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This zero line school has unmatchable record
Amritsar, September 21 The ancestors of Shaheed Bhagat Singh had shifted from Narli to Khatkal Kalan in Nawanshehr district before Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s period. The establishment of the Narli school dates back to more than 100 years. Before Partition, the majority of the teachers were Muslims and were addressed as munshis, which literally means a teacher. The villagers who had fought against foreigners, including Egyptians, Mughals and then Britishers, would never send their wards to English medium public schools and preferred the village school. The “Narli Parivar” of Sobha Singh contributed immensely to the field of education when the first school for girls came up in the haveli of the brothers and thereafter they founded the nearby Khalra High School. The hallmark of this parivar has been education and they have the distinction of their daughters and the daughter-in-laws having taught in the Narli school. To name a few: Bibi Sewa Kaur, Bibi Hardip Kaur, Bibi Naranjan Kaur and Bibi Mohinder Kaur. A jand tree (prosopis spicegara), which is more than 100 years’ old, also stands majestically outside the gate of the school as a true testimony to the strong foundations that the school has been laying in the sculpting of the great minds. Even today a few of the students who have passed out from this high school are studying in medical colleges, dental colleges and engineering colleges of the state. Punarjyot, under the aegis of the Springdale Educational Society, Amritsar, has established a state-of-the-art computer centre in memory of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. This school has had the distinction of enabling the advent of education of a number of stalwarts, to name a few; Ram Chand of the village, who had his earlier education in the school, was the first person to do his masters in English literature in Lahore and thereafter joined the department of audits. Another stalwart produced by the school is Dalip Singh, who retired as general manager, Reserve Bank of India. He had the honour of working under Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, during his tenure as the Governor, Reserve Bank of India, for three years. The school has also produced many Army officers like Brig Narinder Singh Sandhu, Maha Vir Chakra, who fought the battles of Khem Karan and Dera Baba Nanak valiantly in 1965 and 1971 wars, respectively. After retirement from the Army, he served as the director, youth services, Punjab; Bakshish Singh Sandhu, who went for his further education to the RIMC, Dehra Dun and achieved the distinction of being the first person in the joint Punjab to reach the military college at Sandhurst, England, much before the Partition; Major Bhagwan Singh Sandhu, who fought the World War II and was also held as a prisoner of war for nine years in Germany; and Major Ajit Singh. Surinder Singh Sandhu, an eminent educationist, who achieved the distinction of being the head of the department of history in the ministry of education in Ethiopia (Africa), after coming back to India co-founded the Springdale School in Amritsar and is the chairman of Springdale Educational Society. Col Davinder Singh Sandhu, after having retired from the Army made a significant contribution to the rehabilitation of the border youth under the program of C-PYTE. Yet another prominent figure from Narli village is Gurnam Singh Sandhu, founder principal of the Khalsa College of Education, Amritsar. Col Gurbir Singh Sandhu, a student of this school, has the distinction of establishing a premier dental college in Punjab.
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PMDTA flays suspension of two doctors
Amritsar, September 21 Dr Rajinder Singh Sidhu, vice-president, PMDTA, talking to The Tribune said the government should have initiated an inquiry against Dr J.P.K. Shergill, principal and head, surgical ward, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital of the college, and emergency duty doctor Dr H.S. Grewal before taking the step. He said this was for the third time that a principal of Amritsar Medical College had been suspended during the past six months. Dr Sidhu warned that if the government continued to pass on such orders without holding any inquiry, the medical fraternity would be forced to stop treating the patients suffering from kidney diseases or cancer in future. The state government had placed under suspension Dr Shergill on the alleged complaint regarding removal of a kidney of four-year-old Sonia. Dr Grewal was suspended for alleged maltreatment of the patient bitten by a dog. However, Dr Shergill, terming the allegations as baseless, had said allegations were being levelled against her and some unscrupulous persons were behind the whole episode, who did not want to see her as principal. Dr Sidhu urged the government to immediately revoke the suspension orders of the two doctors and order an impartial inquiry into the case to bring facts before the general public. He said the arbitrary decision had shaken the confidence of the medical fraternity. Meanwhile, condemning the suspension of Dr Shergill, the Medical Students Association (MSA) has threatened to protest against the decision of the state government if it failed to revoke the decision. Expressing resentment against the suspension of Kamid Monga, president, MSA, said allegations against her were baseless as the surgery was done to save the life of the child. He said the surgical removal of the affected kidney was the only treatment available till date for this kind of high-grade Wilm’s tumour.
