EDUCATION

Syndicate suggests ways to improve evaluation quality
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25
The Panjab University Syndicate today made some useful suggestions to improve the quality of evaluation in the postgraduate courses, an area where drawbacks had been accepted on many grounds in the recent past.

It has been decided that a head examiner will be appointed in each paper, who will be a specialist in the paper concerned. The head examiner will check at least 10 per cent of the copies at random to ensure compliance of instructions and guidelines submitted by the paper setter and evaluator. Difference of opinion, if any, will be resolved first by discussion. Incase the differences remain unresolved, the issue will be settled by a board. In future the paper setter will be expected to send detailed instructions and guidelines for evaluation.

The Syndicate also decided to file a police complaint into a case where answer sheet of a candidate was found tampered. In this case the identity slip attached on top of the answer sheet did not tally with the writing on the copy. In another case where a student of BAMS complained of unfair evaluation in the paper of anatomy, the university had now decided to get all the copies of that batch re-evaluated. Incase of any discrepancy, a strict action was likely to be taken.

A committee has also been formed to look into the issue of loss to university on account of delay in deposit of fixed deposit of Rs 10 crore of revolving account of higher education. Principal AC Vaid raised the issue which would be looked into by Syndicate members. The issue of paternity leave was deferred.

The university Syndicate turned down the request of second re-evaluation by two candidates.

The university Syndicate has decided to create a ‘Students Aid Fund’ to help needy and deserving students on the campus in paying their tuition and examination fees. The university has decided to club two different funds. The maximum sum to be given annually to a student will be Rs 5000. The amount can also be utilised for purchase of study material.

The university Syndicate has decided to conduct a special entrance examination for taking up a Ph.D course. The students, who have cleared their NET examination conducted by the UGC, would, however, not be required to appear in the examination. This has been done to improve the quality of research.

The university has decided to conduct a serious review of the work being done by the different Chairs in the university. This is important in the context of a resolution of Mr Sat Pal Dang, who said the PU should tally its work with Guru Nanak Dev University and Punjabi University in Chairs to avoid duplication of work.

The university has decided to follow the guidelines of UGC for short-listing of candidates for interviews. The Syndicate approved the provisional affiliation to Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Sector 26.

The Syndicate decided that students who have done their B.Com, BBA and BCA, will also be eligible to appear for the entrance examination to B.Ed courses.

The university guidelines for admissions and the academic schedule for the forthcoming session was also cleared. There was a proposal in the new calendar year for 196 teaching days against the 180 recommended by the UGC. Under the existing circumstances the colleges are unable to meet the teaching day requirements.

The university Syndicate decided to give silver medals only to the toppers of undergraduate and postgraduate courses and not include diploma holders in the same category. The medals will be given on basis of the final examination and not on basis of semester or yearly examination alone.

The Panjab University(non-teaching) Staff Association has got a temporary extension till the year-end. The Syndicate has cleared the cases of students who were short of lectures to meet the minimum requirement despite condoning of lectures by the chairperson and VC. The Syndicate, however, decided that similar concessions would not be repeated in future as the Syndicate would attempt to maintain the academic standards.

Kids get poetic licence for a day
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25
The Sector 9 Vivek Nursery and Preparatory School organised a poetry competition in juniors and seniors categories yesterday.

The participants did well and an excellent selection of poems was presented with enthusiasm and delight. The poems were on a wide range of topics. Class II, that won the shield for juniors, had presented poems like ‘The Fox’, ‘Mothers’ and ‘Computer Da Chamtkar’. Class VI, that won the shield for seniors, had presented poems like ‘The Highway Man’, ‘Bapu Ki Chitthi’ and ‘Ozymandias’.

The judges for the seniors’ competition were Dr Shalina Mehta, Ms Preeti Kang and Dr Ashish Pathak, whereas, Ms Reshma Harbax Singh judged the juniors’ presentations.

The judges appreciated the style and confidence shown by the participants. They said parents should encourage their children to take to poetry, as it helped them be more creative. Ms S. Dass, Principal of the school said poetry helped children widen their intellect.

The function ended with an impressive performance by Satyan Sharma, who presented difficult ‘talas’ on tabla with perfection.

COURTS

HIGH COURT
DGP told to produce DSP Nagar in court
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25
In less than a week after Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdish Nagar, his wife Rajwanti Nagar and a gunman were taken hostage allegedly by members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union while they were going to Jind from Panchkula, Mr Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked Haryana’s Director General of Police to produce the three in the Court on May 29.

Issuing the directions in the morning today on a habeas corpus petition filed by the DSP’s brother-in-law Hukam Singh of Charkhi Dadri village in Bhiwani district, Mr Justice Goel also issued notice of motion to Haryana’s Advocate-General for the same date.

