CAMPUS NOTES
By Nawaz Yasin Islam
St. Edmund’s College is abuzz with activity and an exhilarating spirit that comes with any ceremony being held in a premiere institute and in the centre of all this shines yet another Department which completed fifty glorious years of existence.
The Golden jubilee celebrations of the Department of Geography of St. Edmund’s College was celebrated on Saturday last in a manner that befitted the grandeur that comes with a ’50-year-old’ department.
Since its establishment in September 1961 at the initiative of Rev Bro. J N Foley, the department has been steering the students through a route that only leads to success.
Acclimatising the students to be ready to face the terrains and topologies that lay ahead of them has been the signature of this department which started off with a lot of expectations.
The ‘sober’ yet ‘cheerful’ celebrations took shape with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by the distinguished guests invited in the occasion.
Following the presentation of bouquet by the students to B S Kharmawphlang, IFS Conservator of Forest, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India and Dr Z H Qureshi, Head of the Department of Geography, North Eastern Hill University, the dignitaries and guests were given a brief idea on the relevance of such celebrations while welcoming them to be a part of such an event in a welcome address delivered by Prof O M Kharmawphlang who is the current head of the department.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr S Lamare, Principal of the college expressed his happiness that the department was celebrating its Golden jubilee.
He mentioned that this year has been very eventful with many departments celebrating a significant milestone in their existence.
It may be mentioned that the Political Science department celebrated its Golden jubilee earlier in the month of July and following the Geography department, the Zoology department is all geared up to celebrate the fifty years of its service for the student community.
The Maths department of the college is also surging ahead and plans are being formulated to celebrate its Platinum Jubilee.
Lamare, while lauding the efforts of the department over the years said, “I am particularly happy to see that Geography is being inculcated both in the science and arts stream under the new proposed semester system. This only highlights the importance of such a subject.”
Highlighting some significant pointers in the presentation of the department’s profile, Prof M J Ford took the audience back in time and showcased the efforts of the former faculty in giving the department its current stature. He mentioned the very ‘humble’ beginning of the department when he stated, “The department started with just 10 students who were under the guidance of a single faculty member.” The lone warrior, Prof G P Bhakta played a pivotal role in the department’s functioning and was the sole teacher at the helm of affairs for a very long time. Ford highlighted the audience on the departmental activities and student’s performance together with the achievements of the department over the years. “The meteorological station of ours has been providing regular readings since 1994,” he said.
A special reference was made to former head of the department, Prof K C Chakravarty who joined the institute in June 1985 and led the way until his retirement in the year 2008. Ford mentioned, “It was under Sir KC’s headship that the department took upon the great task of organizing workshops etc.”
Speaking on the occasion, the guest of honour, Dr Z H Qureshi congratulated the department for the successful completion of fifty years. He reflected on the statement, ‘with great achievements come great responsibilities’ and lauded the efforts of the department in producing talented students who only move ahead to pursue higher studies. Qureshi stressed on the challenges that lay ahead for the department when he mentioned, “A great task now would be teaching in a clear and proper manner within a small time frame for time constraint is a factor in the upcoming semester system.”
The glittering functioned was well balanced with student’s performances being well placed in between the programme. Some very soul touching blend of words and music were portrayed that reflected on the achievements and pinnacles of success attained by the department along the years. The crowd was mesmerized by the power of the compilations to touch the nostalgic chords of every student and teachers.
The Chief Guest in this occasion, B S Kharmawphlang, IFS Conservator of Forest, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India spoke at length on the ecosystem and biodiversity surrounding mankind and highlighted the gathering on the various deleterious factors affecting the environment at present. Kharmawphlang called upon the people of the state to protect the environment through a continued community effort to curb the illegal disposal of all effluents; industrial, construction, medical and solid waste. He said that the forest department, pollution control board, municipal and urban affairs department all have to be proactive to ensure a safer environment for one and all. He highlighted the audience as to how population and urbanization resulted in damaging consequences in which the environment suffered.
Commemorating the occasion, Prof Z Qureshi released the first issue of the department newsletter titled ‘Geographia’. This newsletter aims at spreading ‘geographical’ knowledge among its readers and the first issue saw a well blend of interesting contributions from both teachers and students alike.
Speaking to The Shillong Times at the sidelines of the ceremony, Prof G Kharkongor said, “Last year because of the MCTA agitations and lack of sponsors for the magazine, we had to postpone the celebrations for a few months and hold it this year.” When asked about the future programmes of the department to highlight such an achievement, Kharkongor said, “We are planning for a national seminar for which the proposal was given to UGC since last year. Apart from this, we plan to organise regional seminars, special lectures and debate competitions besides sensitization on the importance of geography at UG level among others.”