Seminar

Social welfare minister Manju Verma on Wednesday inaugurated a three-day-long international seminar, organised by Patna Women's College, on "Challenging patriarchy: A humanist perspective".

In his address, Verma said: "Around 80 per cent of the female population lives in rural areas, and despite several women empowerment schemes, they still cannot pursue higher education. She added: "Rural people need to change their mindset and give equal opportunities to both girls and boys."

College principal Sister Marie Jessie said that such academic forums are organised to provide special attention to the girl child and women.

Discussion

The Jammu Kashmir Study Centre, Patna, organised a discussion on "an analysis on Pakistan occupied Kashmir" at BN College on Wednesday. Around 80 students attended the programme that was inaugurated by the vice-chancellor of Nalanda Open University, Rash Bihari Prasad Singh.

The talk included discussions on the past, present and future scenarios of Kashmir. Raj Kishore Prasad, the principal of BN College, at the inauguration said: "The tough situation Kashmiris are suffering today, is because of mistakes made in the pre-Independence era. India needs to proactively structure its broader position by affixing the issue of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to the bilateral agenda every time the issue of Kashmir comes up for discussion."