Centre recasts IGNCA board

The government has dissolved the board of trustees of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), replacing all 20 UPA-era members with new ones.

Veteran Journalist Ram Bahadur Rai has been appointed as the new president of the autonomous arts body.

A culture ministry notification stated that Rai–former news editor of Hindi daily Jansatta who was accorded the Padma Shri in 2015–will replace Chinmaya Gharekhan with immediate effect.

Eminent classical dancer Sonal Mansingh, lyricist Prasoon Joshi, artist Vasudeo Kamath, film director Chandraprakash Dwivedi and economist Nitin Desai are among the 19 personalities from different walks of life who have been appointed as the new members of the board of trustees.

The ministry also appointed Sushmita Pandey, head of the School of Studies in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology in Ujjain’s Vikram University, as chairman of the National Monument Authority.

The IGNCA was set up in memory of former prime minister Indira Gandhi by her son and then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. The Congress reacted sharply to the reconstitution of the IGNCA board, describing the move as “saffronisation” of the institution.

“This is yet another step to undermine institutions that have promoted art and culture. One after another, the BJP is hoisting its agenda by appointing people who are critical and hostile to the views of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to institutions named after them,” senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told reporters.

Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, however, defended the move saying: “It is a continuous process. Change is again a continuous process and as a part of that, this change has been brought. It is not for the first time that this has been done. Our government will bring all changes as it had come with the intention of bringing changes.”

Sharma also sought to dismiss the Congress’s charge that the recasting of the IGNCA board was an attempt to undermine the prestigious institution.

“He (Rai) has been associated with Gandhian thoughts, Jayprakash Narayan thoughts. So, I think it’s a great thing," the minister added.

Gharekhan, the outgoing chairman, said he had “fully expected” the reconstitution of the arts body. “Every government has done this,” he said.

Rai was not only a close associate of Jayprakash Narayan (JP), he was also a member of the steering committee that spearheaded the JP Movement in 1974 and the organising secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.