Seeking directions for the appointment of a warrant officer to secure the safe release of the DSP and other detainees, besides directions to kisan union leader Ghasi Ram and nine other respondents to release them, Hukam Singh had earlier stated that Mr Nagar, along with others, was going to Jind from Panchkula on May 20 to depose before a Court of law when they were detained. The same day DSP Ashok Sheoran was also waylaid. He tried to pose as a lawyer but was identified and taken hostage by “miscreant armed with spears, swords and lathis”, he had added.

Referring to newspaper reports, he had claimed that the detainees were being forced to live in inhuman and unhygienic conditions without adequate food and medical care. He had added that the detainees were constantly “living under the shadow of death”.

It was further stated that a first information report was registered under Sections 364, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code at a police station in Jind but no action has been taken. The authorities were hesitating in taking action even though representations were forwarded by the children of the detainees, it was further added.

Going into the background of the case, counsel for the petitioner had claimed that the BKU had started spreading anti-government propaganda and were motivating the farmers against paying electricity bills due since 1993. He had added that last month about two dozen miscreants were arrested for anti-social and illegal activities.

Dowry case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in a significant judgment, has ruled that the prosecution of married sisters and brothers of a husband, allegedly involved in a dowry-harassment case, may not, prima facie, be justified particularly when several years have lapsed since marriage.

The judgement is significant as, according to the police sources, there is a tendency on the part of the estranged wife’s family to rope in as many relatives as possible in a large number of cases alleging criminal breach of trust and harassment registered under Sections 406 and 498-A of the Indian Penal Code.

Delivering the verdict on a petition filed by a Ludhiana resident seeking the quashing of a first information report registered under Sections 406 and 498-A of the IPC, Mr Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel ruled: “The other relatives like the married sister and the brother of the husband may not be concerned about the affairs of marriage after several years and their prosecution may not, prima facie, be justified on the mere allegation that at the time of marriage certain dowry articles were given to them for being carried to the matrimonial home”. Mr Justice Goel added: Such allegations are at times made without basis”.

Probe ordered

Nearly 10 years after an Amritsar district resident was allegedly killed in a fake encounter, Mr Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the crime branch of the Punjab Police to investigate the matter.

Pronouncing the orders on a petition filed by “victim” Rupinder Jit Singh’s relative, Mr Justice Goel also ordered that the investigation should be completed within six months of receiving the order’s copy.

In his petition, relative Tejinder Jit Kang had earlier alleged that the CIA staff of the Punjab Police had killed the “victim” in a fake encounter on July 6, 1992, after picking him up on June 1, 1992. He had added that the body was cremated by the police. The Central Bureau of Investigation had, subsequently, taken over the investigation of the case, but had failed to complete it, his counsel had submitted. Counsel for the premier investigating agency, on the other hand, had contended, “no such investigation was pending”.

After going through the record and hearing the arguments in the case, Mr Justice Goel observed: “Having regard to all the facts and circumstances of the case, particularly the fact that the death took place 10 years ago and the petition was filed six years ago, and also the fact that no representation was made to the CBI pursuant to a public notice, I am of the view that instead of directing the CBI to investigate, the investigation into the alleged killing of Rupinder Jit Singh by Inspector Swaran Singh, as alleged by the petitioner, will be conducted by the crime branch….” 

Dowry death case: 10-yr RI for one
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 25
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge has sentenced a resident of Bir Ghaggar, Ajmer Singh, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in a case of dowry death.

A case under Sections 304-B and 34 of the IPC was registered against the above mentioned, his mother Reshmi Devi and sister-in-law, Simro, on the complaint of the victim, Geeta’s father, Ram Chandra. He had accused them of burning his daughter on October 18, 1996 .

The victim had been rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh, where she succumbed to her burn injuries on October 31, 1996. The other two accused, Reshmi Devi and Simro, have been acquitted.

The court has also sentenced another resident of Bir Ghaggar, Hari Singh to seven years of imprisonment on charges of abducting a minor girl last year. 

CULTURE

FILM REVIEW
A run-of-the-mill film
Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (Batra and KC, Panchkula ) is a shabby fare in presenting already tried stories in the same settings by faces already seen in garbs of similar characters in earlier films.

A possessive Shah Rukh Khan, a petite homely Madhuri Dikshit and young casanova Salman Khan have been merely fitted into roles of their popular images. Lack of originality and rather casual approach to a melodramatic presentation mars film. The print reflects as if the movie has taken a very long time for completion.

