The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	I accuse Minna Zutshi Tribune News Service Greed, lies, lust and desecration of human relations. Add to it the lure of foreign lands and foreign-shore-gilded marriage. It’s a story that can churn the collective conscience of our society and give convulsive-jitters to self-professed custodians of morality. A 22-year-old girl has alleged that she was tricked into divorcing her in-absentia husband by her father-in-law, who wanted to settle scores with her for her audacity of interfering with his ‘affairs’. The father-in-law also allegedly framed his daughter-in-law in immoral activities case, though the case was later dropped by the authorities concerned. The father-in-law, on his part, refutes these allegations as baseless and counter-alleges that his daughter-in-law has been indulging in immoral activities and she divorced his son of her own volition. It was in the month of January 2001 that 19-year-old Mandeep Kaur from Miani village, near Hoshiarpur, was married to Jaswinder Singh from Fatehgarh village, near Begowal, Kapurthala. It was the usual kind of marriage — fanfare, gifts (read dowry), celebrations and joy. Her husband was in Spain at that time, she says. He came to India for his marriage, and thereafter went back to Spain. Then he came again in May and went back in September 2001. That was the last time she met her husband. From Spain, he shifted to Canada in May 2002 and later to America. “My woes started in 2001 itself. I saw my father-in-law in a compromising position with his other daughter-in-law. This proved to be my undoing. My harassment started right from that day,” Mandeep Kaur alleges. There’s yet another spin to the story. Mandeep Kaur says that she was eager to join her husband in America. But there some legal hitches, probably he had gone “illegally” and she could join him only by “working a way out.” “I was missing my husband and not too happy here,” says the woman, who is a mother of a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter. “I desperately wanted to be with my husband. It was like a jigsaw puzzle and the earlier part of the story (my criticism of my father-in-law for his depravity) provided a perfect fit,” she adds. “My father-in-law cajoled me to divorce my husband. His contention was that it was the only way to be with my husband. He told me that he would arrange for my paper-marriage with my brother-in-law. Later, he said that he had fixed my paper-marriage with another boy who would be able to take me to my husband,” alleges Mandeep Kaur. Incidentally, according to her, Jaswinder Singh had changed his name to Balwinder Singh in Canada. “The documents of my court marriage with my husband, who had then changed his name to Balwinder Singh, were finalised in 2003,” she claims. The last straw was when she was allegedly asked by her father-in-law, Harbhajan Singh, to stay in a city hotel, so that some legal formalities relating to her ‘immigration’ to Canada could be completed. “My divorce proceedings were complete on November 10 last year. My in-laws had got it written from me that I had been staying with my parents for the past two years. I was told that there was no choice, but to get a divorce so that my paper-marriage, to facilitate my stay with my husband, Jaswinder Singh, could be arranged at the earliest. I had dreams of rejoining my husband in America. I knew it was a convoluted way to get there, but I had no option. I agreed for divorce to keep my marriage intact.” “From November 29 to December 4, I was told to stay in a hotel. My maid had accompanied me. It was an unnerving experience for us, as two rooms had been booked by my father-in-law. A man, unknown to me, was putting up in the other room. I called up my father-in-law and told him that it was difficult staying there as I felt insecure,” she says. From there, she was allegedly told by her father-in-law to shift to a house in Maqsoodan. Again, the reason given was the same — some formalities had to be worked out and her stay at her in-laws’ house would hinder those formalities. “We (I and my maid) were outside the Maqsoodan house explaining the way to a passerby when a police party took us into custody. The charge slapped against us was that pertaining to immoral activities. The night at the police station was nothing short of nightmare. I heard my father-in-law tell police officials telephonically that they should not let the girls go off,” alleges Mandeep Kaur. Though eventually, the charge of immoral activities was dropped, Mandeep Kaur’s parents say that it was a dreadful night they can never forget. Meanwhile, Mandeep Kaur has complained about “deception and fraud” to the Human Rights Commission. A Human Rights Commission team, headed by Inspector Sukhdev Singh, is investigating the case. They have already recorded the versions of the complainant and her parents and the alleged accused. Talking to The Tribune, Inspector Sukhdev Singh said that prima facie, it seemed that the complaint had some substance to it, though the final report would be available within three months. Whatever the truth, allegations of deceit, greed and cheating dog a young life.
