Chandigarh, November 4
The team of MCM DAV College, Sector 36, won the quiz held on the second day of the Zone-A Youth Festival of Panjab University at the Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, here today. The team of the host college was finished second.

The team of MCM DAV included Geeta Dhawan, Deepti Uppal and Aprajita Gautam. The team members of the host college were Prabhleen, Avnit Deogar and Sukhveen.

The day’s proceedings started with a debate on ‘Status of women in a changed economic scenario where they were rubbing shoulders along with the menfolk’.

Jyotika from the GGS College for Women won the contest. The second place was bagged by Ahimpreet from MCM DAV, while the third position was bagged by Anu Brar from the Government College for Girls, Sector 11.

The poetical symposium witnessed an interesting competition. Except for two competitors, who recited self-composed poems, all others picked some of the literary jewels from the pen of Harivanshrai Bachchan, Manik Verma, Rajender Rajan, Ashok Anjum and Ved Prakash Mani, to name a few.

Meenakshi Tiwari from MCM DAV was adjudged the winner. Jyotika from the host college stood second while Geetanjali Dhankar from GCG, Sector 11, was declared third. Amandeep Kashyap from Dev Samaj College, who recited ‘Bal vidhwa’, a poem by Dhaniram Chatrik, was also appreciated by the audience.

Mr H.K. Dua, Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune, said the city stood out in the country by virtue of its vibrancy in the academic circuit. There were abundant opportunities in a various areas of education, including medical, engineering, architecture, arts and even theatre.

“Youth is a period of preparation for future. This age group has immense energy which needs to be properly directed for its full utilisation. Good deeds are infectious. If youths picked on even a single person, each, in their lives for assistance in education, it will make a big difference to society,” he said.

He said one third of the national population was illiterate. A large number of children could not go to school due to various reasons. Helping such children would be a service to the nation.

Lauding the work of the host college in higher education, Mr Dua said students should remember that Guru Gobind Singh sacrificed his sons for the country. The generation now was passing through times when people “often sacrificed their country for their sons”. “One needs to remember the value of the Guru’s dedication while studying in a college named after him,” he added.

Earlier, Dr Indarjit Walia, Principal of the college, welcomed the guests. Prabhleen Kaur from GGS College won the essay-writing contest. Monika Sharma from GCG, Sector 11, and Amita Pahwa from the Government College for Girls (GCG), Sector 42, adjudged second and third, respectively.

Megha Dhamija from MCM DAV College won the poem-writing contest. Nikha and Jyoti Sharma, both from the Government College of Girls, Sector 11, were second and third, respectively.

Aishwarya Singh from MCM DAV and Sikha Wadhwa from Home Science were the top two winners in the story-writing contest. Shilpi Chaudhary from GCG, Sector 42, won the third prize.

Chandigarh, November 4
Nearly eight years later, many of the witnesses, including the investigating officer, seem to have forgotten the facts which could help the CBI to prove its case in the Beant Singh assassination trial.

This became evident today when the CBI Inspector who had assisted the Chief Investigating Officer, S.N. Saxena, throughout the case, failed to recall facts about investigations conducted by him while deposing in the special court room in the Model Jail, Burail.

The CBI has examined 231 witnesses out of total 470. Many of the witnesses failed to recall facts, while about 10 were turned hostile.

During more than one-hour cross-examination, there were many occasions when the officer said he could not recall details. Moreover, he did not carry the case diary containing records about the investigation.

While deposing before the UT Additional and Sessions Judge, Mr Balbir Singh, CBI Inspector Rajesh Kumar, who has been working as Investigating Officer since 1993, said, “I cannot tell whether Mr S.N. Saxena was present at Patiala on that date. I was instructed to take the accused into custody from the court where he was to be produced. The accused was taken into the custody by me from the court around 3 pm. I do not remember exact dates, but perhaps I was in Patiala for the past two to three days.

Mr S.N. Saxena had also come to Patiala with me on the same day. I cannot tell exactly what investigation work I did everyday.”

He said “I was not the main Investigating Officer. I worked only on those points that were referred to me by the Chief Investigating Officer.”

As per the CBI records, the accused, Shamsher, was produced in the court of the CBI Special Judge, Patiala by the Punjab Police on December 11, 1995.

Thereafter, the accused was taken into custody by the CBI Inspector, Rajesh Kumar. The official had also conducted the investigation in Nagpur where some of the accused had stayed with fictions names.

Defense counsel claimed that Shamsher Singh was illegally detained by the Punjab Police from September 29, 1995. Later, he was handed over to the CBI for interrogation. The counsel also alleged that the CBI kept the accused at various places during that period. The allegation was refuted by the CBI Inspector.

Chandigarh, November 4
Subul Ahmed’s works at Art Folio engage the viewer almost instantly. With a touch of freshness, so typical of nature and all its manifestations, the works rise from beyond four walls of the canvas and speak to the viewer in a familiar language.

The works are all about strength of colours, that have the power to convey the most complicated of themes. Using tempera technique to the hilt, the painter works on a specific theme, most often drawn from nature and immediate surroundings and brings home the beauty of art, which succeeds in serving its most sacred purpose — that of offering pleasure to a strained mind and a restive heart.

The issue of identity also plays around in the canvases, where woman as a dominant figure recurs every now and then. Self-portrait also confirms the artist’s interest in the blessings of womanhood. Using art as a tool to stroke connections with the outside world and analyse relationships for the viewers and lovers of art, Subul Ahmed also makes sure she touches upon the finest aspects of existence, be it the man woman relationship or the bonds that exist within sexes.

Chandigarh, November 4
Discovery Channel today presented a slice of the Sikh history in the very heart of Punjab when it organised a special screening of its latest film, “Khalsa 300: A Vision Revisited” in a local hotel here.

The film, which forms a part of the very popular Discovery Channel’s “Discover India” series, brings to focus the Khalsa's philosophy of universal brotherhood which incorporates teachings of all religions and describes Khalsa as saint, scholar and soldier.

Produced by the Nagraa Trust, the film traces the unique event that occurred at Sri Anandpur Saheb in India in 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh created the order of the Khalsa institutionalized the universal, humanistic teachings of Guru Nanak Dev, the first Guru of the Sikhs.

The film, which was screened in the presence of Director, Marketing, Discovery Communications, Mr Aditya Tripathi, is a film on the birth of the Khalsa, its evolution over the past 300 years, from the time it was founded by Guru Gobind Singh.

The story of the birth of the Khalsa is one of the greatest stories in the history of any religion. The film describes various events that led to the birth of the Khalsa order. It shows Baisakhi in 1699, which marks the birth of the Khalsa and thereafter, presents a vivid chronology of the growth of the Sikh philosophy and religion.