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Pak judge to address varsity convocation Artistes exhibit works at fine arts academy |
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Honouring one’s own
Arjan Singh fought three major wars during his tenure with the Air Force and built up the Indian Air Force virtually from scratch. He then went on diplomatic assignments to Switzerland, the Vatican and Kenya; was a Member of the Minorities Commission; and served as the Lieut-Governor of Delhi. The Marshal of the Indian Air Force had managed to live a life in which he incorporated various roles-he had originally received a King's Commission to the Indian Air Force, and had gone on to serve Independent India as well. Commissioned by King George VI, honoured by both the British and the Indians, a superb flyer who is now a father figure, a soldier and a diplomat, this is no ordinary man. One cannot but think of the beginnings of Arjan Singh when he was born to Kishan Singh and Kartar Kaur on April 15, 1919, at Kohali village in Lyallpur, now in Pakistan. Risaldar Bhagwan Singh, Arjan Singh's grandfather, had moved to Lyallpur district from Amritsar district since the land there was well irrigated by canals. This was a part of the migration in the late 1800s when people moved from eastern Punjab to the western districts because the irrigation system developed by the British was more efficient. Often a number of families from a particular village would migrate and form a new village that would share its name with the original one. Thus, the village in Lyallpur district was an offshoot of Kohali village, near Amritsar. Lyallpur, now in Pakistan, is called Faislabad. Other members of Risaldar Bhagwan Singh's family also settled in the village. Risaldar Bhagwan Singh's son Kishan Singh did not stay in the village. He studied in Lyallpur and then earned his BSc degree at Khalsa College, Amritsar, where the famous G.A. Wathen was Principal. He then went to England soon after Arjan Singh's birth in 1919 and spent four years in Edinburgh University, Scotland, where he studied civil engineering. On the way back, his ship docked at Colombo and he became an engineer with the Ceylon Railways. Asked to recollect his childhood, Arjan Singh says: "I was always fascinated by aeroplanes. I first saw them when they flew over our village near Lyallpur en route from Lahore to Karachi and
I knew that I wanted to be in those planes." He studied in Government High School, Montgomery, which was the better school in the region. He particularly remembers his schoolmate Justice Manmohan Singh
Gujral, who now lives in Chandigarh. Arjan Singh learned to swim in a canal that was located between his family's farm and the school. That stood him in good stead because he captained the school, university and the provincial swimming teams. He held two long-distance national records in freestyle swimming-one mile and half mile. Manmohan Gujral and Arjan Singh joined Government College, Lahore, together. He stayed in a hostel called the Quadrangle since it was cheaper and near the swimming pool… Arjan Singh is proud of his college colours in swimming,
gatka, athletics and kabaddi, but he never neglected his studies. He earned an Inter-Art degree, FA, for which he also studied Mathematics and Physics. When he was in the fourth year of college, he was selected for the Indian Air Force and had to leave college a few months before he finished the BA degree. Along with six or seven students from Lahore, he had taken the defence examination at Metcalf House, Civil Lines, Delhi. Five were selected. They included Prithipal Singh who belonged to the royal house of Patiala. — Excerpted from Arjan Singh
DFC, Marshal of the Indian Air Force by Roopinder Singh. Rupa and Co, New Delhi.
After matriculation, he studied at Government College, Lahore, and at Gordon College, Rawalpindi, before obtaining a law degree from the Punjab University Law College, Lahore, in the year 1968. At Government College, Lahore, he was the Captain of College Intermediate Tennis Team and was elected as the vice-president of the Young Speakers’ Union. At Gordon College, he was declared the “Best Debater of English and Urdu”. He was editor of Gordonian, which was the official college magazine. He was also elected president of the college. During his stay at Law College, he was the secretary of the Punjab University Law Society, editor of Al-Mizan, which was the college magazine, captain of the college tennis team and member of the college football and rowing trophies at national and international inter-college debates. He was declared the best English debater of Punjab University on winning the “Krishan Kishore Grover Gold Medal Goodwill Declamation Contest” in the year 1968. He passed out from Law College with a “Special Certificate of Honour” for best all-round activities in academics, sports and debates. He started law practice at Lahore in the year 1969 and was appointed as Assistant Advocate General for Punjab (West) in the year 1976. He was promoted as Additional Advocate General in 1984 and was finally appointed as the Advocate General for the Province of Punjab in March 1987. In October 1988, he was elevated as a Judge of the Punjab High Court and was further elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in January 2002. Mr Ramday has a passion for learning and teaching. He is a member of the visiting faculty of the Civil Services Academy of Pakistan, National Defence College, Naval War College, Air Force War College, Administrative Staff College and the National Institute of Public Administration. He has been on the Board of Governors of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and the Lahore School of Economics. Presently, he is on the Board of Governors of the National University of Modern Languages and Disciplines, Islamabad,
and of the Air University (set up by Pakistan Air Force), Islamabad. He is a member of the Syndicate of the Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. His eldest brother, late Chaudhry Muhammad Farooq, was twice the Attorney General for Pakistan. Mr Justice Ramday’s late father, Justice Muhammad Siddique, belonged to Kiryan village of Nawanshahr district, while his father-in-law, Chief Justice Yaqoob Ali Khan, belonged to Jalandhar where he practised law from 1937 to 1947. Dr Gill, born on June 14, 1936, received his education in a prestigious institution St. Georges College, Mussoorie, graduation in honours and masters in English from Panjab University. He did his Ph.D on the Cooperative Movement in Punjab and its role in agriculture. Dr Gill qualified the Indian Civil Services Examination with distinction. He worked extensively on rural development, agriculture improvement, population control and literacy improvement. In recognition of his work in these areas, he was selected to represent the IAS nationally and sent to Queens’ College, Cambridge, for a one-year Development Studies Programme. As Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Punjab, he was responsible for the cooperative credit banking system for farmers. He became the Managing Director, National Cooperative Development Corporation, wherein he oversaw the Cooperative Movement in all states of the Union.