	Rs 150-cr institute awaits completion J.S. Malhotra The much-publicised Rs 150 crore Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences project is yet to be completed, even though the state government had announced the starting of the first academic session of from April last year. The foundation stone of this project was laid on two occasions by the then-Punjab Chief Ministers - Mr Beant Singh and later Mr Parkash Singh Badal. The then-Prime-Minister, Mr Inder Kumar Gujral, had also sanctioned a Central Government grant of Rs 25 crore towards the project. The Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences with 500-bed hospital was planned to be set up on the land meant for the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) research centre for sugarcane on the Garha Road here about a decade back. The state government had handed over the land to the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) under the Optimum Utlisation of Vacant Government Land (OUVGL) Scheme. PUDA authorities, under the scheme, were supposed to fund the project cost through sale proceeds of commercial area of the land. The work for construction of the institute's building was allotted to Larsen and Toubro (L&T) in October 2001. However, the work still remains to be completed owing to many reasons, including lack of coordination among the contractors and the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) authorities. A construction manager with the L&T in a complaint to the PSHC alleged that a sub-divisional engineer was asking for a monthly commission from a peon of one of the sub-contractors. The complaint, a copy of which is in possession of The Tribune, further said that the official concerned was threatening the private contractor with not giving the full amount of the due bills. Meanwhile, 90 per cent of the building has been completed, even as lab equipment and furniture are yet to be procured. Construction of two tubewells at a cost of Rs 13.70 lakh was yet to be completed by the PHSC authorities. Due to the delay in setting up the requisite infrastructure over the last three years, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has so far not granted its approval to start the academic session. There are 100 seats for the MBBS course in the institute. When contacted, the Director-cum-Principal of the institute, Mr J.S.Dalal, said,"The Punjab Medical Education and Research Minister, Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, has convened a meeting on January 17 to deliberate upon the issues. We are going to open up the hospital for public, while the academic session would start only after the approval of the MCI.”
	Time for Lahorian community to celebrate Magh Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service As the month of Magh sets in today, it is time for thousands of members of the Lahorian biradari to rejoice and hold traditional ceremonies at a temple near the Mitha Bazaar here. Not only the community members from Jalandhar but Khannas, Malhotras, Seths and Kapurs from all parts of Punjab, and places as far as Mumbai, would be paying obeisance at the temple of Baba Laloo Yash Rai at the Mandir Lahorian, situated in the narrow lanes of the Mitha Bazaar. Most of these people had migrated from Lahore. During this time, long queues are witnessed outside the two-century-old temple which has hardly any visitors throughout the year. The celebrations began last night with the Lohri pujan. A havan was performed in evening by members of the temple managing committee. The members of the community follow all traditions of the Hindu religion. However, they follow one unique tradition of getting the "choti" (tuft of hair from the middle of the skull) and offering the same to the Babaji at the temple premises. The devotees bring boys of five years and above, whose "chotis" are removed with a band. Mr Darshan Kumar, a manager, said, "All functions are held from Saturdays to Mondays of the month and this year these would be held on January 15, 22, 29 and February 5." The manager said that this year also the rush was so much that booking for the purpose had to be done much in advance. The boys' name along with those of their father and grandfather are registered in the office of the temple and the list is forwarded to the head priest, he added. Mr Gopal Das Seth, a member of the temple committee, further explained, "The ceremony itself is rather interesting. Typically, a boy comes to the temple, and after getting the choti removed, he comes out with his head and face covered as he is not supposed to show his face to his parents. The next night (on Saturday), a halva prepared from semolina, milk and pure ghee is offered to Babaji, and only then the boy is allowed to see his parents. The mundan ceremony is held on Monday night and the 'janeu' (sacred thread) ceremony is held on Tuesday morning." Most of the Lahorias had migrated here much before the Partition. They had themselves got the temple constructed as they needed their own place to worship, said Mr Seth, one of the oldest members of the community. "Our original temple was situated at Dipalpur in Okara district (now in Pakistan). In order to get dharmik shudhi of the boys, they had to be taken to Dipalpur. But before proceeding to Dipalpur, our community members used to visit the Lahorian Mandir for seeking the blessings of the deities for the safe return as travel was difficult those days and it used to take very long to reach the destination," recalled Mr Seth. Mr Seth added that after the Partition, the original temple was left in Pakistan and the devotees of the Baba got a brick from Dipalpur. The brick was placed in a corner of the temple and the temple was considered as the regular abode of Babaji. The community considers the puja to be very auspicious and important occasion, and most parents get photographs clicked and video tapes recorded.
