EDUCATION

Renaissance-2000 attracting huge crowds
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 4 — Today was the third day of the Renaissance-2000, a four-day art festival organised by the Government College of Art, Sector 10, at the college premises.

The art fest today organised a fete here where stalls that had put up works of art for sale evoked a special interest among visitors. The festival was opened by veteran artists of the city — Mr B.R. Rattan, Mr Kanwal Nain, Mr Mehar Singh, Mr Prem Singh, Principal of the College, and art historian, Dr D.C. Bhattacharya, with autobiographical gestures made with brushes and paints on canvasses.

Another attraction of the day were the students on bicycles selling roses to the visitors. The other stalls at the festival, which attracted large crowds, included ‘Aim at the Jar’, ‘Humpty Dumpty’ and ‘Hoopla’. These stalls were decorated not only with the usual embellishments but interestingly, with the portraits of Rabindra Nath Tagore, Nand Lal Bose, M.F. Hussain, Binod Behari Mukherjee, Satish Gujral, Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Paul Gauguin and Van Gogh. About 2500 art lovers visited the art fest today.

Also available on the occasion was an open dance floor, where both boys and girls could be seen giving away, and a request stall where students and visitors could request their favourite numbers to be played. On display were also cut-outs of musclemen, cars and motorcycles, with which the visitors could get themselves photographed.

This art fest will conclude tomorrow at the same venue with a prize distribution that would be held at 4 p.m. for the winners of the two-day competitions that were held here on February 2 and 3.

Stress on children’s rights
From Our Correspondent

KHARAR, Feb 4 — Mr Khushi Ram, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, has stressed the need of start a mass campaign to educate the people about rights of children and to take steps to stop any injustice being done towards them.

He was addressing a gathering in the nearby town of Kurali yesterday which was organised under the Indo-British project about child rights and security at the concluding function of a seminar organised about this. Mr Khushi Ram said steps should be taken to improve the living condition of children in slums, and they should be provided facilities of education, better living and pollution-free environment.

Sanskrit year celebrations
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 4 — Sanskrit and its close affinity with the national tradition was highlighted by Ms Vineeta Rai, adviser to the UT Administrator, at the inaugural function to mark the Sanskrit Year celebrations at Panjab University here today.

Dr Shaktidhar Sharma,a former professor of physics at PU, in his key-note address explored components of modern day science in the Sanskrit language, referring specially to the fields of Ayurveda, mathematics and geography among others.

Prof M.M. Puri, Vice Chancellor of the university, in his presidential remarks highlighted the real value of the language and said that it was sad that ‘we did not bother to learn facets of our own language’.

Ms Rai, Professor Puri, and Dr Sharma were honoured on the occasion.Dr Ramakant, Dr Dhan Raj Sharma, Dr Ved Prakash Upadhayaya, Dr Vikram Kumar and K.K.Dhawan and Dr Ved Prakash also participated in the event.

Dr Shankerji Jha, Chairman of the department, welcomed the guests.He made a reference about an interesting proposal of Mr K.P. Sinha, Associate Editor of the The Tribune, regarding compiling data of Sanskrit language compositions on a web-site. This was pointed as a need of the hour for maintaining the rich tradition and original contents of the language.

COURTS

‘Adjournment sought to stall proceedings’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 4 — Opposing the plea for “long adjournment” of the appeal against the dismissal of an application for restraining Justice Kuldip Singh from acting as the World Sikh Council President, his counsel today stated that the application, being misconceived, was liable to be dismissed.

Accusing the plaintiffs of making an attempt to keep “the appeal pending as a threat”, counsel stated that the adjournment was being sought to stall the proceedings.

In the reply submitted before UT District and Sessions Judge B.S. Bedi, counsel stated that the appellants should withdraw the suit if they had “faith in the authority of Sri Akal Takht Sahib”.

Claiming non-pendency of any “alleged dispute on behalf of the Council” before Sri Akal Takht, counsel further alleged that the appellants had “no regard for any religious authority or institution”.

Admitting the summoning of Council President by “Singh Sahib Gyani Puran Singhji”, counsel stated that the Singh Sahibans were apprised by Justice Kuldip Singh regarding the Council’s working since inception. The application will now come up for consideration on February 7.

Earlier, plaintiffs Baldev Singh Brar and Talib Singh Sandhu had claimed in their application that “it would take time to settle the dispute by Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib because of his preoccupation with the other important matters”.

Claiming to have been summoned, the plaintiffs had also stated that the Jathedar had informed them regarding his being “ceased of the matter relating to the Council dispute”.

The Jathedar, the plaintiffs had added, had also told them that the dispute would be resolved within a short period as “Justice Kuldip Singh had also agreed for the settlement of the dispute by him”. The Jathedar, the plaintiffs had further added, had also told them that the “necessary information” would be sent to the plaintiffs.

