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New Delhi. There are a lot of discrepancies in the minutes released by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India on March 23, 2026, for the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26 of the Guru Shishya Parampara Scheme, due to which the active theater work of the country has been eclipsed. Where in the minutes released by the Ministry of Culture at the end of the session 2025-26 of the Guru Shishya Parampara Scheme run by the Government of India, the minutes issued by the Ministry of Culture for the last session 2024-25 and Hundreds of applications made for grants for 2025-26 have been canceled / cooled off without assigning any reason.

This has happened with more than 70 percent of the active institutions across the country, which fulfill the qualifications required by the Ministry under the scheme. In this regard, theater artists from more than 1100 active art troupes across the country gathered in Delhi to protest against the disproportionate and unreasonable stoppage of grants.

These theater workers have requested the Ministry of Culture to take immediate cognizance of some specific points with discrepancies. These points are as follows:

2. This grant directly affects the three genres of drama, dance and music, but like previous years, this year the subject experts of these genres (who represented different states) were not included in the entire selection/non-selection process.
3. In earlier years, it was mandatory for the gurus/representatives of the institutions applying for grants to appear physically before the experts. In this process, the eligibility for grant was not just based on paper but was automatically linked to direct physical verification. Which was not adopted by the Ministry of Culture this year, and considered the online applications one way. Doing so amounts to giving preference to an opaque and illogical process over a transparent and logical process.
4. The system of physical verification of institutions every four years is included in this scheme. Physical verification of some institutions was done by the representative sent by the Ministry of Culture in the financial year 2024-25 itself. In this verification, a certain institution was found eligible for continuing the grant, but their renewal application for the same session was rejected by the committee. Here, by violating the rules made by the Ministry itself, many institutions were deprived of the benefits of the scheme. Both the decisions taken by their physical verification representative and the selection committee are contradictory to each other.
5. In previous years, before the meeting of the Grant Selection Committee, art troupes were given prior information or opportunity to correct any documentary deficiency through e-mail or notification, which was not done this year. Sir, more than 70 percent of the beneficiaries of this scheme are artists from remote, rural or town areas. And the artist may be completely proficient in performing his arts but he is relatively weak in the procedures required to avail the benefits of the schemes of the Ministry. In such a situation, not giving any opportunity to correct paper errors before the selection committee meeting is against natural justice and an insensitive step.
6. There are a large number of errors in the jurisdictional column of many institutions in the minutes released on 23 March 2026. For example, folk dance/classical dance/easy music has been written before the scope of theater institutions. Minutes of the meeting held in July 2025, even after 8 months have passed, such a large number of errors cannot be a typo. This is clearly a sign of serious negligence.
7. This selection committee has taken decisions ignoring the rules, criteria and grounds made by the Ministry of Culture itself. Despite meeting the same criteria, some institutions have been kept in the approved category, some in the approved but cooled off and some in the rejected category. And no remark has been recorded in favor of such decision by the selection committee. Doing this shows their discriminatory behaviour.
8. Out of the 621 applications received in the fresh category for the financial year 2024-25 from across the country by the committee formed in the absence of subject experts, 470 were canceled and out of the total 1750 applications received from the active institutions in the renewal category, the grants of 320 art troupes were cooled and 844 applications were directly cancelled. For the financial year 2025-26, out of total 296 applications received in fresh category, 255 were rejected, out of total 1996 applications received in renewal category, 315 were cooled off, 711 were in rejected category. Thus, out of the total applications received by the active institutions for both the sessions, approximately 70 percent of the institutions have been deprived of the benefits of this scheme, which is against the Ministry’s own notification issued recently. Through the notification, the Ministry says that in order to give the benefit of the scheme to new institutions, a deduction of 10 percent per year will be possible in the old institutions. But even after rejecting 50 percent of the applications of new institutions, the reduction of 70 percent in old and active institutions seems disproportionate.
9. In this entire selection process, balance has not been kept in mind like in previous years. For example, if only one or two groups were active in remote areas, their grants have also been stopped. On the contrary, grants will continue to be given to an average of 15-20 institutions in established cities and metros. In the states where there are more institutions, cuts have also been made and in the states where there are less institutions, there have also been a large number of cuts. No reason has been written in the minutes to consider art practitioners working in remote areas ineligible.
10. On an average there are 15-20 artistes in a Kalamandali. In this way, about 16-22 thousand artists are associated with these 1164 active troupes. If we look at the overall contribution of 1164 organizations, at least 50 lakh adults and 10 lakh children are affected across the country through the events/programs/demonstrations/seminars and workshops/child training camps organized by them in a year. Many of these organizations work annually with Scheduled Castes, Tribes, slum areas and disabled children. This work paves the way for a large number of children from these communities to develop their personality and become better citizens. Besides, many organizations work with prisoners, eunuchs, dwarfs and oppressed women to expand consciousness and build the nation through art. On an average, all the rejected organizations have impacted at least 6 crore adults and children in their 10 years of operation. In such a situation, this rejection is like rejecting the big role of art circles in the country’s cultural consciousness, art development and civic formation.
11. This entire process adopted for grants for the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26 is full of doubts, carelessness and uncertainties. It is unusual for 70-80 percent of the country’s active congregations’ grants to be stopped and 60-80 percent of new congregations’ applications to be rejected. Due to this, those troupes and artistes who have been accepted/selected in these minutes are also finding themselves immersed in uncertainty. They are suspecting that perhaps next year also the cuts will be in the same dire form and our application may also be rejected. An artist immersed in anxiety, depression and uncertainty can never remain creative. This decision pushes even those accepted art circles into doubt and uncertainty.

Let us tell you that maximum applications for renewal come from those institutions which have been doing art development work in their respective areas for years. In such a situation, it is not a normal phenomenon for more than 70-80 percent of the total applications received in a single financial year to be rejected. This decision is going to hurt the cultural movement of the country. Due to this, the country’s theatre, dance, music and folk arts and their practitioners will be in a big trouble. Also, this decision has been taken after the respective financial year has passed and the institutions/groups have worked as per the qualifications of the Ministry.

Gurus and disciples associated with the Mandals offered their services over the years with the expectation that sooner or later the grant would be received by the Ministry. But all those artists are feeling hurt and cheated by this decision. Also, upcoming programs, trainings, performances, seminars, etc. of art troupes will be disrupted.

In an art-culture oriented country like India, it is very unfortunate that such a decision is taken by the concerned ministry. Under the Guru-Shishya tradition, arts are transmitted from one generation to the next. After the coming into existence of this scheme, the cultural landscape of India has expanded. The glory days of the arts which were looked down upon by the society have returned.

At a time when the world is paying respect to Bharatmuni’s Natya Shastra, stopping the funding of 1164 performing troupes at the same time can take the development of Indian art back by years. Due to this stopping of arts training, a huge void of arts and art seekers may be created in India in the near future.

In this moment of crisis, our organization and theater artists, dance and music practitioners across the country are looking towards you with hope. You are a sensitive and artistic personality.

Keeping the above points in view, hundreds of theater workers gathered from all over the country have expressed hope of justice from the Ministry of Culture and requested the Ministry to immediately intervene and said that the Ministry of Culture should stop the grant minutes issued by the Government of India on 23 March 2026 for the financial year 2024-25 and 2025-26 of the Guru Shishya Parampara Scheme and reconstitute the selection committee under the leadership of subject experts and re-evaluate all the applications.