Latest news with #Endowment
Hans India
a day ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Minister's welfare balm for Archakas across TG
Hyderabad: Endowment Minister Konda Surekha has fulfilled a long-standing aspiration of Archakas (temple priests) and employees across Telangana by establishing a dedicated welfare fund. This initiative aims to provide crucial support to those who have diligently served in temples for extended periods. On Monday, Endowment Minister Konda Surekha, joined by Endowment Principal Secretary Shailaja Ramaiyar, Director Venkata Rao, and other officials, unveiled the poster for the Archakas and Employees Welfare Fund. Konda Surekha explained that the government had made a significant decision benefiting these vital members of the temple community. She confirmed that approximately 13,700 priests and other staff working in temples up to the Assistant Commissioner level under the Endowments Department would receive assistance through this new welfare trust. The fund will provide posthumous or retirement gratuity to Archakas and other employees. Importantly, gratuity will now be paid posthumously to priests under the Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam scheme. Furthermore, ex gratia payments upon death and funeral expenses will also be covered by this fund. Beyond these provisions, the fund will offer various forms of financial assistance, including medical reimbursement, support for marriage ceremonies, Upanayana Sanskaram, house construction, purchase and repair, education, and aid for disabled employees unable to perform their duties.
Shafaq News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Sunni clerics cancel Mosul demonstration after political assurances
Shafaq News/ A planned protest by Sunni clerics in Mosul against alleged political interference in the leadership of the Sunni Endowment in Nineveh was abruptly canceled late Wednesday, with no official reason disclosed, according to religious sources familiar with the matter. 'The demonstration was scheduled for 10:00 p.m. at the historic Nabi Sheet Mosque in western Mosul,' the sources told Shafaq News, pointing out that organizers intended to denounce what they described as 'growing attempts by influential political factions to exert control over the Endowment's leadership' ahead of Iraq's parliamentary elections, set for November 11, 2025. Sources also noted that media access was barred at the mosque, and several clerics exited the site quietly and discreetly, explaining that the protest's sudden cancellation followed private assurances offered to the religious leadership that the Endowment's autonomy and spiritual role in Nineveh would be preserved. The identities of those who provided the guarantees were not disclosed. They claimed that certain political blocs have been pressuring to replace current Sunni Endowment director Youssef al-Abed Rabbo with politically aligned candidates—an effort that has met firm resistance from moderate Sunni religious figures. 'Al-Abed Rabbo had formally submitted his resignation to the central leadership of the Endowment, but it was rejected.'
Hans India
07-05-2025
- Hans India
Grand preps underway for 12-day Saraswati Pushkaralu: Ministers
Hyderabad: Endowments Minister Konda Surekha on Tuesday asked the officials to provide a safe, hygienic, and spiritually enriching experience to the devotees attending Saraswati Pushkaralu, which will be starting from May 15. The Endowments Minister along with IT Minister D Sridhar Babu reviewed the arrangements for the Pushkaralu. Surekha said that the government was making large-scale preparations to ensure smooth and grand celebrations for the upcoming Saraswati Pushkaralu at Triveni Sangamam near Kaleshwaram. With lakhs of devotees expected to visit the sacred site, both the ministers issued strict instructions to the Jayashankar Bhupalpally District Administration to complete all necessary arrangements well in advance. Senior officials including Chief Secretary Ramakrishna Rao, DGP Jitender, Endowment principal secretary Shailaja Ramaiyar and R&B, Transport Principal Secretary Vikas Raj were overseeing coordination efforts across departments. The Minister said that drawing inspiration from the successful conduct of other major religious gatherings such as Sammakka–Sarakka Jatara, Komuravelli Jatara, and Bhadrachalam festivities, the government is committed to elevating the Saraswati Pushkaralu to the same level of reverence and organization. Daily rituals will begin with ceremonial baths conducted by respected religious leaders. The official inauguration on May 15 and 16 will be led by Sri Guru Madanananda Saraswati of Rangampet and Sri Madhavananda Saraswati of Medak, symbolising the deep spiritual roots of the event. Konda Surekha emphasised, 'No devotee should face any difficulty. All arrangements will be of the highest standard, reflecting our respect for cultural traditions and public welfare. The Congress government's all-round efforts aim to make the Saraswati Pushkaralu not just a religious celebration but a memorable and seamless experience for every pilgrim.' Event Timeline The 12-day Pushkaralu festival will begin on May 14 at 10:35 pm, coinciding with Jupiter's entry into 'Mithuna Rashi', marking a rare and auspicious period for holy dips in the Saraswati tributary of the Godavari River. Bathing ghats are being expanded and new ones added. Permanent toilets, drinking water stations, and waste management systems are being set up. Additional TSRTC buses will be deployed under the free travel scheme to ease pilgrim movement. Special attention is being given to crowd control and emergency readiness. First-aid centers, on-site medical teams, and special care zones for children, pregnant women, and senior citizens are being arranged to avoid inconvenience. A dedicated Pushkaralu portal and mobile app, launched by the Ministers, will provide pilgrims with live updates, maps of ghats, emergency contact details, and other important information. A toll-free helpline is also operational for public assistance.
