Editor,
One who unlocked the various mysteries of Time passed away this Wednesday after revolving 76 times around the Sun. Fondly called one of the fathers of modern cosmology, Stephen Hawking had rocketed to stardom for his landmark book – A Brief History of Time. First published in 1988, this book has so far sold more than 10 million copies and is translated into over 35 languages. Hawking’s life was full of incredible facts. He was paralyzed at 21 by motor neuron disease and completely lost his ability to speak in 1985. But these all never dampened the spirit of the s0cientist. Though the physical movement was limited to his specially designed techno-wheeledchair, Hawking’s mind always raced across the limitless cosmos. I think our children should look upon such great minds as their role models and derive inspiration from. What an amazing instance that Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 – – exactly on the 300th death anniversary of an Italian scientist Galileo. Again, the birthday of Albert Einstein will ever be the death anniversary of Stephen Hawking. I don’t think God is not playing dice with the universe!
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali
Shillong-2
Inordinate delay in enrollment by MSBC
Editor,
I write to call the attention of the Hon’ble Meghalaya High Court and also the Meghalaya State Bar Council (MSBC) on the matter of enrollment of advocates. Many students from Meghalaya have passed their law courses, LL.B or BA LL.B(H) and other equivalent law courses in 2017 . Soon after completing their law degree and their result along with other documents, many students rushed to the Meghalaya High Court to apply for enrollment as advocates in the State roll as per the provisions of the Advocates Act, for consideration by the MSCB. In fact many have applied for enrollment since August 2017. It is therefore unfortunate that till date the State Bar Council has not approved or sanctioned approval for such enrollment for reasons best know to them.
It is important to note that no law graduate can become an advocate without the enrollment or bar license. Without enrollment, a law graduate may be seen in the court dressed as legal practitioners and carrying files here and there but in reality such people cannot do anything on their own. They cannot even sign an affidavit or other legal documents.
This inordinate delay is hampering the future prospects and careers of law graduates. Early registration and enrollment of advocates is significant because the date of enrollment will be considered in future when the question of seniority comes in. For instance applying for judicial services for grade I and II requires experiences which are counted strictly on the date of enrollment. Hence a delay of about 8-9 months to grant enrollment for young lawyers will hamper their future and is an injustice to them. All lawyers and advocates require to clear the All India Bar Examination ( AIBE). For appearing in this national exam, enrollment number issued by the MSBC is mandatory. Last year, law students could not appear for the AIBE exam which was held in December 2017. Again the Bar Council of India has called for application for AIBE and the last date of application May 5, 2018. But without getting the enrollment number from the MSBC no law student can appear for AIBE.
The students have missed this exam once because of the delay, please don’t make us miss this exam again. If the enrollment is not issued before the last date, we will have to wait yet again. I urge the relevant authority particularly the MSBC to do the needful without any further delay so that the young generation will not suffer unduly. Other state bar councils grant registration or enrollment numbers within one month; some even give it in one week, but why is our state Bar not following suit?
Yours etc.,
Mary K Sangma
South Tura
Philanthropy in action!
Editor,
While there are iconoclasts breaking or defacing the busts of renowned personalities who contributed towards the uplift of our nation, there are a few others who are working selflessly day and night to bring some positive changes in society. One such personality is Uday Damodaran, Professor, Finance in Xavier Labour Research Institute (XLRI) School of Management , Jamshedpur who started his mission ‘Garlanding India’ in 2014 where he toured 16,000 km on his Renault Duster over a period of 60 days in an effort to raise funds for 22 beneficiary NGOs. Under his guidance, the second edition of the mission Garlanding India 2.0 is initiated by a core team of 16 volunteer riders, 4 sets of 4 riders each covering 4000 km each to the north, south, east and west to raise fund of Rs 2 crore for some beneficiary NGOs.
The first segment is over; the second segment called the eastern essay officially was flagged off from IIM Kolkota on March 7, 2018. The core team of 5 riders Joslyn Fernandes, Madhav Arora, Mahesh Vidit Singh, Ashirvad Mohanty and Arpit Augustine all final year graduating MBA batch of 2018 of XLRI volunteered to raise the funds by travelling on their two wheelers in the eastern part of India. It’s commendable that they are taking up such a noble cause since the funds raised by them will be utilized for the underprivileged children for training in sports along with proper nutrition and schooling for those children. The selfless efforts of these gentlemen will ensure a future for many children. Contributions from every individual according to their capacity will boost the efforts of these philanthropists and ensure that many children with untapped talents in sports will find their niche.
Yours etc.,
Anil Singh Roka,
Via email