	Lohri is no longer son-centric in city Minna Zutshi Tribune News Service It was a Lohri with a difference. And a Lohri warm enough to rekindle a new hope in the hearts of those espousing the cause of "girl child". Giving a short shrift to traditional Lohri that is son-centric, some families in the city celebrated Lohri for their daughters. "It may sound clichéd, but girls are in no way less important than boys. My cherubic granddaughter has brought us happiness and cheer," said Mr Niranjan Singh, a retired professor. At his home, it was all songs and dance yesterday in the warm glow of the Lohri fire. His five-month-old granddaughter, Ek Noor, swaddled in woollens from head to toe, may have been unmindful of the hullabaloo around her, but the festive mood there was hard to miss. Little Ek Noor's maternal grandmother, Ms Karamjeet, principal at a local college, was fussing over her with the protective alacrity of a fond grandmother. Even more interesting was that most of the invitees at Ek Noor's Lohri celebrations were those blessed with daughters only. Of course, it was not that easy to make Lohri celebrations girl-centric, as many of the traditional Lohri songs have bonny, little boys as their subjects, and girls just don't fit into the rhythm of the songs! "It's hard to understand why people celebrate the birth of a son as if it were the ultimate act of God's benevolence. Most of us find it hard to accept that a daughter is not a liability. She can be as good, if not better, than a son," said Mr Jaspal Singh, one of the invitees, who is an academician. He added that even the so-called intellectuals had a blinkered vision. They were reluctant to accept that a second daughter was by no means a burden. "The given these days is that if your first child is a girl, your second child would surely be a boy, thanks to advances in technology (read sex determination tests). If your second child, too, happens to be a girl, people start questioning your wisdom, and they offer you a host of unsolicited suggestions," said this father of two daughters. Well, as the last embers of the Lohri fire died down in the homes that celebrated Lohri for their daughters, the baby-steps for a girl child's place in society had already been taken. And there were no statistics to be demonstrated; there was nothing official about these celebrations!
	Dosanjhs go down the memory lane in ‘mera pind’ Minna Zutshi Tribune News Service It’s a cold January morning. Not the best time for homecoming. But when the homecoming is of someone who has made a mark for himself in foreign land, it has a tempting curiosity-value to it. There’s something tantalisingly appealing about this homecoming. Not that villagers at Dosanjh Kalan have queued up to greet Mr Ujjal Dosanjh, Health Minister, Federal Government of Canada, and former premier of British Columbia. But the desire that the good luck of the “chosen one” may rub off on them, too, is perceptible among the villagers. Mr Dosanjh and his wife, Ms Raminder Dosanjh, are their smiling best. A documentary based on their life is being shot and they are at their old farm. The Lohri celebrations are in full swing. Some village women, carrying Lohri shagun and singing Lohri songs, are passing by. Straight goes an invitation to them — it would add to the right note in the documentary. The women, too, are more-than-willing to join them. For a moment, it is Mr Dosanjh remembering his boyhood days. Then, the leader Dosanjh asserts himself and we hear him express his concern over the declining sex ratio. “It’s time to include girl children also in Lohri celebrations. Why have this bias against girls?” he asks. The village women smile away his fervent pleas for equal rights to girl child. His alma mater visit has him remember the days when he was mischievous enough to ask “difficult” questions from his teachers, hoping that they would not be able to answer those questions. “It’s not enough to be goody-goody. Sometimes, you have to let yourself go and be playful,” he says, adding that mathematics was his Achilles’ heels. “I cannot forget how my teacher told me that change is the law of nature. Lessons learnt early in life are seldom forgotten,” we hear him say. This has been preceded by gushingly-sweet praises of Mr Dosanjh — sun and moon and stars all agog to welcome the son of soil to his native village! Time for interaction with students. There an air of hesitancy. Then you hear an announcement that all those eager to get a few tips on Canada may come forward. There is a clamour among students for “let-me-get-there”. And then begins an engrossing interaction. Already, some are dreaming about the foreign shores. After all, dreams require only a bit of nudging to take off!
