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Historical harmony
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Tubewell controversy in cantonment area
Gang of women thieves active
in city
University of Catalonia, Spain,
to open inter-campus in city
Indian Journal of Industrial Economics and
Development launched
Polluting units irk city residents
Weekly Round-up
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Historical harmony
THE Hoogli, a tributary of the Ganges River in eastern India, and the Beas and Ravi Rivers in extreme north, share a common flow of emotional bond, though they flow at a distance of more than 1500 kilometre!
Kolkata, capital of West Bengal, is situated on the banks of the Hoogli River, while the boundary of Amritsar district starts from the Beas. It is impossible to unite the banks of both historical rivers, but the revolutionaries of both Punjab and Bengal had written the common history of Indian revolution. The air of freedom we breathe today has its origin in the supreme sacrifices of those unsung heroes and heroines. These heroes worked in unison with Subhash Chandra, Mahatma Gandhi and other great freedom fighters and many of them challenged the British Empire with their non-violent satyagraha. They fought literally with bare hands against the mightiest colonial power the world had ever seen. From trading post to metro Kolkata is a city in eastern India on the Hoogli River in the Ganges delta. Founded in 1690 as a British East India Company trading post, it was the capital of the British India from 1833 to 1912. The chief port and major industrial centre of eastern India, it is India’s second largest city and one of the most populous cities in the world. Kolkata lies about 100 km north of the Bay of Bengal and about 70 km west of Bangladesh. Kolkata is believed to be named after goddess Kali. The Hoogli River contributed to Kolkata’s growth and eventually gave rise to major urban development, creating the Kolkata metropolitan area. In 1690, Job
Charnok, an agent of the East India Company chose this place for a British trade settlement. The site was carefully selected, being protected by the Hoogli River on the west, a creek in the north, and by salt lakes — about two and a half miles — to the east. Interestingly, most of the revolutionary literature written in Gurmukhi at Kolkata would print from Amritsar. Most of the literature used to be written at Kavi Kutia, established in 1922 at Kolkata. A monthly magazine, Kavi, was launched from Kavi Kutia in 1927, while daily paper, Desh Darpan, started from the same place in 1930. The old common bonds of Sikhs and Bengalis date back to the fifteenth century when Guru Nanak visited Kolkata. After visiting Mecca, the holiest place of Muslims, Guru Nanak went to Dacca and on the way he passed through Kolkata and Cuttack. During the British colonial era, Kolkata was the capital of British India. Kolkata witnessed a spate of revolutionary activities in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Bengalis, and Punjabis, many of them from Amritsar, joined hands to achieve the goal of Independence. The builders of our nation owe much to the revolutionary poets and writers, for the latter are the eyes of the nation and they enthuse the masses to do or die for a noble cause. It was at the height of the freedom struggle that the house of a young and fragile man became the hub of the freedom fighters in Kolkata. He was great revolutionary poet, Saudagar Singh Bhikhari of Kavi Kutia (Calcutta) fame, who died in 1982 at Amritsar. He was the moving spirit behind the revolutionary activities carried out in the pre-Partition days. He was born in a Kirti family at Bhangali village in Amritsar district in 1898. For the present generation, freedom struggle is just a glorious chapter in the annals of the nation’s history, but at that time, freedom struggle was something that almost every second youngster lived. This struggle, which was partly non-violent, pitted the moral strength of a subjugated nation against the might of a colonial power. Sadly, the contribution of such unsung heroes is not being recognised suitably. Kavi Kutia was the first Punjabi literary