The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

	National Award for city teacher Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 7 Ms Sudesh Kumari, a JBT teacher with Government Girls High School, Sector 25, has been conferred with the National Award - 2004. She was honoured by the President, Dr A.P.J. Kalam, on Teachers Day at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. The award consists of a certificate of merit, a silver medal and a cash prize of Rs 25,000. Ms Sudesh Kumari has been teaching for the past 36 years. She joined as a teacher on July 25, 1970. She has also been awarded with the 1991 census silver medal and the state reward for teachers in 2000 by the UT Administration.
	Engineering students shine Tribune News Service Mohali, September 7 Students of Chandigarh Engineering College (CEC), Landran, have brought laurels to the college in various sports events during the second Inter-College Weightlifting Championship organised by Punjab Technical University. They won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals in weightlifting while they also got one gold, two silver and one bronze medal in the best physique championship. This was the second consecutive year when this college students dominated the championship. Damandeep Samra, Bikram Singh Sandhu and Aman Rajput won gold medals in weightlifting, while Amandeep Cheema won silver medal. Parmod Malhotra and Pritpal Singh got bronze medals. In power lifting competition, Amandeep Cheema and Bikram Sandhu won gold medals, Jagjeet Singh won silver and Damandeep Samra won bronze medal. In best physique championship, Surjeet Kumar won gold, Bikram Singh and Rahul Dhaiya won silver, while Pritpal Singh won bronze medal.
	People’s view on Bhagat Singh stressed Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 7 A talk on ‘Reconstruction of Shaheed Bhagat Singh’ was today organised in the Department of Sociology at Panjab University today. The talk was delivered by Dr I.D. Gaur, Department of Evening Studies. The thrust of the talk was to seek liberation of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his revolutionary praxis from the nationalist and Marxist straitjackets. Dr Gaur, in his talk suggested that the nationalist and Marxist paradigms and the respective discourse that followed tended to subsume the Punjabi vernacularity of Bhagat Singh, which reflects boldly in the speeches and writings of Bhagat Singh. It was told during the talk that the ‘party’, ‘official’ or ‘nationalist’ view about Bhagat Singh cannot be squared with the so far unexplored ‘people’s’ view about their martyr. Social and political activists have not been able to read and understand Bhagat Singh in the vernacular tradition, culture, language, literature and history. There is a need to situate and study Bhagat Singh in the broad Punjab traditions of counter-hegemony. When one reads Bhagat Singh from the ‘vernacular perspective’, one may fairly appreciate the so far ‘marginalized’ aspect of his thought and deed.
	Kidwai praises free trade Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 7 A seminar on “Social Transformation in North Western India’ was today organised at Panjab University. Dr A.R. Kidwai, Governor, Haryana, inaugurated the seminar. In his inaugural address Dr A.R. Kidwai, Governor, Haryana, discussed about the globalisation process and how the future course of social and economic development would be affected by it. He highlighted that the introduction of free trade market has led to rapid development in India. Professor Grewal, Director, Institute of Punjab Studies, discussed the work done by the institute and formally introduced the seminar. He added that the present seminar was inter-disciplinary in which historians, social scientists and scholars of literature have contributed. Two books in honour of Prof Indu Banga were also released. These volumes contain articles by colleagues and research students. The first volume ‘Pre-colonial and Colonial Punjab: Society, Economy, Politics and Culture”, While the second volume is “Five Centuries of Sikh Tradition: Ideology, Society, Politics and Culture”.
	Seminar on literacy Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 7 The Centre for Adult, Continuing Education & Extension, PU (CACEE) organised a seminar on “Literacy and Sustainable Development” on the eve of International Literacy Day at the Department of Sociology, Panjab University. Mrs Renu Gandhi, programme coordinator (CACEE) highlighting the importance of the day said that it was not the sole responsibility of the government to educate the 34 crore illiterate population of India, which is a pre-conditioned for the sustainable development of society. It needs active participation of youth, NGOs and teachers to organise literacy classes, study circle and Each One Teach One Programme. Dr Kiran Preet Kaur, Reader, Department of Sociology, said that today our society has an infrastructure to achieve the target of cent per cent literacy, if youth of today enhanced human resources by educating their fellow beings for their own development. Students from social sciences pledged to make aware those sections of society which do not have privilege to literacy as they are having it today.
	Creating awareness on literacy Our Correspondent Panchkula, September 7 The District Institute of Education and Training, Sector 7, organised a mehndi competition in which 25 girl students of the institute participated. The event was arranged on the eve of World Literacy Day. Students led by staff members will keep close interaction with inmates of slum colonies. They will also hold meetings and procession in the city and slum colonies to create awakening about literacy. The activities conducted under the guidance of the Principal, Ms Savior Shag, are aimed at generating mass participation of residents in the campaign launched by the government to ensure highest literacy rate in the state. The first three position were won by Manjit Kaur, Dolima and Nazma . In the Book mark competition Vikas was declared first, Suman and Jyoti won second place while Manoj Bumra got third slot.