	Vajra horse-riding school a hot favourite with kids Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Wearing helmets, mounting on horses, fitting shoes in saddles and taking reins in their hands, nearly 60 children who are members of the Vajra Horse Riding School cannot help realising the privilege of being a fauji's kid. Horse-riding, an adventure sport that has been started for the wards of the Vajra Corps, is drawing a good response. The sport is organised inside the Water Sports Complex at the Mall. The fact that most of the schools in the city do not offer horse-riding course further adds to the excitement of the children who have taken up this sport. "In my school, we are taught karate, yoga and swimming but they have not yet started horse-riding. When I go to school and tell my friends about it, they seem envious", said Manish (11), a student of Apeejay School. "My father and mother were taking a stroll on the Mall a few weeks back, when they saw that horse-riding school was being opened. They got me and my brother enrolled on the very first day," said 8-year-old Jasleena. "By now, I have learnt holding the reins properly and controlling the horse while it trots and canters. The next step would be about the galloping of the horse," she gleamed. Eight-year-old Harshita has joined the horse-riding school with a specific purpose of becoming physically fit. "I have knocked knees, which is a disqualification if I have to join the army. My dad told me that if I took to horse-riding early, I would be able to correct the knocked knees and make myself physically fit for the recruitment." "A horse is controlled by giving it instructions through the movements of upper legs. This puts a strain on the thighs and they pain a lot on the first few days. But gradually the body adapts itself to the strain", Akshita explained, as she dismounted from the horse after taking a 30-minute ride. "You know the horse Tarzan is the sturdiest of all. Other horses usually take a short cut on turns but this one trots on its fixed path and takes a turn swiftly. You can feel the difference only when you take a shot at riding," children say in unison. "Jasmine is a naughty mare. Last week, it was either tired or probably not in a good mood. It broke the bamboo sticks that formed the boundary of the training area," the kids added. The best part of the school is that the charges have been kept very minimal. The members have to pay just Rs 50 per month or Rs 500 annually, whichever suits them. At the time of training there are six to seven animal handlers inside the training area. Besides, Col M.R. Dang, Officer In charge of the school, supervises the training. "Kids learn very fast. A child above five years is eligible for admission to the horse-riding school. It is a good change for the kids who otherwise stay glued to television or video games," the supervisor said.
	Versatile Venus J.S. Gandam Ms Venus Kaur Dosanjh, a final year student of commerce at the Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara, has a way with words. She has bagged a string of awards for her elocution skills. Interestingly, her father, Mr Raghbir Singh Dosanjh, was reading a literary piece on Venus when she was born and hence she was christened “Venus”. Venus is Roman goddess of beauty and love. It is also the name of a planet Ms Venus writes stories, poems and also takes part in plays, dances, debates, declamations and mimes. She is into sports, too. She has, so far, won about 40 trophies at various inter-college competitions. She won the third prize in the Guru Nanak Dev University Zonal Youth Festival held at Jalandhar last year. She was the district winner in declamation contest organised by district administration and PEDA on the occasion of Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Divas. In her first year, the play in which she acted won the first prize in the district. She was also the Vice- Captain of the Handball Team that bagged the third prize in an inter-college tournament. She was also in the team that won runners-up trophy in the Zonal Youth Festival in 2002-03. At that time, she was a student of the local GNBLR College for Women from where she later shifted to Kamla Nehru College (KNC). Dr Neelam Sethi, Head, Department of Hindi, KNC, has been her guide, she says. Ms Venus feels that her greatest achievement so far has been the opportunity to be one of the anchors at the classical music festival (Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan) held recently. One of her favourite self-composed poems is “Ladoo”. This poem is about bride burning. It brought her laurels at a state-level function organised by the Punjab Department of Social Security and Welfare of Women and Children. Her self-composed poem “Ehsas” is against female foeticide. She says that there is no substitute for hard work and success does not come on a platter. “I want to have a career in media. I am working towards it,” she adds.
