OF INDIA, 1946

 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE
 CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF
 EDUCATION ON A NATIONAL CULTURAL
 TRUST FOR INDIA, TOGETHER WITH
 THE DECISIONS OF THE BOARD
 THEREON.

Report of the Committee on National Cultural Trust for India, which met in Now Delhi on the 25th and 26th October, 1946, as adopted by the Central Advisory Board of Education.

At their meeting held at Mysore on the 24th, 25th and 26th January, 1946, the Central Advisory Board of Education considered a Memorandum from the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in regard to the formation of a National Cultural Trust of India (Annexure II) and decided to recommend that the question should be further examined by a Committee to be appointed by the Government of India. In pursuance of this recommendation, a Committee was appointed with the following:-

1. Sachivottama Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E., Diwan of Travancore.

2. Dr. P, Bagchi, M.A., D.Litt. Professor, Visva- Bharti, Santiniketan.

3. Dr. Tara Chand, M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.), Vice- Chancellor, Allahabad University.

4. Mr. Justice Norman G. A. Edgley, President, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.

5. Sir Maurice Gwyer, K.C.B., K.C.S.I., LL.D., Vice- Chancellor, Delhi University.

6. Khan Bahadur Dr. M. Hasan, M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.), Vice-Chancellor, University of Dacca.

7. Dr. Zakir Husain, M.A., Ph.D., Principal, Jamia Millia Islamia.

8. Sardar Surjit Singh Majithia, M.L.A. (Central).

9. The Hon'ble Diwan Bahadur Sir K. Ramunni Menon, M.A. (Cantab.), LL.D.

10. Dr. Mohan Sinha Mehta, M.A., Ph.D., Bar-at-Law, Diwan of Banswara.

11. Diwan Bahadur Sir. A. Lakshmanaswamy Mudliar, B.A., M.D., F.R., C.O.G., F.A.C.S., Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras.

12. Sir Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, LL.D., D.Litt., F.B.A., Vice-Chancellor, Benares Hindu University.

13. Mrs. Renuka Ray, B.sc. (Econ.) (London).

14. Dr. D. M. Sen, O.B.E. M.A., Ph.D., Educational Adviser to the Government of India.

15. Dr. (Mrs.) Malini B. Sukthankar, M.B.B.S., J.P.

16. Mrs. Ammu Swaminadhan, M.L.A.(Central).

(2) The Committee met in New Delhi on the 25th and 26th October, 1946.

The following members were present:-

Mrs. Renuka Ray, B.sc. (Econ.) (London).

Dr. P. Bagchi, M.A., D.Litt.

Dr. Tara Chand, M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.).

Mr. Justice Norman G. A. Edgley.

Sardar Surjit Singh Majithia, M.L.A.(Central).

Dr. Mohan Sinha Mehta, M.A., Ph.D., Bar-at-Law.

Dr. D. M. Sen, O.B.E., M.A., Ph.D.

Dr. (Mrs.) Malini B. Sukthankar, M.B.B.S., J.P.

Mrs. Ammu Swaminadhan, M.L.A. (Central)

Mrs. Renuka Ray President over the meeting.

Dr. Akhtar Hussain, D.Litt. (Paris), Assistant Educational Adviser to the Government of India was Secretary to the Committee.

Dr. S. N. Sen, M.A., Ph.D., B.Litt. (Oxon.), Director of Archives and Dr. N. P. Chakravarti, M.A., Ph.D., Joint Director General of Archaeology in India, attended the meeting as observers.

(3) The following members were unable to be present owing to illness or other reasons:

Sachivottama, Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E

Sir Maurice Gwyer, K.C.B., K.C.S.I., LL.D.

Khan Bahadur Dr. M. Hasan, M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.), Bar-at-Law.

Dr. Zakir Husain, M.A., Ph.D.

The Hon'ble Diwan Bahadur Sir K..Ramunni Menon, M.A. (Cantab.) LL.D.

Diwan Bahadur Sir A. Lakshmanaswamy Mudliar, B.A., M.D., F.R.C.O.G. F.A.C.S.

Sir Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, LL.D., D.Litt., F.B.A.

(4) The Agenda before the Committee was as follows:-

1. To consider the desirability of setting up a National Cultural Trust for stimulating and coordinating the cultural activities in the country.

