M A I N   N E W S

Share wealth or perish, says Jagmohan
From Our Correspondent

AMRITSAR, Feb 12 — Union Minister for Urban Development has said that in spite of tremendous technological development which the world has seen during the past century, the lot of the poor and women has not improved.

He said this while addressing the annual convocation of the local Guru Nanak Dev University here today.

The university honoured Mr Jagmohan with doctor of philosophy (honoris causa) degree on the occasion for his contribution to administration, history and culture. The university also conferred the same degree on eminent scientist Narinder Singh Kampany.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Jagmohan said in spite of tremendous technological development which the world had seen the lot of the poor, diseased and women had not improved. He said during the nineties the world spending had crossed $ 24 trillion, which was six times more than what was spent in 1975 and 16 times higher than 1950. The mushrooming of the world organisations like the UNO, UNESCO, WTO, WHO and others had failed to alleviate the sufferings of millions of the deprived who did not get a square meal a day.

Presenting startling figures, he said 20 per cent affluent had cornered more than 86 per cent of the world’s wealth while 1.4 billion slept without meal. He said 1.7 billion did not get a drop of pure drinking water and 3 billion were deprived of the basic sanitation facilities.

He said these alarming figure were disturbing the conscious people of the Third World where intellectuals and planners had an arduous task of not only to feed but provide education and better living conditions. The affluent had to share their wealth to create an equitable world order otherwise the whole system would collapse, he remarked.

The minister advocated teachings of Guru Nanak Dev who had preached universal brotherhood, peace and harmony.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Kampany urged the Punjab Government to invite rich and resourceful Punjabi non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in the state. He said the government should take initiative to set-up technological institutes for producing world class scientists.

He advocated setting up of a “silicon valley” in the state for the export of software. He said he was deeply perturbed at the political degeneration and economic decline in the state.

Delivering the convocation address, Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi said the government was committed to eradication of illiteracy from the country. The figures revealed that the literacy level in the country had risen from 52 per cent in 1991 to 62 per cent. As per the projections we might reach sustainable literacy rate of 75 per cent by 2005-06.

He said the government had now created a separate department for Elementary Education and Literacy.

The new initiatives also included efforts to involve more NGOs in the literacy movement.

He said the Centre would soon launch a “holistic and convergent’’ educational programme with the objective of achieving universalisation of elementary education.

Reading out the citation, Vice-Chancellor H.S. Soch said Mr Jagmohan is certainly one of the topmost civil servants that the country has produced in the post-Independence period. Mr Jagmohan, who is basically an administrator has deep interest in Punjabi culture and heritage, particularly the Sikh religion. While performing his duties as Governor of J and K, he carried out significant research on Punjabi culture and contributed significantly to establish the authenticity of prevalent legends about Sri Hargobind; the visit of Kashmiri Pandits to Sri Guru Tej Bahadur at Anandpur Sahib and Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s rule in J and K.

Dr Narinder Singh Kampany, an eminent scientist and scholar of Sikh religion was also awarded degree of doctor of philosophy (honoris causa) at the faculty of humanities and religious studies for his contribution to Sikh studies.

Dr Soch reading the citation said “Dr Kapany is a pioneering scientist in optoelectronics and acknowledged as the father of fibre-optics. He has made substantial contribution as reflected through his over 80 scientific papers, about 100 patents issued or applied for and four books of which two texts are considered to be comprehensive and definitive treatments of the fibre-optics field.

To promote Sikh history, religion, language and culture, Dr Kapany has been given the chair in Sikh studies at the University of California.

Santa Barbara, taking inspiration from Dr Kapany, the chair organised a major international seminar in connection with the tercentenary of the creation of Khalsa at the University of Santa Barbara.

The Sikh Foundation under its stewardship has taken up various projects for the transmission of the Sikh diaspora in the West.

A noted folk singer of Punjab Hans Raj Hans was also honoured by the university with a gold medal for his contribution in the field of folk music, especially in Sufi Kav. The Punjab Governor, Lt-Gen J.F.R. Jacob, PVSM (retd), in his presidential remarks said young graduates should set their sights high. Expressing happiness, he said the university had offered itself for evaluation by national agencies such as the National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, Dr H.S. Soch, welcomed the dignitaries and read the citation.