In the backdrop of recent Supreme Court judgment delivered on Section 377 of IPC, the Centre for Human Rights and Duties, PU, Chandigarh on Tuesday held a panel discussion on ‘Section 377 of IPC: Problems and Prospects’. Professor Emeritus, laws, Virendra Kumar, Professor Emeritus, Psychology, Jitendra Mohan, Department of Anthropology Shalina Mehta, and Director, State AIDS Control Society, Chandigarh Vanita Gupta were the panelists.
Virendra Kumar said that it is very difficult to distinguish between what has been recognised as unnatural by the society from the innate desire of persons belonging to this community. He also stressed that it is scientifically established that what is unnatural for society at large is actually the intrinsic nature or trait of gay community.
Social anthropologist Shalina Mehta narrated personal experiences with some lGBT community members during her counselling sessions with them. She opined that the recent judgment will prevent such people to come out and be counted to respond to intervention strategies put in place for their betterment. This in turn will leave possibilities open for their harassment by police and the general public.
A medico expert, Vanita Gupta apprehended that the judgment will end up keeping the lGBT community under cover and will lead to failure of the AIDS Control measures to identify them and prepare them for treatment on the one hand and adapt to preventive measures on the other.
Physics Symposium on Atomic Energy begins at Thapar University
Patiala: Being hosted by the School of Physics and Materials Science of Thapar University, ranked among India’s leading engineering institutes, the 58th Department of Atomic Energy-sponsored Solid State Physics Symposium began in the university premises here on Tuesday.
One of the largest forums for scientific exchange in the country, the five-day event will be attended by nearly 1,000 delegates, including leading scientists from India and across the world, some of the country’s best brains from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and other institutions, VCs of several universities and industry representatives.
The scientific deliberations at the symposium will cover a wide range of topics in condensed matter Physics in the form of invited talks, seminars and contributory papers. Several internationally renowned scientists, including Dr S Elizabeth, Dr Seizo Morita, Dr Eunju lim, Dr WF Pong and Prof SC Gadkari of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, who also happens to be the convener of the conference, will showcase their recent research achievements in the field.
“We are proud to host this prestigious event, which is being organised for only the second time in Punjab. Being a premier technical institution with strong interface between the academia, researchers and industry, Thapar University provides an ideal setting for holding such a major event. The research being carried out at this university is of very high quality, as brought out by the published works in internationally acclaimed scientific journals,” said Thapar University Director Dr KK Raina.
All-girls team wins first Season of ‘The Power of Shunya: Challenge for Zero’
Chandigarh: An all-girls team of Sannidhi Jhala from Indian School of Business, Mohali and Maumita Bhattacharjee from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, emerged as the winners of the Season 1 of ‘The Power of Shunya: Challenge for Zero’.
In a competition spanning 10 weeks, this team beat 23 other teams of students from India’s premier science & technology institutes and B-schools to win the grand prize of a cash award of Rs10 lakhs and a paid experience to the global DuPont headquarters and the Experimental Station at Wilmington, Delaware, USA. The winners were announced at the grand finale of the show that aired last weekend and the prize money was given away by Dr Rajeev Vaidya, president — south Asia & Asean, DuPont. The winning duo impressed the jury with their innovation and marketing strategy for an apparatus to make silk fiber-based lamellar bio-materials for use during surgical interventions for patients with lower back pain, a severe health issue around the world, particularly among the elderly.
UGC upgrades KU Dept of Commerce
Kurukshetra: University Grants Commission has upgraded the Department of Commerce of Kurukshetra University to DRS Phase-III, under the Special Assistance Programme (SAP). A financial assistance of Rs34 lakhs has been given to the Department to further enhance its quality of teaching research. lt Gen (Dr) DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor of the University congratulated the Chairman, faculty and students of the Department.
As early as 1999, the Department was given liberal financial assistance by the UGC under the Special Assistance Programme. The faculty and research scholars have done research in the identified thrust areas of finance and international business. The department has excellent State of art infrastructure — two smart classrooms, computing facilities and well equipped library. Prof Hawa Singh, Chairperson of the Department thanked the Vice-Chancellor for his support and said that the Department envisages becoming a Centre for Excellence in the discipline of commerce.