Khalsa processions turn city saffron
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12 — The city wore a saffron look today with thousands of devotees and brightly decorated cavalcades of vehicles participating in nagar kirtan processions to commemorate the memory of Panj Piaras and to mark the ongoing tercentenary celebrationsof the birth of the Khalsa. At every nook and corner of the city markets, yellow and saffron banners congratulating people on the eve of Baisakhi were visible.

Enthusiastic devotees attired in white robes and saffron patkas and blue dastars and women with saffron dupattas started thronging various gurdwaras in the city to prepare for the procession. While men folk were busy decorating the vehicles with insignias of the khanda (the symbol of Khalsa) and the numerals 300, women could be seen making garlands and doing up the palkis which were to lead the procession. Most of the vehicles, including cars and scooters, had adorned flags carrying insignia of the Khalsa. All through the routes, prasad of chanas and chhabils were offered to the passersby. At some stalls, they were even offered mango shakes. The passersby also stopped and threw flowers at the palki as a welcome gesture.

The mood of the participants was so upbeat that sweltering heat failed to deter them as they passed through various sectors for over 5 hours. Each of the five nagar kirtan processions, organised by the All-Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the Chandigarh Nagar Kirtan Tall Mail Committee, were dedicated to the panj piaras.

The first one dedicated to Bhai Daya Singh started from gurdwara in Dhanas village and passed through the roads dividing sectors 14/25, 24/25, sector markets of 38,37, 36,35, chowk of Sector 34/35.

The second one dedicated to the memory of Bhai Dharam Singh which started from Sector 7 gurdwara passed through the sector markets of 7,8,9,10, road dividing sector 10/11, light point of Sector 15/16, market of Sector 16,23, small chowk of Sector 16/23, light point of Sector 22/23, Sector 22 market, gurdwara of Sector 22, rehri market of Sector 22, Piccadilly chowk and Sector 34/35.

The third one dedicated to Bhai Himmat Singh, which started from Sector 29 passed through the market of Sector 28, gurdwara Nanaksar, light point of Sector 27/28, Sector 27 market, light point of Sector 19/27, sector 18 and 19 markets, light points of Sector 17/18, ISBT chowk, Aroma Light point, Piccadilly chowk and chowk of Sector 34/35.

The fourth procession dedicated to Bhai Mokham Singh started from Gurdwara Ram Darbar and passed through 3 BRD turn, road dividing sector 31/47, Sector 31 market, small chowk of Sector 31/32, sector 32 market, road dividing Sector 32/33, Sector 20 gurdwara, light point Sector 20/30, gurdwara Sector 30, chowk sector 19/27/20/30, turn near Sector 20 mosque, light point of Sector 20/21, Sector 21market, Aroma light point, Piccadilly chowk and chowk of Sector 34/35.

The fifth procession, which started from Sector 46 gurdwara in the memory of Bhai Sahib Singh passed through the sector markets of 45, 44, 43, turned to village Attawa from Sector 42, Attawa chowk , straight up to chowk of Sector 43/35, 44/34, Sector 34.

All these processions later terminated at the Sector 34 gurdwara.

Young and old alike participated in the procession which was led by traditionally attired Panj Piaras, followed by a bedecked palki carrying the holy Guru Granth Sahib, women singing shabads to the accompaniment of instruments and cavalcade of vehicles carrying devotees.

In some cases, children on camels could be seen beating the drum as if they were announcing the arrival of the procession at various places. Bands also accompanied few processions.

The response of the onlookers was no less as they greeted them with the chants of "Bole so nihal..." and "Sat Sri Akal" along the way. Colourful banners and flags marked the routes of the procession at some places.

Interestingly, the Sanatan Dharam Sabha, Sector 46, accorded a traditional welcome to the Panj Piaras and the procession which started from the Sector 46 gurdwara. They performed aarti amidst chanting of mantras and distributed prasad.

Along other routes also, prasad was distributed among school students and others by various organisations. The State Bank of India, Sector 31 branch, distributed sweets, fruits and milk amongst the devotees which started from Ram Darbar.

