Mohali, June 20
The Minister for School Education, Punjab, Mr Harnam Das Johar, said today that teachers employed in government schools in the state would not be asked to do any government work other than teaching. Talking to mediapersons following a meeting of the District Grievances Committee held here, Mr Johar categorically said the move to privatise government schools in the state had been dropped.

The monthly meeting of the grievances committee was chaired by the minister and attended by some of the senior officers of the district. “However I am not satisfied with the meeting today as many officers have not come to the meting due to which many matters have been kept pending.

I want to warn all officers that they are answerable to public and staying away from meetings would be taken very seriously.

And if this continues, severe action against the officers would also be taken,” said the minister at the end of the meeting.

True enough, a majority of the action taken reports on the issues raised in the last meeting had not been received by the committee. A large number of issues relating to illegal occupation of shamlat (common) land in villages were discussed. Assurances were given by the SSP, Ropar, Mr Surinder Pal Singh, who also attended the meeting, that these would be looked into.

The GM, Punjab Roadways, was found absent from the meeting by the committee when the issue regarding the stopping of a direct bus from Noorpur Bedi to New Delhi came up for discussion. Residents had demanded that a direct bus from Noorpur Bedi to Delhi had been stopped and as a result residents had to change buses during the journey. No decision on the matter could be taken.

Reacting to an issue relating to the shortage of teachers in Government Elementary School, Birdar, the minister pointed out that school teachers would not be asked to do any government work like conducting surveys or clerical compilation of data. “The foremost work of a teachers is to teach and that is what they should be doing,” he said, adding that whatever work is entrusted to them can be finished after teaching hours are over.

Regarding a complaint by the MLA Kharar, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, about the lack of sanitation in Sector 71 due to the presence of the unauthorised Jhotte Kutt colony, the minister was told by the PUDA authorities that the colony residents had a stay from the court and as a result encroachments could not be removed. PUDA was directed to request for vacation of the stay and get the entire place cleaned up as soon as possible.

Stating that cleanliness of Ropar should be the main focus of attention for the district administration, the minister ordered that non-performing officers would be identified and action would be initiated against them.

Mohali, June 20
Political interference in the working of the Punjab School Education Board and various universities in the state should be stopped. Even the finance and audit departments should not interfere.

The demand was made by the Universities and Education Board Employees Federation, Punjab and Chandigarh, here today. The newly elected general secretary of the federation, Mr Bhagwant Singh Bedi, said at a press conference that the decisions taken by the university syndicates should be implemented in letter and spirit without any political interference.

Mr Bedi said a meeting of the federation was held on June 17 where it was decided that a memorandum in connection with common demands should be presented to the Punjab Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Higher Education.

He said the other demands were that secretariat allowance should be given to all employees, the 63-day strike by employees of Punjabi University, Patiala, be considered as duty period as in the case of other universities, privatisation should be stopped and pension scheme implemented in Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, Mr Gurdeep Singh Dhillon was elected president of the federation while Mr Gurmukh Singh was made finance secretary. 

COURTS

Tehelka case: Brig terms GCM observations as illegal
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 20
Brigadier Iqbal Singh, who is being tried by a General Court Martial (GCM) for professional impropriety in the Tehelka case, has termed the court’s observations in regard to a witness’ statement pertaining to the summary of evidence (SOE) and the court’s directions calling for the matter to be investigated, as “illegal and unprecedented”.

Former tehelka.com staff, Aniruddha Bahl, had stated before the court that he had given answers to certain questions in the SOE only in “yes” or “no”, but certain words and sentences had been added to them.

The court on examining the handwritten SOE had observed that the fullstops in the statements had been converted into commas and the colour of the ink and the size of the handwriting after the commas was different.

On June 17, the court had directed that the SOE be sent to the convening authority for investigation.

In a representation sent to the General Officer Commanding 2 Corps, who is the court’s convening authority, Chief of the Army Staff and the Judge Advocate-General, the accused-applicant has contended that the action of the court has rendered the proceedings to be a nullity in the eyes of law on account of the court pre-judging and pre-deciding the issue.

Citing provisions of Army Rule 92, the officer has maintained that the Army Act does not make a provision of any investigation into an issue arising during the proceedings of the court in regard to the conduct of a person not before the court as an accused.

Stating that such allegations are required to be decided by the court while returning its findings on the charges, the representation adds that the court has entered into a parallel inquiry which is not permitted under law.

The representation states that by recording its observations, the members of the court have become witness to the case and that they have performed the job of experts as they have already “concluded” that some of the answers seem or appear to have been added subsequently.

