REPUBLIC DAY, 2003 

Can India be a superpower?
Yes, it can be!
Let’s turn India into a land of opportunities
Hari Jaisingh
"INDIA is not just a piece of earth; she is power, a Godhead." This is how Sri Aurobindo looked at this country and its rich ancient civilisation. But all that he wanted fellow Indians to have was "the firm faith that India must rise and be great". Herein lies the tragic gap between desire and action, between promise and performance; and between conduct in private life and public life of leaders.

MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH: SPECIAL FEATURES & PHOTOS

The Glorious Reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
"On the 1st of Baisakh (April 12) 1801, Sahib Singh Bedi daubed Ranjit Singh’s forehead with saffron paste and proclaimed him Maharajah of the Punjab. A royal salute was fired from the fort. In the afternoon the young Maharajah rode on his elephant, showering gold and silver coins on jubilant crowds of his subjects. In the evening, all the homes of the city were illumined. Ranjit Singh’s political acumen is well illustrated in the compromise that he made between becoming a Maharajah and remaining a peasant leader.

STATE OF MEDICAL COLLEGES

Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh
Saturday, October 11, 2003
A badly bruised PGI needs a healing touch
Shortage of doctors, nurses adds to patients’ troubles; no cure in sight
by Nirmal Sandhu
UNSAVOURY developments in the recent past have dented the image of the PGI, Chandigarh. For the first time in its history, the Director has been told to proceed on leave. For the first time again, an OSD of the Health Ministry has been deputed at the PGI to monitor its functioning. The PGI is certainly not what it used to be.

STATE OF UNIVERSITIES

Panjab University
Saturday,  September 20, 2003
Panjab University: venerable but showing its age
Pressure groups play politics and scuttle academic reforms
by Roopinder Singh
THE level of politicisation in the institution that traces its roots back to pre-partition Punjab, the one that was spelt with an ‘a’, is so high as to be all-pervasive. The Senate, the Syndicate faculty members, employees and students, all are “politically” active.

BALWANT GARGI: TRIBUTES

Balwant Gargi dead
New Delhi, April 22
Renowned Punjabi dramatist and short story writer, Balwant Gargi, was cremated here today. He died in Mumbai last night after prolonged illness. He was 87. He left behind his son and daughter. The body of the Sahitya Akademi winning writer was brought to the Capital this afternoon and a large number of persons from cultural and literary field paid their last respect.

TEHELKA EXPOSE

Website exposes govt’s shady defence deals
BJP chief Bangaru Laxman quits,
Cabinet rejects George’s offer to resign
New Delhi, March 13
The BJP President, Mr Bangaru Laxman, tonight resigned from the post following the exposure of his alleged involvement in a defence deal by a website, even as Defence Minister George Fernandes offered to resign from the Cabinet. However, Mr Fernandes was persuaded by his Cabinet colleagues not to take any hasty decision.

ON RAVI SIDHU TRAIL

PPSC Chairman in Vigilance net
To be produced in court today
Chandigarh, March 25
In a trap, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau today caught red-handed Public Service Commission Chairman Ravinder Paul Singh Sidhu while accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh at his residence in Sector 39. Till the filing of this report, search of his residence was continuing.