Tastefully illuminated shops and gurdwaras all along the way brought alive the Khalsa spirit in the city. Though at some places inconvenience was caused to the general public, but on the whole the traffic police manned all the routes to avoid any major chaos or traffic jam. Cops were busy diverting the traffic much before the arrival of the procession at that point.

A colourful programme was presented by Sikh youth at the Sector 34 Sri Guru Teg Bahadur gurdwara as part of the warm welcome which was accorded to the nagar kirtan processions as they culminated there at 8 pm.

The Managing Committee of the gurdwara presented siropas to the panj piaras of all the processions and offered tea and prasad to the devotees.

The highlight of the evening was the performance of gatka and other martial arts by youth attired as nihangs as large numbers present there enjoyed their performances.

Meanwhile, Punjab Raj Bhavan was illuminated to mark the celebrations.

DoT gesture
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12 — The Department of Telecom extended Khalsa tercentenary greetings to its subscribers here as part of the dial tone from today.

The facility is available on all phones that are connected onto the German E-10-B exchange. The greeting is in Punjabi language and is interspersed with the dial tone. About 50 percent of phones in Chandigarh are connected onto these exchanges.

Normal calls can be made even while the greeting message is being heard on the receiver. Telecom authorities said it was technically not possible to give the greetings on phones connected onto the Japanese FETEX-150 exchange.

Mexican Sikhs glad to be here
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12 — From Mexico to Anandpur Sahib, to discover one’s roots, is a long journey. A group of 34 Mexicans Sikhs, including more than 20 women, gathered today at Chandigarh today to start their Baisakhi yatra for Anandpur Sahib.

These Sikhs, who had registered themselves as ‘Sikh Dharma de Mexico’, had all been converted into this faith under the influence of Mr Harbhajan Singh Yogi. “This is the first Indian religion to have been given recognition by the Mexican government”, said Arjan Singh, Sikh from Chandigarh who had migrated to Mexico in 1976, and was one of the founding members of this body. It was reportedly in 1971 that the first Mexican, Baba Ji Singh, was converted into a Sikh.

“In Mexico, Gurdwaras do not have any leaders or heads. Everybody is treated as an equal, unlike here in India”, added Arjan Singh.

The young Sikhs from Mexico not only did not cut their hair but also wore the kirpan, and white turbans.

Said 18-year-old Gurmandir Kaur, “I was born a Sikh, since my mother had converted to this religion. But now it is my choice. There is this joy that I have experienced in this religion, which I think puts people together”.

Said 15-year-old Satpurakh Singh, “Sometimes it is tough being a Sikh in Mexico. For young people I think it is hard to be a practicing Sikh. Coming to India is like a homecoming, since I see many young boys dressed like me. I feel very comfortable here.”

With over 100 Mexican families having converted into Sikhism , these Sikhs felt that the whole process had not only been about conversions, but was more of an evolutionary process.

Said Ravijeet Singh, who was a legal adviser with the Mexican government, “It is interesting to be in a country like India, which seems to have an entirely different concept of existence. The participation in the tercentenary of Khalsa is very important to me because I think I will get to know my roots as a Sikh here.”

Most of them had now enrolled themselves in Gurmukhi classes to learn “our Guru’s language”.

Said Ardas Singh, who was on his second visit to India, “Coming to India is like ‘melting’ into one family, and I always come here to answer the call of my Guru.”

Arjan Singh, who was acting as the interpreter for most of the Spanish speaking Sikh Mexicans said, “People in the West are always interested in the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of everything, even religion. And most of them find Sikhism a very scientific religion. So for most of the Westerners this conversion is for keeps.”

IT letters issued to students
By Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12 — Can students be tax-payers? The answer seems to be yes if letters by the Income Tax Department to students to file returns under a new scheme is any indication.

According to sources, the department has started issuing letters under proviso to Section 139 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, to students to file returns in Form-2 C for the assessment year 1998-99 under the one-by-six scheme.

