Udichi seminar held on allocation of 1 percent of the national budget for cultural sector
Pic: Barta24.com
Bangladesh Shilpi Goshti organized a seminar demanding to allocate at least one percent of the national budget in the cultural sector. On Friday (May 31) at 3 pm, organized by Udichi a seminar titled 'National Budget: Relevance of One Percent Allocation in Cultural Sector' was held in the seminar room of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
In the key-note paper, Amit Ranjan Dey said, 'If the cultural consciousness is weak in the national life, alien culture will spread. The human form of culture gradually recedes and becomes a means of entertainment for only a handful of influential individuals or groups. Communal discrimination is gradually degrading human and cultural values, negative trends in society and state are emerging.
He also said, 'On the one hand, looting trade, money laundering in the name of development; On the other hand, the inherent consumerism of capitalist economy, sexism, communal terrorism, violence of fundamentalist groups have upset public life. Cultural awakening against this is the need of the hour. New painting, music, drama, poetry will be based on it. However, it is important to create a social, cultural, political and economic environment for that. In that case state patronage and goodwill is also an important accessory. In order to create an economic environment, there has been a demand for allocating at least 1 part of the national budget to the cultural sector for the past few years. But it did not rise above 0.09 to 0.16 percent.
The general secretary of Udichi also said, "A part of the allocation for the budget of the Ministry of Culture is used for cultural performances through Shilpakala Academy." Among which Genocide Environment Theater, Puppet Theater Festival, Bangladesh Cultural Festival, Instrumental Music Festival, production of plays about Bangabandhu are worth mentioning. But, it has been seen that almost all the programs have been held inside the auditorium of Shilpa Kala Academy where there is hardly any movement of common people. Ordinary people, especially working people, stand at the doors of Shilpakala Academy and try to understand what is happening inside. They don't have the courage to go inside and see. But Article 23 of the Constitution clearly mentions that people of all levels can contribute to the prosperity of the national culture and have the opportunity to participate.
It is culture and cultural activists who create awareness among the masses in the multidimensional crisis of the state. Motivation to turn around. Our mass struggles, including the language movement of the 1970s and the liberation war of the 1970s bear witness to it. These cultural workers have been making a logical demand to allocate at least one percent of the national budget to the cultural sector for a long time. Their demand is repeatedly ignored, which is nothing but the limitations of our budget thinking and philosophy.-It is also mentioned in the article.
Other speakers at the seminar said that the size of the national budget is increasing every year, but the structure and infrastructure of culture is not increasing. The budget is not being prepared in accordance with the dream of building a secular, democratic and socialist-oriented modern state, which is the basic spirit of the Great War of Liberation. What is being allocated remains limited to infrastructure construction. There is rampant looting and costs are increasing due to not completing the work on time.
They also said that the cultural workers were in the front line in the anti-tyranny Ershad movement. But, after the establishment of democracy, politicians moved to air-conditioned rooms and cultural workers remained on the streets. They question whether those who do culture budgets understand culture. He said that the state should pay the price for tolerating religious fundamentalism. Speakers demanded allocation of budget for culture sector in two city corporations of Dhaka.
President of Udichi Central Sangsad Professor Badiur Rahman attended the seminar, Mamunur Rashid, Mofidul Haque, Mr. Hamid, MM Akash, Fauzia Muslim, Manzare Hasin Murad, Asif Munir Tanmoy, Azad Abul Kalam, Ahkamullah, Mizanur Rahman, Rahul Raha, Rezaul Karim Siddique Rana, Dr. Lelin Chowdhury, Manzarul Islam Chowdhury Sweet, Zakir Hossain, Narayan Chandra Sheel, Pranay Saha, Abdus Salim, Dr. Azizur Rahman, Raghu Abhijit Roy and other prominent culture people and organizers. Amit Ranjan Dey, General Secretary of Udichi Central Sangsad, wrote and presented the keynote at the seminar. The seminar was conducted by Mahmud Salim, Vice President of Udichi Central Sangsad.