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Heroin worth Rs 95 lakh seized, 3 held
Amritsar, September 21 Commissioner Talkeshwar Singh said, acting on a tip-off, customs officials intercepted two cars with Punjab registration numbers coming towards Amritsar from Jammu and Kashmir at Kahnuwan Chowk. On search, 430 gm of a white powder was found from a Swift car, while another 520 gm of similar powder was found lying underneath the driver’s seat of a Ford Ikon car. He said the total consignment weighing 950 gm valued at Rs 95 lakh in the international market. Talkeshwar Singh said the cars were being driven by Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Mukerian, and Gurdial Singh of Samba in Jammu and Kashmir, and the latter was accompanied by Amit Verma, also of Mukerian. He said all three persons were booked under the NDPC Act, and their vehicles impounded. Later, they were sent to judicial custody.
— OC
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Malta memorial to be inaugurated on Dec 25
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 21 Talking to The Tribune here today, Khera said the memorial would be set up on December 25 to mark the 11th anniversary of the tragedy in which more that 300 lives were lost. He said the Italian government had decided to install the memorial after the draft legislation was tabled in both Houses of Parliament by Senators Tana De Zulueta and Iovene. Khera said the Italian government had agreed in principle to set up the memorial after obtaining informal agreement from the representatives of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. He said Senator Zulueta had assured him that though it was difficult to locate the remains of the victims as the wreckage of the Malta boat lay on a heavily-fished sandy sea bed and badly damaged by the fishermen’s dragnets but they were still hopeful of finding at least some larger bones together with personal belongings that might have survived the corrosive effects of the sea. The communique, while lauding Khera for his bid for compensation in Indian court for the relatives of the victims, said that though a court in Siracusa, Sicily, had acquitted three defendants on the charge of homicide but she would appeal against the order in Catania.
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Good days ahead for Gol Bagh
Amritsar, September 21 Gol Bagh is an open space with not many trees and vegetation and is used by political parties to hold rallies and sometimes for circus shows also. Mayor Shawet Malik told The Tribune that Sidhu visited the area last week and discussed the issue of development of Gol Bagh with the two ministers from Amritsar. “Now that the corporation would have the required funds to develop the area, work on the project is expected to start soon,” he said. Sidhu, accompanied by Chawla and Malik, also took a round of
different parts of the city. — TNS
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Celebrations to pump up patriotism
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 21 Pawar, who was here to hold a high-powered meeting to review the arrangements for the celebrations held at Circuit House, stressed the need for proper coordinated efforts from all the agencies. A detailed discussion was held with officials of the departments concerned for the effective and memorable centenary celebration of the martyrs. Secretary information and public relations Jagjit Puri conveyed Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s directions to all present that “the centenary celebrations are to be held in full patriotic fervour and tributes to the martyrs are to be paid in a most befitting manner”. “No aspect of this national-level function should be left unattended,” he added. Elaborating on the preparations and other activities to mark the occasion, deputy commissioner K.S. Pannu said the preparations were in full swing and posters and banners were being put up at all the prominent places. “Besides certain activities correlated with centenary celebrations have already started,” he added. “A two-day kavi darbar and painting competitions have already been organised. From September 22, a four-day painting exhibition on the martyrs would be held at Virsa Vihar. A patriotic march by schoolchildren from Company Bagh to Jallianwala Bagh will also be held on the same day. On September 24 an Indo-Pak seminar titled “Relevance of thoughts of Bhagat Singh in present days” would be held. Another seminar on the life and philosophy of Shaheed-e-Azam will be held on September 25 at Guru Nanak Dev University,” Pannu said. Regarding the function to be held