Under the scheme, any person fulfilling any of the six criteria has to file the return. The six criteria are occupation of immovable property exceeding floor area of 1,100 square feet (residential purposes) and 125 square feet (commercial purposes), ownership of a motor vehicle/scooter, having a telephone, including a cellular phone, expenditure on foreign country for himself or for any other person, having a credit card not, being an “add-on” card, issued by any bank or institution, and membership of a club where entrance fee charged is Rs 25,000 and more.

Letters to two students — Anil Kinger and Shivani Kinger — copies of which were procured by The Tribune, said they fulfilled the condition of having a scooter, though both students claimed that they were not the registered owners of the two-wheeler.

And what has surprised them even more is that fact that the letters had been sent to them in their nick names — Rinku and Nitu. In fact, the Kinger family has received four letters — one to their father and another to their sister, Neeru, who was married in September, 1997, and is no longer living with the family. Their father is already an income tax payer.

The students said that before issuing the letters the department should have at least confirmed from the licensing and the registration branch whether we were the registered owners of the two-wheelers. With the examination round the corner, the issues of “fake” notices has created undue mental tension and strain on us, they added.

The letter warned that “in case of non-compliance by persons, who fulfil any of the six criteria , we will be compelled to issue a statutory notice requiring filing of the return of the income. Such a course attracts penal actions also”.

Surprisingly, the last date for filing the returns has been mentioned as October 31, 1998.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the department has received only over 3100 returns under the one-by-six scheme. The department had reportedly issued over 40,000 letters to the prospective income tax payers.

Old couple kidnapped
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12 — An old couple, a minor girl and a businessman were kidnapped in the city during the past 24 hours in three separate incidents.

The businessman, however, retuned home this morning after his kidnappers took away the gold ornaments he was wearing.

An old couple from Jammu, Mr Chaman Lal and his wife Jayashree, had come on a visit to Chandigarh. They were to visit their relatives in Sector 43. Yesterday the couple rang up Mr Ramesh Kumar, their relative, saying someone had detained them near Kalka. The couple had been kidnapped from Sector 22, according to the police.

A minor girl , living in colony number 5 was allegedly abducted by Mohammad Multan, alias Mohammad Alam, of the same colony. The father of the girl, Mr Varinder Gupta, alleged that the youth in connivance with one Mukram and his wife Nisha Begum, had abducted his minor daughter aged about 15 years.

In another incident, Mr Sandeep, who lives in Sector 22 , and runs a business in Sector 9 , was woken by three Maruti-borne persons at around 2 am in the early hours today. The occupants of the car asked him to come down from the first floor of the house. Sandeep went down and the three dragged him into the car.

According to the complaint lodged by Sandeep, the three took him to a deserted place on the outskirts of Chandigarh. He was taken out of the car and beaten up with an iron rod. The three then took off his gold chain and a gold ring. He managed to reach Nayagaon almost two hours after he was kidnapped.

The police said the three kidnappers must have known Sandeep as he had come down to meet them in the middle of the night.

DSP to patrol outside discos
8 p.m.-to-1 a.m. duty to check rowdyism
Tribune News Service

CHNADIGARH, April 12 — An officer of the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) will patrol outside major discos in Chandigarh and the one in Mani Majra to check rowdyism and late night brawls.

The DSP would be on patrol from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., the closing time for discos, said the local SSP, Mr N.S. Randhawa.

This action of the police follows allegations by two women of SAS Nagar that they were harassed, beaten and molested by a group of youths on the night of April 10. The police would, however, not question any girl or boy coming or going out of the discos together on their own will, the SSP clarified. The watch would be unobtrusive and no activity of the discos would be disturbed, he said.

The incident involving the women made the police realise what was happening outside the discos. One of the women is in late twenties, married and working as a lecturer in a college at Ropar. The other is in early twenties. They had gone unescorted to a popular disco in Mani Majra around 10.30 p.m. on April 10.

