COLLEGE CAMPUS

Students of St Xavier's College in Patna held a signature campaign last week against the gruesome lynching of five tribal women in Ranchi earlier this month and (right) a cultural programme under way at the Central University of South Bihar on the occasion of Independence Day on Saturday. Telegraph pictures

Central University of South Bihar (CUSB) celebrated Independence Day with fervour, zeal and enthusiasm, on the college premises.

While hoisting the Tricolour for the first time as vice-chancellor of CUSB, Harish Chandra Singh Rathore expressed deep concern and regret about the fact that not one Indian university featured in

the list of the world's top 200 education hubs. Referring to his earlier organisation - Banaras Hindu University - Rathore said: "Even after assuring the presence of every contemporary facility as the coordinator of the internal quality assurance cell, I could not make the university among the world's top universities."

The programme began with cultural events presented by the students, which included dance performances, folk songs, a patriotic song and a one-act play based on the life of Shaheed Ashfaqullah Khan.

Sign and protest

The students and faculty members of St Xavier's College organised a symbolic signature campaign on August 12 to protest against the gruesome lynching of five tribal women in Ranchi for allegedly practising witchcraft.

The students collected signatures and took resort to sloganeering to condemn the brutality in a stern manner.

The students showed a news report to everyone in the college, which spoke of how five women, accused of practicing witchcraft, were beaten to death in Kanjia village in Mander block of Jharkhand on August 8.

"The women, aged between 32 and 50 years were beaten to death with sticks, by the

residents of Kanjia village. Their bodies were

then put into sacks and thrown outside the

village. When the police went to recover the bodies, the superstitious villagers protested. Rumours were spread about the five women after the death of two or three villagers,"said a student, Rajnish.

Freedom festival

A patriotic song competition was organised by Patna Women's College on August 12 on the college premises.

The elegance of the Tricolour was reflected in the dresses of the participants. Around 33 groups took part in this competition.

The first prize was bagged by a group who performed Chaliye ve chaliye, while the second and third prizes went to students who performed Hai preet jahan and Ye mera watan, respectively. College principal Sister Marie Jessie distributed the prizes.

The head of department of psychology, Meena Kishor, talked about the importance of Independence Day and independent India. She also praised the students' song selection and their endeavour. She asked them to be law abiding citizens.

Jayanti Sagar, a student of the English department, said the environment was filled with a feeling of patriotism and these cultural activities gave them a morale boost and also assured them fun time with friends.