Chandigarh, September 10
Lapses by the faculty of the department of correspondence studies in failing to dispatch the internal assessment/practical assessment of some B.Com I students will be taken up by the Panjab University Syndicate when it meets on September 13.

The results of five students were declared without adding the internal assessment marks that had not reached the examination branch in time, forcing the university to revise the results.

Further, in an “inadvertent” oversight, as stated by Dr Raj K. Gupta, chairperson, department of education, mistakes had surfaced in the marking of session work of M.Ed students, where one set had been marked out of 20 and another out of 25, leading to discrepancies.

The syndicate will also examine the variations in fee charged by various departments and will look into the charges other than tuition fee, laboratory charges and development fund and consider abolishing those additions and making fee uniform from the next academic session.

A decision will also be taken on recommendations made by a committee constituted by the VC on imposing a fine on students who are unable to deposit their complete examination fee in time. It was found that many students come to the office after 10 to 15 years, pay the remainder of their fee and take their results. The committee has suggested a fine of Rs 150 for the first year and Rs 50 for each year that the fee is not paid.

There are also many pending cases of refund of tuition fees of first year BDS students. The syndicate will also decide on whether students from the department of music should be exempted from Rs 3,350 on account of late submission of examination forms by the department with the examination branch. The VC had stated that since the students are not at fault, they should be exempted. 

Chandigarh, September 10
Close on the heels of rallies being organised by various student organisations to display their popularity, the Indian National Students Organisation (INSO) activists held a sizeable car rally on the Panjab University campus here today.

Led by students on about 50 bikes, the rally witnessed participation of a large number of students in cars, jeeps and SUVs.

The rally, which started from hostel No. 2, passed through all departments and hostels on the campus before concluding at DAV College, Sector 10.

PU campus president Deepak Hooda said in a short time, INSO had realised many demands of the students. Placement cells in all PU departments, fee reduction for diamond-jubilee chance, election reforms, inclusion of students in various important bodies were some of their achievements, added Hooda.

INSO state president Vikas Rathee stated that the party had a forward looking vision for the student community. It had created history by organising an all-party meeting where students’ organisations took an oath not to resort to any violent activities for achieving political goals.

Chandigarh, September 10
Results of the following examinations held have been declared: M.Sc home science (C and T), 2nd semester, May 2007, MDS-II, July 2007.

Freshers’ party

Students of UBS, Chandigarh and Ludhiana centres, had an interaction-cum-freshers’ party yesterday at Sector 26 in the city. More than 100 MBA students from both centres mingled with their seniors from UBS Chandigarh. Ravneet Bhangu and Rahul Chugh were chosen Miss and Mr Fresher respectively.

Chandigarh, September 10
Unconventional modes of dispute resolution are hot on the Centre’s agenda.

The union law ministry is actively considering to bifurcate the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, one relating to the international arbitration disputes and the other to domestic disputes.

Top ministry sources informed The Tribune that given the fast pace of developments on the arbitration front, both internationally as well as nationally, the government as well as experts from the International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) were veering around the view to divide the Bill into two.

“There are extensive debates on the contours of the Bill which is being given final touches and in all likelihood will be introduced in the winter session of Parliament,” the sources said.

The foreign part would deal with the disputes relating to multinational companies and its creation had been necessitated given the rapid opening up of the Indian economy and globalisation, they added.

Another significant feature of the Bill, Section 37(A), which provided for the setting up of ‘Arbitration Division’ in the high courts on the lines of tax, company law and green benches, was being hotly debated by experts mulling over its pros and cons.

Among other things, the section stipulated that there should be at least two judges in every high court of the country especially designated to deal with arbitration cases.

Yet another important section was being introduced in the Bill (Section 89) which entailed automatic reference of a case to the arbitration division before it was marked to other conventional modes of dispute settlement. The sources said law minister H.R. Bhardwaj was keen on introducing improvements in the arbitration law and wanted suitable amendments to the Bill.

Significantly, the experts were pondering over a clause which provided the power to appoint an arbitrator to the high courts. At present, the Chief Justice of a high court has the power, in his individual capacity, to appoint such an arbitrator. Though the power to nominate judges to arbitration division would still be with the Chief Justice, it would not be in his individual capacity.

In 2003, the Bill had been brought forward by the NDA government but it was bogged down by widespread criticism over “gaping holes” and “missing links”. Finally, the select committee of Parliament withdrew the Bill altogether. Now, the Bill was being revived and given a new shape to suit modern-day requirements.

