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It has been 33 years since the night of 22 May, 1987 when nearly 50 Muslim men from Hashimpura, a settlement in Meerut were rounded up and packed into the rear of a truck of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), an armed police of Uttar Pradesh. It was the blessed month of Ramadan and all the Muslims were fasting.

That night 42 of those on board the truck were killed in two massacres in neighbouring Ghaziabad district. One along the Upper Ganga canal near Muradnagar, the other along the Hindon canal in Makanpur, on the border with Delhi.

The cops had returned home after dumping the dead bodies into the canal. A few days later, the dead bodies were found floating in the canal and a case of murder was registered. 

Vir Bahadur Singh was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister of India when this incident took place. 

Not much has changed for the survivors and the relatives of the victims even today. The wounds are still fresh. Hashimpura remains devoid of basic municipal amenities, the erring silence on the narrow lanes of the locality amid the activities of a daily life speaks of the horror of the fateful day in 1987.

The massacre was the result of one among the many outcomes of the decision taken by the Rajiv Gandhi government to open the locks of Babri Masjid. After a month of rioting, the situation was tense in various parts of Meerut, and a lot spilled over in the nearby areas.

Timeline

May 22, 1987

Nearly 50 Muslims picked up by the PAC personnel from Hashimpura village in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
Victims later shot and bodies thrown into a canal. 42 persons declared dead.

1988

UP government orders CB-CID probe in the case.

February 1994

CB-CID submits inquiry report indicting over 60 PAC and police personnel of all ranks.

May 20, 1996

Charge sheet filed against 19 accused before Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ghaziabad by CB-CID of Uttar Pradesh police. 161 people listed as witnesses.

September 2002

Case transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court on a petition by the families of victims and survivors.

July 2006

Delhi court frames charges of murder, attempt to murder, tampering with evidence and conspiracy under the IPC against 17 accused.

March 8, 2013

Trial court dismisses Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking probe into the alleged role of P Chidambaram, then Minister of State for Home, in the matter.

January 22, 2015

Trial court reserves judgement.

March 21, 2015

Court acquits 16 surviving accused giving them benefit of doubt regarding their identity.

May 18, 2015

Trial court decision challenged in the Delhi HC by the victims' families and eyewitnesses who survived the incident.

May 29, 2015

HC issues notice to the 16 PAC personnel on Uttar Pradesh government's appeal against the trial court verdict.

December 2015

National Human Rights Commission is impleaded in the matter. NHRC also seeks further probe into the massacre.

February 17, 2016

HC tags Swamy's appeal with the other petitions in the matter.

September 6, 2018

Delhi HC reserves verdict in the case.

October 31, 2018

Delhi HC convicts 16 former PAC personnel for life after finding them guilty of the murder of 42 people.

Education sector is set to witness one of the biggest changes in its history in the coming future in India. Emerging trends will help shift the curriculum from strictly marks based to one which takes into account a student’s overall development. Efforts are being made to make education more industry based as most of what students currently study is not something which they use when they join companies. 

The New Education policy aims to provide free education to girls, develop world class industrial workforce that is at par with global standards and provide spiritual learning for sound mental health. With the help of technological tools teachers will be able to instill and home more creative and independent thinking, problem solving and soft skills among children which have a direct impact on their ability to find good jobs in the corporate world.

Technology has already been the catalyst in overcoming some of these challenges and is now all set to underpin the emerging trends in education which will cater to the demand of individuals, learners, institutions and the industry in general. Some of the education trends powered by technology will be Augmented Reality and Gamification, Interest based learning, social and emotional learning, self paced learning, Internet of things (IoT), Block chain and the use of LTE chrome books. 

Here are the views of some of our education experts on the future of education industry in 2020 and beyond:

Dr. Narendra Shyamsukha, Founder & Chairman, ICA Edu Skills

Vocational training in India is all set to see a rise with many virtual and augmented reality simulations helping students learn and practice job skills that will result in direct employment. Vocational training courses will not only enable students to acquire different techniques but will come in handy if students want to get that extra skill which gives them an upper hand over other candidates while appearing for job interviews. Vocational training in institutes and schools will help reduce the burden on regular curriculum as education itself will become more diversified with students focusing not only on theoretical study but also on the other aspects. This will help those students in particular who have not completed primary or secondary education and have entered workforce age without these credentials.  Vocational courses require no particular experience and can be completed in a short duration and with greater use of technology in the coming years it will be way easier to impart the teachings that will enable students to get industry based jobs. 

