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| Monday,
January 15, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Rajasthan may revert to octroi collection Ceasefire decision to be reviewed: Advani Hawking to meet President today Temple issue |
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Ayodhya on NDA agenda: UP BJP Remand for 27 in
jute mill violence case Custodial deaths Khalsa awards
presented President visits
Vijayaraje, Prasada Defence experts want CDS ‘Open’ MiG-21 assembly line to fight shortage Power struggle led to 1971 debacle: Niazi Gulshan murder:
cops to leave for Kolkata Grooming tribal kids
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Rajasthan may revert to octroi collection SRIGANGANAGAR, Jan 14 — The Rajasthan Government is likely to reintroduce the collection of octroi in the state with a view to boost the deplorable state to affairs of local bodies in the state. There are indications that the Minister for Local Bodies, Mr Shanti Dhaliwal, is not averse to the levy of octroi on eight principal products, including liquor, petrol, diesel and cigarettes. He is said to have warned the loss-making bodies to clean up their act or face the consequences. The outfits which do not show results will face the ignonimity of being downgraded to the status of gram panchayats, he is believed to have said. With the reintroduction of octroi the state government expects to earn an additional revenue of Rs 400 crore annually in addition to the surcharge being collected at present. The products which do not attract a surcharge will also be taxed. This is likely to raise the problems of the trading community of the state. Sources reveal that there are more than 200 municipal boards and councils in 35 districts which were in the pink of health in the 90s but are reportedly running in losses to the tune of Rs 300 crore annually since octroi was waived off by the Shekhawat government in 1994. The consequences of this decision can be gauged from the fact that the state has reportedly lost more than Rs 1,000 crore in the past five to six years. Most of the councils and boards in the red do not even have money to pay salaries to their employees. In Sriganganagar alone, the state loses Rs 3 to 4 crore annually on this account, the sources pointed out. With the dismantling of the octroi set-up, thousands of employees were rendered jobless overnight and were adjusted in other departments. Since the state was to recover crores from defaulters, many employees were adjusted in octroi-recovery wings created for the purpose all over the state. Here, too they have proved to be a liability on the government since the recovery has not been satisfactory all these years. To make up for the loss, the then government levied a surcharge of 12 per cent on various products. Many products which did not attract octroi came in the ambit of the surcharge. Although the revenue went up, the boards and councils suffered since they had no means to generate resources. They were at the mercy of the state government. However, they were compensated in the form of grants from the state from the surcharge amount in the form of reimbursing the amount spent on salaries, establishment and sundry charges incurred every month, the sources added. In many cases, the amount collected from the surcharge was lower than the revenue generated by the local bodies. Those badly hit included Hanumangarh, Pillibanga, Nohar, Rawatsar, Bhadra and Sangria. Such is the state of affairs that local body officials in Hanumangarh district have been asked to impose house tax to shore up its sagging finances. Others too will have to follow suit, the sources added. |
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Ceasefire decision to be reviewed: Advani NEW DELHI, Jan 14 (UNI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said a decision on extending the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir would be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security but felt that if militants continued with attacks, such as the one on Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar, the peace process could be stalled. Meanwhile, Home Minister
L.K. Advani said that after the Red Fort episode and today’s Srinagar incident, the entire situation would be reviewed by January 26, the date till when the ceasefire has been extended, "I have just heard that there was an attack on Mr Farooq Abdullah. Its a matter of great concern. If terrorists keep up militancy, how can an environment be created for talks", Mr Vajpayee told newsmen at the airport immediately after arriving from Bali. Mr Vajpayee said he was greatly relieved to know that Dr Abdullah had not been harmed following the attack. Asked about the Army chief, Gen S Padmanabhan’s, opinion that the ceasefire should be extended in the valley, Mr Vajpayee said all issues would be taken into consideration before taking any further step. "There is a view that it should be extended. The Cabinet Committee on Security will take a decision on that", Mr Vajpayee said. Condemning the dastardly attack on Dr Abdullah, Home Minister l k