Giving details, the plaintiffs had stated that the information regarding Justice Kuldip Singh being summoned “in order to resolve the Council dispute” had been received through a reliable source and from the newspapers. The news regarding the retired Supreme Court Judge appearing before the Jathedar was carried in “almost all newspapers in Punjab” on July 27, 1999, he added.

Earlier, dismissing the application, UT Civil Judge (Senior Division) B.C. Gupta had observed: “I hold that the plaintiff has failed to make out a prima facie case for the grant of injunction, nor the balance of convenience lies in favour of the plaintiff and it is Justice Kuldip Singh who will suffer irreparable loss if the injunction is granted”.

Legal literacy camp for ITI students
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Feb 4 — As many as 250 students of Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Phase 5 here, participated in a legal literacy camp organised recently by the Indian Council of Social Welfare, Punjab, in coordination with the Department of Technical Education and Industrial Training, Punjab.

Mr N.S. Kalsi, Director of the Technical Education and Industrial Training, Ms Gurdial Kaur, Chairperson of the Social Welfare Board and Ms Maninder Kaur, an advocate from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, spoke on the occasion.

The participants were briefed on the support system of legal aid, family counselling centres and role of lok adalats. Information on crime against women was given and procedures for filing a first information report (FIR) explained to the students.

RI for illegal sale of birds
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 4 — Convicting two persons of keeping 105 birds for sale in cages without permit or licence, the UT Chief Judicial Magistrate Mr. Sant Parkash today sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment for one year, besides imposing a fine of Rs 500.

A complaint under Section 55 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, was earlier submitted before the court against the duo — Abid Mohammed and Ali Akbar — by Assistant Wildlife Warden Mr. M.P. Sharma.

Claiming Ali Akbar to be in possession of parakeets, cuckoos, pigeons (except blue rock ones), finches and munias at a plant nursery in Mani Majra in August 1989, the Assistant Warden had added that the accused had failed to produce licence, permit or sanction from the department concerned.

The accused, he had added, had told him that the birds were sold by father Abid Mohammed, who was unwell that day. Mohammed, the counsel for the complainant had added, had later confessed before the office of the Forest Department that the birds belonged to him and were for sale.

When confronted with the incriminating evidence against them, the accused, on the other had, had stated that they were being implicated in the case. Claiming to be innocent, they had asked for a trial.

After hearing the arguments, the CJM observed: “The complainant has been able to bring home the guilt against the accused persons that they were having birds of various types numbering 105 for sale without permit, licence or sanction from the competent authority and thereby both accused are hereby held guilty and convicted under Section 55 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act”.

Rejecting the plea for taking a lenient view, the CJM observed: “I am of the considered opinion that the convicts do not deserve any leniency while passing the order on the quantum of sentence. The convicts have kept innocent birds in cages for the purpose of sale .... They have shown cruelty towards the birds and they deserve to be dealt with a heavy hand so that others may not dare to commit such type of offence in future”.

CULTURE

Artists, writers back Deepa Mehta
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 4— A handful of artists, writers, lawyers, social activists and teachers gathered this afternoon at the Sector 17 Plaza to register their protests against the attack on the sets of the film ‘Water’ being made by Deepa Mehta at Varanasi.

The demonstrators later also formed a human chain to express their solidarity with “the brave artists and Deepa Mehta who are facing the onslaught of the fascist forces”.

Carrying placards and banners with slogans written on them to condemn the attack on the artistes, the various protesting people today spoke against what they termed was the “attack on the right to freedom of expression”.

Among those who addressed the rally today included Mr Gursharan Singh and Dr Sahib Singh, both theatre personalities, Prof H. S. Mehta, Dr Harjinder Laltu, Secretary of PUTA, Dr M. S. Randhawa, Sardara Singh Cheema, co-convener of Sahit Chintan, and Ms Poonam Singh, Editor of ‘Preetlari’ a Punjabi magazine.

Speaking on the occasion, the speakers called upon the conscious citizens to rise in defence of democracy, fundamentalism and fascism. The rally also demanded that the government should take stern action against reactionary elements that impose decadent values and also that protection be provided to all the artistes and the film-maker of ‘Water’.

B.N. Goswamy honoured
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 4 — Prof B N Goswamy, a distinguished art historian and a Padamshree awardee, has been awarded the Reitberg Award, instituted by the Swiss Government, for his academic achievements on the field of Indian painting.

He also happens to be the first recipient of this award, which has been instituted for outstanding research in art history, in memory of late Dr Georgette Boner, a Swiss painter and a sculptor.

While announcing the honour, State President Von Zurich has specially mentioned Prof Goswamy’s “ground breaking research” in the field of Indian painting and his “academic achievements all these decades”. The honour will be received by Prof Goswamy in person at the end of April this year in Switzerland.

Prof Goswamy, who also happens to be on the editorial board of Artibus Asiae, a leading international journal on art that is published from Switzerland, has also got three of his books published from the same country — ‘Wonders of Golden Age published in 1987; Pahadi Masters in 1990; and Nainsukh of Guler in 1997.