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Many new entrants in JNU battle of the ballot

Election fever is running high on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in Delhi. Never low on excitement, campaigning for the JNU Students' Union elections has begun in full swing and with many more new entrants in the race -- from Bahujan Students' Front (BSF) to Youth for Equality (YFE) and the ultra-left Democratic Students' Union (DSU) -- it will be a fight for every vote.

"It will be an intense fight for every vote. With all the small parties coming in, there will be redistribution of votes and every party will have to fight hard,'' said a political activist.

While the smaller groups cite "disillusionment'' as the reason for entering the political arena, the only group that seems poised to make a difference is the YFE.

"They might not win, but they will certainly cut into the votes of other parties, especially Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Science has been the stronghold of ABVP, but the YFE has made inroads into their support base,'' said a political activist.

And in an attempt to win its support back, ABVP is going all out. Making room-to-room visits, it is trying to get its voters to understand its stand on reservation. "Reservation cannot be the only plank for fighting elections.

There have to be other issues too. We also want our voters to understand that while we support reservation, we don't trust the Government's intentions on reservation.

We believe that reservation is being provided only with an eye on vote-bank politics,'' said an ABVP activist.

Still popular on the campus, it seems the SFI-AISF combine is going strong. With a comprehensive support base, the student outfit is confident that it will sweep all the seats this time.

* * *

With the battle against polio far from over, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has made strides to try and win it. Going beyond its campus to reach out to the community, AMU has organised polio-sensitisation programmes, immunisation camps and door-to-door vaccinations in five districts of Uttar Pradesh over the past four years.

And now recognising these efforts, the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award has been conferred upon the University.

This is the first time that this award has been given to a non-American University. The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Foundation Award recognises "the innovative ideas of the AMU for campus - community collaboration that makes a difference to the lives of others and enhances learning".

The award was handed over to the AMU Vice-Chancellor, Naseem Ahmad -- who has been instrumental in this out-reach programme -- by former US President Jimmy Carter in New Delhi this past week.

* * *

The University School of Management Studies (USMS) of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) in Delhi conducted the second National Case Development workshop this week. The workshop sought to give students and faculty a chance to learn a tool that most business schools use to impart management education -- case development.

The inaugural session of the two-day workshop was attended by J.K. Das, Dean of the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow's Noida campus; GGSIPU Vice-Chancellor K.K Aggarwal; Prof R.K Mittal, Dean of USMS, GGSIPU; and Shalini Garg, programme coordinator of USMS, GGSIPU.

* * *

Taking yet another step into the cyber era, Jamia Millia Islamia -- which is in the midst of five-day festivities associated with its Founders' Day -- has opened a new cyber centre. It would allow faculty members and students a chance to get "connected".

Aptly titled "Connectivity'', the cyber centre will be inaugurated by the University Grants Commission Secretary, Dr. T.R. Kem. Located in the second floor lounge of Nehru House, the centre offers four broadband Internet connections to guests staying there.

Offering state-of-the-art facility, the centre also offers scanning, surfing, chatting as well as video conferencing.

-- MANDIRA NAYAR

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