Kolkata’s intellectuals turn down BJP’s invite
KOLKATA : The big names in Kolkata’s world of art or culture have refused to meet BJP president Amit Shah. They include thespian Soumitra Chatterjee, former Supreme Court Judge Ashok Ganguly, activist-writer Santosh Rana, theatre stars Rudraprasad Sengupta, Chandan Sen and Manoj Mitra, singer Amar Paul and painter Samir Aich.
Mr. Shah was scheduled to meet many of them on Wednesday at a south Kolkata auditorium. Most of them acknowledged the invite, but are not ready to meet Mr. Shah or attend his lecture on writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
The State BJP officials, however, are confident that “hundreds” of the city’s intellectuals will participate in the event. The State BJP has lined up a series of programmes for Mr. Shah, who is coming here for a two-day tour of West Bengal.
Key programme
One of Mr. Shah’s key programmes on Wednesday is a lecture in memory of revered Bengali writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who penned the national song Vande Mataram. It will be hosted by Delhi-based Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation. Mr. Shah is then scheduled to meet the city’s intellectuals and civil society members.
Actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who was invited to Mr Shah’s programme by BJP’s national secretary Rahul Sinha, turned down the offer to attend both the memorial lecture and the intellectuals’ meet. Associates of the actor said that Mr. Chatterjee expressed his “particular displeasure at the demonetisation and the party’s politics of targeting communities.”
Writer, playwright and theatre director Manoj Mitra said senior BJP leader Mukul Roy met him last week. “He wanted to know more about our work and then invited me to the programme on Bankim Chandra. I found it exciting, but told him I can’t attend,” Mr. Mitra said.
Till Tuesday evening, BJP officials have refused to disclose the names of the prominent people who are likely to attend Mr. Shah’s programme or meet him during his stay here.
“We are expecting 650 intellectuals to attend Mr. Shah’s programme. But we can’t disclose their names now as there is tremendous pressure on them from the ruling party. If we disclose their names now they may be threatened,” said Pankaj Roy, the convener of BJP’s Intellectual Cell in Bengal.
courtesy : thehindu.com
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
