Editor’s Note: Artistes have the right to …

Artistes have the right to sit in the Assembly and Parliament ?

In a bid to woo votes before the general elections, major political parties in India rushed to release their political manifesto, promising to bring in progressive development in the country in all avenues. However, political parties forgot to represent the development of culture in their manifestos this year. 

Every five years, it has been a practice for political parties to release a manifesto with an agenda to develop regions, communities, societies and the country with the view to entice voters. The recent manifestos released by major political parties in India had no mention of cultural development. Several artistes and critics have raised questions about the omission of this important aspect. Every citizen in the country would wish the next generation receive high ethical values. And what better way to do it than to ensure cultural development of varied genres like dance, music, literature and theater. Political parties should work on providing the minimum requirements to artistes who dedicate their lives towards various art forms. Do leaders who make no provisions for art and artistes have the right to sit in the Assembly and Parliament? There are no adequate auditoriums to perform, no minimum requirements for artistes, no proper pension plans and no income guarantee. Today, art and artistes are being linked only to movies and this is unfortunate. Popular critics have been commenting that even one or two classical artistes who have been nominated for the house have not been speaking about cultural development. In the days to come, artistes wish to see a representative leader from the classical and traditional art forms who would do something for the development of culture in India.

Jai Hind!

BR Vikram Kumar