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Allahi’s assurance on Sikh shrines
Amritsar, November 11 In a communication to the SGPC general secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, Mr G.M. Sikander, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, west Punjab, reiterated the commitment of Chaudhary Parvez Ellahi that all possible measures were being taken by the government of Pakistan to avoid any recurrence of Nankana Sahib type incident. Mr Sikander, on behalf of Chaudhary Ellahi, said Guru Nanak Degree College, Nankana Sahib, was being shifted to an alternative side. Though Jathedar, Akal Takht, has been appealing to the Indian government to release the Sikh detainees , this is for the first time that he has made similar request to the government of Pakistan. A number of Punjabis have been lodged in different jails of Pakistan. These Punjabis had gone to Turkey through fake travel agents and ultimately landed themselves in Pakistan’s jails. Meanwhile, Mr Vedanti has urged the leadership of all the warring factions of the Sikh Panth to unite on a single platform. Talking to TNS here today, Jathedar Vedanti said Panthic agenda could be pursued properly only if entire leadership came on single platform. Jathedar Vedanti will also give a message in the name of Sikh Panth from Akal Takht tomorrow to mark the ‘Bandhi Chhor Divas’.
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Need for Sikh calendar stressed
Patiala, November 11 In a thought-provoking lecture, Mr Purewal dwelt at length on the concept of having an independent
calendar for Sikhs. He emphasised that a calendar was part of the Nation's religious identity. “Today each major religion has its own calendar and it is almost as true to say that each
calendar has its religion. We needed our own calendar.” Mr Purewal further explained that since the length of the Nanakshahi calendar year was based on the philosophy of the Gurbani its months would always maintain the present relationship with seasons, and would stay according to the Gurbani. The summer solstice shall always occur in the month of Harh of the Nanakshahi calendar. Also since the Gurpurab dates had been fixed according to the solar dates and since the common era calendar was also based on the tropical year, the Gurpurabs would always occur on the same dates of the common era calendar, and would not shift from year to year. In his presidential address Dr Parm Bakhshish Singh, Registrar, said modern civilisation was the outcome of human mind's
continuous efforts to learn more. He further said that with the available techniques and tools man had always yearned to develop new paradigms of knowledge. He praised the initiative of Mr Purewal in preparing an authentic calendar, which has been adopted for implementation. Earlier, Dr Jodh Singh, Editor-in-Chief, while welcoming the guests, gave a detailed introduction about the theme of the special lecture. Dr S.P.S. Virdi, Dean, Academic Affairs, while presenting a vote of thanks said it was natural to resist change, But if the change made things easier, better and more scientific we should accept it.
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Rababis give proof of performance at Darbar Sahib
Amritsar, November 11 They presented a copy of “Prabhat”, an Urdu language daily at the time that carried the news item of the performance by the two brothers in 1962 at Darbar Sahib. The news was published in the February 22, issue of the newspaper. The report states that 12 pairs of rababis (Muslim
kirtankaars) performed in the Darbar Sahib till 1945. According to the report, Bhai Lal was granted five minutes to perform kirtan despite a resolution in 1945 that banned all rababis to perform at the Darbar Sahib and imposed that only “amritdhari” Sikhs could perform, but he performed for nearly 40 minutes to the spellbound audience . In an appeal to Bibi Jagir Kaur, president, SGPC and, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, president, SAD, the two brothers who are suffering with age related problems with Bhai Lal aged 78 and Bhai Irshad at 90, asked for permission to perform in the sanctum sanctorum to fulfil their dream as they might not be able to come again to India.