society established in Bengal in 1922. Its members used to discuss revolutionary compositions on the freedom struggle, social and religious reform, Gurdwara reforms and would publish them in the magazine, Kavi (from its own printing press), and later in a Punjabi daily Desh Darpan, a Punjabi daily of the 1930s which is still in print. Thousands of Punjabis, settled in Kolkata, were attracted by the magnetic power of Bhikhari. Interestingly, it (Kavi Kutia) had no building or cottage. Its members used to assemble in parks or at the house of Bhikhari. Bhikhari was the spirit behind this selfless service. He had no schooling and had to leave the village at the tender age of 11 to earn a living. He learnt how to handle machines and got jobs at Amritsar, Karachi and Nairobi, where his father worked at a railway workshop during World War I. He settled down at Kolkata. Though he was an engineer, yet he had a great interest in photography, music and literature. Swaraj and the Gurdwara Movement had great impact on his writings. Though Bhikhariji later shifted to Amritsar, yet during his last days his house had become a magnet for poets. Bhikhari’s eldest son, Engineer Partap Singh, Superintending Engineer (retd), was also a freedom fighter. He was arrested during the Quit India Movement when he was student of a college affiliated to Calcutta University. Dr Radhakrishnan, who later became President of India, was the Vice- Chancellor of the university at that time. Engineer, along with Madanjit Singh, (now Goodwill Ambassador, UNESCO), and seven other young students, was put behind the bars of notorious Mirzapur Jail of Uttar Pradesh for launching a struggle against the British. Later, Engineer Partap Singh did a commendable job in rehabilitating victims of communal frenzy that had broken out at the time of Partition. Balochis chased him till Wagah, but he escaped with the help of his cousin, who was a major in the army. Though Engineer has preserved the invaluable manuscripts and other artifacts of his father (S.S. Bhikhari), such objects, belonging to the freedom fighters, need to be collected and kept in a museum. “We are fortunate to have amidst us a few individuals who made the dream of a free India true. This is the time to recreate the past and learn from the experience of these living legends,” says an expert on freedom struggle. Bhikhari was the companion of Munsha Singh Dukhi, alias Abdulla, son of Nihal Singh, carpenter from Jandiala, Nur Mahal, Jalandhar (then Jullundur) district, and Dr Diwan Singh Kalepani, a multifaceted man who was tortured to death at Andaman and Nicobar. Dukhi migrated to Canada where he was an agent of the Yugantar Ashram at Vancouver. Bhikhari also enjoyed close relations with legendary poets and artistes of his time, including S.G. Thakur Singh, Dhani Ram Chatrik, Gura Ditta Khanna, Babu Ferozedeen Sharf and Shaheed Charn Singh. Dr Harbhajan Singh Bhatia, a Professor in the School of Punjabi Studies, says, “Undoubtedly, Bhikhariji was a religious person, but he was not a fundamentalist at all. He struggled hard to mobilise Indians against the colonial rule.” The senior Akali leader, Manjit Singh Calcutta, says that Kolkata served as the hub of revolutionaries, especially those from Amritsar district. He says Bhikhariji was his neighbour, and his daughter studied with him. Mr Calcutta was a witness to the activities of the revolutionaries. Kavi Kutia was situated in the locality of S.S. Ray, who later had a stint as Governor of Punjab. Mr Calcutta says that Bhikhariji was a stalwart who ignited the spirit of revolution in Kolkata with the active cooperation of Bengalis. Raghbir Singh Bir, a prolific writer who later became Editor of Desh Darpan published from Kavi Kutia, and Capt Bhag Singh, a resident of Sharifpura (Amritsar) who published Sikh Review from Kolkata, enjoyed close relations with
Bhikhariji.
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Tubewell controversy in cantonment area
Even as residents of cantonment area here have to do with water supply from a lone tubewell catering to population of more than 10000, the proposed new tubewell has failed to become operational even after two years.