Recently, the ICADR had held a seminar in New Delhi in collaboration with World Bank in which ministry officers and ICADR experts brainstormed over the need to change the arbitration law expeditiously.

A division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Mahesh Grover, today issued notice of motion for October 12 to the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana and others on a petition filed by Jagmohan Singh Bhatti, advocate, seeking quashing of the election of Harish Narang as honorary secretary of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana in Chandigarh.

The petitioner prayed that the election was illegal and against the enunciated provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961. Also, a writ in the nature of prohibition may kindly be issued restraining the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana (respondent No. 1) to have access to its records till the mystery behind the veracity of degree of the respondent No. 4 (Narang) was resolved.

Bhatti submitted that the Bar Council of India, being the apex body of the advocates, be directed to have complete check over the matter in the interest of justice and the respondent Nos. 1 and 4 be directed to produce the entire record as maintained regarding Harish Narang, advocate

Chandigarh, September 10
It is often said that behind every successful man, there is a woman, whatever may be his realm of profession.

The same is true of the Kolkatta-based academician thespian Dr S.M. Azhar Alam with the visible supporting hand of his wife, Uma Jhunjhunwala, his partner in life and profession. Made for each other and theatre, their inter-caste marriage is a confluence of dramatic force and intellect, says Uma. Dr Azhar Alam rose on the theatrical firmament of West Bengal as he represented the state, winning laurels in the National Youth Festival five times in succession besides bagging the best playwright award in 2001. He came to prominence with his lead role in a feature film ‘The Four Curses’ produced by Satyajit Ray Films last year.

Uma specialises in children and vibrant street theatre and is credited with over 200 performances of their seventeen drama productions in India.

In city for staging a bold-themed play ‘Prashan Chinn?’ with oblique references to the agonising Gujrat riots, in the ongoing National Theatre Festival, the duo shared their experiences with The Tribune.

There is a burst of activity in diverse theatre productions in all regions but the patronage is not very encouraging. However, there is no dearth of takers for a good and evocative theatre with humanistic vision, claims Azhar, citing the grand success of Balwant Gargi’s play ‘Lohakut’, staged by his team of Bengali actors, before the audience unfamiliar with the sensibility of Punjabi pastoral life and traditions on which the script had been based. The playwright, endowed with a vision, must represent the ethos of common people, their struggles, strife and sufferings, in the plays, to relate it to the national psyche. These elements also find their true expression in the stories by Sadat Hasan Manto.

Chandigrah, September 10
The elite city audience was treated to a diverse experimental theatre form by the Kolkatta-based ‘Little Thespian’ ensemble with an immaculate staging of a play ‘Prashan Chinn?’ at Tagore theatre here today.

The play, presented on the third day of the Rashtriya Natya Parv - 2007, eloquently depicted the analytical synthesis of the grim tragedies of communal violence and religious bigotry, of the highest magnitude like the Gujrat Riots with oblique references to riots in Delhi and Kasmir.

As the play progressed, with narrative sequences enunciated by director Dr S.M. Azhar Alam himself, the accomplished set of actors ably depicted the saga of sufferings of the suppressed and innocent people belonging to a particular community. Playwright Ismail Choonara has sculpted the play to recover certain explosive truths about religious, psychological communal and ideological dimensions of the problem.

Structured in the ambience of an ashram run by a social figure with four young inmates, Raj, Raza, Mohan and Kanti, who suffer from mental disorder and depression, being cured and taken care of in the ashram clinic. The revelations of their impelled stay in the ashram by the caretaker and their longings for reunion with their parents or fulfillment of their aims and passions moved many among the intrusive audience. Knowing fully well, the plight of inmates - who had more wisdom and humanistic vision than those contemptuous barbaric agents of the rival faiths - caretaker Uma repeatedly pleases them with false assurances.

Dr S.M. Azhar Alam, Uma Jhunjhunwala, Tariq Ali naiyar, Md Aftab Alam, Rahim Pirani, Santosh Kumar and Hiena Parvez won applause for their roles. Haryana transport and education minister Mange Ram Gupta was the chief guest while Aditi Dua, wife of H.K. Dua, editor-in-chief of The Tribune group of newspapers, Kanwar Sandhu, resident editor, The Hindustan Times and thespian Kamal Tewari were present.