
Gujarat Confidential: Cherished memories
Special Reunion
The Institute of Leadership and Governance (ILG) at Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda is hosting an 'offline interactive public lecture', calling it a 'reunion' on Monday, featuring Yeshi Dawa, Senior Researcher at 108 Peace Institute and former bureau chief of Radio Free Asia, who will discuss 'The Dalai Lama at 90: Legacies and the Road Ahead'. 'Established in January 2016 as an autonomous institute in MSU, the ILG has for long organised online lectures, which were also necessitated due to Covid and continued post pandemic too. This being an offline one is the reason we are asking everyone to join for this lecture… also as a 'reunion',' ILG former director and current advisor Jigar Inamdar said.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
MSU Senate comes down heavily on inordinate delay in issue of semester mark statements
The Senate meeting of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University witnessed intense arguments for a while over the unreasonable delay in giving the semester mark statements to students which has badly affected their higher education prospects. Raising the issue at the MSU's 46th Senate Meeting held on its premises at Abhishekapatti on Thursday, member J. Vijaya Xavier Parthipan said the university, as per the University Grants Commission norms, should give the mark statements to the students within 15 days from the date of publication of results. However, the students, who had completed their degrees in May 2025 were yet to receive their mark statements for semesters 3 to 6 even as they had to apply for higher studies. Those who applied for temporary mark statements for submitting it for postgraduate admission have been asked to pay an additional fee of ₹ 1,000. 'While the MSU is unable to give the mark statement to the students within the stipulated period, it is also collecting additional money from the already affected students, which is unethical and atrocious,' said Mr. Vijaya Xavier Parthipan. Backing him, member G. Neela Krishna Babu said a serious administrative flaw of MSU had severely paralysed the students' higher education ambitions as they could not attach the mark statements along with their applications. Instead of finding early remedy, the MSU was penalising the students for its blunder. 'The Vice-Chancellor should allay the fears of the traumatised students and return the amount collected from the students for issuing temporary mark statements,' Mr. Neela Krishna Babu said. Vice-Chancellor N. Chandrasekar said the change of vendor, who had been entrusted with the job of printing the mark statements, had resulted in the delay of handing over of the vital document. 'The backlog is being cleared by getting the mark statements from the vendor and verifying it with our registers. Once this task is completed within next 15 days, the students will get the mark statements for Semesters 3 to 6,' Mr. Chandrasekar and Controller of Examination Balasubramanian said. When the Senate members wanted the MSU to return the additional fee of ₹1,000 collected from the students for issuing the temporary mark statement, Mr. Chandrasekar agreed to it and assured that the MSU would never allow the higher education dreams of its students to get dashed. When an adjournment motion was later moved by Dr. Neela Krishna Babu, he insisted that the Senate should resolve to publish the 'odd semester results' on or before December 30 and the 'even semester results' on or before June 30 and give the mark statements to the students within next 15 days, which was unanimously approved by the members. Another issue came up for discussion in the meeting was the alleged leak of 'Industrial Law' question paper meant for third year students on May 31 last. 'It was not an incident of question paper leak. One of the 104 affiliated colleges, which had to conduct this exam on May 31, mistakenly conducted it a day earlier and hence the question paper was out on the day prior to the actual conduct of the examination as per the timetable prescribed by the MSU. We came to know about it when the police started investigation based on the complaint from the University. Appropriate action will follow based on the police probe findings,' Syndicate member Nagarajan assured. The Senate expressed grave concern over the 'adverse developments' in the administration of St. Xavier's College, Palayamkottai. 'Since the college administration refused to cooperate with the MSU's inspection committees which had visited the college on three occasions to inquire about the problems in the college, the MSU should not sanction any new courses to the college,' the members suggested. When one of the members went on to suggest the cancellation of college affiliation, a few members turned it down. 'We need to take a right decision to set things right in St. Xavier's College, which should not affect the 3,000-odd students,' they said. When the Senate was informed that the MSU had not given approval to St. Xavier's College for any new course, the members disproved it instantly saying that the college had admitted students in a new course on artificial intelligence, for which no reply was given. A section of the Senate members also condemned the 'pathetic functioning' of Kamaraj College, Thoothukudi, with less number staff for handling more number of courses by burdening the teachers more. 'A person heading the History Department of Kamaraj College is handling the Bachelor of Public Administration subjects. Just 14 staff of Computer Science (Batch I, II and III), Bachelor of Computer Applications (Batch I and II), Computer Science, Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence and Master of Computer Applications are handling all these programmes. Did the MSU inspect this college also allegedly collecting excess fee? Couldn't you find anything fishy there?' wondered Mr. Neela Krishna Babu. When he was told that the MSU had not received any complaint from the students or the teachers in this connection, he retorted: 'The MSU should have moral responsibility... Instead of waiting for any complaints or petitions from the victims, try to act on your own on finding any academic issues in the affiliated colleges'.

