The Ministry of Culture has collected over 1 crore profiles of writers, artists and performers all over the country. The idea is to categorise them into Outstanding, Promising and Waiting so that the best can be sent to festivals abroad. It is a good effort to break the monopoly of some privileged ambassadors of Indian culture. India is the biggest patron of the arts and finances the needs of creative people. Such patronage however goes only to those who sing the praises of ruling parties. The ministry thinks that the bureaucrats are free from prejudice and are with malice towards no creative person. But this is hardly a sound approach. The best judges of the merit of creative people are their peers. These peers have the most mature ability to judge as they are themselves in the game. Appraisals should be left to experts and practitioners if the country wishes to project a really shining image of culture abroad.
It may be a good idea to arrive at a collective will of artistic communities. The states should fund autonomous bodies which have no truck with the government. The akademies are meant to serve this purpose. The Sahitya Akademy tops them. But those chosen to ‘make , know and judge’by culture minister Mahesh Sharma can hardly be capable of performing the task. One is reminded of the cultural dictatorship during Indira Gandhi’s emergency. The new project will exercise a political sway in the cultural arena. Patronage is necessary but creativity should not be harnessed to political propaganda.