Dr. Ali Abbas took over as Chairperson of Urdu department of the Panjab University here today.

Dr. Ali Abbas takes over as Chairperson of Urdu Department

Agra:&nbsp;An Urdu teacher at a government primary school here has been suspended for making objectionable comments on his colleague's social media post.The comments were made last month and the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) suspended the teacher on Monday.Mohammad Ahmad had criticised another teacher Tahira Parveen for putting a 'tilak' on the forehead of a Hindu officer in Aligarh and posting the picture on social media. The photograph had gone viral.According to BSA Satyendra Kumar Dhaka: "An inquiry was conducted and the decision to suspend the teacher was taken after that."Parveen said she had shared her photograph on a WhatsApp group comprising teachers. One of the group members, Ahmad, took objection to it and derided her for "following the Hindu religion with happiness".This was followed by a series of negative comments against her.Parveen said: "Since I was the only woman teacher there, I was asked to welcome the new block education officer Satish Chandra Mishra by putting a tilak on his forehead. There was nothing wrong in it." —IANS

An Urdu teacher at a government primary school here has been suspended for making objectionable comments on his colleague's social media post.

 Teacher suspended over 'hurtful' comments on colleague's post in UP

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has suspended the Joint Director (Health), who had issued an order directing all the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) to ensure that signboards/nameplates at all health facilities in the state, were written in Urdu as well. A senior Health Department officer confirmed that Joint Director (Health), Tabassum Khan had been suspended on charges of dereliction of duty.
"The procedure for issuing the government order was not followed by her. The order directing CMOs to ensure that signboards and nameplates at government hospitals were written in Urdu also was issued by her without informing senior officers," he said.
In the order issued on September 1, Khan said that one Mohammad Haroon of Unnao had complained that many government departments were skipping Urdu on signages despite it being the second official language of the state. "All CMOs have been advised to ensure compliance of the order issued to all hospitals, primary and community health centres to carry information on signboards in Urdu also," she had added. —IANS

The Uttar Pradesh government has suspended the Joint Director (Health), who had issued an order directing all the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) to ensure that signboards/nameplates at all health facilities in the state, were written in Urdu as well. 

UP Officer Suspended For Order On Urdu Signboards At Hospitals

Mumbai: Even 154 years after his death, the legendary Urdu-Persian poet -- Mirza Beg Asadullah Khan, or just Mirza Ghalib -- often referred to as the `emperor of romance`, continues to live and thrive in public minds through his evergreen and raging verses or couplets.
A first-ever dedicated two-day festival to celebrate the life and times of the romanticist Ghalib opened in Mumbai, organised by the Pasbaan-E-Adab (Defenders of Literature), starting with a tribute to the 26/11 martyrs by students of various Urdu schools in the Mumbai metropolitan region. Named as `Meeras: The Heritage`, the event has brought together some of the biggest names in the world of literature with mushairas, musical shows, Sufiana Kalams, literary quiz and sessions for young and upcoming poets, said the 12-year-old Pasbaan-E-Adab`s guiding spirit, IPS officer Quaiser Khalid.
"Ghalib was an important figure in our history and our rich literature. He was witness to some of the biggest events that shaped the country`s future, and which immensely inspired his writings and he continues to influence generations after his passing," Khalid told IANS.
Born in Agra, Ghalib (December 27, 1797-February 15, 1868) hailed from a family of Mughals with mixed lineage of Indian, Persian, Turk, Kashmiri, but was orphaned at a tender age and was raised by relatives.
When he was just 13, he was married to Umrao Begum, coming from a princely (Nawab) family and moved to Delhi, the hub of the Mughal Empire which was just starting to crack under British domination.
Struggling on all fronts, Ghalib described life as a `sentence` followed by marriage which was another `imprisonment` and these became the theme of his poetry on many occasions, and seemed to strike a chord with the connoisseurs.
"He lived a full life for 71 years and also witnessed the collapse of the mighty Mughal Empire, the rise of the ruthless British Rule, the Indian Mutiny (1857) -- which was the first war for Indian Independence. All these significant events had a great influence on Ghalib and consequently, on his writings," explained Khalid. —IANS

Even 154 years after his death, the legendary Urdu-Persian poet -- Mirza Beg Asadullah Khan, or just Mirza Ghalib -- often referred to as the `emperor of romance`, continues to live and thrive in public minds through his evergreen and raging verses or couplets.

