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Students to protest against fee hike Chandigarh, October 30 At a meeting of the members held at DAV College, Sector 10, here today, students condemned the massive fee hike by the UT Administration in government colleges while the numerous funds being charged from students of private colleges came under fire. After the meeting, the council members of government and private colleges said classes would be allowed to be held at Government College for Girls, Sector 11 and 42, Government College, Sector 11 and 46, GGDSD College, Sector 32, and DAV College, Sector 10. While no demonstrations were organised at these colleges, the students used the day to garner support for seeking a roll back in fee hike from the UT Administration. Simmering with displeasure, they said they were being forced to protest to be heard even in case of genuine demands. They added that the Panjab University, at its first meeting on fee hike, had deferred the announcement, fearing agitation, with students' elections round the corner. “Finally, they have declared their intentions and we will resist this with all our might,” they said in one voice. Meanwhile, during the day, members of some of the students' councils met their principals and apprised them of their intentions. “They seemed indifferent to our demands and were more interested in convincing us against going on strike. When there is no other option, going on strike is the only alternative with us,” they added. The meeting was attended by the Karanbir Singh of GC-11, Gayatri Bawa of GCG-42, Annapurna Singh of GCG-11, Dilip Singh Virk of DAV College and Aman Dhanoa of SD College. |
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DPI (Schools) issued
contempt notice
Chandigarh, October 30 While issuing notice to Mr Mangat for December 2 to show cause as to why proceeding under the contempt of courts act be not initiated against him, the court said: “The order shall positively be complied with, failing which Mr Mangat shall appear before the court to explain the circumstances in which the order has not been complied with.” The court had directed the UT Administration to pay the senior laboratory attendants (SLA) their salary in the revised pay scale of Rs 4000-6000 with arrears within four months. When the Administration failed to pay them revised pay scale, the senior laboratory attendants moved a contempt petition against the UT Finance Secretary and the DPI (Schools) before the CAT. They alleged that the Administration had unnecessarily harassed them as other employee of the department had been granted revised pay scale. The action of the Administ-ration was in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and against the principles of natural justice. The court had also taken serious note of the Administration’s decision seeking clarification for revised pay scale to be paid to the senior laboratory attendants from the Centre. The court said: “One fails to understand the reason and logic adopted by the Administration in taking course of action. It is not disputed that they are competent to grant the revised pay scale to the senior laboratory attendants. Once there is no ambiguity in the notification issued by it on September 30, 1997. It is surprising as to why they have referred the case to the Ministry of Human Resources. They cannot get away by saying that the Fifth Central Pay Commiss-ion recommendations are not applicable in the case of UT employees, once the pay scale granted to the senior laboratory attendants is on the central pattern obviously they would be covered under the same.”  |
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Constructive use of technology stressed Chandigarh, October 30 Highlighting how centralised living in cities and the emergence of industrial areas had polluted the environment, Prof Sirohi said technology’s positive impact had helped in the fulfilment of our needs of shelter, food, clothing, health care, communication and transportation. However, the negative impact had aided terrorism, environment pollution, global warming, consumerism and resource had depletion. “While the use of plastics has a negative effect, it can- not be denied that plastics are most useful materials,” said Professor Sirohi, adding that plastic materials had saved close to 20 million trees over 10 years. He concluded that new technology and new materials,
passed challenges but the solutions were also in our hand. The balancing act between technology and nature is the key, he said. Earlier, Dr R. P. Bajpai, Director, CSIO,welcomed the chief guest and highlighted the significance of the CSIO’s foundation day. Mentioning the achievements of the CSIO, he informed the gathering that this year the organisation had bagged over 20 new projects while another 20 were successfully completed. CSIO annual report for 2002-03 was released on the occasion. The programme concluded with a vote of thanks by Mr J. K. Chhabra. |
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Stress on need for stronger democracy Chandigarh, October 30 Dr Manjit Singh, coordinator of the Dr Ambedkar Chair, introduced the subject. “ The country is facing various types of inequalities such as regional, social and gender. If these inequalities are not taken care of, particularly by the youth, the world’s greatest democracy will not be able to achieve its constitutional objectives”, he said. Mr Prakash Louis, Executive Director of the Indian Social Institute, elaborated on the objectives of the workshop and said unless we fought against caste divisions, class exploitation, male domination and communalism, the Indian democracy could not be strengthened. Speaking on “Strengths and Weaknesses of Indian Democracy”, Prof Satya P. Gautam said the legacy of centuries old inequalities in Indian society, had hindered effective realisation of ideals of constitutional democracy. There was no questioning of “unmerited suffering” and “undeserved privileges”. Professor Gautam urged the youth to question various forms of injustice and illegitimate discrimination. He advised them to consider the functioning of educational institutions from a democratic perspective. Prof Raj Mohini Sethi spoke on the condition of women in general and Dalit women, in particular. She said in rural Punjab upper caste men still exploited Dalit women. The workshop concludes tomorrow. |
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Panchkula Diary Panchkula, October 30 The students showed their creativity by making toys and decorative items in the art and craft section. Their scientific aptitude was demonstrated in the working models in the science section. About 50 working and 80 non-working models were appreciated. A village scene was depicted in the social science section, while a Punjabi wedding scene enthralled everyone. Mehandi, rangoli and salad making competitions were also held on the occasion. The results of the various competitions are as follows: flower arrangement — Sonal and Kirti Sharma (dry) and Shilpa and Samridhi (fresh); rangoli — Red house and Yellow House; mehandi — Santosh, Naina and Ravinder; and salad making — Shruti, Archana, Silkina and Gaurav.
