By
Dipu, Kapou & Kinley

Jamia Millia Islamia is in news ever since two of the university’s students were arrested by the Delhi police on 20th Sept. The Vice-Chancellor of the University Mushirul Hasan has committed to provide legal aid to the two students. The offer has raised a major controversy in political circles.
Two Jamia students- Zia ur Rehman and Mohammad Shakeel, have been arrested for their suspected involvement in terror activities.

Peaceful march
More than 1,500 students of the University and many staff members took part in a peace march on Thursday in the University area led by the Vice Chancellor. “The peace march is aimed to fortify Jamia’s determination to condemn violence”, said Prof. Hasan.
As soon as the rally ended, a handful of supporters carrying banners of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) reached the University area, shouting slogans of “Long live N. C. Sharma” and condemning the Vice Chancellor’s move to “support terrorists”.

Police vigilant
A major scuffle was avoided when the police roped in and took control of the situation. The supporters of ABVP were brisked away in police vans. “What the university is doing is not right,” shouted one of the ABVP supporters referring to the proposal of Jamia University to provide legal aid to the arrested students.
Deputy Commisioner of Police (DCP), South Delhi, Hargobind Dhariwal rushed to the spot to make sure there was no untoward incident. He clarified that there were no arrests and the march was peaceful. When asked about the identity of the ABVP supporters, he said “They could be anyone. It could be that they are not students”.
Prof. Hasan urged his students to get back to their respective faculties. Security remained beefed up in the University area throughout the day.

Support for arrested students
The Executive Committee of Jamia Teacher’s Association (JTA) also announced their commitment to provide financial support to the two students of the University who have been arrested for their alleged involvement in terror activities. The JTA praised the University’s move to provide legal assistance to the two students. They further demanded from the University that “no disciplinary action should be initiated against the students unless they are proven guilty by the court of law.”

By
Akanksha Kukreti
Photo:Babu
Date - September 19, 2008. Residents of Jamia Nagar were busy shopping for Eid in the local market at Batla House. Suddenly sounds of gun firing startled the people. Delhi Policemen along with National Security Guards were engaged in an alleged encounter with terrorism suspects. The people on the road turned panicky and rumours started spreading wild. That’s when Radio Jamia 90.4, the community radio station run by AJK Mass Communication Research Centre of Jamia Millia Islamia went live on air. Listen to know more…

By-Moonis Ahmad and Babu
A solidarity procession was organized by the newly formed Coordination Committee of Indian Muslims along with other Muslim advocacy groups to voice their concern against terrorism and police action on 26th September, Friday at Jantar Mantar.

The rally was attended by major Muslim organizations, leftists, intellectuals, students and social activists. The leaders condemned all disruptive terrorist acts and serial bombings as well as the incidents of State bias.

“The 19th September Batla house encounter of suspected terrorists had created enough commotion amongst the residents of Okhla and Muslims in general,” confesses Irfanullah Khan, chairman of Jamia Nagar coordination committee. “Earlier it was madarsas, and now educated Muslim youths are being targeted by the police. The aim is to bottleneck them educationally and economically.”

While addressing the gathering, Syed Ahmad Bukhari, Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, severely criticized the media for demonizing and labeling Jamia Millia Islamia and Okhla as the hubs of terrorism. He said, “If Atif was behind Delhi bomb blasts, then who is to be blamed for the blasts at Nanded, Ajmer Dargah and Mecca Masjid of Hyderabad.”

The members of JNU student’s union also participated in the agitation. The union’s President, Pradeep spoke against the state’s high handedness in this clamp down. “The role of RSS in this polarization and its involvement in bomb explosions should be thoroughly investigated,” he demanded.

Abu Asim Azmi, Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh opined: “The media has tarnished the image of Muslims, Islam and azmis (a title used by the Muslims from Azamgarh) in Mumbai and Delhi.” He further added that “Azamgarh has produced patriots like Maulana Shibli Nomani, Kaifi Azmi and Brigadier Usman”

The students and demonstrators in the agitation were holding various placards like “we want CBI/judicial enquiry”, “we are against terrorism” and “stop arresting innocents”


Another JNU union member Monisa voiced that all the resistance movements in India should unite. She further added that all the marginalized voices, whether Muslims, dalits, adivasis and Christians should fight for their rights.

The rally witnessed loud sloganeering by the emotionally charged participants against police, media and the state. However, the leaders promptly controlled the mob.


Later in the evening, some leaders including Muslim Majlise Mushawarat president Dr. Zafrul Islam Khan, Dr. Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas of All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind went to the PMO where they handed a memorandum listing their demands.

For most students like Vikas of Jamia Millia Islamia the procession was important because it brought all concerned citizens on a common platform

Architect of Dupont office in Gurgoan, Sonali Bhagwati, used company products like Corian, paints and PVB films to create innovative designs and branding. Kunal Majumder reports.

When you enter the Dupont office in Gurgoan, the first thing that you would notice at the reception is the illuminated portraits of its founders. You would be wondering – what sort of material is it created of? It looks a bit like plastic yet it has luminous quality. It can be moulded, twisted and turned, and even fused! Think no more. It’s Corian, a direct usage product from Dupont. The portraits are actually carved out of Corian and lit from the back.

Creative challenges
When architect Sonali Bhagwati and her team at Spazzio were commissioned to design Dupont’s office in Gurgoan, they decided to use other products of the science and research company to create innovative designs and branding.
“The client suggested that their material could be used to highlight their work. And as an architect it was a great opportunity,” says Bhagwati, who is a partner at New Delhi based-Spazzio Design.