As they came out of the disco around midnight, two boys requested them to help them get entry in the disco ( single males are not allowed inside discos in Chandigarh). The women agreed but the watchman at the disco said that it had closed for the night. The youths then asked them if they could help them get entry in a Sector 9 disco.

The youths, who were in a Maruti Zen, followed the car driven by the women . At the Sector 9 disco, they asked the women out for coffee. Again, the women drove to a popular 24-hours eating joint in Sector 22, while the men followed them.

Later, the youths asked the women out for a drive in their Maruti Zen. The offer was accepted and the women parked their car outside the joint. After being driven around the city for more than two hours, the women asked the men to drop them in Sector 22. The youths said they needed to visit Sector 11 before this.

As they reached a Sector 11 house, another car, with four youths in it, stopped behind the Zen. It was around 5 a.m. then.

One of the women was forced to sit in a car. The other was taken to the car that had come later. The women escaped by giving a slip to the youths. Around 5.30 a.m., the women rang up the police. On the basis of the information gathered from the women, the police said that the youths hailed from Patiala. Police parties have been sent to track the men. A case has been registered.

Spate of day-time robberies
PU don's house burgled
Tribune News Service

CHNADIGARH, April 12 — There has been a spate of thefts in residential areas of the city in the past five days. To be precise, six day-time burglaries have taken place in various parts of the city in these days. In all cases, the occupants of the house have been away for a short while or for a few hours.

Yesterday's afternoon thieves stuck at three separate places, including the house of a Panjab University professor located on the PU campus that is considered to be relatively safe area. The second theft took place in the house of Mr Arun Mohinder, who lives on the Punjab Engineering College (PEC) campus in Sector 12 .

The third case, though of minor theft, in the Old Doctors Hostel in PGI, is of a serious nature in these protected areas that have their own security set-ups besides the police.

Prof N.K. Oberoi, who teaches in the English Department, Panjab University , was gone from his house for only an hour and 45 minutes last afternoon. He was actually sitting in the house of his neighbour less than 10 houses away when thieves broke open into his house and decamped with a bag containing Rs 12,000 in cash, a camera and gold rings.

Professor Oberoi said he had come back from Delhi only the day before. The exact loss of jewellery and other items, including expensive clothes, can be assessed only when his wife, who is still in Delhi, comes back.

Less than 2 km away from Professor Oberoi's home lives Mr Arun Mohinder. He was away from his house from 8 am to 6 pm. He had gone out of station . He returned to find his house ransacked. He lost a sum of Rs 3,300, five silver anklets besides a diamond set.

On the PGI campus, a thief opened the window of a room to steal a stereo system. The same thief also went around two other rooms and picked up small items.

The latest sequence of thefts had begun on April 7 . Thieves made it big in a Sector 44 house while the occupants had gone to deposit a telephone bill. The occupants returned within 45 minutes, but by that time more than Rs 1 lakh , and several tolas of gold jewellery had been stolen.

The same day, thieves broke open locks of a house in Sector 23 while the occupants were away on their jobs. A sum of Rs 8,500, gold and silver jewellery besides other household items were stolen. On April 8, a sum of Rs 7,000 besides jewellery was stolen.

The house thefts, according to the police authorities , are taking place as the empty houses are probably being watched. On the other hand, the police placed its beat system in order. SHOs of police stations briefed the staff today. Fresh police personnel were posted. When the IG, Dr Kiran Bedi, had joined a week back she had promised that a beat system will be formed and it will not be disturbed at any cost.

‘Changes can be made in City Beautiful’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12 — “Le Corbusier has become something of a God in Chandigarh. He was a brilliant architect, but driving down Madhya Marg, you feel as if you are looking at jails. Corbusier did what he did, but today changes can be made to suit the requirements of the people,” said author and art-restorer Aman Nath,while delivering a lecture at the Chandigarh College of Architecture here today.

The lecture, on ‘Restoration for Re-Use’, was organised by the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi in collaboration with the college. While showing slides on restoration of havelis, Aman Nath said, “I love ruins and have always felt that old buildings have their own reference designs,” he said.

