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MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD INSTITUTE OF ASIAN STUDIES The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies  (MAKAIAS) was set up at the joint initiative of the Government of India, Department of culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development  and the Government of West Bengal . Registered as a Society under the West Bengal Registration of Societies' Act of 1961, with Prof. Nurul Hasan, the then Governor of West Bengal, as the President of the Society on the 4th of January 1993. It is funded by the Department of culture, Government of India. Presently, the Governor of West Bengal, is the President of the Society. An acre of land in Bidhannagar (Salt Lake City), Kolkata, was allotted to the Institute by the Government of West Bengal for building the Institutes campus. Its circular emblem has an eight petalled lotus in the centre with a background of the rays of sun. This is encircled by its name written in reverse lettering in a black border. http://makaias.

SAHITYA AKADEMI The proposal to establish a National Academy of Letters in India had been under the consideration of the British Government of the country long before independence. In 1944, the Government of India accepted in principle a proposal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal that a National Cultural trust should be set up to encourage cultural activities in all fields. After freedom, the proposal was pursued by the Independent Government of India, while convened a series of conferences to work out the details. Consensus emerged in favour of establishing three National Academies one of letters, another for visual arts and the third of dance, drama and music. Abul Kalam Azad, the then Union Minister of Education, was of the opinion that "if we had waited for the Academy to grow up from below, we might have had to wait till the Greek Kalends." It was felt that there was no alternative to government taking the initiative to set up the Academies. The