Declamation contest A declamation contest was organised by Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation at Andale Public School today. Students from eight schools participated in the competition, held on value-based topics for achieving human excellence. Preeti of Jainendra Public School secured the first prize, Rimpy, Jainendra Public School the second prize and Parul of DC Model School and Megha of DAV school, Sector 8, the third prize.
Office-bearers elected Mr S.K. Sharma has been elected president and Mr S.C. Mehta general secretary of the Senior Citizens Council. The elections to the council body were held yesterday. The other office-bearers who were elected are as follows: vice-president — Mr R.K. Sethi; secretary — Mr JL Verma; finance secretary — Mr Lalit Mohan Aggarwal; organising secretary — Capt B.S. Saini; and press secretary — Mr Jagan I.S. Nagi.
Workshop A workshop on “importance of girl child and prevention of female foeticide” by the Family Planning Association of India was held at Pinjore
yesterday. The district-level workshop was attended by sarpanches, anganwadi workers, peoples representatives and members of NGOs. The workshop aimed to create awareness in the community regarding the PNDT Act and mobilise social support in the favour of girl child. |
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Lecture on Ayodhya excavations Chandigarh, October 30 |
The thespian in command In command of her team during the play rehearsals today, Aruna threw up interesting theatrical elements, inspiring students to fall in line with the script, which she upholds as, “fascinating”. Having taught literature for 39 years and also having written many plays in the Shakespearean syntax, Aruna minces no words about how she is smitten with the legend. “My addiction to Shakespeare is natural because I have taught literature for ages. Scripts flow easily. Even though I have experimented with varied scripts and styles, while involving school students, one production I am yearning to make is Julius Caesar,” informed Aruna, who has acted and helped produce plays with Aamir Raza Hussain, Director of “Showbiz”. She has also been associated with Vivek Mansukhani, creative director of the Scene Stealers. Living the roles of a writer, a critic and a teacher of dramatic arts, Aruna recalls some of her earlier productions with schools. “Karan — the Son of Surya; was the most outstanding of all my earlier works. This three-act play in English formed a part of the Lawrence School’s Sesquicentennial celebrations, attended by 5,000 persons, including the pre-Partition British alumni, some of whom are in their eighties today. It was no less than a challenge to structure such a huge show that involved a cast of 200. Researched and scripted by me in the Shakespearean syntax, the play turned out to be a thorough success.” At Vivek High School, the focus is on “My Fair Lady”, an adaptation from George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”. Informed Aruna, “We were earlier working on “Taming of the Shrew”, but somehow the required effect could not be obtained. So we changed over to “My Fair Lady”, which I have produced and directed several times. Also we wanted to do something for the garden city of Chandigarh by overdoing the metaphor of the flower. I have also directed the play for the junior wing, which would be staged on November 1. That one employs the metaphor of magic.” While balancing her roles as a writer and a creative person, Aruna is also much interested in reviving The Star School Theatricals which she started in Chandigarh a while ago. She informs, “Things had to be put on the hold for sometime because I got extremely involved with drama classes at Vivek High School. Then came the Founder’s Day celebrations. If I stay back in Chandigarh I will revive my drama school.” Back home in Delhi, Aruna keeps busy covering the work done by the Delhi Council for Child Welfare and its orphanage, “Palna” in Qudsia Bagh. As of now, she is concentrating on the biography of veteran hair stylist Habib Ahmad who used to do Pt Nehru’s and Lord Mountbatten’s hair. Informs Aruna. |
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Blurring boundaries with art Chandigarh, October 30 The brainchild of Mantej Singh, who is currently visiting India regarding his research on exhibition practice, community collaboration and community development, the project involves collective churning of ideas on matters of terrorism, alienation and rancour, that typically define Indo-Pakistan relations. Perturbed by unsavoury developments across the border, Mantej Singh narrated how he, Anand and Farida met in Sydney and discovered common interest and aspirations. Aptly titled “Artists beyond boundaries”, the project attempts to create space and opportunities for people of the two countries to interact and communicate with each other. As Mantej, who held a session with at least 28 children from Chandigarh today, informed, “When we met as artists, we felt that our friendship and engagement with many people from the other country somewhat erased the boundaries that they came with. We, however, needed a neutral ground like Australia to meet and understand each other”. The focus during the three-day workshop