154 Yrs After He Died, 'Emperor Of Romance' Ghalib Lives In His Poetry

Lucknow: Urdu department of universities and colleges, and they should play an important role in the promotion of Urdu language, Professor Safdar Imaam Quadri, one of the speakers at All India Urdu Conference said on Sunday.
While speaking at the Conference at Arif Castle Hotel in Lucknow, Professor Qdari also pointed towards lack of coordination in Urdu department of colleges and universities.
"Another big problem in promotion of Urdu is that there is no public body for it, where we all can sit together and address the issues. There is a need for such centres where Urdu is taught especially in non-Urdu circles in all cities of the country," he said.
The conference was organized by the Urdu Foundation of India and Najab-ul-Nisa Memorial Trust under the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Memorial Committee, Lucknow, in which professors and intellectuals from various states and important universities of the country participated and expressed their views on the present status of Urdu.
Qadari further said that the people should raise their voices against the governments if they try to reduce the budget of institutions and Urdu academics.
"If the government reduces the budget of government institutions, Urdu academies, and the national council for the promotion of the Urdu language, then we should raise our voice together, it is our right, and love for Urdu is also needed. The leadership of the Urdu department of universities and colleges is becoming weak. Universities are producing less creative people and more critics and researchers. What is needed is to focus on creativity," he added.
Padma Shri Professor Akhtar Al Wasi, in the presidential speech, said that Urdu is not the language of Muslims only.
"I am not ready to believe that Urdu is the language of Muslims only, as long as there are people like Janaki Prasad in this country, Urdu has no limit," he said.
Professor Sharab Rudaulvi said that it was the human mindset that pulled the Urdu language "back".
"We can keep Urdu alive by forming an organization for the survival of Urdu," he added.
JNU Professor Khwaja Ikramuddin said that Urdu is the language that gave birth to India's civilization and culture.
"Urdu is the language of communication and the fastest-growing language in the world. We should take the help of technology; this will strengthen our language," he added. —ANI

Urdu department of universities and colleges, and they should play an important role in the promotion of Urdu language, Professor Safdar Imaam Quadri, one of the speakers at All India Urdu Conference said on Sunday.

Urdu Departments Of Universities Should Play Important Role In Promoting Language: Prof Safdar Imaam Quadri

New Delhi: With roots in Uttar Pradesh, both these Delhi-based artists come from families whose values can be traced back to the Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb. Growing up during the 1990s, visual artist Taha Ahmad and theatre practitioner Wamiq Zia carry a nostalgia where a composite culture that was celebrated across the length and breadth of the country, where cultural identity was always stronger than the religious one.  The ‘Urdu Poetry Project’ is a manifestation of the belonging of the two individuals who come from a world where individuals were identified on the basis of the language they spoke, and not their places of worship.  An ode to Urdu poetry, the common passion shared by the two artists, the project sheds light on how the language is looked upon today, under the pretext of the current socio-political context in India.  Fifteen Urdu poets have been chosen ranging from Amir Khusro to Faiz Ahmad Faiz, and they intend to follow this project with more multi-arts projects based on the other forms of literature.  Essentially, the idea for this project came from the evening conversations, the two artists would have, with most of them being focused on literature and specifically around Urdu poetry.  Being the practitioners of their own arts, all these discussions were full of ideas around the different ghazals and nazms and how the two artists looked at them from the perspective of the art forms that they practiced.  “We have tried to visually represent the journey of Urdu poetry across the ages, in a free-flowing manner creating a historical timeline. The fusion of the different art forms is visible in the way these art pieces are being designed. Through carefully curated photographs, the project tries to visually represent 15 couplets by the 15 greats of Urdu poetry chosen for the project. The photographs are a modern interpretation as well as a representation of the couplets chosen set in today’s timeline amidst the current socio-political state of the language,” Zia, who has actively been doing theatre for the past 15 years and writes for OTT and films tells IANS.  The photographs when put together as a series will take the form of a personal letter written by a father to his daughter, the father will be a metaphor for the composite culture that the society has been a witness to, whereas, the daughter will be one for the new world.  The letters will present the father’s wish to share his legacy with his daughter. Its parts will be written by different calligraphers on each of the photographs.  Considering Urdu calligraphy and script have witnessed a massive decline over the past decades, this will be an ode to the two arts by the creators of this project.  Every photograph will have a part of the letter that talks about that era, the story of the language, and the legacy of the couplet, hence, an attempt is being made to narrate a complete story through each of these photographs.  Ahmad, the first Indian to receive The Documentary Project Fund/Award (2017) and Toto-Tasveer Award for Photography (2018) says art has always been an effective tool of resistance and highlighting issues.  “There is always a purpose behind creating an art piece that addresses certain political and social issues. Or reinterpret different social structures of the society offering alternate understandings of certain events and dimensions. All of this put together becomes a force of political and social change. The potency of an art piece lies in its capacity to transcend cultural, and linguistic barriers. Let us not forget art has a purpose — to comment on society, and what is going on around us. Raise awareness about different horrors. Interventions like these are a statement and commentary on societal issues,” adds the visual artist.  Stressing that artistic interventions have become important in the face of contemporary socio-political trends, the theatre artist also feels they are non-accusatory in nature and non-confrontational. “I am talking to the audience in a language that we both speak in and that is why poems and songs and art pieces become a rallying point in social movements. Art has always been a rallying point for the common man and some of the best art pieces have been written then and instead of fighting, we should put up a mirror and take a call for what we want to do.”  In times when languages are being interlinked with religions, the artists say it must be remembered that language is a representative of culture, and culture and language are two very different things.  “Krishna has been narrated in Urdu more than any other language and it is important to see things in perspective, that’s the point of a project like this and we want to keep hitting the nail and communicating that and I don’t know how much of an impact will it make but if we can get people to talk about it then I consider us successful,” Zia smiles.  Both artists have known each other since 2015 and worked on many ideas together including film scripts. “In between different ideas is how ‘The Urdu Project’ was born. And it is not only about us, but also our team Niharika, Ashi, Azad, Shariq, and KD. Well, the project has been a roller coaster and we have plans of massive projects and with bigger casts as well,” they add.  Even as artists are breaking silos and increasing collaboration across genres, like in their case, Zia says the same ensures diverse ideas, perspectives, and approaches to the table. “This cross-pollination of ideas, creativity mediums, and processes leads to fresh interpretations and novel techniques. I am seeing unconventional artistic solutions to problems in society. While this is not something very new, but offers immense possibilities nevertheless.”
—IANS