Advani, who was present at the airport to receive the Prime Minister, said the continuing activities of militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir, including the capital, only highlighted the fact that Pakistan was not willing to abandon cross-border terrorism despite Mr Vajpayee’s major peace initiative. He said in view of the Red Fort incident and today’s attack on Dr Abdullah, the entire situation would be reviewed before January 26. |
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Hawking to meet President today NEW DELHI, Jan 14 (UNI, PTI) — Celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking will call on President K. R. Narayanan at Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow. Hawking, who has been invited by the President, will be accompanied by his wife Elaine and a nurse, said Prof Ranjit Nair, Director, Centre for Philosophy and Foundations of Science (CPFS), that is organising his public lecture here on January 17. Mr Narayanan had earlier written to the CPFS showing his keenness to attend the Albert Einstein Memorial Lecture 2001, ‘Predicting the future: From astrology to blackholes’ without any special arrangements. Professor Nair and Hawking’s former student Daksh Lohiya, Professor, Astrology and Cosmology Department, Delhi University, will accompany Hawking and his wife to the meeting tomorrow evening. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is likely to attend a reception hosted in Hawking’s honour by the scientific community here on January 17. The CPFS has invited Mr Vajpayee and prominent citizens to the reception that will be held at Taj Man Singh hotel where Hawking will be staying. MUMBAI: Professor Hawking today said that genetics engineering, existential growth of human population and rapid strides in computer technology were some of the major scientific realities that the world would have to confront in the future. Development of ‘improved humans’ would create more social and political problems compared to the ‘unimproved humans’, the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics told a packed audience at Shanmukhananda Auditorium here during a public lecture on “science in the future”. Genetics engineering will happen in the next millennium whether we want it or not, the Professor, who received a standing ovation, told the audience. “We will grow babies outside the human bodies”, he asserted while exploring the various scientific possibilities in the next millennium.
Wooden ramps at
Red Fort for Hawking’s visit NEW DELHI, Jan 14 — The Ministry of Social Justice and the
Archaeological Survey of India are working round the clock to make wooden ramps at the Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Jantar Mantar and Qutab Minar. This is being done to ensure barrier-free access to world renowned wheel-chair bound physicist, Prof Stephan Hawking. Sources in the ministry told TNS that wooden ramps being built under the technical guidance of the Institute for Physically Handicapped, are expected to be ready by Monday forenoon. Professor Hawking had reportedly expressed a desire to visit the aforesaid monuments during his five-day stay in the Capital. He is scheduled to arrive here on Sunday night. The sources said the ministry had little time to act on a request by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled Persons (NCPEDP). The ministry received a letter from NCPEDP only on Friday and tried its best to collaborate with the Additional Director General of ASI, Mr S.B. Mathur over the weekend to make barrier-free access possible at the aforesaid historical
monuments. The ministry is bearing the cost of constructing these ramps. The sources said the ramps will be left in the aforesaid places “for as long as they are serviceable.” They expressed the hope that other disabled persons would also be able to take advantage of ramps at these places. The ministry had in the past ensured the construction of ramps during award presentation functions for the disabled at Vigyan Bhavan. The Executive Director of NCPEDP, Mr Javed Abidi, who first wrote to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment at the behest of Prof Hawking’s hosts, the Centre for Philosophy and Foundation for Science said, “This is a moral victory for us.” Celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking will call on President K. R. Narayanan at Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow. Hawking, who has been invited by the President, will be accompanied by his wife Elaine and a nurse, said Prof Ranjit Nair, Director, Centre for Philosophy and Foundations of Science (CPFS), that is organising his public lecture here on January 17. |