on September 27, Pannu said all the modalities had been worked out. “Arrangements have been made to set up help centres and control rooms. A district-level control room has already been set up at the district headquarters to coordinate and liaison with all departments and for information and enquires of general public. The necessary arrangements to conduct a light-and-sound show as well as a cultural function at Khalsa College on September 27 and the main function at Ranjit Avenue on September 28, wherein dignitaries from all over India are expected to reach, have been well looked after. Proper board and lodging arrangements for youth and freedom fighters expected to come from adjoining districts as well as from the neighbouring state of Haryana, has also been catered,” he added. The meeting was attended by Jalandhar division commissioner S.R. Ladhar, Swaran Singh, Arvinder Singh Bains, director, public relations department, S.P.S. Sohal, director, health, A.S. Miglani, director, cultural affairs, N.S. Brar, director, hospitality, Hirdai Pal, director, youth services, R.P. Meena, Inspector General, border range. Deputy commissioners of the neighbouring districts of Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Ferozepore, Tarn Taran, Husan Lal, commissioner, municipal corporation, Amritsar, and other district officials were also present on the occasion.
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Come 2009, Sikh varsity will see light of day
Amritsar, September 21 He said the draft bill for a specific act for the university, which was at present with the law department, had been cleared by the education department. The SGPC announced the ambitious project during the 400th installation anniversary of the holy book in 2004. Besides, Avtar Singh Makkar as president of the GGSWU Trust, other members include Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, advocate-general H.S. Mattewal and Punjab Planning Commission chairman J.S. Grewal. Ahluwalia said the bill would soon be presented in the Punjab cabinet for its approval which would be later presented to the Governor to pass an ordinance in this regard. He said the tentative cost of the university, having an area of 84 acres, was around Rs 500 crore. He said the construction cost was likely to go up as the prices of the material had increased
considerably. Ahluwalia said the project report of the university was prepared after a team of the trustees had visited Manipal University, the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, and other prestigious educational institutions of the country. He said the report was submitted to the education department after doing spade work and with certain improvements. The member-secretary said the university would not only teach Sikhism but would also impart education in other religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. He said the university would also impart education in modern subjects like information and technology, biotechnology, business management and nanotechnology, besides other subjects, including social sciences. Earlier inaugurating the four-week general orientation course (GOC) being organised by the Academic Staff College of the university, Ahluwalia said knowledge was becoming a tool of earning and spinning money in this contemporary world as it was being divorced from social and moral values, said Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, former vice-chancellor of Punjabi University. Expressing his grave concern over the vanishing of the social phenomenon from public life, Ahluwalia said knowledge was not technology but an ideology which had now become slave and toy in the hands of materialistic world.
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Amritsar needs it: AVM
Amritsar, September 21 Talking to mediapersons, AVM president Harbhajan Singh Gill said Amritsar was a suitable place for the university because of its historical importance. Guru Granth Sahib was written and compiled by the fifth Guru here and was installed for the first time by the Guru in the Golden Temple. So, the university must be established in the city, he added. Lashing out at Akali leaders and the SGPC for snatching away the world Sikh university from Amritsar during the fourth centenary celebrations of installation of Guru Granth Sahib, Gill said the city had every right to claim the Sikh university. He said the city was a religious and political centre of the Sikhs. Even during pre-Independence era the city remained epicentre for the community in the shape of morchas. The headquarters of 123 misls after Banda Bahadur was also Amritsar, he added.
