Introduction:
After 18th Amendment the subject “culture” has been devolved to the provinces which mean that provincial governments have the authority to work for the revival, promotion and preservation of the indigenous cultural heritage. In this connection, the ANP led provincial Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had taken some very positive measures that included: among other things, reopening of Nishtar Hall Peshawar for cultural activities and setting up Directorate of Culture. In that period the cultural activism in the province under the Directorate of Culture, Ministry of Information, Public Relation and Culture was highly commendable. However, after the change of government, not only culture activities are slowed down but little progress can be seen for devising a comprehensive Culture Policy.
Justification for a Cultural Policy
The culture of the province has been suffering at the hand of extremist forces and terrorism which are hell bent on destroying cultural diversity by replacing it with obscurantism and violence. For sustainable peace in the province culture should be considered as “agent for social change” and efforts shall be made for the reinvigoration of the dismantled cultural heritage. As under the constitution the subject “culture” is no longer a federal subject and as it has been devolved, therefore, it is the first and foremost responsibility of the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to formulate a Culture Policy for the province.
What is a Culture Policy?
Culture policy shall be the relevant legislation or legal document for the revival, promotion and preservation of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the province. The policy shall appreciate the diverse culture of the province and any direct or indirect threat to this culture shall be deftly estimated as unlawful.
Aims and Objectives of Culture Policy
Culture policy shall aim at providing legal protection to cultural heritage, cultural institutions and cultural activities. Besides safeguarding fundamental human rights of the citizen as envisaged in the constitution of Pakistan, the policy shall discourage all negative cultural practices and devise concrete objectives for promoting positive cultural values such as pluralism and democratization. The policy shall help provide an enabling environment for the education and promotion of the indigenous languages, literatures, arts, crafts and folklore. Artists, artisans, craftsmen and people related to the promotion of culture shall be declared as “productive assets”. Productive cultural activities, cultural marketing, tourism and related businesses shall also be regularized. The policy document shall include references and provisions for relevant administrative and financial matters. This shall be achieved through a step by step strategy of investing in the productive culture sector and culture education. Exploring markets for indigenous arts and crafts shall also be pursued. Efforts shall be made for increasing access to the new media by establishing state of the art studios. Quality productions and publications should be encouraged though a democratic process of censorship. All this shall be achieved through coordination among different departments such as education, agriculture, tourism, industry, environment and the private sector etc.
Planning and Implementation of Culture Policy
On planning and strategic levels, the policy shall devise recommendations for increased budgetary allocation and reciprocal revenue generation through marketing and taxation. For the administration and management of culture implementable structures shall be formulated. The existing structures for the management of the subject “culture” at the provincial level need to be revisited. Currently two separate directorates under two separate ministries are operating for dealing with the subject “culture”.
The Directorate of Museum and Archives which deals with the tangible cultural heritage works under “Sports, Tourism, Archeology and Museum Department.” The Directorate of Culture which deals with intangible cultural heritage is working under “Information, Public Relation and Culture Department.” If both tangible and intangible cultural heritage are included under one department many administrative problems shall be corrected and duplication shall be avoided. Administrative structures may also be devised at the divisional or district level. The culture policy should seek sustained institutionalization at the grassroots level. Art councils, literary circles and traditional cultural institutions should be strengthened.
Risk/ Opportunities
The culture policy should be specifically mindful of the financial and technical risks. Keeping in view the security concerns of the province it is very likely that the government would find it difficult to allocate increased budget for the culture. To mitigate this risk the policy should recommend transparent procedures for public-private partnership. The culture policy must allow flexible procedures to benefit from the opportunities available in the private sector and with national and international donor agencies. Another risk in the implementation of culture activities would remain lack of technical skills of the staff of the culture department. The policy should also allow for capacity building of the staff of the culture department or relevant ministry.
What Civil Society Organization can do?
Center for Peace and Culture Studies (CPCS) Peshawar Pakistan and other Civil Society Organizations working for the promotion of culture can offer their expertise in formulating policy guidelines, advocate for the relevant legislation and coordinate with the concerned department in the implementation process.
Dated: 04/01/2014
Khan Abdul Ghani Khan, commonly known as Ghani Khan was born in 1914 into the family of the 20th century iconic Pashtun leader Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan. After receiving his early education in his native town Utmanzai in Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa he was sent to Europe and then the US for higher studies. In US he studied sugar technology which earned him a job back home in 1933. He had also studied painting, sculptures, Asian philosophy, literature and arts in India.