2. To consider the constitution and functions of such a Trust, in the light of the decision on item 1 of the Agenda.

3. To consider the ways and means of setting up the Trust.

4. To consider the minimum administrative machinery for the efficient functioning of the Trust.

5. To consider any other matter that may be raised with the consent of the Chairman.

(5) Papers circulated along with the Agenda to the members we set out in the Annexures in addition to the following papers:-

The Memoranda from the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal containing proposals on Cultural Reconstruction. (Annexures I to VI)

(6) The Committee considered carefully the Memorandum of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal and agreed with its object that it was desirable, to establish an organisation to stimulate and promote the culture of the country. `India has a precious culture heritage. If she is to build afresh civilisation worthy of her heritage. if must not ignore those moral and aesthetic values which provided so stable a foundation in the past. What is needed is to create an environment which would stimulate and sustain creative activities in the cultural field. At present there is no suitable organisation to foster and coordinate the development of cultural activities of the country as a whole and creative artists have often to work in environments which are by no means congenial to any aesthetic pursuits. An independent body of the kind suggested by the Royal Asiatic Society

of Bengal and as representative as possible of the various cultural elements in Indian life should, therefore, be set up with the least possible delay to fill this important gap in the life of this country. The Committee recommended that such a body could appropriately be called the "Indian Cultural Trust".

(7) The Committee were of the opinion that while the Trust should be constituted by a Charter or by an Act of the Legislature and should be handsomely endowed by the Central Government, it must function as an autonomous body with a preponderant non-official element. The main function of the Trust should be to encourage cultural activities and it should operate through appropriate Academies and Committees.

Functions.

In addition to the functions to which reference is made below in connection with the proposed Academies, the main functions of the Indian cultural Trust in the opinion of the committee should be:-

(i) To encourage cultural education and research with particular reference to the preservation and development of traditional Indian Culture in relation to such subjects as literature, architecture, sculpture, painting, music, dramatic art and dancing.

(ii) To acquire for the State sites, monuments manuscripts, pictures or other objects of importance from the point of view of Indian culture.

(iii) To advise the Government of India and the Provincial Governments with regard to cultural matters.

(iv) To co-operate with Indian Universities in the development of the activities in the purely cultural fields.

(v) To co-operate with the learned societies of India in order to encourage and expand the cultural side of the work now performed by them.

(vi) To publish suitable Popular literature on cultural matters.

(vii) To maintain close touch with all parts of India (including the States) by holding periodical conferences.

(viii) To organise Archaeological and other cultural mission to foreign countries and generally to develop and extend existing cultural contacts between Indian and other countries.

Constitution.

The Committee recommended the following constitution for the Trust:-

1. Chairman of the Inter-University Board.

2. President of the National Institute of Sciences.

3. President of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.

4. President of the Visva-Bharti.

5. The Head of the Jamia Millia.

6-15. Ten members to be nominated by the Government of India, Including representatives of Museums, Libraries, etc., five of whom will represent the principal cultural elements in the Indian States.

16-26. Eleven members to be nominated by the 11 Provincial Governments who shall be persons eminent in the cultural life of the country.

27-30. One member to be nominated by the Council of State and three members by the Central Legislative Assembly.

31-33. Three members to be nominated by the All-India Federation of Chambers of Commerce.

34. The Director-General of Archaeology in India.

35. The Director of Archives.

36. The Director of Anthropological Survey of India.

37-47. Eleven members to represent the proposed Academies-five to be elected by the Academy of Letters and three each by the Academies of Arts and Music.

The Trustees will have power to elect not more than three additional members; the total number of trustees hall not exceed 50.

The tenure of office of the Trustees Will be five years in the Case of each member of the Trust other than the members.

The Committee further recommended that the Indian cultural trust should perform its function through the Agency of the following committees:-

(i) A Finance Committee.

(ii) A Committee for the control and establishment of National Parka and for the acquisition of important sites and National treasures.

(iii) A Foreign Relations committee.

(iv) A Committee for the publication of general cultural literature, and

(v) Such other Committees as the Trustees may consider it necessary to constitute.

(8) The Committee suggested that the main activities of the Trust should carried on through the medium of Academies of which the following three in the first instance, should be constituted:-

(i) The Academy of Letters which will deal with Indian Languages and Literature, Philosophy and History.

(ii) The Academy of Arts (Including the graphic, plastic and applied arts) and Architecture.

(iii) The Academy of Music, Drama and Dancing.

The object of these Academies will be to foster and develop the subjects with which they deal and to promote the study of those subjects with a view to maintaining the highest possible standards of achievement.

