`Now culture will get the attention it deserves'

I'LL probably see myself in The Indian Express with a khaki topi and saffron shawl, says Ananth Kumar, Minister for Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports. Clad in trademark politician gear, khadi waistcoat and white kurta-pyjamas, the 40-year-old Ananth Kumar is digging into his breakfast an aromatic assortment of idlis, vadas and sambhar. Displaying a sharp sense of humour, usually lacking in BJP politicians, Ananth Kumar looks most unlike someone who has had to eat humble pie. In fact, he is clearly in his element with a portfolio where he can mete out just desserts to Congress President Sonia Gandhi. But he's also at his most careful. Catch him saying anything about divesting Mrs Gandhi of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. ``Suitable action will be taken to remove an anomalous situation. It is not a question of removing anyone. There's no politics in this,'' he repeats as a mantra.

Ask him about the National Reconstruction Corps, and how there's a possibility that it will end up as a sourceof patronage and he doesn't rise to that bait either. Ask him about the BJP's agenda and it's no go again. But the former ABVP activist, whose meteoric rise in national politics (national secretary, BJP, in 1995, MP from Bangalore, in 1996, and then somewhat controversial Union Civil Aviation Minister in Atal Behari Vajpayee's second term) is matched only by his media savvy, has a lot to say about his plans for his new departments, as KAVEREE BAMZAI discovered.

Having earlier been Minister for Tourism, do you not think it's time India took her cultural tourism seriously? Do you have any plans for that?
Infotech (is it any accident that the portfolio has just been given to his friend, Pramod Mahajan?) and tourism are two engines that, supported by infrastructural development, are a must. In the 21st century, the most important end-product is tourism. We need to develop it. I have many plans for it including revamping the Archaeological Survey of India and overhauling the entry feestructure.

Is there anything you're doing to revive the National Culture Fund (NCF)?
We've got IOCL to put in Rs 10 crore for the Qutab Minar, NALCO is supporting the Sun Temple at Konarak, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture is spending $500,000 for Humayun's Tomb. The Pune Municipal Corporation is backing the Shaniwarwada Fort. I am going to energise the National Culture Fund and start a national campaign for public sector enterprises to pool in their resources. Now, corporates even get 100 per cent tax benefit on the NCF. We need to project our cultural heritage and see how adjacent areas of historical monuments can be used to facilitate development and promotion of heritage sites. This has got no political attention, but now that culture has been made a full-fledged ministry I hope it will get the kind of attention it deserves.

Isn't there a danger in the proposed National Reconstruction Corps (NRC) becoming a form of patronage?
The NRC is a basic instrument to engage youthvolunteers in three specified activities: imbuing citizenship qualities, developing their personalities and engaging them in positive community action in nation building. There are 32 crore young people who are outside the university system, who work in farms, garages and mines. There will be walk-in interviews and after appointing a project officer two volunteers to each block will be selected. We will be creating a youth movement with a mission.

The same mission as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh?
No. But anyone, even the RSS, can join in. Within a week we hope to have an increased allocation (from the original amount of Rs 12 crore) for the scheme which is now going to be implemented in an expanded form.

So is this a punishment posting or are you happy with your portfolio?
There are two perceptions. That I have gone from a high-profile ministry to a newly carved-out ministry which is an intangible. When this was made into a ministry, it meant prime attention was being givento the cultural software of the country. The second perception is that the Prime Minister has done this with an agenda. Both are correct. India is known for three specific things: culture, philosophy, and science. We don't have the money of the US, the pelf of Europe, the business acumen of South-East Asia, or even the petro-dollars of the Gulf. We should put our best foot forward. I regard it as an reward. In civil aviation I was representing the air-travelling population of India. Here I represent one billion people.

But is there a perception that your department exists only to celebrate anniversaries?
Even anniversaries can be celebrated in a different way. For instance, we are marking Republic 50 not with festivities but with a national debate on the reform of the republic. Like the Home Minister said, we require an effective State. We need more transparency, more accountability. The reform in the body politic has to go ahead with the reform in the mindset.

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