Explaining the reason for using Corian, she says, “It is an expensive product, so it has limited usage. Generally it’s used on counters like kitchen. However when we decided to use the product, we wanted to showcase the versatility of the material.”
Corian is very flexible and fluid in terms of what it can do. Bhagwati decided to adopt an extremely fluid plastic form which is ideally suited for this sort of a product. She realized that when corian is used in a thin sheet, it has a luminous quality. She decided to highlight this particular feature through the designs.

The second material used was paints by Dupont. “They make high grade automotive paint. We used those again as a part of the central plastic form that we developed. It was almost like a scriptural form,” she claims. While some of the surfaces in the office were with corian, rest were with paint.

The third product used in designing was PVB films by Dupont. PVB film is used to stick glasses together to give them extra strength. And incase the glass breaks, the film doesn’t allow it to fall. The architect used the film to work out a detail where the glass partition does not go up to the ceiling instead it turns. “It is a very unusual detail which we found possible mainly because we used this sort of film,” feels Bhagwati.



Central theme
Her team created circle as a central design element as it is the most stable of all geometrical forms. “We decided to take circle as an element and build it as the design language through out the entire office. We cut circle out of corian and lighted it from behind. The corian looked as a large glowing circular form,” explains Bhagwati. The circular form is consistent throughout the office – right from the reception wall to the ceilings. The work cabins have circular netted partitions. Glass tables at the sitting areas are also circular in shaper supported by stainless steel rods. Cavity lights used have added to the circular feel.

Branding through design
Apart from using corian and film in design, the architect also used them for branding purposes. “We built up branding possibility as a part of our design where we created specialised branding areas highlighted through carved corian,” she says. The portraits of the founders at the reception are one of them. The same technique was used in running places, which are back light, to highlight the Dupont’s philosophy, policy and story. Films were also used at the reception for branding. “Basically we used all the products in every possible way to built of them into design element and create a form,” explains Bhagwati.

Space and colours
The architect stuck to the corporate colour themes of Dupont i.e. red and white. [apart from these two, the other visible hues are stainless steel and natural timber]. Bhagwati claims that the ‘office screams Dupont’!

In terms of office spacing, the architect kept in mind the client’s requirement while following system of corporate plan like keeping mind the separation of common areas from key access areas and protected area.

Cafeteria and washrooms

Designs in the washroom and cafeteria are an extension of the office space yet have a distinct feel apart. In the washroom, the architect continues to use circular forms in the wash basin. Yet what makes it different is the use of light. A natural timber has been used as the base to the corian wash basins. The water taps are made out of stainless steel.

Bhagwati gives a completely different look to the cafeteria. Usage of different coloured chairs, tables and wall is a welcome relief for the employee after a hard day work. The use of square and rectangular motifs on the wall in red, orange and yellow colours breaks the monotony of the circular theme.
Dupont Gurgoan office stands out as a perfect example of product innovation and a blend of design and branding.

Mind behind it
Sonali Bhagwati is a partner at New Delhi-based design and architect firm Spazzio and an architect for 20 years. She is an executive member, Conservation Society, Delhi and is involved in making audiovisual programs of historical areas in the urban milieu.
Her firm is engaged in designing office spaces, buildings for IT firms and hotels. Some of the recent projects include the Adobe offices in Noida and Bangalore, Tata Consultancy Services office in Gurgaon and the new Taj hotel in Bangalore.

फोटो स्टोरी : जयश्री
दिल्ली में आज से लगभग एक महीना पहले भी लगातार बारिश के कारण बाढ़ आने की सम्भावना बन गयी थी। परन्तु भाग्यवश ऐसा नही हुआ । आज फिर से दिल्ली में बाढ़ आने की सम्भावना बन गयी हैं। यमुना पर बना लोहे का पुल जो की अंग्रेजो के समय का बना हुआ हैं आज बंद कर दिया गया। पुल बंद करने का कारण , यमुना में जल का स्तर का बढ़ जाना है । ये स्तर ६७६ सेमी तक पहुच गया है। यमुना के किनारे बसा पुस्ता समय रहते ही खाली करवा लिया गया था जिसके कारण जान-माल की हानि होने की अबतक कोई ख़बर नही मिली । परन्तु बाढ़ के कारण बहुत से लोगो को अपने घर से बेघर होना पड़ा है। सरकार का दावा है की वो बाढ़ पीड़ित लोगों की मदद करने में कोई कमी नही कर रही है। लेकिन जब मैंने युसूफ खान, (एक बाढ़ पीड़ित) से बात की तो उन्होंने बताया की सरकार ने खाने-पीने की व्यस्था तो दूर की बात है उनके लिए टेंट तक नही लगवाया ,जिसमे उनके बच्चे सर छुपा सकें , लोगों को ख़ुद ही टेंट बना कर रहना पड़ रहा है। । इसे कहते है करनी और कथनी में अन्तर ।

यमुना पर बना लौहे का पुराना पुल ।

जल स्तर नापने के लिए बनाया गया मीटर ।

बाढ़ के कारण बेघर हुए लोगों के टेंट ।

बाढ़ से परेशान बच्ची ।

बाढ़ से बरबाद हुए घर ।

Posted By : Rama Shanker Pandey
Photo By : Jaishree