16-Member Committee formed to study ancient Indian Culture: No South Indian member included

Formed 16-Member Committee To Study Ancient Indian Culture: Union Minister

A committee has been set up for conducting a holistic study of origin and evolution of Indian culture since 12,000 years before present and its interface with other cultures of the world, Prahlad Patel said.

The government has formed an expert committee for conducting a study on the origin and evolution of Indian culture dating back to around 12,000 years ago, Union Minister Prahlad Patel informed Parliament on Monday.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Mr Patel said the 16-member committee will include KN Dikshit, Chairman, Indian Archaeological Society, New Delhi, and former Joint Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, among others.

"A committee has been set up for conducting a holistic study of origin and evolution of Indian culture since 12,000 years before present and its interface with other cultures of the world," the Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture said.

In a reply to another query on the ministry's plans to use the report of the said committee in textbooks for the purpose of educational research, he said at present, there is no such proposal.

Apparently, there were some allegations regarding the members in the panel, claiming that none from South India were included and also no woman member was included in the panel.

This allegation has arisen when there is widespread proclamation across the country for declaring Hindi as National language. The supposed committee formed to study on the culture of India but with no member representing the southern states, which is considered culturally rich than the other states in the country, is surely a not an act to be ignored.

There wasn't any response from the Centre in this regard.

(with inputs from PTI)