The Guardian
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Artists demand National Endowment for the Arts roll back Trump restrictions
Donald Trump's efforts to influence US cultural institutions received more pushback on Tuesday, as a group of more than 400 artists sent a letter to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) calling on the organization to resist the president's restrictions on funding for projects promoting diversity or 'gender ideology'. The letter, first reported by the New York Times, comes after the NEA declared that federal grant applicants – which include colleges and universities, non-profit groups, individual artists and more – must comply with regulations stipulated by Trump's executive orders. The new measures bar federal funds from going toward programs focused on 'diversity, equity and inclusion' or used to 'promote gender ideology'. 'While the arts community stands in solidarity with the NEA, we oppose this betrayal of the Endowment's mission to 'foster and sustain an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States,'' the letter reads. 'We ask that the NEA reverse those changes to the compliance requirements,' the letter reads. 'We recognize that our colleagues at the NEA are in a difficult position,' it continues. 'Perhaps the hope is that by making these compromises, the Endowment will be able to continue its important work. But abandoning our values is wrong, and it won't protect us. Obedience in advance only feeds authoritarianism.' The letter, signed by 463 playwrights, poets, dancers, writers, visual artists and others, was sent on behalf of a campaign organized by the New York-based theater director and writer Annie Dorsen. Signees include the Pulitzer prize-winning playwrights Jackie Sibblies Drury, Lynn Nottage and Paula Vogel, as well as Holly Hughes, a performance artist who in 1990 became one of the 'NEA Four' – artists denied funding because of outcry from conservative critics that their art was 'obscene' at the height of the culture wars. 'In some ways this just feels like déjà vu all over again,' Hughes, a professor of art and design at the University of Michigan, told the Times. 'These funding restrictions are a good barometer for who is the easy punching bag in American culture at the moment.' The letter, sent to 26 NEA officials on Tuesday morning, objects to new requirements instituted by Trump in executive orders – a few of the flurry of orders he signed during the opening days of his second term in office. One requires that grant applicants 'not operate any programs promoting 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws'. Another prevents federal funds from being used 'to promote gender ideology', referring to another anti-trans executive order that declares that American policy is 'to recognize two sexes, male and female'. 'Trump and his enablers may use doublespeak to claim that support for artists of color amounts to 'discrimination' and that funding the work of trans and women artists promotes 'gender ideology' (whatever that is),' the letter reads. 'But we know better: the arts are for and represent everybody. We can't give that up.' By Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the NEA, Elizabeth Auclair, said the organization had not yet received the letter, but assured that 'presidential executive orders have the full force and effect of law and within the executive branch must be implemented consistent with applicable law. The National Endowment for the Arts is a federal agency and will fully comply with the law.' The backlash arrives on the heels of similar outcry over Trump's takeover of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. Last week, Trump purged the arts foundation's board all appointees by Joe Biden and installed several loyalists, who promptly appointed Trump as chair. The takeover prompted several notable names in the cultural community, including Issa Rae, Shonda Rhimes, Reneé Fleming and Ben Folds, to sever ties or cancel performances with the organization. This is also not the first time Trump has targeted the NEA, an organization that has provided over $5bn in grants since its founding in 1965, and which has been subject to culture wars and political threats since the Reagan era. In 2017, at the beginning of his first term, Trump pledged to shut down the NEA, and proposed a budget slashing funds by 80%. The agency survived the first Trump presidency – and, in fact, saw its budget grow – largely because of bipartisan support in Congress, which repeatedly voted to save it.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Trump's National Endowment for the Arts Grant Restrictions Spur Backlash