The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen comfortably survives confidence vote
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen comfortably survived a vote of no confidence on Thursday (July 10, 2025), as an overwhelming number of European Union (EU) lawmakers rejected a censure motion against her. The motion contained a mix of allegations against Ms. Von der Leyen, including text messaging privately with the chief executive of vaccine maker Pfizer during the COVID-19 pandemic, misuse of EU funds and interference in elections in Germany and Romania. The motion was defeated in a 360-175 vote against it, with 18 lawmakers choosing to abstain during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Ms. Von der Leyen wasn't present for the vote. The vote has been a lightning rod for criticism of Ms. Von der Leyen — who led the EU drive to find vaccines for around 450 million citizens during the pandemic — and her European People's Party, or EPP, which is the largest political family in the assembly. They're accused of cozying up to the hard right to push through their agenda. The EU Parliament shifted perceptibly to the political right after Europe-wide elections a year ago. 'We won't vote with the far-right and we do not support this motion. This vote was little more than a far-right PR stunt from Putin-loving populists,' Greens group president Terry Reintke said in a statement after the poll, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, she added: 'We are ready to build pro-European majorities, but we will not be played by the EPP in their desperate deregulation agenda and their desire to consistently form anti-European majorities with the far-right.' The censure motion, the first at the European Parliament in more than a decade, was brought against the European Commission president by a group of hard-right lawmakers. On the eve of the vote, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Facebook that it would 'be the moment of truth: on one side the imperial elite in Brussels, on the other patriots and common sense. There is no getting out of it, it is essential to make a choice.' He posted: 'Madam president, the essence of leadership is responsibility. Time to go!' Ms. Von der Leyen's commission has frequently clashed with Mr. Orban over his staunchly nationalist government's moves to roll back democracy. The European Commission has frozen Hungary's access to billions of Euros in EU funds. The second biggest group, the Socialists and Democrats, has said that the censure motion was a result 'of the EPP's irresponsibility and the double games.' During debate on Monday (July 7, 2025), S&D leader Iratxe Garcia Perez said to the EPP: 'Who do you want to govern with? Do you want to govern with those that want to destroy Europe, or those of us who fight every day to build it?' The EPP has notably worked with the hard right to fix the agenda for hearing Ms. Von der Leyen's new commissioners when they were questioned for their suitability for their posts last year, and to reject an ethics body meant to combat corruption.


India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
Shashi Tharoor as chief minister? MP shares survey naming him top pick in Kerala
Is Congress MP Shashi Tharoor eyeing to be the chief ministerial face of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the upcoming Kerala polls? The senior Congress leader dropped subtle hints after he shared a survey that projected him as the UDF front-runner for the top survey, conducted by independent agency Vote Vibe, revealed that there was strong anti-incumbency in the state. Tharoor, whose ties with the Congress leadership have been rocky of late, is preferred by 28.3% of respondents as the UDF's chief ministerial candidate, the survey Kerala goes to the polls in May next year, and the Congress-led UDF will be looking to stop the ruling LDF government led by Pinarayi Vijayan from coming to power for a third consecutive per the survey, 30% of male respondents backed Tharoor, compared to 27% of female respondents. The four-term MP from Thiruvananthapuram received higher backing among older voters (those aged above 55) at 34.2%.His support among the 18-24 age group stood at 20.3%, according to the RIFT WITH CONGRESSThe development comes at a time when Tharoor's relationship with the Congress leadership has come under strain following the Congress MP's string of public endorsements of the Centre's fact, his ties with the Congress first took a hit earlier this year after he praised the Kerala government's new industrial policy. It invited brickbats from his colleagues in the Kerala SURVEY SAYS ON LDF?On the other hand, the survey indicates difficult times ahead of Vijayan. Only 17.5% of the respondents are in favour of seeing Vijayan as the chief ministerial face for the 2026 Health Minister KK Shailaja, who became the face of Kerala's fight against the Covid pandemic, emerged as the top LDF choice among voters, receiving support from 24.2% of the respondents.- EndsMust Watch