Seminar on China under Deng Xiaoping
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 12
A two-day national seminar on China under Deng Xiaoping, organised by the Department of Central Asian Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, was inaugurated by Mr Wan Dalin, First Secretary, Education, Chinese Embassy, New Delhi, here yesterday.

Professor P.S. Verma, chairman of the department, introduced the theme to the audience and welcomed the guests and delegates who have come from all over India.

While introducing the theme he talked about Deng Xiaoping’s various reforms and four modernisation programmes in particular.

Professor Kashi Ram Sharma, eminent sinologist of Delhi University, delivered the keynote address.

Prof Sharma traced the history of the Chinese revolution starting from Mao to Deng Xiaoping.

He described Mao as a great revolutionary but a poor builder. Prof Sharma also discussed how Deng Xiaoping dismantled the socialist economy of China by bringing in reforms in core sectors of the economy like agriculture and industry.

He said Deng’s dictum “to get rich is glorious” gave free play to the entrepreneurship of Chinese people.

The facts and figures on the quantum of foreign investment, nature of public sector reforms etc provided by Prof Sharma proved that China has come a long way after Deng Xiaoping initiated the reforms and the people of China will remember him forever.

It was also pointed out that due to the political conservatism of Deng Xiaoping, China is still struggling for democracy.

In his inaugural address, Mr Wan Dalin conveyed congratulations of His Excellency Mr Hua Junduo, Ambassador of China to India.

He talked about three great figures of the 20th century China namely Dr Sun Yexian, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

He also talked about improving relations between China and India and the recent visit of Premier Zhu Rongji to India and the direct flight between the two countries, which is about to start by the end of March.

He hoped that such kind of national seminars and research will further improve Indo-China relations. Prof (Mrs) R.J. Hans Gill, DUI, PU, in her presidential remarks appreciated the endeavour by the department in organising the national seminar. She said both India and China have a lot of commonality.

She referred to the articulation of Panchsheel, the five principles of peaceful coexistence. The inaugural session was concluded with a vote of thanks by the convenor, Dr Damodar Panda.

He also explained the relevance of the seminar to understand the undergoing reforms in both countries for further improvement of relationships between India and China.

The following sessions were chaired by Professors P.L. Mehra, P.S. Verma, Surjit Singh, consisting of papers on Chinese economic reforms, social reforms and military reforms and Sino-Indian relations under Deng Xiaoping.

The contributors included scholars from Delhi University, JNU and IDS, Jaipur.

A neat blend of entertainment and information
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 12
The activity on the second and the concluding day of Government College of Art’s annual fest heightened today, with more and more students as also parents visiting the campus. And thanks to visitation, Renaissance II actually became a hit it was meant to be.

The high point of the fair, which was inaugurated yesterday, is that it has blended entertainment with value information. In fact, the maximum response during the fair was attracted by four stalls put up by the students of the four departments of the college. Many people were seen thronging the stalls which had proper placards displaying the entire schedule followed by the respective departments throughout the year. Many art college aspirants were also seen frequenting these counters to gather information and apply strokes of brush at a canvas installed alongside the counter by Painting Department students. Anyone was free to walk over to the canvas and try a hand at colours.

The idea of putting up these stalls, as informed by Principal Brahm Prakash, was “to disseminate information which is not otherwise accessible.” He added that the college wanted to acquaint the general public with the kind of activities pursued within the parameter of each of the four streams — painting, sculpture, graphics and applied art.

Apart from this, the folk dance contest became a big hit today and invited significant entries. But as was expected, the maximum amount of cheering happened for the local team — of the Government College of Art, Sector 10. Attired in vibrant folk garments, the college students were an instant hit with the crowd.

Contests in many other categories were also held. The most awaited part of the day, however, was the ceremony of prize distribution which saw the winners of yesterday’s contests being awarded. There were special coupons sponsored by local outfits, including Coke and Ebony. Among the competitions held yesterday were floor painting, collage-making, compositions, poster-making, and paint- your-face.

Home Secy gets computer lessons
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 12
It was a proud moment for 10 teachers of DAV Public School, Sector 8, who virtually “taught’’ the Home Secretary, Mr R.S. Gujral, the DPI (S), Mr D.S. Mangat, and the Director, IT, Mr Vivek Atray, in the multimedia room of the school, here yesterday.

