Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is of late sparing no opportunity to project himself as a staunch advocate of the Kannada cause, is now all set to give the green signal to the much-awaited cultural policy, which has remained unapproved for three years.
The policy is expected to be placed before the Cabinet during its next meeting, according to sources. The policy has been framed by a six-member committee headed by writer Baragur Ramachandrappa. Some of the significant recommendations include taking steps to stop “moral policing” and the trend of banning literary works.
- Steps to curb ‘moral policing’
- Measures to curb the tendency of banning books for trivial reasons
- Decentralisation of the Department of Kannada and Culture
- Formation of search committees to select chairpersons to various academies and authorities to de-politicise appointments
- Art galleries in every district
- Separate programmes to help artistes in distress
- Separate Bayalata, Sugama Sangeeta and Nritya academies
- Priority to local cinema culture
According to Mr. Ramachandrappa, if implemented, Karnataka will be the first State in the country to have a comprehensive cultural policy.
Mr. Siddaramaiah is in the news over the last couple of weeks for his vocal support to issues related to Kannada and culture such as having a separate State flag and removal of Hindi words from Namma Metro signage.
Though the plan to have a cultural policy was first envisaged during the Janata Dal government in 1996, the Siddaramaiah government decided to have a definitive policy and set up the committee in August 2013. The committee submitted a 68-page report with 44 recommendations in June 2014, which was kept in the cold storage since then.
A Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by H.K. Patil, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, was entrusted with the task of studying the policy, including the financial implications of implementing it. With the Cabinet Sub-Committee showing the green signal, there are no hurdles in implementing the policy now.
Sources in the Department of Kannada and Culture told The Hindu that though a note was sent to the State Cabinet thrice, it was returned seeking clarification from the Finance Department. “A note has been sent to the State Cabinet for approval again, providing clarification to all the queries raised,” said a senior department official.