Govt revamps Central Advisory Board on Culture, Anupam Kher included

The NDA government has reconstituted the Central Advisory Board on Culture and increased the number of its members by more than double, bringing in people mostly associated with the BJP.

The panel now consists of the likes of actor Anupam Kher, husband of BJP MP Kirron Kher and a vocal supporter of the government, noted classical dancer Sonal Mansingh, and former Jharkhand and Bihar governor in the NDA regime M Rama Jois. The move comes months after the NDA-government reconstituted the management of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), bringing in veteran Hindi journalist and RSS ideologue Ram Bahadur Rai as its head.

The new board, which was constituted recently, had its first meeting on October 22. The 23-member panel under the chairmanship of Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, also has flautist Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, vocalists Pt Rajan Mishra and Pt Channu Lal Misra, who was the proposer for Modi's Lok Sabha candidature from Varanasi, and santoor player Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma on board. "This (revamping of the board) is a routine process," Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said when asked about the reconstitution.

On increasing the number of members in the panel from 11 in the UPA regime to 23 now, he said, "It (the number of members) is within the rules. People who are experts in their respective fields are given a place in the board." The CABC appointment is for a three-year term and appointees are entrusted with the task to advise Culture Ministry at policy level and to evolve programmes which have either been neglected or not sustained through existing institutional framework.

The CABC will also advise on improving the efficiency of 46 organisations under the Culture Ministry. Other members on the board include artist Vasudeo Kamath, who is also an office bearer at the RSS-affiliated Sanskar Bharti, scholar S R Leela - a nominated BJP MLC in Karnataka in 2014, actors Pranjal Saikia (an FTII panel member) and Victor Banerjee who was a BJP member in the past.

Musician Suresh Talwalkar, violinist N Rajam, lyricist Sameer Anjaan and authors S L Bhyrappa and Narendra Kohli are also part of the panel. Rahman Ali, a former professor specialising in ancient Indian history, is the lone Muslim face in the board.