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Temple issue KUMBH NAGAR, Jan 14 (PTI) — the VHP
today said that it was not under any obligation to heed to the “dictates of the
BJP or the Centre” on the Ayodhya issue and asserted that any talks between Hindu and Muslim leaders to evolve a consensus would have no bearing on its decision to construct the Ram temple. “Once the dharam sansad, to be held at Kumbh village from January 19 to January 21, announces the date and action plan for the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya, no political opposition will be allowed to come in the way,”
VHP general secretary Praveenbhai Togadia told reporters here. He said the
VHP had not received any feelers from the BJP or the Centre for postponing the announcement of the date for the temple construction. “At the same time, the
VHP is not under any obligation to heed to their dictates on the temple issue.” “The
VHP has not given mandate to any one to initiate talks with Muslims and in any case, such talks will have no bearing once the date for the construction of the temple is announced at the dharam sansad,” Mr Togadia said. The issue was a religious one and for the first time, all religious organisations, including the
RSS, were united under the banner of the VHP, he said. “Political parties, including the Opposition, have no option but to join the Ram temple movement. Otherwise, they will perish,” he added. “Even the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, is welcome to join the Ram temple movement,” he quipped. To a question, he said the case pending in the court was not against ‘Ram lalla’, but against certain individuals. About acquisition of land for temple construction at Ayodhya, Mr Togadia said a delegation of sadhus and saints would impress upon law makers to enact a fresh legislation for handing over the land for the purpose. Ayodhya on NDA agenda: UP BJP LUCKNOW, Jan 14 (UNI) — The Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP today said resolution of the Ayodhya issue was very much on the agenda of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre. The constituents of the NDA favoured a court verdict or an amicable solution of the vexed temple issue, the state BJP chief, Mr Kalraj Misra, told newsmen here. “These are the two points the BJP has been raising for quite sometime,” he said, indicating the stance of the party and the NDA agenda were the same on the Ayodhya issue. At a press conference at the party’s state headquarters, he said there was a temple at the disputed site for “all practical purposes” and the only thing that remained was “to give grandeur to the temple”. He said darshan was alreday on at the makeshift Ram Temple in Ayodhya. He said he was issuing a fresh appeal to the Muslims to support the Hindus for the construction of a “grand Ram Temple” in Ayodhya. Mr Misra said the Muslims could be allowed to construct a mosque elsewhere. He said the BJP was still looking for a peaceful solution of the problem through negotiations. Both the communities should come to the negotiating table with a “broad outlook”, he said. Not only the NDA, the Ayodhya issue was even on the agenda of the opposition. “If this was not so, the Opposition parties would not have disrupted proceedings of Parliament for several days (in the Winter Session),” he said. Mr Misra blamed the Opposition for vitiating the atmosphere by issuing mala fide statements against the BJP. It was the Opposition, that was trying to create communal disharmony while the stance of the BJP had been “crystal clear” so far as the Ayodhya issue was concerned, he alleged. The Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP had sought the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya at its executive meeting that concluded at Jhansi on Friday, the first time since the BJP-led NDA came to power at the Centre. Mr Misra said he saw “nothing wrong” with the statement of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that the construction of a Ram Temple was an expression of national sentiments. The state BJP chief claimed that the state party executive had met in the “most cordial” atmosphere and the perfect combination of the government and the organisation had come in for a praise from the senior leaders of the party.