Right from the different kinds of houses to the art of letter writing and graduating to studying the human excretory system in class followed by a lesson in trigonometry, the “students” attentively grasped whatever the teachers said.

From the class they emerged satisfied at the detailed explanation and clearly impressed with the presentations made by the teachers, this being their first attempt at using the computer to deliver the goods to their “students”.

This exercise was undertaken by the school as a part of making the teachers computer-literate and utilising technology to impart education effectively and efficiently in the classroom.

Besides teachers, the students were also asked to prepare similar projects while working as a team. The teachers said this enabled the students to explore the Internet in search for greater details, educating them and making them computer savvy.

Ms Sarita Manuja, Principal of the school, said she was very thrilled with the outcome of the experiment undertaken a year back and the school had formulated its own software for the Maths and science examinations of Class X.

Dept plans hygiene course in schools
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, March 12
Cautioned by the outbreak of plague in various parts of the country, the UT Education Department is reportedly working out the modalities of introducing a short-term course on health and hygiene in the city schools.

Even though senior officials in the Education Department are tight-lipped about the proposed course, terming it as "too premature to discuss", sources in the department say that the science teachers and the doctors were being consulted. They added that NSS volunteers would also be associated.

The course would not carry marks but, according to the proposal, the students would be awarded a certificate of merit after its completion. The toppers would also be honoured during special functions convened for the purpose.

Regarding the contents of the course, the students would be instructed on the importance and methods of maintaining hygienic conditions at home and locality. Besides, students would also be taught about the value of healthy food. Practical assignments would include making villagers and slums-dwellers aware of the perilous implications of living in unhygienic conditions. Once in a while the students would also be encouraged to go to the neighbourhood villages and colonies for carrying out cleanliness drives.

Besides prevention, the students would also be taught about cure. "They would be trained in recognising symptoms of various ailments and taught how to react to particular situations. First-aid kits, along with a detailed list of do's and don'ts would also be provided to the students," claim sources.

The course would not impose any kind of financial burden on the department as the onus of teaching would be on the class teachers. "As it is just a short-term course, no new instructors will be recruited for the purpose," confirmed a school teacher aware of the project.

YOUNG VOICE 
I want to excel in studies and acting

Pooja Gaba, who was selected last year for Alpha Punjabi’s music video ‘Russi hoi mashook’ and is anchoring a Punjabi programme for a Canadian channel, aims to become a thorough professional right from the beginning. 

This 19-year-old B.Com II student, who had acting as her hobby during school days, is happy about her decision to avail the opportunity of getting into this field and she is equally serious about her studies. Entry into this field should be done after thorough preparation because even if you get a chance by a sheer stroke of luck, you will be liked by the audience only if you perform well, she opines. Dancing and music are other passions with her. She is sure about carving a niche for herself in the field of acting. And well, all this must have one’s parents support. After all, at such a young age, the experience earned by parents is required to get into the right kind of projects, she says.

Problems galore in District Courts
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, March 12
Litigants, advocates and visitors to the district court here have been facing a lot of inconvenience due to the dismal state of public utility services. They have been complaining against stinking toilets, poor condition of water coolers, threat of bees and parking problem.

An advocate, Mr Jasminder Pal Singh, said that due to lack of lift facility in the new building, they have to climb more than 80 stairs to attend their cases at the building.

N.S. Minhas, another advocate, said that even it was very difficult to locate the district court building for outstation litigants as there was no sign board at the entrance gate.

Kamal, a litigant, complained that the road in front of the court building had become an accident-prone area due to less parking space available.

She complained that at times she has to park her vehicle in Sector 17 to attend court proceeding.

“It’s impossible to use stinking toilets. Many times litigants have to move to the Sector 17 market or bus stand to answer the call of nature, added another advocate, K.S Lamba.

There is also fear of bees in the court complex. On February 27, a photographer with a Hindi daily was stung by a swarm of bees at the entrance of the District Court. Three others including two reporters of a Hindi daily and security man at the entrance gate, were also stung by bees.

The president of the District Bar Association, Mr H.S. Hundal, informed that Mr Pawan Bansal, Member of Parliament, had recommended Rs 10 lakh for the installation of the lift in the new building of the court complex.