Ramayana revisited Chief Minister Arjun Munda has performed a ritual that revived memories of a controversy that had once divided tribals in the state. At a function to mark the victory of good over evil,the CM,invited as chief guest,set fire to an effigy of Ravana. When Shibu Soren was CM,he once turned down a similar invite saying he came from a family with its roots in Ravanas linegae. Some Adivasi communities had welcomed this but others had dubbed Soren a descendant of Ravana. Mundas decision to attend the function now has been welcomed by the BJP and the RSS. Our honourable Chief Minister is a nationalist, states a SMS circulated by Surendra Agrawal,an RSS activist. Sports in Red belt The government is showcasing sports as an antithesis to Naxalism. A sports department programme,the brainchild of Deputy CM Sudesh Mahato and launched in 259 blocks on Sunday,involves tournaments in football,hockey,volleyball,kho kho,kabbadi and athletics. Local clubs were already holding such tournaments,with a goat as the big prize; the department has decided on cash: Rs 25,000 for the winner,Rs 15,000 for the runner-up and Rs 5,000 for every semi-finalist. In addition,all 5,500 participants get uniforms. Mahato,a footballer himself,said. This will be an annual programme. We are sure it will prove an antithesis to terror and create a sports-friendly environment. A must-accept invite wives of IPS officers in the state,under the banner of the IPS Wives Association,have for years been organising a Diwali mela on the Jharkhand Armed Polices grounds in Doranda. This time,they have invited corporate houses such as Tata Steel,Jindal Power and Usha Martin to participate in the mela,set up stalls and advertise. The cost of an advertisement or a stall runs into four or five digits but the response was not lukewarm,says association secretary Jyoti Singh. One of those invited explained,Better to take part than upset these influential women. The money generated will be used to give scholarships to talented children of police personnel. Foreign languages The states Central University will start courses in Tibetan,Chinese and Korean by the end of the current year. The university had so far been planning to introduce Chinese and Korean; Tibetan was included after a request from the Union Defence Ministry. The ministry is looking to execute some projects in border areas where this language is spoken. Each of these language courses will be of six months. To begin with,40 graduate students will be admitted. Next year,the university plans to introduce one-year postgraduate diploma courses,says Vice Chancellor DT Khating. If all goes well,we may introduce French too.
