Clamour for change in date of medical exams
Faridabad, May 14
Hundreds of candidates planning to appear in the medical entrance tests of Haryana and the Guru Gobind Singh Inderprastha University, Delhi, are in a dilemma, as the dates of both the tests are scheduled on June 4.

Criminal lynched by villagers
Noida, May 14
A clash between two groups at a marriage party led to the lynching of an alleged criminal by villagers. According to reports, the victim, identified as Mohd Ummer of Khurja Dehat police station, was involved in an argument with Attar Singh, who was also part of the marriage party.

‘Challenges for education of vulnerable kids’
New Delhi, May 14
DISHA, a non-governmental organisation working for the socio-economic development of urban and rural communities, conducted a seminar on “Challenges and opportunities for education of vulnerable children” at India International Centre, New Delhi.

Gurgaon, May 14
A well-known person in the social and legal circles here, Mr Jagmal Singh Thakran was murdered by his domestic yesterday at his farmhouse in Harsaru, about 20 kms from here.

The victim, is the brother of a former Deputy Chairman of Haryana’s Planning Board, Mr Pratap Singh Thakran.

The details of the murder came to light this morning after the servant was arrested in Bharatpur, his native place in Rajasthan.

The domestic was employed by Mr Thakran, a week back at his farmhouse.

The servant used an axe to murder him and dumped his body in a large box at the farmhouse. Later, he escaped with Mr Thakran’s gypsy and mobile phone.

According to family members, the other workers at the farmhouse had thought that Mr Thakran and the servant had left the place in the gypsy.

When he did not return, the family members suspected a case of kidnapping.

The servant had rearranged the bedclothes on the cot so that blood traces could be hidden.

It may be pointed out that the family members were waiting in the outer room at the farmhouse, with little indication of the murder.

According to the family members, Mr Thakran had a regular habit of going to the farmhouse in the afternoon and returning home in Gurgaon city in the evening.

According to the police, blood spots were found on the cot when the other workers came to the room to collect items relating to horses kept at the farmhouse.

When the box was opened the body was found dumped in it.

According to the police, head injuries and cuts on the head and neck of Mr Thakran has been found.

The incident has sent shock wave in the area as Mr Thakran was from one of the well-known families here.

The body has been kept in a private hospital, awaiting the arrival of his son from the USA.

New Delhi, May 14
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has rebutted speculations by certain sections of the media over the credibility of the degrees given by it, calling them ‘unfounded and baseless’.

IGNOU Vice-Chancellor H P Dikshit said not only the MBA and MCA degrees of the university are recognised by the All India Council for Technical Education, but all degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded by it were also at par with those of any university recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).

The Open and Distance Learning (ODL) itself has bracketed 20 per cent of the total enrolment in higher education in the country and is expected to reach 33 per cent shortly.

As the largest university in the world, IGNOU has managed to achieve this distinction in 20 years of its existence, said Prof S C Garg, Pro Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU.

This has been possible because of the widespread acceptance of its programmes and recognition of its excellence–both nationally and internationally, he added.

Faridabad, May 14
Hundreds of candidates planning to appear in the medical entrance tests of Haryana and the Guru Gobind Singh Inderprastha University, Delhi, are in a dilemma, as the dates of both the tests are scheduled on June 4.

The ‘Haryana and the Faridabad Abhibhawak Ekta Manch’ has asked the Government to reschedule the test to be held on June 4 by the Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, in the larger interests of the students.

A spokesperson of the ‘Abhibhawak Manch’ said here today that several candidates and their parents were in “utter confusion” and could loose an opportunity to appear in both these exams.

It has demanded that the Maharishi Dayanand University, which had been authorised to conduct the common entrance tests for the various medical colleges, to revise its schedule as Guru Gobind Singh University had announced the day of its exam earlier.

Noida, May 14
A clash between two groups at a marriage party led to the lynching of an alleged criminal by villagers. According to reports, the victim, identified as Mohd Ummer of Khurja Dehat police station, was involved in an argument with Attar Singh, who was also part of the marriage party.

According to reports, Mohd Ummr got into verbal altercation under the influence of liquor. It is alleged that Ummer was dragged into a lane and beaten to death. After the death of the alleged criminal, there was tension between the two groups in the village.

Even the police party was stoned and fired upon when it went to retrieve the body of Ummar. Some villagers were reportedly injured in the stone pelting.

Later, the CO, Mr K.C. Sharma, rushed with an additional force to control the situation.

New Delhi, May 14
DISHA, a non-governmental organisation working for the socio-economic development of urban and rural communities, conducted a seminar on “Challenges and opportunities for education of vulnerable children” at India International Centre, New Delhi.

Mr S. Regunathan, Chief Secretary, Education, Government of NCT of Delhi, in his inaugural speech at the seminar, complimented DISHA on its initiatives and said that the present system of education should be more skill-oriented.

Some of the other prominent speakers on the occasion were Mr K R Chandrasekharan, Director, National Institute of Open Schooling; Prof. Krishna Kumar, Director, NCERT; and Head of Department (Dentistry), DDU Hospital, Dr Zaheeruddin.

Prof Krishna Kumar emphasised Mr Regunathan’s words and said, “We should yet not feel proud of our education system. Theoretical implementation of strategies is there but the challenge lies in their practical execution which is yet to happen.”

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Zaheeruddin said, “To build a healthy and non-violent nation, education of children is a must. We have felt in this seminar that the government and NGOs together can achieve this goal.”

DISHA is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology of serving the downtrodden and marginalized sections.

New Delhi, May 14
The Delhi Laws (special provisions) Bill, passed by Parliament is a “short-term sop” to the aggrieved traders and petty shopkeepers in the Capital. To tide over such issues in future, “full statehood to Delhi” is the only solution, Vijay Jolly, MLA BJP, said.

He said that one year freeze on sealing and demolitions cannot put the whole issue in the cold storage once and for all as the Delhi and the Central governments have played the politics of football on the issue.

The Bill is a cruel joke, as it does not legalise any of the affected categories of traders, shopkeepers and owners of commercial establishments in Delhi, the MLA said.

Despite the hue and cry by the Delhi Congress leaders, there is no legal provision to provide legal sanctity to commercial operations in residential areas.

The limited purpose of the Bill is to maintain status quo as on January 1, 2006 in respect of the unauthorised developments just for one year. It is a half-hearted measure and a temporary relief, he said.

New Delhi, May 14
For those who may have missed the screening of “Ab Aur Waqt Nahin” (Running Out Of Time), a thought provoking social documentary on the Adivasis of Jharkhand in the Capital last week, there is still time and they can take heart.

The SHAPE produced documentary will be screened again at the India International Centre on May 19.

Directed by Abhijay Karlekar, the 109 minute digital video focuses on the lives of the Adivasis in the recently carved out State and forcefully argues that these Adivasis were on the verge of extinction as an agricultural people. And if Adivasi agriculture ceases to be viable, the Adivasi culture and society as we know it, will finally crumble.

The documentary, which has some of the most exquisite shots of the Adivasi life by photographer Ranjit Ray, locates the crisis of Adivasi agriculture in the larger context of Jharkhand’s political and economic history, positing the indigenous Adivasi people and their ecosystem against overwhelming national interventions that have carved out an industrial and urban state in Jharkhand, fundamentally altering Jharkhand’s environment and demography.

The documentary effectively throws up the solution to this so called environmental degradation by suggesting the resurgence of local movements to contain state interventions and the assertion of the rights of self-governance for making Adivasi agriculture sustainable.

According to the producers, while the documentary is set in Jharkhand, it is Jharkhandi in voice and spirit, but it is in essence the story of the entire nation.