Chief Minister Prof. Dr Manik Saha on Tuesday said that culture plays the most important role in achieving mental and spiritual peace, and efforts should be made to showcase the traditional mixed culture of the state to the world. For this, the development of culture should be turned into a mass movement.

Dr Saha said this while speaking at the first meeting of the reconstituted State-level Cultural Advisory Committee at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

It is worth noting that the Chairman of the State-level Cultural Advisory Committee is the Chief Minister of the state.

There are a total of 39 members in this reconstituted committee.

Before discussing the meeting, the Chief Minister got acquainted with the members of the reconstituted Cultural Advisory Committee.

The Chief Minister said in the meeting that culture is the ornament of a society.

 “It is necessary to take steps to modernize our own culture with innovative thinking in line with the present. Efforts should also be made to nurture and care for the traditional mixed culture of the state. In this regard, efforts should be made to maintain the traditional culture of the ethnic groups and bring innovation in cultural activities. Only then can the youth be attracted to our traditional culture,” said Dr Saha.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi often emphasizes skill development and, therefore, it is necessary to emphasize skill development in every field, including culture.

“Special emphasis should be placed on skill development and attractive presentation of artists from any field in the state. Talented artists should be found from the village level and provided with necessary support,” said Dr Saha.

The Chief Minister said that traditional cultures like kirtan, puppet dance, and yatra are getting lost due to the pressure of modernity, and efforts should be made to revive them through innovative thinking.

In the meeting, Secretary of the ICA Department Dr. P. K. Chakraborty, Director of the Department of Tourism Prashant Badal Negi, Director of the Department of ICA Bimbisar Bhattacharya, Vice Chairman of the State-level Cultural Advisory Committee Subrata Chakraborty, and others were present.