He was invited by the World Bank to head one of their largest projects (500m dollars over five years) in Nigeria. As Development Commissioner, Punjab, he was responsible for the development of agriculture, cooperatives, dairy, fisheries, land Accumulation and development. As Chairman of the Punjab Marketing Board, he introduced a large number of measures for the welfare of small farmers like Apni Mandis, Vikas Bhavans, promotion of fisheries and honey production, cooperative sugar production and cooperative handling of Punjab’s vast milk production. He had the rare honour to be nominated as Election Commissioner of India in 1993 and Chief Election Commissioner of India in 1996. During his tenure as Chief Election Commissioner, he conducted three Parliamentary Elections in 1996, 1998 and 1999, along with elections to numerous State Legislatures. He also conducted elections for President and Vice-President of India in 1997. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were introduced for the first time. During 1998-2000, the entire electoral roll was computerised and Photo Identity Cards were promoted. Under his stewardship, the Commission won international recognition and its members were invited to provide expertise and technical assistance to countries such as Nigeria, Indonesia, Cambodia, South Africa, amongst others. As a member of Rajya Sabha, he has raised numerous issues relating to Punjab, particularly those affecting the poor Punjab peasantry. He was conferred the Padma Vibhushan and Dadabhai Naoroji New Millennium International Award. At a historic gathering in Anandpur Sahib, the foundation place of the Khalsa, he was honoured with Nishan-e-Khalsa in the presence of the Prime Minister of India.
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Pak judge to address varsity convocation Justice Khalil-ur-Rahman Ramday would be the first judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to deliver a convocation address at an Indian University — Guru Nanak Dev University — on May 1, to mark the World Labour Day. Earlier also, Guru Nanak Dev University had taken the initiative to confer honoris causa on Mr Pervaiz Elahi, Chief Minister of West Punjab. Lately, the varsity at Amritsar has been acting like a bridge between the two countries. Artistes, singers, Punjabi writers and other celebrities from Pakistan make it a point to stay at the Sheikh Sajjan Guest House in the university complex, named after the contemporary of Guru Nanak Dev. The 31st Annual Convocation of Guru Nanak Dev University would be held in the Dasmesh Auditorium here. Dr R.S. Bawa, Registrar, Guru Nanak Dev University, said that Gen S.F. Rodrigues (Retd), Governor of Punjab and Chancellor of the university, would preside over the convocation, while Dr S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor, would read out the citations. Dr Bawa said that besides Justice Ramday, the university would confer the honorary degrees upon Dr Manohar Singh Gill, former Chief Election Commissioner of India and Member, Rajya Sabha; Arjan Singh, Air Chief Marshal (Retd) and Mr R.A. Mashelkar, Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), for commendable contribution in their respective fields. A former hockey Olympian and Padamshri award winner, Ajitpal Singh, and a noted Punjabi playwright, Dr Atamjit Singh, would also be honoured with gold medals on this occasion for their contribution to sports and Punjabi culture, respectively. All Ph.D, M.Phil, M.Tech (Planning) and LL.M candidates and the first four position holders in various university examinations who have passed their examinations in the first division would be awarded their degrees on this occasion.
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Artistes exhibit works at fine arts academy Budding artistes from different parts of the country were awarded cash awards and commendation certificates at the 71st All-India Exhibition of Fine Arts, 2005, organised by the Indian Academy of Fine Arts here. Among those awarded included Sable Sanjay Kashinath from Nasik, Puja Sharma from New Delhi and Chetna from Sonepat (Haryana). Some of the paintings displayed at the art gallery were exquisite works of art. "Some paintings exhibited here excite you to dream, while others force you to draw your own meanings. And a few take you into total awareness, where the dichotomy between the subject and the object ebbs away," commented an art critic. The art lovers also appreciated the sculptures made by Suresh Kumar from Rewari (Haryana), and M.G. Kidwai from New Delhi. Mr Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, honorary general secretary of the Indian Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar, said that the academy was a pioneer art centre in Punjab. "It has rich and rare record of various activities and achievements to its credit," he added. He further said that the arts gallery was touching news heights and spreading the culture of fine arts and performing arts among the youth. More than 420 artistes from 22 states participated in the exhibition. Out of the 700 art works, the jury selected 230 art works in the field of paintings, sculptures, graphics, drawings and photographs. The paintings and other artistic works will be on display in the gallery, which shall remain open daily between 10 am and 7 pm up to May 8. Mr Sidhu distributed cash awards among the 15 award-winning artistes. He also gave "Lifetime Achievement Award" to Mr Krishan Khanna and Mr Inderpal Singh
Bansi.
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Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, was born in Lahore on January 13, 1945, as the fifth child and third son of Justice Muhammad Siddique who retired as a judge of the West Pakistan High Court. He is the first Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan who would deliver the Convocation Address at Guru Nanak Dev University on May 1.
Dr Manohar Singh Gill, formerly Chief Election Commissioner of India, and presently member of Rajya Sabha, is a committed nationalist, visionary administrator, pioneer of the Cooperative Movement in Punjab which brought Punjab ahead of other states of India in the field of agriculture and a perceptive author having 10 renowned publications covering a wide spectrum from Punjab agriculture to elections in India. He is an illustrious Punjabi about whom every Punjabi feels proud.