Remand for 27 in jute mill violence case BARRACKPORE, Jan 14 (UNI) — The Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate’s court of Barrackpore today remanded all 27 accused, arrested in yesterday’s Baranagar jute mill violence, in judicial custody till January 24. The police arrested 27 persons from the vicinity of the Baranagar jute mill yesterday following the brutal killing of Chief Executive Officer J.P. Tiwary and Personnel Manager Gautam Ghose. Both the mill officials were attacked by the irate workers after a worker was killed inside the mill compound at Alambazar under the Baranagar police station in North 24 Parganas. The police and the state administration have started separate investigations. |
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Custodial deaths NEW DELHI, Jan 14 (PTI) — Concerned at over 1000 custodial deaths across the country last year, the Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre and states asking them to show cause why the court should not issue directions for adopting measures to prevent them. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice A.S. Anand and Mr Justice R.C. Lahoti issued the notices on an application moved by amicus curiae A.M. Singhvi pointing out the necessity for directions to be issued to strengthen the implementation of earlier court directions. The application moved through Suruchi Aggarwal said the court may order that the inquiry conducted in cases of custodial death be mandatorily a judicial inquiry. Quoting NHRC findings, it said there were rarely any credible independent evidence in such cases and the records depended almost entirely on the observations recorded and the opinion given by doctors in post-mortem reports. “A manipulated post-mortem report helps those responsible for custodial violence and results in traversity of justice and serious violation of human rights,” the amicus curiae said. He also requested the court to issue “guidelines through forensic experts or the guidelines formulated by the National Human Rights Commission as regards video-filming of specific aspects of post-mortem” in cases of custodial death. The application said in the year 1999-2000, there were 916 deaths in judicial custody while 177 deaths in police custody. Bihar topped the list with 155 deaths in judicial custody and seven deaths in police custody. For Maharashtra, the figures were 126 and 30 and UP 141 and 18, it said. The amicus also drew the court’s attention to the commission’s finding that autopsy forms used in various states were deficient and needed considerable improvement. |
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Khalsa awards
presented NEW DELHI, Jan 14 — The Indian National Sikh Council (INSC) today presented “Shiromani Khalsa Awards” to Sant Baba Harbans Singh, Mr Avtar Singh Hit, President, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (Badal), Delhi state, Mr Kulmohan Singh, General Secretary, SAD (Badal) and Mr Inderpal Singh Khalsa, chairman, Dharam Parchar Committee of the DSGMC. The award, comprising a shield, citation, gold medal and shawl, was presented to honour their services for the Sikh community, an INSC press note said here. The award ceremony held at Gurdwara Bala Sahib, near Siddartha Extension on the Ring Road, was attended by a large number of people, including prominent Sikh personalities. |
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President visits
Vijayaraje, Prasada NEW DELHI, Jan 14 — The President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, today visited Apollo Hospital here and inquired about the condition of ailing Congress leader Jitendra Prasada and veteran BJP leader Vijayaraje Scindia. Mr Narayanan, who spent around an hour in the hospital, interacted with the wife and other family members of senior Congress leader Prasada, who was admitted to the hospital on January 9 after he suffered a severe brain haemorrhage. The President also met and spoke to the veteran BJP leader’s son Madhavrao Scindia and daughter Vasundhara Raje, a spokesman of Rashtrapati Bhavan said. Fondly called “Rajmata”, the former BJP vice-president is suffering from meningitis. She was rushed to the hospital early this week. The two leaders are in critical condition. Mr Jayender Prasada, younger brother of Mr Jitendra Prasada, who had collapsed on hearing the news of his brother’s health, has been shifted from Neuro ICU and is stable, hospital sources said. |
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Defence experts want CDS NEW DELHI, Jan 14 (UNI) — Leading defence experts favour the proposal to have a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as there is an urgent need for a single point of reference for decision-making in view of India going nuclear. But there is a feeling that ‘a supremo in the military cadre’ is not required to replace the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) as it could have a psychological bearing on the present higher defence structures. The Chief of Army Staff, Gen S. Padmanabhan on Friday, supporting the move, said since India was an overt nuclear power a single point military adviser was needed. The Task Force headed by Mr Arun Singh has recommended it to the group of ministers which is going to take a decision, perhaps, this month on the creation of a CDS who