The representation further states that the court has drawn conclusions on a one-sided account without hearing the officer who has recorded the SOE and the independent witness to the SOE or to give a chance to the defence to show that the witness was lying.

Stating that the actions have cast serious doubts on the role of the court’s presiding officer, members and the judge advocate to act as independent jurors, the representation added that the court had prejudged the entire issue and had in the process, condemned a serving brigadier and a colonel without hearing them.

LEISURE

Today is day for music lovers
Samreet Kaur

“Folk music is a living and integral constituent of any music culture and represents the cumulative expressions of many ages but the contemporary trends fast emerging in Punjabi singing are polluting our cultural tradition”, opined Dr Nahar Singh, a folklore scholar, in his keynote address at a seminar on “Punjabi singing: traditions and trends”.

The two-day seminar organised by Patiala-based voluntary cultural institute “Heritage” in association with the Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademy at Punjab Kala Bhavan hall was inaugurated by legendary Punjabi singer Surinder Kaur today.

Dr Nahar Singh delved into the pastoral living which, he felt, was deeply influenced by the ceremonies and festivals. Marriage songs like “ghori”, “sithnina”, “tappe”, “suhaag geet” laced with virgin love are reflective of their aspirations and emotions against the vulgarity of contemporary Punjabi pop singing, he said.

Besides “nudity”, there is a dire need to check the damage to psyche of Punjabi music lovers.

Maestro Dolly Guleria critically analysed the meaningless lyricism, musical compositions and blossoming of Punjabi singers on the strength of money power.

She regaled the scholars and artistes with melodious renditions, explaining and demonstrating the features of “saaf suthri gayaki” that she has inherited.

The second session belonged to classical vocalist Nivedita Singh. Speaking on “Classical singing of Punjab — traditions and modernity”, she maintained that the “old musical traditions exist in Punjab in opulence but it is imperative to fully assimilate and understand the ‘tradition’ in all its manifestations before venturing for innovation of the classical art. Punjab has a lions’ share in enriching the Indian classical music with contributions of ‘Punjabi Thumri style, tappa and repertoire of popular ragas’. Classical music is universal but it has a definitive influence of the folk music of the region. Like the old Punjabi folklore has been polluted by pop music, classical music too has been influenced, though not much for the fact that a rigid code of conduct governs it”.

Later, musicologists Hardyal Thuhi and Dr Ajmer Singh spoke on “Dhadi kala” and “Kavishri” traditions and trends in Punjab.

The highlight of the seminar was the display and playing of rare 100-year-old gramophone records by Gurmukh Singh Lalli from Barnala.

He has a collection of 25,000 rare records along with nine gramophones, all costing over Rs 18 lakh, which adorn the Jathedar Pargat Singh Punjabi Sabhyacharak Sangeet Library that he established in 1982 in the memory of his father. The library is a resource for Doordarshan, AIR, Punjabi Radio services in Canada and Australia.

The records include “thumri” from Bade Gulam Ali Khan, “shabads” by Samund Singh of Nankana Saheb, mimicry by Mohd Nizamuddin of Lahore, folk songs by Punjabi artistes besides rare records of speeches of Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr S. Radhakrishnan, Lal Bahadur Shastri and others.

Kallu and Sisi met each other incidentally and started talking. They discussed their problems, likes, dislikes and showed an attitude to each other too! In the end, Sisi fell in love with Kallu and committed to stay with him forever. What makes this tale so endearing is that the love-sick couple is a pair of dogs!

We are talking about Mantra Production’s path-breaking ‘Animal Show’ in association with the People for Animals (PFA), that was aired on All-India Radio. It is the first project of its kind, one that has given a voice to animals. Every week, the show will take up the cause of different animals and discuss issues pertaining to their well-being and care. This inventive programme has already run five shows.

The show was introduced to commemorate the tenth anniversary celebrations of the PFA on June 2.

The comic script penned by Aradhika Sekhon, coordinator for a school for tiny tots, portrays ‘doggie problems’ in an effective and sympathetic way. The show also deals with several queries on dogs and interactions with dog lovers.

The problems of animal community are highlighted in a ‘funky’ way with two people voicing the emotions animals in certain situations.

Interlaced with songs to keep the listeners entertained, the information comes in an interesting, entertaining and catchy package.

Kanwalpreet Kaur, Production Co-ordinator, Mantra Production, said, “To convey the message in an interesting way is challenging task and it involves a lot of creativity. Each show deals with a different creature. We have dealt with issues dealing with snakes, gorillas, bears and ducks so far.”