Assam Assembly Wants Art And Culture In School Curricula

GUWAHATI: The Assam Assembly has realized the fact – culture is the mind of society and civilization is its body. The august House devoted almost a whole business day for discussion on the issue, eliciting a whole lot of suggestions from its members, cutting across party lines. One of the numerous suggestions is the inclusion of art and culture in school curricula at a lower level in the State.

The House on Tuesday witnessed to a rare unity among its members of various parties on the issue of preservation and development of art and culture. They were of the unanimous view that it’s art and culture that distinguishes the man from other living beings on this earth. They appealed to the government to allocate adequate funds to the State Cultural Affairs Department for the preservation and development of art and culture.

Initiating the discussion, AGP MLA Satyabrata Kalita said: “Assam is rich in art and culture, and what we need is its preservation and development. Every college in the State should have an art gallery of its own. There’s no dearth of talented artistes in Assam, but most of them remain unknown and unsung. They need exposure.”

Rupak Sarma of the BJP said: “The amateur artistes of the State have kept the drama movement alive in the State. They’re doing everything on their own, with little support from the government. The government needs to take note of this. The puppetry is on the verge of extinction in the State. Holding Bihu programmes for about one and a half months is also cultural onslaught. This practice needs to be done away with.”

Abdul Khaleque of the Congress said: “The Cultural Affairs Department should’ve a clear-cut policy for the preservation of art and culture. Barpeta district has a large number of xatras, enough to project the town as a heritage city. As is the case with Singapore, Assam should’ve live museums for the presentation of its mosaic of art and culture.”

Ajanta Neog of the Congress said that the government needs to extend support to the amateur artistes. Tea Tribe Minister Pallab Lochan Das said: “The community has a rich and varied culture. However, the artistes continue to remain unknown and unsung. The government should give them adequate exposure.” State Cultural Affairs Minister Naba Kumar Doley said: “I’ve taken note of all the suggestions given by the members of the House. I’ll have to discuss the suggestions with the government for their implementation.” BPF MLA Kamal Singh Narzary, Suman Haripriya of the BJP, Brindabon Goswami of the AGP, Angoorlata Deka of the BJP, Ganesh Limbu of the BJP, Aminul Islam of the AIUDF and others also took part in the discussion.

Also Read: GUWAHATI CITY