The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

Accused teacher wants CBI inquiry
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 21 — The fate of a Panjab University lecturer of the University Business School hangs in balance as the Senate and Syndicate still deliberate on his alleged involvement in increasing marks of a candidate from zero to 42 in re-evaluation.

An inquiry under Mr P.H.Vaishnav concluded in August 1999, holding Dr B.B. Goyal from the University Business School guilty of aiding a student by increasing his marks from zero to 42.

What was more intriguing was the fact that the paper did not contain a single line of any answer but only Radha Swami written in the entire answer sheet.

However, Dr Goyal vehemently denies his involvement “in any such foolish act” and asks for a CBI inquiry to look into the episode and identify the “real” culprits. The inquiry fails to establish any malafide intentions on my part, he says.

The issue scheduled for the October Syndicate meeting was postponed, as the Senate was the appropriate authority to take up the issue.

The next meeting of the Senate is scheduled for December17. Dr Goyal has been asked to appear in front of an inquiry the following day. “ This only delays the progress of the case and looks strange”, Dr Goyal said talking to TNS.

Dr Goyal said that the inquiry report of Mr Vaishnav was not accepted, following which Justice H.S. Rai was asked to intervene. This means the probe was still under consideration.

He said that Justice Rai had asked for a copy of the university probe. This brought up an interesting question whether it was right for the matter to re-feature in the Syndicate where it had been rejected. Maybe, the Senate can comment on this better, one feels.

One very important point related to the issue was “why the student benefited by the allegations not brought on record?” Dr Goyal said. Also why the staff concerned with the paper and the dealing had not been clearly identified. “My signature on the alleged paper was detached because it was on a separate flap which did leave some questions”, he added.

Justice Rai for the requirements of the inquiry had asked for papers which means that his conclusion was yet to come, Dr Goyal said.

Some important related points include “ Why was the benefiting student not called? Who entered the roll numbers on the copies ? There is a checking of the marking of the checked papers.

The Panjab University Teachers Association also wrote a letter to the university seeking “re-examination” of the case. Let the investigation agencies, even the government, act independently and give a judgement at the earliest to save harassment”, Dr Goyal added.

Independent sources said that the allegation was of a “very serious nature”. The inquiry needed to be fair and transparent.

Natyotsav on Nov 24
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 21 — Natyotsav 2000, an inter-college and inter-school one act play and histrionics festival will be held on November 24, at DAV College, Sector 10. The festival is being organised by Sambhang group in collaboration with the Department of Public Relations (UT) Chandigarh and the PGI branch of the State Bank of India.

Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University, will inaugurate the function and Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab, will be the Chief Guest on the occasion. Mr K.K. Mehra, DGM, State Bank of India and Mr Harbhajan Halwarvi would be the guests of honour. Mr Vijay Sehgal, Editor, Dainik Tribune, will preside over the function. Mr Gursharan Singh and Principal B.S. Shergill will be honoured on the occasion.

Sambhang theatre group is an organisation of performing arts, a brainchild of Prabhat Gupta, an actor and director from Chandigarh who died in an accident in 1987. The group has been organising this festival in his memory since then.

More than 10 teams from various colleges and schools of the city will be participating in the day long competition. One team from the school category and another from the college category will be awarded the trophies.

COURTS

Order to withhold HSSC test result
From our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Nov 21 — A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising Mr Justice Amarbir Singh Gill and Mr Justice V.S. Aggarwal today stayed the declaration of result of the proposed test being held by the Haryana Staff selection Commission for the selection of math masters and mistresses in Haryana.

The Bench handed down this order on a petition filed by Mr Justice Jawahar Lal Goel and six others challenging a notice issued by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission to hold a test of the applicants for the posts of maths masters and mistresses in order to short-list them for final selection.