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Shah Mohammad born in Amritsar, not Batala: experts
Amritsar, November 11 The consensus was reached on the first day of the three-day festival organised here for the first time by the Hasham Shah Trust and the Almi Punjabi Virasat. Prof Harbhajan Singh Bhatia of Guru Nanak Dev University said he had studied Persian scripts during his visit to Lahore which mentioned the place of birth of Shah Mohammad as Wadali Veeram Bhoma. The confusion about the birthplace was probably due to translation of his poetry from Persian to Punjabi. Dr Gurbachan Singh Bachan, Mr Manjit Singh Bhoma, Mr Bhupinder Singh Sandhu, Surjit Singh Randhawa and Dr Iqbal Singh Bhoma said the historians had concluded that Shah Mohammad who wrote “Jangnama” to describe the agony of the post-Maharaja Ranjit Singh era was born and brought up in this village. The village was Muslim dominated before the Partition. Punjabi critics were of the view that he had written more poetry which might have got lost. They urged Punjabi intellectuals to look for poetry of Shah Mohammad in original Persian sources. Prof Bhatia, in his paper, “uniqueness of Jang Hind-Punjab” said Shah Mohammad had portrayed the agony of the infighting among Sikh sardars which ruined the 50-year kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh after his death, which was a true mirror of that time. “Jangnama” was said to have been written in 1846, about seven years after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar, Akal Takht, who was the chief guest, said it would be a tribute to Shah Mohammad if the present leadership learn a lesson from the days which had brought colossal damage due to infighting.
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Relief too little, too late, says SAD
Chandigarh, November 11 Taking up the mass cremation case, the NHRC on Thursday awarded a compensation of Rs 2.50 lakh each to the relatives of 109 residents who died in the custody of the Punjab Police. The commission was earlier directed by the Supreme Court to decide the compensation claims filed by dependents of the victims taken into custody by the police on the suspicion of being terrorists. After they were served the final summons of death, their bodies were allegedly cremated in three police districts of Amritsar, Majitha and Tarn
Taran. Over 2,000 people were reported missing during the period. The matter was subsequently referred to as the “mass cremation case”. Reacting to the judgement soon after its pronouncement, Shiromani Akali Dal’s Secretary Dr D.S. Cheema claimed that at least Rs 10 lakh should have been handed over to the next of kin. “After all, several young and innocent lives were lost due to police atrocities”, he asserted. The matter, he added, should not end here. “Police officers involved in the commission of heinous offences like these should not be allowed to go scot-free,” “They should be brought to the book”, he said. Expressing dissatisfaction with the compensation amount, Ms Paramjit Kaur Khalra — wife of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra who went missing in1995 — said they had sought compensation of at least Rs 10 lakh each, besides jobs for members of the aggrieved families. Human Rights lawyer R.S. Bains added that though the judgement was commendable, yet the commission as an institution had failed to deliver justice on time. The matter, he said, was hanging fire for over two decades. On the other hand, former MLA-cum-human rights activist Inderjit Singh Jaijee said the directive would encourage other aggrieved families to approach the commission for justice. The Punjab Police, in the meantime, clarified that the award of monetary relief was not an expression of opinion about “culpability or otherwise” of any police personnel. Quoting the contents of the judgement, Deputy Inspector-General of Punjab Police (Litigation) said the commission had clarified that the “order should be treated as an application of balm to whatever wounds that were still left and should not be considered in the spirit of `win’ or `lose’”.