may be in charge of the nuclear deterrent. The convener of the National Security Advisory Board, Mr K. Subrahmanyam, who has been advocating the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff, however, said it would be effective only if supplemented by a joint staff, consisting of officers from the three services. “We need a joint staff to obviate the loyalty of officers to a particular service. A CDS without the joint staff would not be effective ... The joint staff can provide the real jointness between the three forces,” he told UNI. Mr Subrahmanyam said: “Creation of CDS is a necessity in an environment of overt nuclearisation or in an event of tri-service operations. In case of India, more than the tri-service operations what makes the creation of the post of CDS imperative is the overt nuclearisation with Pokhran II (1998) explosions.” “The CDS can serve as the chief professional adviser to the Prime Minister who will have the nuclear button,” he said. Asked whether creation of the post of CDS would create problems in the present set-up and affect the status of the three service chiefs, Mr Subrahmanyam
said, "The CDS can be appointed on a rotation basis from among the three services.” He cited the case of Britain which has a CDS, and the USA, which has the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But, according to Dr A.B. Ojha, a former Deputy Director of the Defence Institute of Psychological Research, creation of a new post of CDS would only complicate matters. Concentration of military authority in a single individual might pose a threat to the country’s democratic way of governance. “The three service chiefs represent the best in uniform available in the country. Why cannot they be trusted for meeting the requirements of all future contingencies for defence”, he said. “The creation of a CDS is certainly desirable,” Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar, Deputy Director of Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), said. He debunked the speculation that such a step could have a fallout on the existing system and a psychological bearing on the three service chiefs, saying, “New equations will have to be worked out and gradually things will get fine-tuned.” |
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‘Open’ MiG-21 assembly line to fight shortage NEW DELHI, Jan 14 (PTI) — By the time the newly tested indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) is inducted into the IAF over the coming decade, the IAF would already be facing a shortage of nearly 250 fighter aircraft, which can be made good by reopening the assembly line of MiG-21s in addition to their upgradation, which is already underway, says Air Commodore Jasjit Singh (retd), Director of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. “Considering the losses and ageing of the aircraft, we would require at least 35 new aircraft every year over the next 10 years, to maintain a fully fit and fighting fleet at current strength,” notes Air Commodore Singh taking into account the 40 Sukhois we’ll be getting in the near future as well as the licensed manufacture of 140 more over a period of 17 years. Given that the first manufacture of Su-30s, subsequent to the October, 2000, deal, is still three years away and on an average around 10 to 11 aircraft would be produced in a year, then by 2010 the IAF would have just about added 70-odd Su-30s to its then existing fleet of 40, says the Defence analyst, adding that it would still leave a wide gap or requirement of 240 in 2010. Despite the reports of buying around 10 Mirages and 8 — 10 Jaguars, that would just be enough to make up the existing wastage, meaning no real net gain to the country’s air force,” says Air Commodore Jasjit Singh. The quickest and most cost-effective way of making good this perceived deficit would be to reopen the assembly line of MiG-21s, and go in for immediate purchase of 96 MiG-29s available with the Russians and get these upgraded to the required specifications, says the IDSA Director. “We could negotiate with the Russians for the purchase of these aircraft, which are not likely to cost more than $ 20 million a piece,” he says. “Even more cost effective,” he argues, “would be reopening the assembly line of MiG-21s, which when we closed manufacturing in the 80s used to cost $ 1 million a piece. Today, it would cost around $ 4 million (the upgraded versions) and another $ 2 million if the cost escalation is taken into account. The upgrade package of MiG, which incorporates advanced avionics and features like target acquisition, was jointly developed and certified by the IAF, and
Russia's Sokol Nizhny Novograd aircraft building plant and the state-owned avionics testing and integration establishment, according to information at the website of the IAF. Having been flown by nearly all pilots, from the Air Chief to the youngest of them, MiG-21s still remain the best bet, as its maintenance too is not going to be too problematic given that nearly all stations in the country are familiar with it, he says. Rebutting the popular perception that the aircraft are flying coffins, the defence analyst, who has also served as Director of Flight Safety during service, says that the aircraft still is one of the best designed. Agreeing with him, another senior retired IAF official, says “the accident rate of MiGs is more visible because of a variety of reasons, mainly because of the size of the fleet, the amount the aircraft flies and the fact that it is also used for training.” Nonetheless, both experts point that, the plane has its own limitations, in that being driven by a single engine, in case of a bird hit, it leads to the loss of the engine, and even the pilot sometimes. Yet another limitation, prior to upgradation, is that the aircraft has no cooling system for pilots, which is strenuous on the pilot flying it in the summer. |
