New cultural Policy to bring a social change

Art is powerful: it can reassure, soothe, inspire and educate us- just for starters. Traditional and cultural art forms, passed down through generations, have always held a mirror to the world, reflecting the life around us, arguably questioning the various reforms and mindsets of the society in general and eventually healing the cracks and wounds.

The first virtual meeting of the Delhi Cultural Policy Advisory Committee was held on Monday, November 16, 2020 chaired by the deputy chief minister Manish Sisodiya. Also attended by several reputed dignitaries, including actor Manoj Bajpayee and Javed Jaffrey,  Art and Policy expert Pooja Sood, JNU's School of Arts and Aesthetics Professor, Ira Bhaskar, Principal of Delhi College of Art, Ashwini Kumar, social activist Vineet Nagar, folk dancer Bina Vyas, music producer Breen Desai among the others, separate subcommittees were formed to draft policy on various specific issues formulating a comprehensive cultural policy to ensure a meaningful contribution of arts, culture, media and entertainment to bring a transformation in the social mindset.

This meeting is a welcome change and a development that was prayed for several years but was landing into deaf ears. The pleasant surprise is also the context with which the meet has been organized, as noted in a comment from Mr. Sisodia, where he was found saying that

Delhi belongs to everyone and it should reflect the diverse culture and tradition of the country as a whole through its art and culture. Looking at the recent events involving hatred and violence, he feels that a developed state of art and culture can improve the overall well being of the citizens and hence eventually reduce the violence. A very daring, intellectual and practical perspective for Delhi to witness from a political group.

A 15 member advisory committee will be presenting its report within the next two months in response to an order passed in September with a holistic cultural policy giving plethora of options to the regional people when it comes to the cultural events.

Manoj Bajpayee put forward his opinion of implementing theatre education to the children of the slums and offers to help them dream and join the mainstream.

“Artists have brought about major changes in the past and today we expect a greater role from the people who represent this field”, Sisodia added. The new policies will help bring a change to people’s thinking and in turn create a better cultural environment.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has also played an instrumental role in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes pertaining to India’s external cultural relations over the recent past. In the current pandemic times also, ICCR has shown very active interest in pivoting from its age-old formats and indulging into modern approaches that can further help in strengthening cultural relations between India and other countries through India’s art and culture. The Ministry of culture, along with other affiliated cultural bodies would both benefit from Sisodia’s initiative for art and culture and also be able to do more impactful work with their expertise into the subject.  

Performing artists and organizations working towards strengthening art and culture should keep a watch for the new cultural policy coming from Mr. Sisodia’s office in the capital city, Delhi.