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PHSC asks VB to take action against doctor
Mohali, November 11 A Jalandhar resident has, in a written complaint to the Senior Medical Officer (SMO), Civil Hospital, Nakodar, alleged that one of the doctors serving in the hospital demanded thousands of rupees to operate upon his ailing mother in a private nursing home. The complaint, sent to the Chairman, PHSC, here was today forwarded to the Punjab Vigilance Bureau. The complainant, Mr Dalbir Singh of Khanpur village, Rajputan, alleged that Dr Vivek Sekhri, posted as orthopaedic specialist at Civil Hospital, Nakodar, demanded Rs 26,500 from him to operate upon his mother. The operation was to be carried out at a private hospital in Nakodar and despite Mr Dalbir Singh's objections, Dr Sekhri allegedly insisted on doing the operation privately. Giving details of the complaint, the Chairman, PHSC, Col. C.D. Singh Kamboj told The Tribune that Dalbir Singh had gone to the Nakodar Civil Hospital emergency with his 65-year-old mother Joginder Kaur who had suffered a hip joint fracture. Dr Sekhri was immediately informed on his mobile about the arrival of the patient. He asked Dalbir Singh to get an X-ray done from a particular private laboratory. Following the X-ray, two persons contacted Dalbir Singh and told him that they had come from Kamal Hospital and Dr Sekhri had sent them. They insisted that Dalbir Singh get his mother operated at Kamal Hospital. In the evening when the X-ray reports were shown to Dr Sekhri he said Joginder Kaur required surgery and to be shifted immediately to Kamal Hospital where he would operate upon her. He told Dalbir to arrange Rs 20,000 and another Rs 65,000 for the plates before the surgery. When Dalbir Singh pointed out that he would prefer to get his mother treated at the Civil Hospital, Dr Sekhri allegedly rebuffed him. He said the Civil Hospital equipment was non-functional and his mother could not be operated there. He also reportedly told Dalbir Singh that his private hospital near the canal would be ready soon where he would treat all his patients. Dalbir Singh refused to get his mother treated there and filed a complaint against the doctor. ‘‘We received the complaint today and have forwarded it to the Vigilance Bureau for necessary action,’’ pointed out Col Kamboj, adding that Dalbir Singh's move should serve as an example for others to follow. He added that Mrs Joginder Kaur was shifted to Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, for treatment.
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Langah, Sekhwan win SGPC seats
Gurdaspur, November 11 Mr Langah, who contested from the Dhariwal SGPC constituency got 31,162 votes, while his arch rival Mr Chottepur of the Panthic Morcha got 19,012 votes. From the Gurdaspur constituency Mr Sewa Singh Sekhwan polled 34,156 votes while his nearest rival Mr Amrik Singh polled 26,182 votes. However, after the commission observers found the complaints baseless, the
gurdwara elections commission ordered counting of votes today.
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Advani coming on Nov 14
Amritsar, November 11
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Army chief presides over centenary celebrations
Some where in Northern sector, November 11 In the parade, formations of T-72 tanks and 130 mm guns marched passed with elegance and synchrony. To commemorate the celebrations, General Vij released the first day cover for the regiment. The cover would be used by the postal services of the Indian Army. The General, in his address, praised the preparedness of the brigade. He said he was satisfied with the condition of weaponry and preparedness of the armoured brigade. The 2 (independent) Armoured brigade also known as “Fleur-de-lis Brigade” was raised in Meerut in 1904 as the Meerut Cavalry Brigade. It acquired the title, ‘Fleur-de-lis Brigade’, for its services in France during the first World War. It has the distinction of being the oldest armoured brigade of the Army. Besides serving in France, the brigade also served in Mesopotamia during the first World War. In the second World War, the brigade took operations in Iraq, Palestine and Persia. It returned to India in 1946 and was finally re-designated as 2 (independent) Armoured
brigade.
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Breeding magur fish may invite stern action
Moga, November 11 He said the Fisheries Department had been asked to prepare a report on the matter following which stern legal action would be taken against the guilty. The Assistant Project Officer, Fisheries, said five hectares of area was brought under fishing in the district and 195 tonnes of fish was produced. The Deputy Commissioner said he would get the investigation done into the complaints relating to the recently resumed mid-day meal scheme. He said a drive to remove the encroachments on link roads of villages would be launched after Divali. He said the SDMs concerned would hold meetings with the panchayats in this regard. Presenting his report, the Senior Executive Engineer, Sub-urban Division, Moga, said 51 tubewell connections were given in the district during this month and 15 transformers were de-loaded. He further informed that the 24-hour power supply had been provided in 243 villages of the district, while 8 other villages would be electrified soon. The District Education Officer said 72 rooms were built at a cost of Rs 86.4 lakh under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and Rs 33.25 lakh had been sanctioned for 95 sanitation blocks, out of which 53 sanitation blocks had been completed.