It is contemplated that each Academy will be an autonomous body with a Separate endowment which may be supplemented by grants-in-aid from the Trust and donations from other sources. The Trust will be the coordinating authority in regard to the work of these Academies. It will allow complete freedom to the Academies in the matter of their cultural activities, but in regard to matters of finance it may exercise a general control over the Academies by means of Regulations. The Academies will have power to frame rules with regard to their own functions which are not inconsistent with the regulations framed by the Trust.

Each Academy will be administered by a small Council and a President to be elected by the Fellows. The number of Fellows should be restricted in the case of the Academy of Letters to 100 persons, while in the case of the Academies of Arts and Music, the number of Fellows will be limited to 50 for each Academy.

The Committee recommended that in the Charter or in the Act of the Legislature by which the Indian Cultural Trust and the Academies would be constituted, the names of not more than 30 per cent of the proposed number of Fellows should be mentioned as " Foundation Fellows ", the remainder being elected by the Fellows as persons of suitable eminence become available. Not more than five new Fellows would be elected annually in the case of the Academy of Letters and not more than three each in the case of the other two Academies. The Fellows on election will hold office for life.

At their Annual Meeting the Fellows of each Academy will elect its Council and also the President of the Academy. After their election the first Council will appoint a permanent Secretary.

The Council of the Academy will consist of not more than 15 members in each case, including the permanent Secretary, who will be an ex-officio member of the Council.

(9) The main functions of each Council will be:-

(i) To manage the affairs of the Academy and for this purpose to frame such rules as may appear to them to be necessary for its proper administration, provided that such Rules are not inconsistent with any regulations framed by the Trustees of the Indian Cultural Trust. All rules so framed should. be reported for the information of the Fellows at their next meeting.

(ii) To superintend the publication of periodical or other work published by the Academy.

(iii) To prepare and submit to the Annual Meeting of the Fellows a report on the general concerns of the Academy, which report should be submitted to the Trustees of the Indian Cultural Trust with any recommendations which the Fellows might consider it necessary to make.

(iv) To take such legal proceedings as might be necessary in the interests of the Academy.

(v) To make recommendations to the Trustees of the Indian Cultural Trust for the affiliation of other cultural institutions and for making grants-in-aid to such institutions.

(vi) To award prizes for work of exceptional merit.

(vii) To organise lectures and conferences.

(10) The Committee then considered the financial aspect of their proposals. They came to the conclusion that the autonomy of the Trust and continuity of its work would only be ensured by a substantial endowment. The endowment should yield sufficient recurring income to meet the administrative and other charges of the Trust and its components. On a rough basis, the Committee estimated that the annual expenditure on the combined Secretariat might amount to Rupees one lakh approximately. The expenditure connected with the other functions mentioned above would be about Rs.10 lakhs per annum. making a total of Rs. 11 lakhs. It would, therefore, be necessary to provide the Trust with an endowment of not less than Rs. 4 crores to enable the Trustees to perform their functions properly.

The Committee hoped that if the Central Government undertook to contribute half of this sum, a quarter could be raised from the States and another quarter from the Provincial Governments.

(11) The Committee then took into considerations two other Memoranda from the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal relating to the development of cultural contacts between Indian and other countries.

The Committee took note of the fact that in India efforts are being made to develop cultural relations with foreign countries, and Societies and Committee have been established for this purpose ; and that, in some countries, Committees have been established to develop such contacts with India. The Committee, therefore, recommended that an interim Standing Committee should be appointed by the Government of India immediately more or less on the model of the proposed Indian Cultural Trust, to develop cultural contacts with other countries and to co-ordinate the work of organisations already established in India for this purpose.

(12) The following is a summary of the main conclusions and recommendations of the Committee:-

(i) It is desirable to establish an autonomous body called the Indian cultural Trust to stimulate and promote the cultural life of the country.

(ii) The Trust should be constituted by a Charter or an Act of the Legislature and should be handsomely endowed by Government.

(iii) The functions and constitution of the Trust should be generally on the lines recommended in para. 7 of the Report.

(iv) The main activities of the Trust should be arrived on through Academies of which the following three should be constituted in the first instance:-

(a) The Academy of Letters.

(b) The Academy of Arts(including the graphic plastic and applies arts) and Architecture.

(v) Each Academy should be an autonomous body with a separate endowment which may be supplemented by grants- in-aid from the Trust and donations from other sources.

(vi) The Trust will exercise a general control over the Academies in regard to financial matters by means of regulations. In other matters the Academies will be independent of the Trust.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF EDUCATION ON A NATIONAL CULTURAL TRUST FOR INDIA, TOGETHER WITH THE DECISIONS OF THE BOARD THEREON.

Functions.

Constitution.