With his slide presentation on havelis in Rajasthan, Aman Nath impressed students with beautiful interiors in the ethnic Indian style. While showing his slides on Nimrana and Kesroli forts and Piramali haveli,he said, “I am not an architect, but I feel that light has to be used to enhance buildings.”

While talking of restoration, he also talked about its financial and economic aspects. “There is no substitute for perseverance and money alone is not important. Look at what Nek Chand has created at the Rock Garden.”

He further said, “I do not like the Charles Correa architecture. His architecture looks great in pictures, but he seems to forget that somebody is going to live in them.”

“When Chandigarh was to be designed, Nehru could not have asked any British architect, since we had just got rid of the Britishers. And obviously the Americans were out. So a French architect seemed to be the right choice. But as people grow, even architecture needs to,” he said.

Congressmen hold protest march
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12 — Local Congressmen held a protest march in the city today demanding dismissal of the BJP government, besides a joint parliamentary committee probe into the sacking of Admiral Bhagwat.

The protesters, led by Mr Venod Sharma, President of the CTCC, assembled at the Sector 35 Congress Bhavan in the morning and raised slogans against the government. They later marched through sectors 35, 22 and 17 before turning right from the government press. The agitators were stopped by a posse of police near the Sector 7\8 roundabout.

Mr Sharma, while addressing the protesters, said the government had lost the moral right to govern in the light of allegations levelled by the Admiral against Defence Minister George Fernandes and by Mohan Guruswamy against the Finance Minister.

He said the allegations had ripped off the veil of honesty from the face of the government. The government was undeterred by these and was not ready to set up the JPC to probe the allegations and determine what mala fide or corrupt considerations had gone into decision-making at the highest echelons of the government.

Mr Sharma said Admiral Bhagwat had in an affidavit sworn that the Defence Minister had links with foreign intelligence agencies and he had been funded by them for over two decades. He had given refuge to insurgents from the North-East and allowed them to operate from his official residence. Not only that, he had a soft corner for the LTTE and gone out of his way to extend courtesies to a French company dealing in arms for a defence deal, he added.

This could be confirmed by the instructions given by the Prime Minister to the Chiefs of Staff about the Pokhran tests not to inform the Defence Minister in this context, he added.

Similarly, Mr Guruswamy had made a series of allegations involving improprieties on the part of not only ministers but also the PM and his family.

Mr Sunil Parti, a spokesperson of the unit, said a deputation led by Mr Venod Sharma and consisting of office-bearers later submitted a memorandum in this context to the Secretary to the Administrator.

Meanwhile, the bhog of the Akhand Path at the Congress Bhavan will be held tomorrow morning. A community kitchen will also be organised.

PANCHKULA: Workers of the city unit of the Congress today staged a rally in front of the mini secretariat here demanding dismissal of the BJP led government at the Centre over the Bhagwat episode.

Later a delegation of the party workers led by the City Congress President, Mr Krishan Nanha, and President of the Traders City Cell of the party, Mr Kewal Dhingra, submitted a memorandum of demands to the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC).

535 students conferred degrees
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12—``Youth are emerging as an ungrateful force, but the students could show their gratitude to society by starting community programmes with special emphasis on adult education to wipe out illiteracy from the city,'' Dr Kiran Bedi, Inspector-General of Police, said in her convocation address at Goswami Ganesh Dutta Sanatan Dharma College, Sector 32, here today.

She was critical of the fact that white collar crime and drug abuse in colonies was on the rise and that the solution lay in every man policing himself and others around him to evolve a better society. ``We have become selfish and the feeling of gratitude, compassion, discipline and character is fast declining. If education has failed to inculcate these virtues, it is inadequate and the teachers need to rethink and reframe the syllabi,'' she opined.

Pandit Mohan Lal, President of the managing committee of the college, stressed that everything could be achieved by the grace of God and that this must be coupled with the individual's labour and hard work. His speech was liberally peppered with anecdotes from Dr Kiran Bedi's life and work.

