Indian literature is the richer for the election of Chandrashekhara Kambara as President of the Sahitya Akademi. The sad part of the story is that the distinguished Oriya writer, Pratibha Ray, was put up as a political opponent and was defeated at the polls. A novelist and academician of international fame, her commitment to a classless, casteless social order had led to her being called a Communist at one stage. How such a person ended up as part of the Sangh Parivar's scheme to capture the Sahitya Akademi is symptomatic of our times.
What surfaced this time was a concerted attempt to take over the Akademi look stock and barrel. Even the convener's post was contested by BJP-backed candidates. But this time the swing did not favour the Rightists. Even card-carrying communists got elected, such as Kerala's Prabha Varma, an award-winning poet.
The iconic stature of Chandrashekhara Kambara must have been a contributory factor in this victory of the deserving. With 11 anthologies, he is a poet who ranks with the best. With 25 plays, quite a few of them masterpieces, he is dramatist of the first order. He is an admired folklorist. He is a film director with some outstanding productions. None of these achievements come anywhere near his feat as a visionary educationist. The Kannada University in Hampi is proof of that.
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That house of learning was his baby. He visualised its exterior forms as well as its soul-force. He picked the spots for the buildings, supervised the architectural forms to suit the culture the University represented, picked the stones and the colours and the shapes of the archways and gates. He worked out the intellectual contents of the courses on offer, decided how the graduate and post-graduate studies should mesh together. He paid meticulous attention to the selection of faculty and the organisation of academic activities. He functioned as founding Vice-Chancellor for two three-year terms. And then he handed over the reins to a scholar he hand-picked, M.M. Kalburgi. Yes, the same distinguished thinker who was shot dead in 2015 by India's new-generation patriots.
He did — and how! A new Chairperson was appointed to run the Sangeet Natak Akademi. The Board of Trustees of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts was disbanded and a former ABVP President was appointed its chief. The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library was pushed around until its respected Chief, Rangarajan, quit. It remains rudderless. The National Gallery of Modern Art, the National Archives of India are headless, run by government secretaries. The worst affected was the National Museum, perhaps because it was run with noticeable efficiency. The man in charge was removed by the Culture Ministry. Distinguished cultural leaders of the country protested and asked the Government to reinstate him. The Government ignored them.
When such are the minds that rule our country, should we be surprised if an undistinguished Gajendra Chauhan is made Chief of Film & Television Institute? Should we be surprised if a Lokesh Chandra, named head of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, describes Narendra Modi as an incarnation of God? Or if a Sudershan Rao, made Chief of Indian Council of Historical Research, supports the caste system? That Chandrashekhara Kambara won is, in the circumstances, a surprise. Cheers for that.
With due respect (?) i would like to point out certain obvious things.
1. Do you have an iota of proof or evidence that Kalburgi was killed by "new generation patriots" , what you mean is RSS or BJP. If you have the proof, you need to disclose! Please don't fly the kite! Mental hallucinations for not count! You did the same thing with Gauri's murder too! Does thus really bring any respect to a writer or the reputation to the news paper that he writes?
2. Any competitive post will have more than one qualified finalists in the race who are equally qualified! Just because your favorite horse did not win, you can't call the race a fraud! So, you shouts not view everything throng your Anti Modi , Anti RSS/anti Hindu glasses and write it as facts!. You must remember that what you write affects the reputation of the news paper and other columnists of this paper ask well! So, you must not be distorting the facts or spreading lies about murders while investigating agencies have trouble even after so many months regarding the reliable evidence! Do, please for heavens sake don't makes this news paper of our town, a pamphlet of opposition parties Communists or congress!
We love this news paper and don't want to see it go down on this path just because of some personal hatred against the establishment.
Because of such prejudices, even qualified candidates will be dropped with the fear that what People like George may think!