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Lecturer booked
Tarn Taran, September 21
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Cattle census to be over by Oct 14, says minister
Amritsar, September 21 The minister, who had come to inaugurate the 18th cattle census, said to complete the exercise at the earliest, the department has deputed 600 supervisors who are veterinary officers, assistant directors, senior veterinary officers and 5,700 enumerators - veterinary pharmacists, employees of statistics wing of the department - and educated unemployed youth of the state. They will survey around 53.7 lakh households in the state and will be paid honorarium fixed by the Centre. Notably, the last cattle census was conducted in 2003 according to which there were 23,80,000 cows, 59,95000 buffaloes, 2,20,000 sheep, 2,78,000 goats, 30,000 pigs, 43,000 horses and 1.5 crore poultry birds in the state. Ranike said the main objective of the census was to collect exact data on the livestock which will be helpful in formulation of various modern schemes. This would generate self employment to the educated unemployed youths of the state, he added. He appealed to the people to cooperate with the enumerators and directed the staff involved in cattle census to complete this exercise within the stipulated period and with dedication and quality.
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Social, moral values on decline: Ex-VC
Amritsar, September 21 Dr Ahluwalia was here on Thursday to inaugurate a four-week general orientation course, being organised by the Academic Staff College of Guru Nanak Dev University, in which 30 delegates from all over India are participating. Expressing concern over the vanishing social values, Dr Ahluwalia said knowledge had now become slave in the hands of materialistic people. The modern ideology had brought a number of ‘isms’ like nationalism, socialism, communalism, secularism, etc. Terming 21st century as knowledge centric, former vice-chancellor stressed on the development of human resources. He said the new technology had helped in extending mental faculties without taking in view the actual society needs. Talking about the challenges of globalisation, Dr Ahluwalia said the most dangerous and detrimental effect of globalisation was on social and cultural life as it created a society with no sense of values and human relations. The eminent scholar said the teachers could play an important role in creating a new world civilization, which would be multi-focus, multi-facet, synergy oriented, cooperative and collaborative. It should not be dualistic but holistic having integral view of reality, he added. Speaking on the occasion, Academic Staff College director Dr Harbhajan Singh Bhatia said teachers were the pivot of education system and they were required to develop in-built mechanism to meet the new challenges of life and produce better citizens. He said a teacher had also a great role to play in the knowledge society.
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Book on Maharaja Ranjit Singh released
Amritsar, September 21 “It is not about documentation of new facts or of rare pictures and paintings, but an attempt to understand the Maharaja’s philosophy,” said Manveen Sandhu whose book, “Maharaja Ranjit Singh - Personalitas Extraordinaire”, was released recently. “The great ruler of Punjab is seen as a valiant warrior but I personally feel that warfare was only a small aspect of his personality. He was shrewd at handling businessmen of different communities,” said Sandhu, principal of the local Spring Dale Senior School.
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Amritsar, September 21 A physical training inspector, Ahluwalia adds his own innovation in the yoga “aasans” of Baba Ramdev to make them more effective. “I set out around 4.30 am every morning and jog in the park right outside my house in the Uttam Garh area. After that, I exercise for over an hour and the session includes exercises for the eyes and hands. It is this daily routine which has kept me active even at this age,” he said. “Physical fitness is a very crucial attribute and cannot be taken lightly. I am happy to see more and more youth now taking up yoga and physical exercises to remain healthy. This assumes significance because today’s lifestyle does not include cycling and most jobs have become primarily sedentary in nature,” said Ahluwalia. “I have won several awards during my service and was also selected as the best allround recruit. The cherished memories of all those happy moments in my younger days keep me going with a never-say-die attitude,” he concludes. — TNS
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‘E-learning can’t replace teachers’
P.K. Jaiswar
Amritsar, September 21 This was stated by Dr Subhash Deshmukh, librarian, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, while speaking on “e-learning: no dimensions in library and information science profession”. The lecture was arranged by the Bhai Gurdas Library of Guru Nanak Dev University and Satkal Trust, USA, for the advancement of librarianship in India. Talking about the importance of e-learning, Deshmukh said, “IT has provided new electronic dimension to information retrieval activities.” As per conservative estimates, the worldwide e-learning industry has been anticipated to be worth over 38 billion euros. In fact, in European Union 20 per cent of e-learning products were being produced within the market. Deshmukh said, “The mobile learning technology is revolutionising the education system and this m-learning is a follow-up of e-learning which originates from distance learning.”
