At Panjab University convocation, 799 students get their degree : The Tribune India

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At Panjab University convocation, 799 students get their degree

CHANDIGARH:As many as 799 students received their degrees at the 66th Panjab University convocation held today.

At Panjab University convocation, 799 students get their degree

Students of Panjab University show their degree at the convocation on the university campus on Saturday. Tribune photo: Pradeep tewari



Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 25 

As many as 799 students received their degrees at the 66th Panjab University convocation held today. Of these, 325 students were awarded PhD degree while 474 received degrees for various courses. In fact, 213 students got university gold medals, five special university medals, 45 endowment gold medals, 10 endowment silver medals, 38 merit certificates and 24 cash prizes. Also, 18 students were awarded for declamation contests. One alumnus also received the DSc degree during the convocation. 

Vice President of India and Chancellor of Panjab University (PU) Mohammed Hamid Ansari was the chief guest on the occasion. 

The highest number of students, which is 114, received the PhD degree in sciences. The second highest number of degrees were awarded from the Arts department i.e. 55. Students from Punjab got 123 degrees, Chandigarh 72 and Haryana 41. 

Vice Chancellor Prof Arun Kumar Grover, in his address, referred to the historical event of the first inaugural convocation which took place on November 18, 1882, when the then Viceroy of India, Lord Rippon, was the chief guest. He presented the Doctor of Oriental Learning (Honoris Causa) to Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, the founder Principal of Government College, Lahore, and the founder Registrar of PU.

Other dignitaries who were present for the convocation were the Governor of Haryana Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki, Member of Parliament Kirron Kher, and officials from the UT Administration besides BJP leaders. 

Chancellor of PU Mohammed Hamid Ansari gives away the degrees. Tribune Correspondent Arti Kapur speaks to various awardees.

Alumnus awardees

Prof Dr Dalip Kaur Tiwana, who was the first woman in the region to receive a PhD degree from the Panjab University in 1963. She was honoured with ‘PU Sahitya Ratna Award’ for 2016-17.

Dr Parshotam Dass Gupta, who was an alumnus of the PU and also the student of the present Vice-Chancellor Prof Arun Kumar Grover. He was honoured with the ‘Vigyan Ratna Award’ for 2016-17. 

Gurdev singh Khush

A hero of the green revolution, Dr Gurdev Singh Khush, FRS, is acclaimed internationally as a provider of food security.  A PhD in genetics from the University of California, Davis, USA, he is credited with the creation of more than 300 high-yielding varieties of rice. A modest estimate reveals that 60 per cent of the world’s total rice land is now planted with varieties developed under the leadership of Dr Khush and his team.  Dr Khush led the rice breeding programme at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, for 35 years. He is a Fellow of 17 major scientific academies all over the globe. He has been awarded by India, Philippines, Vietnam, China, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia and the USA. 

Nuruddin Farah

He is well-known in the world of literature with an ever binding emotional attachment to Panjab University, where he pursued a degree in philosophy, literature and sociology from 1966 to 1970.  A novelist, who has written plays both for the stage and the radio, he writes short stories and essays too.  His first novel, published in 1970, was titled, ‘From a crooked rib’, and portrayed the condition of women in Somalia, the country of his birth.  He is acknowledged today as one of the greatest contemporary writers in the world. His books have been translated into 17 languages. He has been nominated numerous times for the Nobel Prize in literature. He has been honoured with nearly all the other major international literary awards in Europe.

Murli Manohar Joshi 

He is a distinguished elder statesman and an academician.  With his deep comprehension of Indian civilization, he has made a significant contribution to Indian philosophy, literature and culture.  He has emphasised the dialogue of culture and civilisation in the global world and the role of Indian culture and scientific heritage in many international forums. His numerous recognitions include Jawaharlal Nehru Award by the Indian Science Conference, Nicolay Rerikh Medal for his contribution in the sphere of ecology by the International Academy of Ecology, Man and Nature Protection Sciences, Lifetime Award by the Indian Science Congress and Padma Vibhushan.

God particle experiment participant awarded 

Bhawandeep, a contributor in the CERN experiment at Geneva, also got her PhD degree. Her PhD is associated with the Higgs Boson project. Bhawandeep visited the CERN lab in Geneva thrice to study the measurements of the W/Z+ jets differential cross-sections at the LHC energy using the CMS detector. She was a part of the team from Panjab University that was involved in the project.  “After becoming a part of this project, the big challenge was to complete it on time,” she said. She completed her postgraduate degree from the Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar and did her MPhil from the PU. Now, Bhawandeep plans to pursue post-doctoral thesis. 