Presently, the water supply in the area that houses many senior rank defence personnel, senior officers of railway and prominent citizens, is only through one tubewell. The second tubewell remained dry for many years, following which the installation of a new tubewell was necessitated. However, two years have passed and the proposed tubewell to be installed on the cantonment public school ground in Sadar Bazaar area still remains a distant dream. A sum of Rs 16 lakh was paid to the Military Engineering Services (MES) by the Cantonment Board two years back for the project. The residents apprehend that the possible breakdown of the lone tubewell would make their area sans potable water. Mr Vinod Kanojia, general secretary, District Congress Committee (U), who highlighted the issue demanded a CBI inquiry by Defence Ministry into the utilisation of funds meant for the tubewell. He alleged that the work to make the tubewell operational was suddenly stopped without any reason. Commanding Officer (CO), Cantonment Board, Mr Shiv Shankara, when contacted, admitted that the project had been delayed for more than 18 months initially due to a “prolonged battle” between the MES and project contractor. It was learnt that the work on “infrastructure” of tubewell was started six months back only after a letter by the Cantonment Board threatened to take legal recourse in case the project failed to materialise. Following this, the work was started. “The work was again stalled recently bringing fresh apprehensions of it being abandoned,” said Mr Kanojia. He alleged that the estimate of the amount to be spent on the tubewell was “exaggerated” and some vested interests had embezzled funds. He demanded an inquiry into the accounts of the board.
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Gang of women thieves active
in city
A gang of women on a stealing spree is causing panic in the posh shopping complexes of the city. These women are reported to be well-dressed and they visit posh shopping centres in the city.
Many shopkeepers, particularly jewellers in even remote areas of the city, have installed close-circuit cameras to ward off shoplifters. In the past few months, several thefts of purses have been reported, particularly from the Lawrence Road. Ms Taniya Mehra, a homemaker and resident of Rose Avenue, was a victim of the gang recently. Talking to The Tribune, she said she was shopping at the Ganpati Towers, a posh shopping complex at the Lawrence Road, and had kept her purse at the shop’s counter when her purse was stolen. There was a woman standing close to her when she found her purse to be missing. In a similar case, a woman buying shoes for her two minor daughters at a showroom on the Lawrence Road, found her purse to be stolen. Interestingly, the thief seems to be a “thorough professional”. When the incident happened, the shopkeeper showing presence of mind asked the aggrieved customer to call on her mobile that was in the purse within minutes of the theft. It was found that the mobile was promptly switched-off. According to eyewitnesses, the gang targets young women with children. They say that the gang members are possibly in the age group of 30-35 years. They are well turned and they shop mostly for children’s items. Meanwhile, reports of cases of theft of electronic gadgets, especially mobiles, have caused insecurity among the city residents. Areas targeted include the Meena Bazaar locality. Snatching of mobiles also continues, even as the residents allege that the police refuses to file complaints in this regard.
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Santokh Singh Tapasvi’s tryst with literature
Mr Santokh Singh Tapasvi does not require any introduction in the field of journalism and literature. He has been editing and publishing a Punjabi weekly newspaper Mansarovar for the last 32 years.
He has also worked for various Punjabi newspapers, including Daily Ajit, Jathedar, Prabhat and Akali Patrika. He remained chief editor of weekly Khalsa Advocate published by the Chief Khalsa Dewan from 1994-2001. Mr Tapasvi has been closely associated for a long time with the All India Small Newspapers Council as secretary, besides working as general secretary with Mansarovar Punjabi Sahit Akademi. He was also bestowed with the honour of Shiromani Patarkar in 1986 during the annual convention of the All India Small Newspapers Council held by Guru Nanak Dev University. He was recently awarded with cash and a shawl for his contribution in the field of journalism by the Mahila Chetna Manch at Amritsar. He started his career not only as a journalist but as literary person with columns of Hamdard Bal Sabha in Daily Ajit (a Punjabi language newspaper from Jalandhar). His stories for children have been published in various newspapers and magazines. He belongs to the rare breed of journalists who have visited every nook and corner of the holy city on foot and have managed to write about the flavour and the mood of the city. His various articles published in Mansarovar, which he has been publishing for the last 32 years without any break, capture various facets of the city.
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University of Catalonia, Spain,
to open
The University of Catalonia, Spain, is all set to open an inter-campus in the holy city.