Degrees were conferred on 535 students of the college, including 68 students with honours. While 195 degrees went to the commerce stream, 225 degrees in the arts stream and 115 in the science stream were given out at the function.

Earlier, Dr A.C. Vaid, Principal, read out the college report and highlighted the achievements of the college in academics, sports and co-curricular activities.

SNIPPETS

A tasteful Baisakhi
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARHApril 12 — The local unit of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) will celebrate Baisakhi at Hare Krishna Dham, Sector 36-B, on April 13 and 14, according to the local body President, Mr Vinod Dasa Prabhu.There will be a demonstration of Vedic cooking known as “Krishna Cuisine” which was introduced by A.C. Bakti, Vedant Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON.The cuisine will be prepared with the foodgrains derived from the new crop.

Sector 35 school gets 19 merit positions
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12 — Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 35-D, has bagged the maximum number of 19 merit positions among UT schools in the middle standard examination, the result of which was declared on April 9.

According to the Principal of the school, Ms K. Sharma, Punit Sodhi got the third position among all UT schools and second position in the model school category.

As many as 130 students of the school have been placed in the first division, she added.

Meanwhile, Government High School, Behlana, topped in the pass percentage in the rural schools’ category.

According to a press note of the school, the pass percentage of the school is 84, compared to the department pass percentage of 63. The press note said 14 students of the school got first divisions.

Demand of pensioners
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12 — Members of the Northern Zone Pensioners Confederation have demanded merger of 97 per cent dearness relief in basic pension, grant of travel concession and old age pension at the age of 65 and 75 years at the rate of 5 per cent and 10 per cent respectively, to the pensioners and family pensioners in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

The confederation which is an umbrella organisation of the pensioners unions of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh has also demanded Rs 250 per month as medical allowance, 50 per cent concession in bus fare in state transport, according to Mr Ajit Singh Bagri, General Secretary of the organisation.

Meanwhile, the following have been elected office-bearers of the confederation Chairman — Mr M.L. Singla; President — Mr B.D. Sharma; General Secretary — Mr Ajit Singh Bagri; Finance Secretary — Mr C.K. Jain, and Organising Secretary — Mr R.R. Batta.

Legal luminary dead
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 12 — Mr Harbans Singh Doabia, a legal luminary and father of Mr Justice T.S. Doabia, died here today. He was 93.

Born in 1907, Mr Harbans Singh graduated from Foreman Christian College, Lahore, in 1928 and obtained a degree in Law from Panjab University, Lahore, in first division in 1930.

Mr Harbans Singh Doabia started his practice at Jalandhar but soon shifted to Lahore and started practice in the Lahore High Court in 1938. When partition came, he was at Mandi and could not return to Lahore. He, however, shifted to Shimla after the Punjab High Court came there. Finally when the Punjab High Court shifted to its present place in Chandigarh in 1954, Mr Doabia also shifted to Chandigarh.

He was the author of the first book on election law in India — “Law of Elections and Election Petitions” — which was released in 1947 . A close associate of Mr Pratap Singh Kairon, he was appointed Additional Advocate-General of Punjab in 1959 as the post was created for the first time for him. An expert of writ laws, there would hardly be any Full Bench of that period in which he was not associated.

After a successful innings in the legal profession, in his later years, Mr Harbans Singh Doabia devoted his time to the transliteration of Gurbani into Roman script. His compilation “Nit Nem” has gone into the 25th edition. Other works include the transliteration of Sukhmani Sahib, Hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur, and Hymns and life history of Guru Gobind Singh.

His books are widely read all over the globe. He has also visited Australia, the USA, Canada, the UK and Singapore to spread the message of universal brotherhood of man and fatherhood of God.

Mr Harbans Singh Doabia is survived by his wife, two sons, including Mr Justice T.S. Doabia, a Judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, and five daughters. His grandsons — Mr IPS Doabia and Mr M.S. Doabia — are also practising lawyers at the Punjab and Haryana High Court here.

The antim ardas of Mr Harbans Singh Doabia will be held at the Sector 8 gurdwara on Sunday between 10.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m.