64-year-old researched to motivate students 

“My dream of getting a PhD degree has come true after 45 years in Panjab University,” said Dr JK Sharma. 64-year-old Sharma did his PhD in career maturity of school students from department of education of the PU. He did his graduation in 1980 and post-graduation in 1984. “My area of research was how to motivate the students, especially of classes IX and X, as they are clueless about their career,” he said.

Like daughter, like mother is Parminder’s wish  

“I want to be addressed as doctor like my younger daughter,” was the motivation for 54-year-old Parminder Kaur who did her PhD from the department of women’s studies at Panjab University. Parminder Kaur said five years ago, she had enrolled for the PhD on the topic ‘Feminisation of rural poverty’. The reason to choose this topic was that she wanted to work for women who are not empowered and get exploited at their  workplace. She said her younger daughter, Mehar Dhillon, has completed her MBBS and would soon receive her degree.  

Septuagenarian collects his degree after 50 years   

Seventy-four-year-old Inderjit Singh was awarded a degree in DSc for his contribution to sciences. His area of research includes cytoskeleton and muscular dystrophy. He is an alumnus of Panjab University and visited the campus after a gap of 50 years to get his degree. He currently works as a professor at the medical university in South Carolina. He said he remembered his golden days on the campus due to which he had been able to achieve something in his life.    

Col gets gold in disaster management course  

Fifty-one-year-old Col Amit Khosla, a civil engineer in the Army Engineers, got a gold medal in disaster management, pursued the MA course to help him excel in his profession. Interestingly, Khosla’s son is studying BTech at a regional centre of Panjab University. He got enrolled in PU in 2014 to pursue a masters in disaster management. He got a study leave of two years to pursue the course. Khosla was commissioned in the Army in 1988 and has completed 28 years of service. He is currently posted in the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at HQ project Swastik in Gangtok. Disaster management is the field of his interest and he wants to serve the nation in this field, he said.

Cancer survivor tops diploma course in urdu

Defeating cancer, 50-year-old Arvinder Kaur staged a comeback in studies and topped the diploma course in Urdu for which she received a gold medal on Saturday. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2001 after which she did not pursue her studies due to her health conditions. “I always wanted to learn Urdu as my grandfather and other family members knew the language well,” she said. For Arvinder, appearing in the written exam was a big challenge due to her health conditions. She wants to pursue an advanced course in Urdu.   

In Limca Book of World Records, judge adds another feather to cap 

District and Sessions Judge, Pathankot, Tejwinder Singh, was awarded a PhD degree to study the legislative measures to control terrorism in India with special reference to Punjab. He found it interesting to excel in his own field by getting more knowledge about it.  “I am the fifth person in my family to study Law from Panjab University,” he said. His wife was present on the occasion and congratulated him after he received his degree. Singh’s name found its way into the Limca Book of World Records in 1993 as the youngest magistrate in India. He was 23 when he became a magistrate and enrolled in the PhD programme at PU in 2007.  


Dignitaries meet PU Chancellor to discuss financial crisis 

The financial crisis issue of the Panjab University was discussed by five dignitaries with PU Chancellor M Hamid Ansari who. Five dignitaries who meet him Ansari were Member of Parliament Kirron Kher, Governor of Haryana Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki, BJP leader Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, former MP Satpal Jain and PU Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover. 

It was proposed that to have a permanent solution for the financial crisis, a joint meeting should be called by the Chancellor in which the representatives of the HRD Ministry, UGC, PU and the Punjab government should be present. The agenda of the meeting will be to resolve the financial issue which the PU was facing. MP Kirron Kher raised the issue with the Chancellor and other dignitaries that the heritage university should be saved. 

Sources said Satpal Jain briefed the Chancellor that the Punjab government has proposed to withdrawn a grant of Rs 20 crore to the PU which will add on to the financial problem of the university. Dr Joshi also said, "The PU is a prominent university and it should be affected due to fund crunch for its functioning."

Sources said, "The Chancellor of the university has not assured to call any joint meeting of all the stake holders as suggested by the panel."

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