RSS man Dilip Karambelkar to head Marathi Encyclopedia Board

Mumbai: Maharashtra government today appointed Dilip Karambelkar, who is affiliated to the RSS, as the chairman of the re-constituted Maharashtra State Marathi Encyclopedia Production Board.

The government also appointed several officials to the Marathi Language Consultative Committee, besides making appointments of persons associated with BJP and RSS to the reconstituted Maharashtra State Literature and Cultural Board, Language Consultative Committee and the Encyclopedia Board, officials informed today.

Cultural affairs minister Vinod Tawde, however, denied that the appointments had anything to do with political affiliations. Why no objections were raised on the appointment of current chairman of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, Sadanand More, as the chairman of the Marathi Language Consultative Committee, Tawde asked.

When asked to comment upon reported move to merge various sub-committees working under the Marathi Language Consultative Committee, he clarified that there was no need to merge them and the government was reconstituting them to ensure that each committee does the task assigned to it.

Asked about the inadequate facilities provided to these committees, Tawde admitted that in the past many members had quit out of the frustration over lack of infrastructure. "Henceforth the government will ensure the committees are provided with required facilities.

The government will hold meetings every three months to take a stock of the work being done," the minister said. Some of the prominent personalities appointed to the three boards include Maj Gen (Retd) Shashikant Pitre, Shrinand Bapat (both on Encyclopedia Board) and writer Baba Bhand (as chairman of State Literature and Cultural Board).