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| Flames of discord: Participants take to their heels during the Fame Gurukul auditions. Picture by Aranya Sen |
The report ?JU suspends five students?, May 11, was disheartening. It was unbecoming of the authorities of Jadavpur University (JU), which is among the five leading institutes of engineering and technology in the country, to take such a step.
Gone are the days when the teachers of the university possessed qualities like compassion, sympathy, love and affection, in addition to excellent teaching skills. By suspending the five students, who were earlier showcaused for their role in a September 2003 agitation, JU authorities have tarnished the reputation of the institution and dealt a body blow to the student-teacher relationship.
The suspension will undoubtedly ruin the careers of the five students, one of whom has already landed a job through a campus interview.
The agitation was not the first of its kind at the university, but the authorities had never reacted so rudely, inhumanly and vindictively. More serious and violent agitations by the students had been dealt with by the authorities in such a manner that the sentiments of the students were not hurt.
The suspension of the five students will result in the protest at the university intensifying, which will take a toll on the teaching atmosphere. A solution to the problem seems far away with the authorities adamant and the students aggrieved by the suspension of the five students. The vice-chancellor should immediately intervene to resolve the deadlock and restore normalcy to the campus.
Sunil Banerjee,
VIP Road.
Jarring note of infamy
The cancellation of the Fame Gurukul auditions in Calcutta without prior intimation shows the organisers in poor light (Turnout trouble at talent hunt, May 7). How could they be so cavalier in their attitude towards holding a talent hunt where thousands of aspirants were supposed to test their mettle? Moreover, not only did they not apologise for goofing up, but even let police lathicharge the participants. The organisers should hauled up for their actions.
Sharmi Adhikary,
Gorachand Road.
Sony Entertainment Television, organisers of Fame Gurukul, should have arranged for registration of the candidates well in advance to avoid making a mockery of their hopes. The enormous potential of fame and the huge prize money attract thousands to these talent hunts. Should such an incident repeat itself, the government would need to intervene.
Arjun Chaudhuri,
Address not given.
Legal push for promotion
Cases of examinees being declared unsuccessful in Madhyamik, Higher Secondary and university examinations, but being promoted later are not uncommon. In the case referred to in ?Reprieve for failed student?, May 10, it was unfortunate that a student was denied promotion to MSc (physics) Part II due to a departmental communication gap. Amendments to Calcutta University examination rules are sometimes made on the recommendations of the Senate or the syndicate. It is really surprising that information about the amendments are not always conveyed to the department concerned as the controller of examinations claimed. Not every student will take the help of the law in similar circumstances.
Dinabandhu Mukherjee,
Behala.
Minors in misery
Kudos to the Loreto Day School Sealdah team which played a pivotal role in rehabilitating Guria (Glad days for Guria, May 6). It is hard to believe that even in the 21st century, child labour exists abundantly in urban India. The so-called educated families not only employ minor domestic helps, but subject the miserable, helpless children to inhuman, barbaric torture. It is high time the government and socially conscious people do something for these marginalised children.
Rajdeep Guha,
Panchanantala Road.
Card flick flaw
Apropos the report ?ATM guard flicks a card?, May 5, more such incidents take place regularly. It is difficult for a person to resist the temptation of making a fast buck if presented with the opportunity. Unfortunately, the ATMs are built in such a way that the keypad is visible to people standing behind the user. This provides unscrupulous people with the opportunity to note down the PIN of a customer. The keypad should be at a right angle to the body of the machine.
Pijush Banerjee,
Sarsuna.
Reel rant
Apropos the letter ?Film trade in a league of its own?, May 5, Mohun Roy has come down heavily on management guru Arindam Chaudhuri and questioned his financial resources. Chaudhuri?s fault seems to be that he is trying to produce good Bengali movies. Roy has termed Rituparno Ghosh and Anjan Das flop directors, even though both have won accolades for their films, both in the country and abroad. By Roy?s yardstick, Satyajit Ray is also a flop director as Beder Meye Jyotsna earned more revenue than all of his films put together. A letter full of insults does not a critic make.
Pushpal Das,
Address not given.
Inspiration in bronze
It is heartening that a bronze likeness of Satyajit Ray will be unveiled in Salt Lake (Ray statue due in Sector V, May 9).
Prahlad Agarwala,
Majdia, Nadia.
Corrigendum
In the report ?Silence shroud on sex abuse of child?, May 26, Pranaadhika Sinha was mistakenly referred to as a victim of incest. She is a victim of child sexual abuse, but not incest. The error is regretted.
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