Speaking on the occasion GNDU library in charge H.S. Chopra said the university site had complete information about the university. Soft copies of PhD and M.Phil thesis would also be now available for the researchers, he added“The GNDU has about 1,500 manuscripts and 700 have been digitised. Even a proposal to create a database of rare books has been sent to the University Grants Commission,” Chopra added. The trust promotes research in librarianship by awarding scholarships, fellowships, stipends and awards to deserving students and in-service library professions for their accomplishments, she added
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For people nearing 40, new tech promises spectacle-free eyes
Amritsar, September 21 Dr Ajay Khanna, ophthalmologist, explained that most of the people in their early 40s face the situation where they are forced to opt for spectacles for near or far sight or both. He said this condition was due to the onset of “presbyopia”, which means “ageing eyes”. It is a normal consequence of ageing where the eyes lose ability to focus close or distant objects clearly. However, a new technique of “presbyopic lasik” brings a ray of hope wherein persons with a specific spectacle number could lead a spectacle-free life. Dr Khanna said by this technique the cornea is reshaped with the help of a laser beam which makes the cornea take over a new role from the weakened auto-focusing natural lens of the eye and helps to focus rays of light from close and distant objects on to the retina to have a clear vision of objects. However, Dr Khanna said appropriate selection of cases by comprehensive hi-tech evaluation is mandatory to achieve 90 per cent results. Despite encouraging results, in some cases the patient may require thin glasses for “fine” work.
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Treating deafness: First 3 yrs of life crucial, say experts
Study on the excess use of cell phones
The researchers and medical academicians today confirmed that they were conducting a study on the harmful effects of excessive use of cell phones, especially among the young generation. They however said at present they have not been able to get any evidence about the harmful effects of cell phones but cautioned that children should be advised to minimise the use of these phones. Cell phones have seen a phenomenal growth in the last five to six years and it’s prolong use can generate problems which would be known after the study is complete.
Amritsar, September 21 Dr S.K. Kacker, former director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, stated this at the 31st North West Zone Association of Otolaryngologists of India Conference held here recently. Dr Kacker said recommendations of the committee for the SEA regional forum for sound hearing has been adopted by the central government and had sanctioned Rs 15 crore under the national programme for prevention and control of deafness. He said under the plan 25 districts of 10 states and a union territory would be covered under the pilot phase of the programme. He said entire health delivery manpower would be sensitised towards the concept of prevention of deafness and hearing loss. He said diagnostic, surgical and rehabilitative services would be made available at the approachable level of the district hospital. The ENT expert said as per a survey by the World Health Organisation, recently, about 278 million people were suffering from disabling hearing impairment all over the world. He said in India 6.3 per cent of the population was suffering from hearing impairment due to the low priority for deafness prevention programs in the region and measures for raising the issue to the national health development agenda. Speaking on the occasion, Dr A.K Aggarwal, Professor and head ENT department, Maulana Azad Medical College, claimed that the voice of a dumb child could return if the deafness was treated properly in the first three years from birth of the child. He said as three organs - eyes, ears and throat, work in unison during the three-year learning period of the newly born child it was responsibility of the doctors and mother of the child in particular to judge whether the child had hearing capacity. Dr Aggarwal warned that if the defective ears were not treated properly during the first three years, even
a normal child would become dumb. The conference was held in the city after a gap of 29 years and was organised by the Department of ENT, Government Medical College and the ENT forum headed by Dr Karan Sharma. The medical fraternity of 14 medical colleges of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana took part in the conference. The doctors taking part also witnessed a live surgical procedure directly telecast from the Fortis Hospital,
Amritsar.