Revealing this, Dr Tatiana Kompaniets, director and representative of the Saint Diodar Foundation, Spain, which is engaged in promotion and spread of education-related services, information regarding business and market-related services, said that the university was also planning dual degree courses in various fields like International Trade and Business, Hospitality Management and Marketing at post graduation level. She said this centre, which was likely to be opened in the month of November this year, would be one of its kind in India. The centre would provide a link between education and trade and industry in India She said these programmes would also include internships in various projects with universities of different countries. The candidates would be imparted training in India and Spain. The students would also be assisted in getting education in countries like the UK and other European countries and Russia. Dr Kompaniets said that there was much possibility in the She said it would give opportunity to students to open business, besides providing a direct link between two markets. She visited the holy city to make the final arrangement for the opening of the centre in collaboration with Auscanus Consultant Pvt Ltd and Radical She said these centres would work in close contact with the Embassy of Spain. She said special emphasis was being laid on developing close contacts for business and trade between peoples of Punjab and Spain. It may be mentioned here that foreign universities, of late, have been wooing students from India. These universities are offering a variety of courses in various fields. The students now have a wide range of courses to choose from.
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Indian Journal of Industrial Economics
Keeping in view ever-increasing demand for industrial goods and to create awareness about the promotion of industries, a monthly journal titled “Indian Journal of Industrial Economics and Development” was launched in the holy city. The journal would highlight various aspects of development of the economy here.
In-depth articles written by Dr Paramjit Kaur Dhindsa, Professor and Head, Punjab School of Economics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Mr R.M.S. Chhina, Mr Dietrich Kebschull of German news and Dr S.S. Chhina have featured in the inaugural issue. Dr Dhindsa in her article on India’s development policy, Punjab’s needs and priorities has stated that there is a lively debate in the academic world on our national economic performance and the success or failure of various aspects of national policies, but there is relatively little analysis of how individual states have performed over time. She said that state-level performance and policies, therefore, deserved much closer attention. Referring to Punjab, Dr Dhindsa said that it was India’s most prosperous and developed state with the lowest poverty rate. She further said the remarkable record of Punjab could also be inferred from the fact that it had already achieved, or is well on the track to achieve, most of the millennium development goals. She said that Punjab was ranked second only to Kerala in terms of the overall level of human development among the major Indian states. Dr Sarbjit Singh Chhina, Printer, Publisher and Editor of the journal, in the editorial said that the magazine was launched with the objective of serving as extension tool for the development of all aspects of economic and social life of India. He said the industries were now required to become the base for the development of agriculture and services sector. He said agriculture was given the priority in the initial stages of the planning to make it the base for industrial development and now the time had come when industry should be given the priority to make it the base for all-round development of the economy.
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Old cows find home at 100-yr Pinjrapole Gowshala
The century-old Pinjrapole Gowshala (cowshed) is a living tribute to animal welfare. It aims at providing shelter and care to hundreds of cows. Established in 1903 under the leadership of Thakur Mahachand and Rai Bhadur Ratan Chand Mehra, the Pinjrapole Gowshala at Ghee Mandi here started with a small bhavan that was a shelter for nine old cows initially. The gowshala’s repute spread so fast that Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir took upon himself to see to its development. By the year 1927, the number of cows had gone up to 105.
Last year, the renowned gowshala celebrated its first century on completing 101 years. Presently run under the guidance of Rai Bhadur Surinder, Mr Chand Mehra and Seth Murari Lal Batra, the Gowshala is one of the oldest in northern India and is spread over 15 acres of land. It has two branches in the holy city — one is situated at the Focal Point and the other at Manawala, nearly 15 km from Amritsar. The gowshala aims at the welfare of cows. There are about 900 cows in the gowshala out of which 223 cows give milk, while the other 625 cows are old. About 1200 litre of milk that the gowshala is able to get everyday is distributed among general public, schools. Doctors often recommend this milk to patients, as this milk is pure and without the use of injections and water adulteration. The gowshala has its own specialist doctors — Dr Hardiyal Singh and Dr Lakhwinder Singh — who treat sick cows. About 100 employees are employed in this institution for the welfare and care of cows. About 250 persons offer their services at the gowshala. More than Rs 28,000 is spent daily on the feed of the cows which includes fodder, green feed, dry hay, oil, gur, shakkar, water and besan. Cow dung from the gowshala is used as manure. This gowshala is basically run on the donations. The All India Animal Husbandry Board, Chennai, provides grant of about Rs 50,000 every year. The gowshala has fixed deposits of its own and interest income from these deposits is used for its maintenance. The gowshala has demanded from the government to include the development of 1000 gowshalas in the five-year plan and also provide Rs 50 crore for their speedy development. Under the supervision of Dr Kirti Bhardwaj, Panchgavyia Ayurvedic medicines are bought from Nagpur. The gowshala has also decided to manufacture Panchgavyia Ayurvedic medicines.