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CM to clear mill workers’ salary dues soon
Chandigarh, November 11 On the instructions of the Chief Minister, salary of one month was paid to the employees today. Mr Jaswinder Singh Sall convener of the joint action committee of the employees, said that the Chief Minister had asked the Cooperation Minister, Mr Jasjit Singh Randhawa, to send immediately Rs 20 lakh at the Rakhra mill as one month’s salary on the eve of Divali. Employees said that the CM had assured that Rs 60 lakh would be released soon to pay the remaining balance of the salary. Employees also requested him to clear the dues worth Rs 3.69 crore of farmers who supplied cane to the mill last year. Employees told the CM that the cooperative sugarmills in the state should be directed to make cash payment of the sugarcane to farmers. Among those who met the CM were Mr Venod Kumar, Mr Manjiv Singh Channa, Mr Kesar Singh, Mr Sartaj Khan, Mr Narotam Singh Sidhu, Mr Gurmeet Singh Asemajra, Mr Jagtar Singh Ajnauda and Mr Balwant Singh Kheri.
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Henry seeks kiln owners’ cooperation on fly ash
Chandigarh, November 11 Mr Henry, who held a meeting with senior officers on the issue of fly ash here today, said that the brick kiln owners should cooperate with the state government on the issue of the fly ash and start using it for manufacturing bricks as it would be in the interest of the state. Kiln owners, not happy over the manner in which the order regarding the use of fly ash in bricks is being implemented by the Punjab Pollution Control Board, have gone on strike. Feeling concerned because of the strike and increase in the price of bricks, the Food and Supplies Minister had called a meeting of all officers concerned to discuss the issue. The minister has asked the PSEB to provide loading facilities to kiln owners at the thermal yards from where fly ash is to be lifted. There are three big coal-based thermal plants in State. They produce thousands of tonnes of fly ash every month. The state government wanted that it should be used to manufacture bricks.
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Form military courts, says Bitta
Patiala, November 11 Talking to The Tribune here last evening, Mr Bitta said the courts so formed should be given wide-ranging powers so that they could root out terrorism from the country. The front leader, while speaking about the latest peace initiatives put forward by Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf, said the proposal was an insult to the sacrifices made by the country on the issue. He said Gen. Musharraf should not talk through the media and if at all he had any proposal it should be discussed at an appropriate forum.
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Website on Sahibzadas soon
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 11 The website will contain the history of Saka
Sirhind, details of events to be organised, visiting dignitaries, programme schedule, route maps for vehicles, train timings, parking sites, medical facilities, photo galleries, important telephone numbers, security arrangements and transport facilities. The link would be provided from the existing website of the district and can be accessed from
http://fatehgarhsahib.nic.in. He said the Sukhmani society would also set up a centre in the office of the Municipal Committee,
Sirhind, to issue computerised birth and death certificates.
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BKU activists court arrest
Moga, November 11 The district union chief, Mr Trilok Singh Himmatpura, led the march that passed through main roads of the city. Addressing the activists, Mr Himmatpura said the voice of farmers could not be suppressed by using police force. Another group of activists under the leadership of Mr Darshan Singh Kokrikalan courted arrest at the Administrative Complex. The union leaders demanded that the farmers arrested in Punjab be released and the injured farmers be given a compensation of Rs 50,000 each. In Nihalsinghwala, about 30 union activists led by Mr Bhajan Singh Minia courted arrest in support of their demands.
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Technical Services Union backs farmers
Bathinda, November 11 In a press note issued here, Mr Paramjit Singh, president, Technical Services Union, subdivision unit, said that the union would extend support to the farmers against whom the false criminal cases had been registered and those, who had been put behind bars while lodging their peaceful protest against a sharp fall in the cotton prices.