A group of more than 400 artists sent a letter to the National Endowment for the Arts Tuesday calling on the organization to stop following orders from President Trump and remove restrictions on awarding grants to projects that promote diversity or gender ideology. The letter, which was part of a campaign led by Annie Dorsen, a theater director and writer, comes after NEA says federal grant applicants, which include nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, individual artists and more, must now comply with regulations under Trump's executive orders in order to receive grant funding. More from The Hollywood Reporter Trump Camp Now Pushing Romania to Loosen Its Legal Grip on Andrew Tate Julianne Moore Expresses "Great Shock" Over 'Freckleface Strawberry' Book Being "Banned by the Trump Administration" BAFTA Awards: David Tennant Draws Applause With Donald Trump Joke in Opening Monologue Per the new regulations, an applicant is not allowed to operate any programs promoting 'diversity, equity and inclusion' programs and cannot use the federal funds to 'promote gender ideology.' 'While the arts community stands in solidarity with the NEA, we oppose this betrayal of the Endowment's mission to 'foster and sustain an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States.' We ask that the NEA reverse those changes to the compliance requirements,' the letter reads. 'We recognize that our colleagues at the NEA are in a difficult position. Perhaps the hope is that by making these compromises, the Endowment will be able to continue its important work. But abandoning our values is wrong, and it won't protect us. Obedience in advance only feeds authoritarianism,' the letter continues. Earlier this month, the NEA said that it was canceling its next round of grants for its Challenge America program, which gives out small grants to underserved groups and communities. Those groups are still eligible to apply to the NEA's general grant programming, which is 'encouraging applications that celebrate the nation's rich artistic heritage and creativity by honoring the semiquincentennial of the United States of America (America250).' During a webinar Tuesday, NEA administrators said that the organization has been encouraging projects celebrating America 250 since 2021, and it was 'not the only area of interest' in funding grants. Administrators added that they would also still fund projects centered on disability as well as award grants to organizations centered on specific genders or racial groups. Trump is also taking on the arts through his appointment as chair of the Kennedy Center, where he has also named Richard Grenell, formerly Trump's ambassador to Germany, as interim president, and installed a number of new board members. The full letter is below: February 18, 2025 To the National Endowment for the Arts: We are artists, playwrights, choreographers, performers, musicians, and workers from many parts of the arts and culture sector. All of us have benefited from the NEA's grant making activities, either directly from the Endowment's support for the institutions that have developed and presented our work, or indirectly but no less importantly from the role that the Endowment has played in creating the vibrant and diverse arts ecosystem of which we are grateful to be a part. We are writing to express our tremendous disappointment that the NEA has made the short-sighted decision to change its compliance requirements for the Grants for Arts Projects, conforming to Trump's reactionary and discriminatory executive orders. The orders in question, Executive Order nos. 14173 and 14168, are being challenged in the courts, and will likely be invalidated on statutory and Constitutional grounds. In fact, parts of EO no. 14168 have already been enjoined. While the arts community stands in solidarity with the NEA, we oppose this betrayal of the Endowment's mission to 'foster and sustain an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States.' We ask that the NEA reverse those changes to the compliance requirements. We recognize that our colleagues at the NEA are in a difficult position. Perhaps the hope is that by making these compromises, the Endowment will be able to continue its important work. But abandoning our values is wrong, and it won't protect us. Obedience in advance only feeds authoritarianism. Trump and his enablers may use doublespeak to claim that support for artists of color amounts to 'discrimination' and that funding the work of trans and women artists promotes 'gender ideology' (whatever that is). But we know better: the arts are for and represent everybody. We can't give that up. The NEA must not abandon these principles—or these artists. Artists are not primarily in the business of promoting ideology. We are compelled to tell our truths, to create community around the stories that give life to those truths, and to make common cause with others while we share this 4me on earth. The arts have a particularly important role to play in times of political crisis. When national identities fracture and the public sphere shrinks or becomes increasingly contentious, the arts serve as an indispensable source of memory, imagina4on, and envisioning. The arts community, which the NEA both supports and is a part of, must stand together in the face of those who would erase our memories, cramp our imaginations, and blinker our vision. In this spirit, we ask the NEA to reverse these prejudicial changes to its compliance requirements, and refuse to implement any further such restrictions going forward. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2024: Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Olivia Rodrigo and More