Dr. RL Raina, Vice Chancellor, JK Lakshmipat University, Jaipur

The overall education system in India is all set to undergo a massive change in 2020 and beyond as both government-based and private educational institutions like schools and colleges will embrace technology to provide new methods of learning to students. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT), among others will equip students with skill sets and competencies that they can employ on the job and in the industries that they choose to work with. It is not news that India has an acute shortage of teachers at elementary, secondary and even at the higher levels of education. Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) of the Government of India states that there is a shortage of over a million teachers across the country. And, the usage of these new technologies in Indian classrooms is the need of the hour. The growing penetration of mobile phones in the country has helped students learn anywhere and at any time, which has prompted institutions to use digital tools for teaching as they help students learn at their own pace without feeling the pressure to match their peers. This will help every student form a basic understanding of the main concept which is crucial to the subject. The new trending technologies of today will also play a massive role in breaking down difficult concepts to students with the help of live examples, the details of which they can pay close attention to, thanks to unprecedented developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).  

Mr.Rachit Jain, Founder & CEO,Youth4Work

The New Year will be considered as a silver lining for the Indian job market. About 41% of respondents said the job market will be positive in the Year 2020. The major hiring trends for 2019 were automation, artificial intelligence and were more driven by niche skills, new-age positions and roles. Though the initial quarter of 2020 looks little gloomy since the GDP growth has gone down and the organisations are being cautious for their expansions or new initiatives, the second half of the year looks promising in terms of job opportunities of the companies resume looking at business expansion and new initiatives. In terms of salary and increments, various HR firms and experts believe the year 2020 will see a muted activity. According to the latest Q3 2019 Salary Budget Planning Report released by Willis Towers Watson, salaries in India are projected to rise 10 per cent in 2020, marginally higher than the actual increase (9.9 per cent) in 2019.

A motley group of as many as 150 birders ‘walked the chirp’ in search of their feathered friends in and around the countryside of Manipal. The occasion was the 10th Edition of Manipal Bird Day organised by Manipal Birders Group on Sunday, February 2nd, 2020.

The day began ‘Bird Walk’ from Hotel Sheela Sagar (Opposite MIT campus) at 6:30 a.m. The birders divided themselves in smaller groups of 10-12 members and followed 13 different trails which took them through different terrains like hills, plains, paddy fields and wetlands. The idea was to sight as many birds as possible and record their presence in the region.

When the walk ended at about 10:00 a.m., the different groups have recorded a total of 125 species of birds, which was a bit lesser than the sighting of the yester years. “The 10th edition this year has seen a very good growth of interest among people. At the same time a decline has been seen in the bird species sighted compared to previous years,” said one of the organisers. Some of the rare birds sighted were Indian Pitta, Oriental Turtle Dove, Fork-Tailed Drongo Cuckoo, Orange Breasted Green Pigeon, Eurasian Marsh Harrier and Malabar Pied Hornbill.

The bird walk was followed with an interaction session at KMC Food Court and MAHE Vice Chancellor Dr. H. Vinod Bhat presided over the function. He felicitated six people who actively participated recently in a rescue mission of abandoned birds in Manipal.

A program then continued with a talk on ‘Ethical Photography’ by Dhruvam Desai, final year student of MIT, Manipal. This was followed by ‘Backyard Birding’ with Shubha Bhat from IISc Bangalore. She spoke on different ways to feed the birds with water using different materials for bird baths. “I have recorded 120 species of birds from bird baths in my garden,” she said. She encouraged the participants to have bird baths in their gardens or flats which will help quench the thirst of these little winged wonders during summer.

The participants involved themselves actively in the interaction sessions. The event was accompanied with an art exhibition titled ‘Feathered Jewels’ by Aditya Bhat. He presented around 18 paintings all from his memory of birding encounters.

Participation in Manipal Bird Day was open to all and entry was free.

MANIPAL BIRD DAY

Manipal Bird Day is an annual event dedicated to celebrating birds in Manipal. This day long event brings together a large number of birders from Manipal, Udupi, Mangalore, Mysore, Bangalore, Davangere and other places. Around 150-200 people gather and are split into different teams. They visit the assigned regions and count as many birds as possible. This non competitive event focuses on spreading awareness regarding the diverse avifauna around us. Turn out for this event has been increasing from 3 people to 200 in last 10 years. This is the 10th edition of Manipal Bird Day.

MANIPAL BIRDERS CLUB

Manipal Birders Club started as a Facebook group after the release of the first edition of “A Birders Handbook to Manipal” to share information about the latest sightings. It is now a formal group of over 500 like-minded members that meets at least once a week to go on bird walks. It is now a large birders community and a medium to organize events, bird walks and discussions about birds and sightings.

The next step would be to involve a higher number of local and young birders who will dictate the change in environment around the town in the coming years. With the co operation of Zoology and natural sciences students and other nature enthusiasts and faculty of different colleges weekly birding sessions have been conducted to involve and encourage more and more people to bird and get connected to the nature and to try to understand the changes happening around us, the media release issued by the group said.