The music by “six top music directors” is a poor show and a mere adage to the screen presentation. The music promises a dull outing and is without any soul-stirring notes except the title song. K.C. Bokadia likes to strum the emotional chords (as he has earlier in Teri Meharbanian, Pyar Jhukta Nahin and Naseeb Apna Apna, besides others). The choice of verbal encounters in a romantic piece is jarring rather than leaving any lasting impressions.

There is too much plagiarism from existing Bollywood cinematic treats like Shah Rukh Khan talking his heart out to a horse statue (Amitabh Bachchan in Mard) and Shah Rukh Khan stammering at places reminds one of “Darr”. The intensity of emotions is lacking.

Alok Nath is raising the family of his friend and family of his daughter along with her children. His daughter Aroona Irani leaves the house with her children because her father does not give money for the operation of her drunkard husband who dies. Her daughter Madhuri Dikshit and son Atul Agnihotri meet Salman Khan, who is an orphan, in the streets and decide to move him into their home.

Salman-Madhuri have a very strong bonding. The family coincidentally gets back in touch with Alok Nath but Aroona Irani dies. Shah Rukh Khan marries his childhood love Madhuri. This is when the problems start. Madhuri is very attached to her brother and Salman who is struggling to be a singer. Shah Rukh Khan misunderstands this as an illicit relation between the two. The differences result in Khan asking Madhuri to shift out of his house.

The film is a Bharat Shah and T.P. Aggarwal presentation. It also features Suman Rangnathan and Laxmikant Berde.

Across the shores flavours for jaded literary palates
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, May 25
The Punjab Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh, Lt. Gen. (retd.) J.F.R Jacob today released ‘From Across the Shores’, a collection of stories by Asiana in Britain compiled and translated by Dr Rana Nayar at a function organised in the British Library. Speaking on the occasion, General Jacob said that literary translation today has assumed greater significance than ever before. He said that we live in a multi-lingual and multi-ethnic society, therefore, translation can play a very important role in delinesting principles of harmonious co-existence.

The Governor said that we have a rich linguistic and cultural heritage but somehow the richness of our regional literatures often does not cross the limited territorial boundaries of our states. Translation helps us in not only discovering the richness of which we are a part, but also helps in communicating and sharing this with others. The English language provides a vital link in connecting us to our regional languages. With the opening of the economy, an average educated Indian now looks upon English as more of an Indian language, the Governor added.

General Jacob said that the world’s best literary works have come down to us through translations available in English. If today we can have access to writings of Tolstoy or Dostevsky, Balzac or Maupassant, Marquez or Milan Kundera, it is due to translation. A translator is something of a cultural interpreter as he is faced with the task of making his own language/culture available in a different language/culture.

Stressing the need for taking measures to promote good quality translations, the Governor said that this would help in a better understanding of Indian and world literature. The Governor said Indian authors like Narayanan, Naipaul and Anita Desai have made a mark for themselves in the field of literature. He reiterated that the day is not far when Indian authors would bag Noble Prizes in literature. The Governor offered Dr Nayar to translate his book on the 1971 War in Punjabi so that people of Punjab could know about the largest-ever surrender of the world .

Shiamak to teach city kids to dance 
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 25
Noted choreographer and pioneer of jazz dance in India, Shiamak Davar, is organising a two- week workshop, “Summer Funk” at Hansraj Public School here from June 3. The workshop will also begin at Hotel Parkview in Sector 24 on the same day, in collaboration with the Durga Dass Foundation.

The workshop will be held for children from 4 to 6 years, of age, 7 to 11 years and 12 years onwards. It will be held from Monday to Saturday. It is learnt that Shiamak Davar’s Institute for Performing Arts organises summer camps all over the country and is organising the workshop here for the first time.

The participants will be taught Jazz, hip hop, salsa, rock’n’ roll and afro jazz styles of dancing. Each batch of students will get a chance to perform on stage in a professional set up , with sound, lights and costumes. Shiamak Davar will watch the participants perform and a good performer and potential dancer stands a chance of being absorbed in Davar’s core group.

Meanwhile, Ms Kaveri Mehta from Gandharva Academy delivered a lecture on the influence of West on Indian culture on the second day of Sukriti summer camp being organied at DAV School, Surajpur.

In this workshop, lessons on health and nutrition , dance, dramatics, music, civil defence , art and craft were given to the participants.

R.D. Burman Award Nite today
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25
The first All-India R.D. Burman Award Nite, scheduled to be held today at Tagore Theatre, could not take place due to failure in the power supply. The singing contest and the award function, to be organised by Majlis Journalists and Artists Association, had to be thus postponed until tomorrow. The show has been conceived and directed by Ms Reeta Sharma.

The organisers had to postpon the function on account of the power failure in the Tagore Theatre. The function will now be held tomorrow at 6.30 p.m. at the same venue.