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Polluting units irk city residents
Air and water pollution has made the life of the residents of Miran Kot Kalan, situated on the road leading to the international Rajasansi Airport here, an unenviable proposition
Prof Avtar Singh Uppal, president of the Mirankot Welfare Society, while talking to Amritsar Plus, alleged that a few industrial units, in connivance with the District Pollution Control Board officers, were discharging in the area water containing metal ions like copper and nickel. He further said that the water, if kept in a vessel for some time, showed colour and was not fit for human consumption. Prof Uppal alleged that rice shellers in the area were burning rice husk with impunity. “The residents of the area are suffering from asthma, tuberculosis and cancer. People here are also suffering from eye diseases which are caused by the burning of rice husk, which releases poisonous gases such as oxides of nitrogen and sulphur into air,” he alleged. He alleged that various representations to industrial units and rice shellers had been fruitless. “We had also complained to the District Pollution Control Board officials, but to no avail,” he added.
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Weekly Round-up
Smriti Lumba, a student of Hindu College, topped in MA (Economics) final with 69 per cent marks in Guru Nanak Dev University.
Daughter of Prof V.P. Lumba, Vice Principal of the college, Smriti secured 636 marks out of the total of 800. She had bagged the first place in MA Part-I last year also. Priya Mahajan from the same college bagged the second position by securing 618 marks. Nishi Handa of the Department of Library and Information Science of Guru Nanak Dev University bagged the first place in BLib and Information Science. She obtained 613 marks out of 800. Preet Kaur from DAV College stood second in MSc (Physics) final in the university by securing 74 per cent. Convention Six students from DAV Public School participated in the four-day 11th Student Leaders’ Convention held at Singapore. Over 600 delegates from seven countries took part in it. The topic of the convention was “Solving global problems through regional cooperation”. The students who took part in the convention were Deepawal Grover, Himanshu Bhalla, Rameshinder Singh, Supnandan Kaur, Udyan Mehra and Vidit Mehra. ICFAI Colleges The ICFAI University, which runs Business schools, has opened five national colleges in Punjab. They have been opened at Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Bathinda. Dr M.S. Pabla, Principal of the local ICFAI INC College, said these colleges were known as ICFAI National Colleges (INC). These colleges are conducting two-year regular MBA campus course based on semester system with four months of practical training at various reputed companies. For admission in the course, entrance test would be held on August 7, he added. Inauguration Prof Darbari Lal, Deputy Speaker, inaugurated a tubewell for the supply of potable water to residents of Nawakot. The cost of the tubewell has been estimated to be Rs 12 lakh. Mr Sunil Dutti, Mayor, inaugurated the laying of concrete road near Azad Nagar and laying of sewerage at Sunder Nagar in Kot Khalsa. He also inaugurated the laying of sewerage at Basant Vihar. Workshop The First Take International (FTI), an institute for media studies, kicked off a fortnight-long workshop on anchoring, news reading, radio jockey and voiceover at the local BBK DAV College for Women. Mr Navjot Singh, MP, inaugurated it and addressed the opening workshop. He exhorted students to pursue their vocations with dedication. He also gave tips to students regarding anchoring. He said a good media anchor must be agile, confident and spontaneous.
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