Ambedkar College at Bootan Mandi Jalandhar

 

Ambedkar College at Bootan Mandi Jalandhar

                     It is a matter of great satisfaction that the proposal of having a college in Bootan Mandi Jalandhar, the deemed capital of the dalits in Punjab particularly the Doaba region, has fructified. Government of Punjab under the stewardship of Captain Amrinder Singh finally got another feather in its cap by establishing – Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar Government Co-education College at Bootan Mandi to honour of the greatest son of India who visited Bootan Mandi in 1951 and rightly so. The College has started functioning from the current educational year i.e. 2021-22. I spoke to the first Principal of the College, Sarbjit Singh, an educationist and administrator and congratulated him on his elevation from the Government College Kapurthala. I found him

Ramesh Chander with the Principal

an enthusiastic person to head the new institution at an historic place. Let us hope Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar College becomes a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in the area and fully justify its existence not only as a tribute to Babasaheb Ambedkar but also in meeting the educational needs of the weaker sections of the society.

As I said that there was a long standing idea of having a college in the area. Many people contributed to realize this dream in their own way. In the recent years a non-script outfit called Sarb Samaj Sangharsh Committee agitated for the project and convinced the local MLA Sushil Rinku a young and energetic politician and others at the helm of affairs to cajole the Punjab Government to deliver in this regard. Some of the social activists of Bootan Mandi namely; Varun Kler,

Varun Kler

Jagdish Disha, Paramjit Mahey among other,

Paramjit Mahey

worked hard in pursuing the matter with the
authorities. I have been writing, as a playback singer, about the project off and on in my blogs. The end result is available on ground – Dera Ayet Daroost Ayet. Congratulations to all the stake holders and thanks to the Government of Punjab and also all the best wishes to Principal Sarbjit Singh and the teaching faculty of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar Government Co-education College. I am confident the young students would benefit from the college immensely and fully justify the need of the residents and right decisions of the government. It is a University Graduate level college for courses in humanities, to begin with.

I am told that there is some dispute or new proposal to give the adjacent plot of land earmarked for a vegetable market to the college for play ground and other extracurricular activities. The proposal seems to be good. The play grounds will not only encourage the students and residents of the area to avail of sports facilities but also provide a green-lung to the congested residential localities in the vicinity. More to have a vegetable market in the neighborhood of the college goes against the esthetics and serene atmosphere needed by the temple of learning. I humbly urge the Administration to consider the proposal to allot the adjacent plot of land to the college favourably for the benefit of the community at large.

It goes without saying that the socio-economic and political empowerment of the weaker sections of the society was the primary agenda of Babasaheb Ambedkar in whose memory the college has been named. It becomes our joint duty to see that Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar College becomes a centre of excellent education without which no empowerment is possible.

Postscript:-         

I visited Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar College on September 2 and met Principal Sarabjit Singh and members of the teaching faculty. They welcomed me and were happy that I could come on my own initiative to wish them well. While thanking them I added that, obviously, I felt happy to see that the dream of the community around was realized to the benefit of the residents of the region. We discussed some of the teething problems and irritants with regard to

the civil works while fully appreciating the efforts being done by all the concerned like MLA Sushil Rinku, PWD authorities, Financial authorities, Contractors among others. Since the academic session has started and admissions are on, students and their parents were visiting the college hope and enthusiasm.  The desired facelift of the venue and building was of utmost importance that is the main entry gate and approach road, boundary wall, porch, reception area etc. need immediate attention and completion. Principal Sarbjit Singh and the teaching faculty were hopeful that the concerned authorities would not let them down and the birth pangs would subdue in the days to come. The college would start functioning to the satisfaction of all. I would like to take this opportunity to urge the concerned to kindly look into these matters and address then appropriately. The time is of essence.