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New post office for Nayagaon Nayagaon (Kharar), November 11 This will cater to the following areas: Kaimbwala, Kansal, Khuda Ali Sher, Janat Colony, Adarsh Nagar, Dashmesh Nagar, Kumaon Colony, Shivalik Vihar, Professor Colony, IS Colony and Govind Colony. Consequent of opening of this post office the branch office of Nada will be closed. The post office will offer all postal facilities, including bank and speed post, to the areas.
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‘Black Divali’ for cotton growers
Bathinda, November 11 What has been causing a huge financial loss to the cotton growers is that the prices of raw cotton have come down by Rs 600 to Rs 700 in the past two months. After a lot of hardwork, the farmers had managed to get a better yield of “white gold” this year. The prevailing prices of raw cotton in this region has been ranging between Rs 1,760 and Rs 1,900, despite the fact that the opening prices of raw cotton in this season ranged between Rs 2,400 and Rs 2,500. Last year, raw cotton fetched a record price, which touched Rs 2,900 per quintal. It was after about 17 years that cotton was selling at near its MSP. It was in 1986-87 that the narma variety of raw cotton was sold at its then prevailing MSP. After that, raw cotton always fetched more price than the MSP. Raw cotton was being sold at Rs 1,820 to Rs 1,960 per quintal despite the fact that the MSP was Rs 1,815 per quintal in Punjab. On November 6 last year, raw cotton was sold at Rs 2,400 to Rs 2,612 per quintal and on the same date this year, the selling price of raw cotton in various mandis of this region was in the range of Rs 1,820 to Rs 1,961. The trend of falling cotton prices is expected to worsen as the arrival of cotton crop has been picking up but bulk buyers, including textile mill owners, are not buying it. Mr Ashok Kapur, former president of the Northern India Cotton Association (NICA), said a new trend was being witnessed in the markets for the first time. Most of the cotton growers had not been able to hold back the stocks to create scarcity. The textile mill owners and other traders had also not been building up the stocks as they know that it would be available to them throughout the year. After having earned profit from cotton, the farmers had brought additional areas of about one lakh hectares under its cultivation. Mr Amrit Pal Singh Brar, president, of the Punjab Young Farmers Federation, said the Centre should take steps to stabilise the prices of raw cotton.
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Woman raped in front of hapless husband
Talwandi Sabo, November 11 The victim, who belongs to Rajasthan, was raped by three car borne youths after she along with her husband was picked up from the local bus stand on the pretext of giving them lift. The accused, who also belong to Rajasthan, were known to the victim and her husband, who deals in vegetable business. The police sources said the victim had come to her kin's house located in one of the villages situated in this area to visit the local historical
gurdwara. After paying
obeisance, the victim along with her husband was waiting at a bus stand for catching bus to reach the village where her kin were living. Three car borne youths, who were known to both husband and wife, came to bus stand and offered them a lift. While they were proceeding towards the village, the accused stopped the car on the pretext that the same had developed some fault. After stopping the car, the accused started repairing the fault to make the victim and her husband believe that they would be left at their kin's house after the fault was
rectified. When the darkness descended, two of the accused took victim’s husband to one side, while the third accused raped her. After some time, the other accused came
and raped her. When the husband of the victim tried to stop the accused, he was threatened that he would be killed. After committing the crime, they left the victim and her husband there and fled in the same car. The police has registered a case under Sections 376, 506 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of victim.
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Woman sold for Rs 20,000 and raped
Hoshiarpur, November 11 According to police sources, the victim, wife of Mr Ashwani Kumar, went to fields to answer the call of nature in the morning of November 1 and did not return. Mr Kumar alleged that
Vandna, daughter of Ram Parshad of the same village, instigated his wife and took her to one Baldev Singh of
Mahilpur, who raped her and later took her to Ranjit Sagar Dam, Pathankot, where they sold her to a driver Bahadur Singh for Rs 20,000. Bahadur Singh reportedly raped her many times. The Mahilpur police has registered a case under Sections 363, 366, 376, 370, 376, 307 and 342 of the IPC against
Vandna, Baldev Singh and Bahadur Singh and the victim has been recovered.