	Market Buzz Direct flight to Milan from Amritsar soon Tribune News Service The Air Slovakia has announced the introduction of direct flight from Amritsar to Milan via Bratislava from February 7. The flights would take off on weekly basis during the first phase. The proposed flight would take eight hours to reach its destination, including one-hour stay at Bratislava. Giving details, General Director of the Air Slovakia, Mr Augustin Bernat, and Commercial Director, Mr Tibor Varga, said that the flights would be primarily aimed at catering to the needs of over 70,000 Punjabi families in and around Milan city of Italy. The frequency of flights would be doubled after some time, they said. Mr Bernat said that the Air Slovakia had already been operating Amritsar-Birmingham flights thrice a week since April last year. "After conducting a detailed survey about the need of direct flight from Amritsar to Milan due to a large presence of Punjabis in and around Milan and Rome, we decided to make the flights operational from February 7," he added. Elaborating further, Mr Bernat revealed that it was further planned to appoint Punjabi-speaking girls as air hostesses to ensure better facilities to passengers, who would be mostly from Punjab. "Besides, it has been decided to introduce Punjabi meals and beverages for on-the-board passengers. Very shortly, all announcements would be made in Punjabi and English for the convenience of the passengers," he said.
	From the Schools Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Mayor World School has become the first school of the state to get affiliation with the University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). The school has also been approved as the only centre for the Cambridge International Diploma for teachers and trainers in the entire northern region. Mr Mark Bartholomew, Regional Manager, South Asia University of CIE, said this while laying the foundation stone of the school auditorium on Sunday. He said that students passing out with a CIE certification would not be required to clear IELTS and TOEFL and would get direct admission to international universities and colleges in the US, the UK, Canada and other parts of the world. Mr Bartholomew said that the CIE would work closely with the school to hold teacher and student exchange programmes between the two countries. He claimed that the CIE was the world's leading provider of international qualifications and assessments with a broad range of products that had been designed for making courses attractive and relevant for the students. He said that the CIE qualifications were being recognised by universities, colleges, education providers and employers all across the globe. School bags 7 trophies Students of Dayanand Model School, Model Town, have brought laurels to their alma mater by winning seven trophies at the recently-concluded Regional Youth Festival of the DAV Schools of the region at Phillaur. The students of the school won various competitions. In the solo-shabad singing contest, Avtar Kaur stood first, while Sakshi stood first in the poetical recitation among senior group participants. Abhinav bagged the first prize among the junior group participants of the painting competition. The bhangra team of the school also bagged the first prize. Sahil Gupta bagged the second prize in junior group declamation, whereas Varun Chawla got the third prize in the senior group. In the folk song competition, Mansi Luthra got the second prize. The principal of the school, Ms B. Manuja, congratulated the students. She exhorted the students to imbibe an attitude of winning and leading in every field. She expressed hope that the students would continue to do their institution proud by winning many more competitions in future. Lohri celebrations Students and staff of Apeejay School, Rama Mandi, celebrated Lohri with a festive fervour on Wednesday. A huge bonfire was arranged and the students sang songs related to Lohri. Later, a talent hunt show was organised to bring out the capabilities of the students to the fore. The students presented various music and dance items. An English play was also staged by middle-section students. Some students also shared jokes. The principal, Mr R.K. Walia, greeted the students and the staff. He told the students about the importance of the day. Dosanjh visits school The Canadian Health Minister, Mr Ujjal Dosanjh, visited Shaheed Baba Khushal Singh Khalsa Model Senior Secondary School, Lambran, during a function organised by Punjabi Sabhyacharak Sath on Tuesday. The programme began with the recitation of a shabad, followed by a short cultural show by students. Mr Dosanjh urged the students to bring about awareness on various social issues. He told them to work hard, not just for their personal interests, but also for the society as a whole. He was accompanied by his wife, Ms Raminder Dosanjh. Mr Ajit Singh, Principal, said that the Punjabis who had migrated to Canada had toiled hard to achieve success. He said that many of them were sending their hard-earned money back to their villages to bring about prosperity there.