Cultural bodies suffer as Modi govt fails to fill in senior positions

Even as the Narendra Modi government has taken over, senior positions in cultural bodies, including the National Museum, Lalit Kala Akademi, Salar Jung Museum and National Archives of India, remain vacant. According to a report in The Economic Times, “Culture and tradition may appear high on the BJP’s agenda, but the central government led by the party is yet to appoint heads to or fill vacant senior positions in at least 11 of the 40 organisations under the ministry of culture while seven other organisations are operating at barely 40 per cent of their sanctioned strength.” [caption id=“attachment_1629457” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file photo of the Lalit Kala Akademi in Lucknow. Image courtesy: Lalitkala.gov.in[/caption] Work in these organisations, that are responsible for safekeeping of the Indian culture, has of course suffered. The article quotes a ministry official as saying “Without a head, allocation and distribution of funds, getting new projects and being part of global events get difficult. The interim arrangements made by posting senior officials in charge of multiple institutions has only increased the workload on them and brought down efficiency.” This is not the first time questions are being raised over appointments made by the Modi government for cultural and academic organisations. There was a huge uproar earlier when professor Y Sudershan Rao was appointed the head of the Indian Council for Historical Research. This was essentially because Rao, a retired history professor, has penned several articles arguing that stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are truthful accounts of history .