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2 elderly women murdered
Kotkapura, November 11 People staying in the neighbourhood of the deceased suspect that the women might have been killed 3 days back. Sources said the victims were staying in the area for the past 20 years. The traders having their shops at the ground floor said Ghona Devi had rented out the first floor of her building to one Ramesh Kumar. The traders said the main gate of the building was locked for the past 3 days. When they saw the locked gate again today, they informed the police who along with the son of Lakshmi Devi, Jia Lal, broke open the lock and found the victims' bodies lying in a pool of blood on the second floor of the building. Both the bodies bore injury marks that hinted use of some sharp-edged weapon, but the police had not recovered any weapon. Sub-Inspector Kashmir Singh of the Faridkot branch of the Fingerprint Academy,
Phillaur, took the fingerprints from the scene. Top police officials, including SSP Kulchhinder Singh, SP Vijay Sharma and DSP Randhir Singh Uppal, reached the spot. The police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC.
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Burglary case solved, 4 held
Jalandhar, November 11 Mr G.P.S. Bhullar, SSP, said here today that one Tarsem Singh of Bhundian, village in Bhogpur in his complaint on November 8 alleged that he alongwith his family members had gone to Hoshiarpur to attend a reception on November 7. When they returned at around midnight, he found the grill of window of his bedroom had been broken into and the room was ransacked. Mr Bhullar further stated that during the course of investigations it was found that one Santokh Singh, a resident of the same village, was seen leaving the house of the complainant on the night of burglary. Mr Tarsem Singh also informed that Santokh Singh, who was a carpenter by profession, had worked in his house a few days back. The police raided the residence of Santokh Singh and he along with his three accomplices were arrested. They were identified as Balwinder, Gagandip Singh and Santokh Singh. The police also recovered Canadian $ 3,200 (equivalent of Rs 1,18,400), Indian currency worth Rs 7,610 and gold ornaments.
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160 bags of poppy husk seized
Abohar, November 11 According to information, a truck was intercepted at the inter-state border checkpost, Ratangarh, on the Hanumangarh road by the police at 11.30 pm. As per documents with the driver, the truck was loaded with bananas that had to be delivered to a fruit company in Bathinda. However, during search, the police found 160 bags of poppy husk weighing 5,600 kg hidden under the bananas. The police has arrested the driver Shanker Lal and helper Chaina Ram under the NDPS Act. They have been remanded in police custody till November 16. Earlier, the police had seized 101 bags of poppy husk from a truck at the same checkpost. Investigations had indicated that the consignment was for a Sirsa-based smuggler. The smuggling of poppy husk from Rajasthan and opium from Madhya Pradesh through Rajasthan has been picking up in Punjab and Haryana.
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Students stage lahgoor
Patiala, November 11 The chief guest at the function, Milkha Singh, was impressed by the students' performances. He said confidence and enthusiasm shown by the students were needed to succeed at the international level. He said Patiala would always be a special place for him as it was here during the 1954 National Games that Maharaja Yadavindra Singh spotted his talent. Our Lady of Fathima Convent Principal Sister Annette said the School was trying its utmost to provide quality education to students. She added that this was being done through firm guidance as well constant encouragement. She said the school was also providing the latest educational aids to the students. The function started with the school anthem, which was followed by a welcome speech by the Principal. Thereafter students of LKG gave a scintillating performance on the fantasies of children titled ''Yeh bachpan''. Other notable performances included a pop drill.
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Youth fest finals from Nov 14
Amritsar, November 11 More than 2000 winners and second position holders of the youth festivals (men and women) of the ‘A’ and ‘B’ zones and the first position holders of government and education (B.Ed) college youth festivals from Jalandhar, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Nawanshahr
and Kapurthala will participate.
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Principals to join PCCTU stir
Phagwara, November 11 The decision was taken at the general body meeting held at Guru Nanak College, here.
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