Litterateurs say new Hindustani Academy chief not fit for post

Jogi,a Ph.D in Hindi,however,maintained that those opposing him were not aware of his work. He also said: “The Chief Minister must have found something worthwhile before choosing me.” He appealed to all concerned to work together for the betterment of the academy. At least three writers’ associations here — Progressive Writers’ Association (PWA),Janvadi Lekhak Sangh (JLS) and Jan Sanskrit Manch — have launched the signature campaign.

PWA secretary Avinash Kumar Mishra said: “We do not have any complaint about the appointment procedure. But there are many active Hindi and Urdu litterateurs in Allahabad,any of them could have been chosen chairman. There are people like Shamshur Rahman Faruqi,awarded with Saraswati Samman,who are active and available. At best,the new chairman is a stage poet given to playing to the gallery and knows how to be close to the people in power. As soon as our signature campaign is over,we will send the letter to the Chief Minister asking him to reconsider his appointment. We will resort to democratic methods of protest,if our demands are not met.”

Neelkant,associated with JLS and a prominent name in the literary circles here,said: “Jogi’s contribution in the field of literature is nothing special. As litterateurs,we have practically never heard of him. We will fight against his appointment.”

Founded in 1927,the Hindustani Academy,which caters to both Hindi and Urdu literature,had Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru as its founder chairman. Subsequently,renowned Hindi litterateurs like Munshi Premchand,Rahul Sankrityayan,Mahavir Prasad,Mahadevi Verma and several luminaries from Allahabad were associated with it from time to time.

The last chairman of the academy,also appointed by the then Samajwadi Party government,was Yogendra Pratap Singh in 2007. However,he resigned following the change of government that year. Since then,no chairman had been appointed and academy work was largely taken care of by secretaries who came from the Language Department of the Uttar Pradesh government. The academy,of late,has been working on a shoe-string budget — Rs 31 lakh for the current fiscal.

Jogi,who is described on his website as a poet and organiser of kavi sammelans,has written 75 books,besides coming out with bhajans,ghazals and songs in 30 audio and video CDs. He also worked as the Hindi advisor for central ministries of power and coal.

Jogi added: “Those who are opposing me should first look at my work. People like Nirmal Verma,Vishnu Prabhakar and Bhisham Sahni (all renowned litterateurs) have written forewords for my books. Give me time. I have come here to work,then comment.”