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Korpal shows his love for Sufi poetry
Amritsar, September 21 It was only when he started working on his doctorate, he got a chance to study the work of Baba Madho Shah, who is seen as the last exponent in Sufi poetry. What resulted was a book, “Ishq Allah Di Jaat”, which showcases some rare poetry by Baba Madho Shah. To help in better understanding the Sufi literature, the book includes essays by well-known writers and academics from the region who have all tried to give their interpretation of Baba Madho Shah’s work. He was born at Kot Badal Khan village in Jalandhar district in 1886. His work is now being rediscovered, 23 years after his death. The author already has two books in English to his credit, “The Halloed Trinity” and “Genesis of Damdami Taksal”. He is also the president of the Sufi Samwad and Cultural Club, Amritsar, and edits a trimonthly magazine “Sufi Dhara”. The essays are penned by Dr Sutinder singh Noor, former head of the Punjabi Department, Delhi University, Dr Harchand Singh Bedi, coordinator, Centre for Immigrant Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU); Dr Gurdev Singh, former head of the Punjabi Department, Punjabi University, Patiala; Dr Udham Singh Shahi, head of the Postgraduate Punjabi Research Department, Khalsa College, Amritsar; Dr Bikram Singh Ghuman, head of the Punjabi Research School, GNDU; Dr Jasbir Singh Sabak, former chairman of the Guru Ravidas Chair, GNDU; and Dr Joginder Singh Kairon, editor, Ajoke Shilalekh.
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Rintu is Cong RO for Uttarakhand
Amritsar, September 21 Informing this, the IYC directed him to proceed to the state concerned to look after the functioning of the pradesh Youth Congress and to mobilise the youth cadre to actively participate in the programme and strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level. In a press note, Rintu expressed his gratitude to the CWC and the IYC for giving him the responsibility.
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Laxmi wins poster-making contest
Amritsar, September 21 Laxmi Sandilya of Spring Dale Senior School won the first prize, while Yogeshwar and Siddant of Manav Public School and DAV International School bagged second and third prizes, respectively. Aakrit of Police DAV Public School and Sukhmani of Sri Ram Ashram School won the first and second consolation prizes, respectively. Speaking on the occasion, Meena advised the students to come forward and take up cudgels against all vices, especially drug addiction and drug abuse. He said drug addiction was a slow poisoning and a sure way to ruin and death. Vice-chairman of the school and DIG (border range) R.L. Bhagat was also present on the occasion along with other senior police officers.
— OC
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NSS training course ends
Amritsar, September 21 NSS coordinator of the university Sukhpal Singh Dhillon presided over the concluding function. NSS training coordinator of Punjabi University Balwant Singh said there were 1,200 NSS units working in Punjab in which 1.20 lakh volunteers were dedicated to the field of social work. He appealed to the programme officers to inculcate a sense of national integration, patriotism and social service. He said the need of the hour was to take concrete steps to fight against the evils
prevailing in society. — TNS
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He’ll make you look good
Our Corresopndent
Amritsar, September 21 Ravi, who was trained by renowned make-up artist from Bollywood Ashok Thakre, revealed that he got into the profession of his choice at the age of 16 after completing his schooling, and had never looked back since then. He has emerged as one of the leading make-up men and hair stylists in the city. He had picked up the beauty nuances with a six-year learning stint from O’real in Delhi. Having chosen painting as a childhood hobby, Ravi developed great skills for grooming young aspirants for them to look good and presentable in this highly beauty conscious world. Enjoying every bit of his profession, Ravi has lent his expert fingers during a number of fashion shows held in Delhi and other metropolitans where he left an indelible mark on the beauty scene. He also picked up the latest craze of tattooing from celebrity professionals to lend a complete repertoire of beauty grooming in Amritsar. Talking about his present position as a grooming teacher at the flying cats training academy for budding cabin crew and ground staff, he said it was indeed a very satisfying stint which gave him tremendous satisfaction seeing the young ones taking wings and joining the profession in the booming aviation industry. Working 16 to 18 hours a day to give a facelift to the looks of wannabe brides, he plans to try his luck overseas to give his beauty experience tips to a wider Indian diaspora living in the USA and Canada. Son of a police officer posted in Majitha, Ravi said his parents and teachers fully backed his vocation.
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