Arts and Cultural Institutions in India

The Indian government is tasked with the maintenance, preservation and promotion of Indian culture under the Indian Constitution. There are several government and non-government organizations committed to preserving India's rich cultural heritage. Some of the most well-known cultural institutions in India are listed below:

Archaeological Survey of India

The Archaeological Survey of India is an agency under the Department of Culture of the Government of India. The main responsibility of this agency is the study of archaeology and the protection of monuments. The Archaeological Survey of India was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham. The Archaeological Survey of India was a continuation of Sir. William Jones' Asiatic Society. The Asiatic Society was founded on 15 January 1784 for Oriental studies. This institution started publishing a journal called Asiatic Researches from 1788. The first museum was opened in Bengal in 1814. The main missions of the institution are to find and collect ancient records of India, archaeological exploration, and preservation of the cultural heritage of the country.

National Archives of India

The National Archives of India, which was known as the Imperial Records Department until independence, was established in Kolkata on 11 March 1891. The early supervision of this institution was by George William Forrest. It is now headquartered in New Delhi. The architect of the building in New Delhi, built in the neo-classical style, was Edwin Lutyens. The National Archives of India is a government institution working to preserve the ancient records of the Government of India. It functions under the Ministry of Culture. The records here are also available for inspection. The records dating back to A.D. 1748 are preserved here. It includes many important documents in English, Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit and Urdu. Ancient documents on palm leaves, wood bark and paper are still preserved intact.

Anthropological Survey of India

The Anthropological Survey of India is an Indian government institute operating under the Union Ministry of Culture. It was established in Varanasi in 1945 and shifted to the Indian Museum in Kolkata in 1948. Kolkata is the headquarters of the Anthropological Survey of India. It conducts research primarily in the fields of physical anthropology and cultural anthropology. The institute is engaged in anthropological studies and field data research for human and cultural aspects.

National Museum

The National Museum was inaugurated in New Delhi on 15 August 1949. It is the largest museum in India. The museum operates under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The museum has about 200,000 works of art. Most of them are Indian works of art. There are also foreign works of art that are more than 5,000 years old. The museum has priceless collections such as coins, books, engravings, sculptures, paintings and others. There is an opportunity in this institution to do research and study various courses in the field of museums.

Indian Museum

The concept of a museum in India began with the establishment of the Royal Asiatic Society in Bengal in 1784. Although painting halls and art galleries were started under the leadership of this organization, they were not classified as museums. Later, in 1814, the Oriental Museum was opened in Calcutta through the efforts of Sir William Jones. Today, this is known as the 'Indian Museum' and is the first museum in modern India. A large number of objects are displayed here in six galleries.

National Library

The National Library in Kolkata is the largest library in India. It was established in 1948. The library is located in the Belvedere Estate, which is spread over an area of ​​about thirty acres in the city of Kolkata. The National Library is the largest library in India that contains public information. The Calcutta Public Library, established in 1835, became the National Library of India. Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, merged the East India Company's library and departmental libraries operating in Kolkata to form a new library called the Imperial Library of India in 1903. After independence, the Imperial Library of India was declared the National Library of India in 1948. Then, on February 1, 1953, the Government of India renamed the Imperial Library of India as the National Library. Currently, the library, which operates under the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, has books in foreign languages ​​​​and Indian regional languages.

Central Secretariat Library

The Central Secretariat Library (CSL) is one of the oldest libraries in India. It started functioning in Kolkata in 1891 as the Imperial Secretariat Library. When the capital of British India was shifted to Delhi in 1911, the library was also shifted to Delhi. It has been functioning at Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi since 1969. The museum operates under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The library has a collection of 8,50,000 books. Considering the size of the collection, it is the second largest central government library after the National Library, Kolkata.

National Gallery of Modern Art

The National Gallery of Modern Art was established in New Delhi in 1954 with the aim of nurturing contemporary Indian art. It is one of the major art galleries under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Apart from Delhi, the National Gallery of Modern Art has branches in Mumbai and Bangalore. The National Gallery of Modern Art has a collection of over 17,000 works by over 2,000 artists. Some of the oldest works of art preserved here date back to 1857. The Delhi branch, with an exhibition space of 12,000 square meters, is one of the largest modern art museums in the world.

National Academy of Art/Lalit Kala Akademi

In 1954, the then Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad inaugurated the Lalit Kala Akademi (National Academy of Art) in New Delhi. The main objective of the Lalit Kala Akademi is to promote Indian arts within and outside India. In accordance with the objectives set out in the Constitution, the organisation functions through its General Council, Executive Board and other committees. Lalit Kala Akademi, one of the three academies established by the government, focuses on activities in the field of visual arts. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, in his inaugural speech, said that the academy should work to preserve the great traditions of the past and enrich them with the work of our modern artists. The academy has preserved and documented a permanent collection of high order reflecting ancient, contemporary and modern folk and tribal arts of India.

Kendra Sangeeth Natak Akademi

The Sangeet Natak Akademi is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The Sangeet Natak Akademi was inaugurated on 28 January 1953 by the then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad. It was earlier known as The National Academy of Dance, Drama and Music. It is headquartered in New Delhi. The Chairman of the Akademi is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards are the highest national recognition given to young artists. The Akademi awards fellowships to eminent artists and scholars in music, dance and drama. The collection of the Akademi includes audio and video tapes, photographs and films. These are used for research in the performing arts.

National School of Drama

The National School of Drama is India's premier drama training institute. It was established in New Delhi in 1959 under the Sangeet Natak Akademi. In 1975, it became an independent institution and became an autonomous body of the Government of India. The training at the National School of Drama is based on a very intensive, comprehensive and carefully planned syllabus. As part of the training, students are required to produce plays and perform them in front of the public. Every year, the School of Drama organizes a children's drama festival, 'Jashn-e-Bachpan'. 'Bharat Rang Mahotsav' is a national drama festival held every year.

Kendra Sahitya Akademi

Sahitya Akademi came into existence in March 1954. It functions under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Its headquarters are in New Delhi. As the premier literary institution in India, it preserves and promotes literature in the twenty-four Indian languages ​​recognized by the Akademi through awards, fellowships, grants, publications, literary programmes, workshops and exhibitions. The Akademi also undertakes literary exchange programmes with various countries around the world to promote Indian literature. The appointment of a 'Fellow' is the highest honour conferred by the Sahitya Akademi for writers.