With roots in Uttar Pradesh, both these Delhi-based artists come from families whose values can be traced back to the Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb. Growing up during the 1990s, visual artist Taha Ahmad and theatre practitioner Wamiq Zia carry a nostalgia where a composite culture that was celebrated across the length and breadth of the country, where cultural identity was always stronger than the religious one.

'The Urdu Poetry Project' and the semantics of composite culture

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday upheld an earlier order by a single-judge bench directing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged money laundering by a cooperative society in West Bengal's Alipurduar district.
On August 25, the Calcutta High Court's Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench ordered a CBI probe over the allegations against the cash-lending cooperative society in Alipurduar.
The order was based on a petition filed by Kalpana Das Sarkar at the circuit bench, alleging that the cooperative society first collected huge amounts of deposits from investors and then distributed the money as loans to those associated with it.
On September 15, a bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay slammed the West Bengal government and imposed a financial penalty of Rs 50 lakh for not complying with the order of handing over probe papers related to the case to the CBI.
The state government approached the division bench ofJustices Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Uday Kumar challenging the order.
However, on Friday, the division bench upheld the order for a CBI probe. However, it reduced the penalty amount to just Rs 5 lakh.
On September 18, the CBI took over the investigation into the case and also registered an FIR under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
—IANS

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday upheld an earlier order by a single-judge bench directing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

Calcutta HC upholds previous order on CBI probe in cooperative society scam in Bengal

Alipurduar (West Bengal): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the BJP during a rally in Alipurduar and criticized them for its failure to address the concerns of approximately 10 lakh tea garden labourers. She highlighted the BJP's indifference towards the plight of tea garden workers and said that the state government agreed to buy tea leaves from the distressed tea garden workers.
"BJP's guarantee is zero. Have they done anything till today? They have won twice. They have their MLAs from here, MPs from north Bengal. They had stopped food and taking tea leaves from 10 lakh labourers from the tea garden. The team garden labourers came to us the day before yesterday. Yesterday I told them that the government will take their tea leaves from now on. We helped 10 lakh tea labourers," Banerjee said while addressing a public meeting at Alipurduar on Friday. The Trinamool Congress supremo said that as a substitute for the 100-days-work scheme her state government has launched the 50-days-work program that was announced in the state Budget. "No one needs to do anything for 100-days-work. We have formed a policy for 50-day work called Karmashree. You will get money from the state government. We did that in our Budget," Banerjee said. The Chief Minister also promised funds for the construction of 11 lakh houses under Awas Yojana and compensation for those who have lost their shops in natural disasters after the elections. "We will give money for 11 lakh houses being constructed under Awas Yojana after elections. In Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar, those who have lost their shops in a natural disaster, we have written to the Election Commission for permission," Banerjee said.
Hitting out at the Election Commission which she claims is controlled by the BJP, Banerjee said that they have to get permission from the poll body on every step. "If it had not been the time for elections, we would have done it in one second. We have to take permission from the Election Commission on every step. Whatever the BJP says, happens. This is too much. Unfortunate. I wrote a letter five days back. Why did they not reply? You do not even have to pay," the Chief Minister said.
—ANI

Mamata attacks BJP over tea garden worker neglect in Alipurduar, introduces Karmashree scheme, and promises homes under Awas Yojana post-elections.

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Dr. Ali Abbas takes over as Chairperson of Urdu Department

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Dr. Ali Abbas takes over as Chairperson of Urdu Department

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