ICCR Regional Office inaugurated
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 25: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Karan Singh today refused to comment on the report of the Centre’s Interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir, saying he did not want to give any snap reaction on the issue without going through the report.
“I have not gone through the entire report, so it will be very difficult for me to make any comment on the issue right now,” Singh, the son of the last ruler of the princely State of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh, said here.
Speaking to reporters on sidelines of a function after inaugurating Regional Office of International Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) here, he said that it would be wrong to express his views on the issue without going into the detail of the matter.
“Just to react on a particular aspect of the interlocutors’ report that too on the basis of the media reports will be wrong. We have to consider the report in totality,” he added.
However, he was appreciative of the effort made by the three-member team of Dileep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M M Ansari.
“They have made a great effort to meet almost all the sections of the society. They have travelled across the length and breadth of the State, so let us not give any knee-jerk reactions,” he said.
Dr Singh also mentioned that it was not the first time in the history of the State that such an exercise was made and hoped that the report was an enhancement of the previous findings.
“There have been commissions before this which have presented their recommendations on the subject and I hope the report presents something new,” he said.
Interestingly, Dr Singh, who heads the ICCR, said they had asked the State Government for the allotment of the land for the Centre, but they did not make any attempt in this direction.
“I wanted to do something for the people of Jammu, we had earlier asked the Government to provide us the land for the Centre here, but they did not show any interest. However, I am happy that after a lot of efforts, we have been able to set-up the regional Centre here,” he said.
Asked whether he was still in contention for the President’s office, Dr Singh said, “the decision rests with the party high command.”
When asked about the speculations that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may be the next President of the country, Dr Singh said that he was an “efficient man” to hold the office.
Regarding the recent comments made by senior NCP leader and former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangama that Mukherjee is “over-qualified” for the job, Dr Singh quipped that “should we now hold the UPSC exams for the post?”
On the hike of petrol prices, he said it was the “finance ministry’s decision”.
At the inauguration function of ICCR Regional Office, Anwar Halim, DDG, ICCR and Dr Jyostna Singh, Advisor, Amar Mahal Museum and Library accompanied Karan Singh.
The inaugural ceremony of the Jammu office of ICCR, first of its kind of a national body in the winter capital, was attended by large number of folk artistes, contemporary painters, sculptors, writers, intellectuals and members of civil society.
Dr Singh said that ICCR is an autonomous organization of the Government, which was involved in India’s external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples. ICCR was founded on 9 April 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of independent India.
He said he was happy that a regional center of ICCR has been opened at Jammu and informed that a similar regional center of ICCR will also come up at Srinagar very shortly.
Referring to the appointment of Balwant Thakur as the Director Jammu Office of ICCR, Dr Singh said the creative theatre director with national and international experience was found very suitable for the responsibility. He hoped that Balwant Thakur as Director of Jammu regional office of the ICCR would work hard in showcasing the diverse cultural heritage of J&K at the national and international level.
Throwing more light on the activities of the ICCR, Dr Singh said that it addresses its mandate of cultural diplomacy through a broad range of activities.
In addition to organizing cultural festivals, both in India and overseas, the ICCR financially supports a number of cultural institutions across India, as well as sponsoring individual performers in dance, music, photography, theatre, and the visual arts. The other schemes include Empanelment of Performing Artistes to showcase the best of Indian performing and visual arts and sponsorships in form of 1804 scholarships every year, to international students who choose to study various artistic and cultural disciplines in India and exhibitions to promote India’s rich cultural heritage overseas.
He said that ICCR also operates missions internationally, with established cultural centers in Moscow, Berlin, Cairo, London, Tashkent, Almaty, Johannesburg, Durban, Port of Spain and Colombo, Georgetown, Paramaribo, Port Louis, Jakarta. ICCR has recently opened new cultural centers in Sao Paulo, Kathmandu, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur & Tokyo, Dhaka and Thimpu.
Talking to Excelsior, Balwant Thakur said that there are already 17 regional offices in different parts of the country and Jammu office is the latest regional office of ICCR. He like the regional centers of Kolkata and Chennai, he hopes to make ICCR’s Jammu office as a vibrant and happening space. He said very soon the process of creating a well equipped complex housing auditorium, exhibition spaces and other infrastructure will be initiated.
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