The test would be of 100 marks which would test the academic and teaching skill of the aspirant candidates, the notice issued by the commission has stated, alleged the petitioners. They (petitioners) said as per the service rules framed by the state government as per the statutory rules of 1998, the qualification for a maths teacher was B.A/B.Sc and BT/ B.Ed with mathematics as one subject, adding that the commission got no right or powers to amend the qualification-rules of a maths master/mistress as these powers were vested with the legislature or the Governor, they pleaded.

After hearing arguments advanced by counsel for the petitioner about the illegality of the notice regarding the test issued by the commission, the Bench directed the commission to hold the test as per its scheduled date on November 26 but not to declare the result till further orders of the court and issued notice to the state of Haryana and commission for December 6 next to reply why the impunged notice be not quashed.

3 acquitted in separate cases
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Nov 21 — Ajad Singh, a city resident, was today acquitted by the UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class) in a rash driving case.

It was alleged that the accused, Ajad Singh, who was driving a Maruti car, had hit Brij Bahadur in April, 1999, and caused him injuries. The case against the accused had been registered under Sections 289 and 337 of the Indian Penal Code on April 21, 1999. The accused was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

In another case, Hari Singh, a resident of Sector 35, was acquitted by the UT Judicial Magistrate in a case of causing death by rash and negligent driving.

It was alleged that the accused, who was driving a Maruti car had hit the victim, Om Bahadur Rana. The victim had died in the accident. A case against the accused had been registered under Sections 289 and 304-A of the IPC on April 4, 1999. The accused was acquitted because of lack of evidence.

Similarly, Sarvan Kumar, a resident of Sector 55, was acquitted by the Judicial Magistrate in a theft case. The complainant, Ram Raj Yadav, had alleged that the accused had stolen gold and silver rings. The case against the accused had been registered on June 24,1997. The accused was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Majestic Himalayan moments captured in lens
By Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 21 — The genesis of the photo exhibition on the Himalayas which opened at the Panjab University Fine Arts Museum today is quite strange, but there is something very special about its creation. The Lucknow-based lensmen Anil Risal and Threesh Kapoor share an affectionate smile as they disclose how the 50 prints on the majesty of the Himalayan Range came alive.

"For us it is a way of celebrating the 25 years of affiliation. It has been a long spell and as friends-cum-photographers, we could not have thought of a better manner of celebrating our friendship. The thought of reproducing pictures on the Himalayan grandeur came naturally to both of us," said Anil Risal Singh and Threesh Kapoor while talking to The Tribune this afternoon.

As for Threesh, Himalayas are an ever-inspiring source for artistic activity. The two have put up an exquisite show which has the power of transforming the viewer right into the moment which otherwise lies captured in the lens. While Anil has been teaching at the National Research Laboratory for Conservation for the past abut 20 years, Threesh is an AGM with the public relations section of the State Bank of India. But photography is passion with both of them.

This passion finds a delectable reflection in the play light on the 50 prints, which have been equally claimed by the two Lucknow artists. Threesh has focused on colour prints while Anil revels in the black and white charms. The two have restricted their photographic attempts to early mornings and evenings, so as to capture the romantic play of lights in the hills.

On the show are slides prepared from the scenic glory of the entire Himalayan Range, including Tibet, Ladakh, Kumaon-Garhwal, and Himachal Pradesh. The collection begins with the picture titled Gurla Mandhata Himalaya which adorns one side of the Mansarovar lake in Tibet. The photo artist captures the silvery mountains towards the sunset and also the Nanda Kote from the Pindari valley. Then there are prints which recreate the magical mysticism of the Himalayas almost perfectly. In this lot are the snow-capped face of the Kailash Parbat (taken from the south), the Om Parbat, a 21,000 feet high glacier which sports snow in the formation of Om, and the Mansarovar lake in all its majesty.

There also are pictures of the Trisuli Himalaya at Chamauli, The Roop Kund, and the Tent Peak. The more important point about the works of Threesh is not only the immense effort which has gone into the creation of each print, but also the finesse of the composition on the display. The works are powerful enough to tickle the sensibilities, and they inspire a strange verdancy into the soul, as if actually transporting the viewer to the scene in the frame.

