Major Cultural Institution In India

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  • Article 49 has vested upon the Government of India with the responsibility to protect every monument or place or any object of historic or artistic interest which has some national importance, from any form of disfigurement, destruction, etc.
  • There are various Government and Non-Government organisations that specialise in safeguarding the long cultural traditions of India.
The Archaeological Survey of India
  • Under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture.
  • Its focus is on the preservation of physical and tangible heritage that is accumulated in the ancient monuments and archaeological sites.
  • The provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972 (to prevent illegal export of Indian antiquities) guide ASI.
  • Other institutions under ASI’s aegis include the Museums, Excavation branches, Epigraphy branches, Building Survey Projects, Horticulture branch, Temple Survey Projects and Underwater Archaeology Wing.
Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT)
  • It is an autonomous body established in 1979 at the behest of Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan and Smt. Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay.
  • Instituted by the Ministry of Culture.
  • It has been mandated by the government to strengthen the foundation of the nation by making education, culture based and meaningful.
  • Headquartered in New Delhi.
  • Regional Centres at Udaipur, Hyderabad and Guwahati.
  • It organises workshops to equip teachers with practical training and knowledge in crafts that can be taught as part of the school curriculum.
  • It has created a library to house the scripts, digital photographs, audio and visual recordings.
  • CCRT offers scholarships to Young Artists, Junior and Senior Fellowships for deeper research.
  • It organises the Cultural Heritage Young Leadership Programme that aims at promoting social values and community participation.
  • Indian Council for Cultural Relations
  • Maulana Abul Kalam Azad established it in 1950 to promote cultural exchanges with other countries and cultures.
  • It is under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture.
  • The major focus of ICCR is to promote international friendship, promote cultural exchange between nations, generate healthy competition and exchange, and in turn blend the new and old features of the Indian culture.
  • ICCR funds various programmes like the Jazz Festival in New Delhi, the North-East Music Festival in Guwahati, etc. relating to visual and performing arts that are international in their appeal.
Sahitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters)
  • It is an autonomous organisation established by the Government of India in 1954.
  • The primary function of this organisation was to work as a national organisation to promote literary culture in India, to foster and co-ordinate literature in all the Indian languages and to overall promote the national unity of the country.
  • It undertakes literary activities in over 24 Indian languages (22 languages that are mentioned in the Constitution of India, English and Rajasthani.
  • Awards/Fellowship - Bhasha Samman (For significant contribution to the languages not recognised by the Akademi), Dr. Anand Coomaraswamy Fellowship (Those who have worked in the field of art especially in Ancient India) and Premchand Fellowship (Those who have contributed to literature in Hindi).
  • For the last few years their collective focus has shifted to the preservation of oral and tribal literature.
  • It organises literary gatherings like: Samvad, Meet the Author, Kathasandi, Mulakat, Asmita, etc.
Sangeet Natak Akademi
  • It was the first national academy set up for the Arts by the Government of India in 1952.
  • The major focus of the academy was to create a set-up for music, drama and dances of India.
  • It is tasked to promote the intangible heritage of India as demonstrated through the forms of music, dance and drama.
  • It collaborates with international organisations like UNESCO to save the cultural heritage of India.
Aims and objectives:
    1. To promote research and performances in the fields of music, dance and drama.
    2. To encourage the establishment of centres for theatres, especially for regional theatres and to promote teaching acting, study of stagecraft and play production and direction.
    3. To conduct and promote literature on Indian music, dance and drama.
    4. Special emphasis should be given to create handbooks and illustrated dictionaries that explain technical terms.
    5. To revive, promote and preserve the folk dance, music and drama.
    6. To foster cultural contacts with the international community in the fields of dance, music and drama.
  • National School of Drama (NSD) was set up in 1959 by Sangeet Natak Akademi for focused work on dramatics in India. In 1975, NSD became an independent entity under the Ministry of Culture.
Lalit Kala Akademi (National Academy of Arts)
  • Set up by the Government of India in 1954.
  • It is an autonomous body that is funded by the Ministry of Culture.
  • Its focus is on the promotion and preservation of Indian art but it also deals with international art.
  • Its main centre is in Delhi and it has Regional Centres in Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Shimla, Shillong and Bhubaneswar.
  • It organises national and international exhibitions and events including the National Exhibition of Art, International Triennale India, etc.
  • It has established centres to preserve and document a permanent collection, which focuses on the modern and contemporary art in India.
  • It also tries to promote visual culture by providing scholarships and grants to artists and art organisations.

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