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Power struggle led to 1971 debacle: Niazi NEW DELHI, Jan 14 (PTI) — Refusing to take the entire blame for the Pakistan army’s debacle in the 1971 war against India, disgraced officer Lt Gen A.A.K. Niazi has asserted that dismemberment of east Pakistan was caused due to the power struggle among Gen Yahya Khan, Z.A. Bhutto and Mujibur Rehman and demanded a new commission to probe the whole episode. Gen Niazi, head of the Pakistani forces in the then east Pakistan who surrendered to the Indian Army along with 93,000 troops, has also attacked the Hamoodur Rahman Commission which probed the debacle saying the indicted officers, including himself, had been “denied the right of self-defence”. “I swear on oath that I was given clear cut orders by (military ruler) Yahya (Khan) to surrender even though I was determined to fight until the end. I even sent a message saying this,” Niazi has said in an interview to Pakistani newspaper “The Friday Times”. Asked how he would justify his failure as a commander and whether he accepted responsibility for
incompetence, he said “the 1971 imbroglio was the outcome of the unabated struggle for power between Yahya, Mujib and Bhutto. “Yahya wanted to retain power while Bhutto wanted to attain it. This was despite the fact that Sheikh Mujib’s Awami League had emerged victorious and he should have been handed over the government (in then east Pakistan).” He said that if power had been transferred to Mujib, Pakistan would have remained united. On the Hamoodur Rahman Commission report blaming him for the debacle, Niazi said it “did unravel the whole truth about the tragedy, all the personalities and factors that fuelled separatist movement in east Pakistan and caused the final break-up of this country.” “If I were responsible for such a big tragedy, why was I not court martialled,” he questioned, adding it would have given him a chance to defend himself which “would have exposed the General Headquarters’ own weaknesses.” “Had there been a court martial, I would have surely been exonerated,” he asserted when referred to public demand that he be court-martialled after the declassified Hamoodur Rahman Commission indicted him. He claimed that the probe commission had “agreed with my contention that orders for surrender were given to me by the then President Yahya Khan.” Niazi demanded that a new commission be set up with wider terms of reference to probe the debacle afresh and said “a military exercise should also be held to find out how and why the small, tired and ill-equipped eastern garrison completed all given tasks under the worst possible conditions and overwhelming odds.” He said he had “heard persistent hints from GHQ sources that the Eastern Command had been sacrificed according to a detailed plan.” Niazi was only one of the 13 officers indicted by the commission to have been punished. The commission, which had recorded evidence of 72 persons, has said in its report “the final and overall responsibility (for the Dhaka Debacle) must rest on Gen Yahya Khan, Lt-Gen Pirzada, Maj Gen Umar, Lt-Gen Mitha...” Gulshan murder: cops to leave for Kolkata MUMBAI, Jan 14 (PTI) — A police team would leave for Kolkata tomorrow to seek the custody of Abdul Rauf Daud Merchant, sharp shooter of the Chhota Shakeel faction of Dawood Ibrahim gang and alleged killer of audio king Gulshan Kumar. Merchant was arrested on January 8 from a PCO near Park Street and his wife, Minhaz, was arrested from a house at picnic gardens. He was produced before a Kolkata court which remanded him in police custody till January 20. The Mumbai police has obtained a warrant from a Magistrate here to produce Abdul Rauf before a sessions court to stand trial for the murder of Gulshan Kumar. Abdul Rauf’s arrest has boosted the morale of the Mumbai police, which recently suffered a setback following a verdict of the London High Court discharging prime accused and noted music composer Nadeem Akhtar Saifee in an extradition case filed by the Indian Government. With Abdul’s arrest, the police expects to achieve a major breakthrough because he has already disclosed his involvement in the murder of Gulshan Kumar. After accused-turned-approver Mohammed Ali Shaikh urged for withdrawal of pardon, alleging harassment by the police, Nadeem harped on ‘weak’ evidence tendered by the police and succeeded in the extradition case. By this time, the image of the police had received a drubbing at home and abroad and it appeared to be on ‘shaky’ ground with the prime witness not supporting the prosecution. In the circumstances, the news of Abdul Rauf’s arrest was welcomed as the police hoped to unravel the truth behind the ghastly murder of the audio king on August 12, 1997.