in Chandigarh will be on the visual media, which is tangible and perfectly suited for such a purpose and exchange. Just as the children in Chandigarh are voicing their opinion on terrorism and creating images to express their feelings on these issues, children in Pakistan would also be doing the same during these three days. “During the project, we will simultaneously hold workshops with children in India and Pakistan on their opinion on the relationship between the two nations. Finally, we will put together all art works as one comprehensive piece of visual creation, which can then be sent across the border as a token of peace and affection. During the workshop here, we are asking children to describe the concept of boundaries and then create visual images on these concepts. We plan to put together a huge piece of art at the end of the workshop,” said Mantej, who has secured the support of the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi for this project. Finally, the artists plan to combine the video documentation of the workshops in both countries and their footage from Australia in a short film. |
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NRI producer honoured Sukhi Nijjar, who started the Punjabi channel Watno Dur about five years ago in Canada, has been making in-house production on major cities of Punjab as well as other Indian cities along with a series on famous temples of India and folk culture of different regions. “We are dedicated to propagating real Punjabi culture,” says Nijjar, adding that the channel has already carved a place for itself among South Asian communities settled in Canada. Nijjar, who migrated to Canada in 1990 from Jalandhar, started his career as a radio host in a Punjabi radio station. “My aim is to make a documentary on Guru Nanak Dev,” he says. Nijjar’s future plans also include branching out in India in collaboration with Balle Balle channel. “Through such a collaboration, we plan to show life of Indians settled abroad, besides disseminating information about different cities of Canada and the lifestyle of people there,” he adds. |
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Optimism is
his driving force Chandigarh, October 30 Neither he nor his family had thought at that time that one day he would become a nationally recognised Hindi poet — Prof Phul Chand Manav. He has been awarded the National Literary and Education Award for his collection of Hindi poetry “Kamzor kathor sapne” by the Prime Minister. In addition to a citation and a certificate, he has been given a cash prize of Rs 50,000 for writing a ‘’wonderful satire on social relations which produces new thoughts in one’s mind.” The author of seven books, his major works include “Ek geet mausam”, “Ek hi Jageh” (poetry) and “Anjeer”, “Kathanagar” (story collections). He has translated over 12 books from Punjabi to Hindi and vice versa for Bhartiya Gyanpeeth, National Book Trust and Sahitya Akademi. He has been honoured by the Languages Department, Punjab, All India Radio and other institutions. Talking about his childhood, he says,”The small boy of R.K. Jain High School, Nabha, who used to recite bhajans at the local Jain temple, got inspiration to write a couplet at the age of 15. Later, I started writing for newspapers including Dainik Tribune, Jan Satta and esteemed literary magazines like Dharm Yug, Kadambani and Raviwar. I was thrilled when my travelogue — “Mohali to Melbourne” — was published in a series of 30 articles in Dainik Tribune and Punjabi Tribune in the late 1970s.” Due to financial constraints, he could not continue his studies beyond matriculation and became a primary school teacher. “However, I was determined to make my name in life. So I continued my education through correspondence and later did MA in Punjabi and Hindi,” he recalls. For some time he worked with the Punjab State University Text Board and as Public Relations Officers with the Punjab Government during 1975-76. “After some time”, he says philosophically, “I started feeling like a misfit in the job. The moment I got an opportunity, I shifted to college teaching. For over eight years, I taught as a Hindi lecturer at Government College, Bathinda and since 1985, I am teaching at Government College, SAS Nagar.” At present he is staying in Sector 26, and is the patron of Sahitya Sangam, a literary society. A voracious reader of literary books and magazines, he has a collection of over 5,000 books. His friends say, “Sometimes when we cannot find a book at the Punjab Book Centre, we are referred to his address.” Commenting on his work, his wife, Ms Yogeshwar Kaur, herself a Hindi lecturer, says “I feel happy that he is a straightforward person, though sometimes I feel irritated that he does not keep his room tidy. Books and magazines are spread all over.” But for Manav, the chaos of life has its own order. Reacting to the increasing importance of the electronic media, he says,” The poetry, songs and good prose have great value for the electronic media as well. Perhaps, that is the reason they also try to cash in on the music of life offered by different section of society and the print media.” |
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Chandigarh, October 30
Chandigarh, October 30