A nine member delegation of journalists from India’s leading media organisation visited the Punjab University (PU)
on Thursday.
Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dr Mujahid Kamran, Colonel Ikramullah, Assistant Professor Maria Maldonado, Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi, Dr Qalb-i-Abid, Dr Shahida Hussnain, Dr Javed Ahmad and other faculty members received the delegation consisting of Raj Changapa from Chandigarh Tribune, Suhasini Haider from CNN-IBN, television journalist Rohit Gandhi, Prasannan Radhakrishnan from The Week, Ajit Sahi and Shastri Ramachandaran from Tehelka, Seema Guha from the Bengal Post, Roy Agni from Ananda Bazar Patrika and Geeta Mohan fom the X News TV.
The VC briefed the delegation about the history, infrastructure and academic staff of the university and appraised the delegation of the functions of various committees, academic programmes, examination system and collaboration with foreign and local institutes.
The VC said that the varsity had produced three noble laureates and added that the university was trying to improve academic relations with South Asian countries but a significant problem that the PU faculty was facing was the rejection of visa applications. He said video conferencing could be hosted at various universities of the region.
Professor Emeritus Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi told the delegation that human interaction between the two countries was limited and younger generation should be allowed to enhance bilateral relations to help reduce misperceptions.
Later, Colonel Ikramullah and Maria Maldonado escorted the delegation to the tour of the Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS) where Dr Umbreen Javed briefed the delegation about the institute’s history, regional languages being taught and research activities.
Dr Umbreen said various South Asian languages including Hindi were being taught to the students. She said that the centre aimed at conducting research on South Asian studies and most of the researches were based on Pak-India relations.
Professor Emeritus Dr Muhammad Zakriya said it was difficult to conduct research on Pak-India relations as access to the libraries of each other’s countries was restricted. Ikramullah said media could play a positive role in normalizing relations between the two countries.
The delegation later visited the PU library where Chief Librarian Muhammad Hanif showed the delegation Persian, IRC and other sections of the library. The delegation appreciated the antiquity of books written in various regional languages including Sanskrit and Tamil.
Institute of Communication Studies Director Dr Ahsan Akhtar hosted the delegation at the institute. The delegates visited PU FM Radio 104.6, PU TV Studio, Audio-Visual Lab, Hameed Nizami Seminar Hall, Noam Chomsky Multi-Media Lab and the library. A documentary produced by the ICS students, on the operations of the institute, was also screened after which the delegates interacted with the students and shared their views and experiences.
During the lunch at the Executive Club, the delegation leader Raj Changapa thanked the administration, faculty members and PU students for their hospitality. He said the media could play a positive role in strengthening bilateral relations and softening the environment.