Grooming tribal kids RISHIKESH: The India Heritage Research Foundation (IHRF) here is running more than 100 Ekal Vidyalayas (single-teacher schools) for the downtrodden tribal children of the country. Founded in 1987 by Swami Chidanand Saraswati (Muniji), the IHRF has recently joined hands with the Friends of Tribals Society and Bharat Kalyan Pratisthan under the project, Parmarth Shiksha Mandir, which aims to build 10,000 single-teacher schools in the remote areas of the country in the coming five years. The brains behind these social programmes are Mrs Prabha Joshi and Ms Bhagwati. Mrs Joshi was serving as a teacher in the internationally acclaimed Mussourie International School. However, due to her great dedication and innate spirituality, she left the school to offer herself fully to Parmarth Niketan (ashram of Swami Chidanand). She is presently serving as coordinator for numerous health care and educational programmes. She is an avid yoga practitioner with specialisation in ‘yoga nidra’, cyclic meditation and music. A graduate of Stanford University, Ms Bhagwati (original name Phoebe Garfield) grew up in Hollywood, California. Coming from an upper class, western family, she left everything to come here and now resides permanently at Parmarth Niketan, devoting herself to the poor, sick and neglected children of the Himalayas. She is serving as Director, Youth Education Services, IHRF. When asked about the basic concept of Ekal Vidyalaya, Mrs Joshi said, “It is a traditional school — conducted under a tree or in a simple room or hut. It is the ancient Indian system of education — one teacher, many students sitting in rows on the ground. This type of school teaches not only academic education, but also morality, ethics, spirituality and yoga and things like family planning for the women. The students (both children and adults) are taught the richness of their culture and wisdom. The basic idea is not to provide only academic education but to bring up the tribal community with better health care facilities, ecological programmes, vocational training and adult education by conducting family planning classes and cultural events.” At present, there are 50 Ekal Vidyalayas in Chamoli district of Uttaranchal, 50 in Orissa and seven in other states of the country. In this project, local educated youth are selected and specially trained to teach their younger counterparts. In this way, costs are kept low and the teacher fits easily in the community because he is not seen as an ‘outsider’. According to Mrs Joshi, all study material is provided free of cost to the students and the staff/faculty either receive a minimum honoraria or work as volunteers. A typical day’s programme in Ekal Vidyalaya includes cleaning of the school area; universal prayers; reading, writing and arithmetic; regional language teaching (Hindi, Gujrati, Bengali etc); poetry; telling of parables, fables and other stories with morals to instill values; character building programmes; field activities like athletics, other games, yoga and finally a prayer. Additionally, the Ekal Vidyalayas frequently serve as a central gathering point for the villagers for various celebrations, socio-religious events. 
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Man stoned
to death NOIDA, Jan 14 — Unidentified assailants killed a middle-aged man with stones at a park located in Sector 20 here. A soda water bottle, two bottles of soft drink, butts of cigarettes and some snacks were recovered from the spot. The police reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem. According to the police, the deceased, aged 56, has not yet been identified. The police suspects that they had first consumed liquor together and then got into a dispute. |
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