Anil's works are also extremely refined in their own right. He concentrates on the black and white, and produces prints which are rarely seen these days. He takes wider view of the picturesque Himalayan Range and builds a land of dreams in each print. He also titles them very aptly.

The moments have been amazingly captured, and the compositions are very novel and rich in content. Anil's collection begins with a title as mystic as the bearing of the Himalayas itself: Let there be light. In each print, there is a lot more beauty than just what is obvious. The hidden elements are delightful, provided the viewer sees them after going beyond the superfluous images.

The two photo artists who also held a slide show of their photographs here yesterday, are quite delighted over their visit to the city. "We were invited by the Fine Arts Department, and we love to be here," they said adding that the present collection was just a part of the vast work they had accomplished on the Himalayas. The exhibition will be on view till November 25.

‘Our art does not reflect modernity’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 21 — He has a very illustrious career, at least in his role as an art critic. Santo Datta, the scholar in art, who has to his credit long stints as an art critic with various national dailies, is in the city for two days to deliver lectures on specific issues at the Government College of Art, Sector 10. The lectures are being organised by the college as part of the ongoing celebrations of the golden jubilee year of the college.

Speaking to The Tribune today about art, Santo Datta very humbly admitted that he did not arrogate to himself any major contribution to the field. "I have only contributed a very tiny bit," said the scholar who has worked as an art critic with The Tribune, The Indian Express, The Pioneer and The Hindu. After writing extensively for the newspapers, Santo Datta looked a little dejected by the state of affairs today.

"All the national dailies have gradually curtailed their arts pages. The sanctity of columns on art is lost," he said in a pained tone. The art critic, who is known for his immense understanding of the subject and that too without any formal base in it, today also delivered a lecture on modernity to post-modernism.

He said that we have adopted the term called modernity from the West, but we have actually not been able to adopt its nuances in the fullest. "We lack the pressure of experience in which the west revels. All we have assimilated is their vocabulary, their technique, but the soul is missing. We have not experienced even an iota of the turmoil which they have."

Referring to the two World Wars, Mr Datta said that Europe had convulsed under the impact of war. That was how their paintings reflected all the pain which we could not. He added that where we have not been able to adopt modernity in full, we have started a race towards post-modernism. "Now we are trying to express chaos, but this is all a facade."

Santo Datta will again deliver a lecture tomorrow on art criticism. He said that reading through the columns of eminent critics was important to know how a painting ought to be looked at.

"A visitor would not know what to look for. While he gets stuck on the mountain the female form which has been painted, he forgets to go beyond. A critic shows the beauty, apart from the obvious elements in the painting."

Trilingual poetic symposium organised
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 21 — Mere kol koi hunar nahin,

mere kol ne kujh bebas jayian nazman,

jo mere lahoo di siyaahi bana ke

kagaz te khilar dendiyan ne

te main jandi haan ke inan da

koi mul nahin par hor mere kol

koi hunar vi nahin...

These verses were recited by Ms Arvinder Kaur, lecturer, Government College for Men, Sector 11, on the occasion of the Linguistic Harmony Day celebrations here today at the college.

The recital was part of a trilingual poetic symposium organised by the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi to commemorate the Quami Ekta Week with the cooperation of the the NSS unit and students of the college.

Eminent poets who wrote in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi participated in the symposium and recited their compositions. The poets who participated in the symposium included K. K. Rishi, Jigar Jallandhri, Bhagwant Singh, A. S. Pooni, Madhav Kaushik, Raju Santokh Dass, Sardar Anjum, Rajinder Chand, Phul Chand Manav, Harbhajan Halwarvi, Nirmal Dutt, Santosh Dhiman, Amarjit Amar, R .D.Sharma Taseer and Arvinder Kaur.

The chief guest on the occasion was Major-Gen Himmat Singh Gill (retd), Chairman, Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi. Dr S.N.Singla, Principal, Government College for Men, Sector 11, welcomed the guests and poets. Prof Bhupinder Singh, Secretary, Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi and lecturer in the college thanked the guests.