Archives for January 2018

Dr. Anmol Kapoor who has entertainment & educated audiences by producing some noteworthy films like Patiala Dreamz (2014), Phullu (2017) and many more has recently received a prestigious award of Immigrant of Distinction from Immigrant Services Calgary in Canada.

Each year, the Herald honors 20 Calgarians making a difference in their community or their mark on a grander stage. Their achievements are significant but, often, are outside the public spotlight. This year Dr Anmol Kapoor has been honored with the efforts he is making to keep Canada a much healthier place.

A producer & a doctor, Dr. Anmol Kapoor has always produced films which have a social message backing to it. His film Palki which was shot in India and all crew including post production was done by best of Hollywood technicians, was sent to Cannes film festival. It starred Piyush Mishra, Ritika Anand, Rajesh Sharma, Vibha Chibber and special appearance by Dr. Kumar Vishvas and touches the issues of women empowerment & education. Similarly, Phullu which was released on 16th June 2017 also raised women health issues and it starred National Award winning Movie Filmistan’s actor Sharib Hashmi in the main lead. It was critically acclaimed and we were the 1st one to touch the sanitary napkin issue through this movie.

Dr. Anmol Kapoor also partnered with International Platinum Selling Artist Raqhav and released a single with Abhishek Bachchan, Nelly and the video was shot in Africa, where they raised issues of lack of electricity in African continent and other countries. The video was very well received and “Until the Sun Comes Up” was a hit song which helped raise awareness about this important issue.

Expressing his emotions after receiving the award, Dr Anmol Kapoor averred, “When you get acknowledged as one of the immigrants of distinction that tells me that the path I’m working on is the right path and I should keep working in this direction. My work focuses on heart disease prevention, particularly amongst the South Asian community & women. It is quite difficult & challenging to raise awareness.”

Dr. Anmol Kapoor further avers, “Doctors in clinical settings aren’t used to looking at it from the patient’s angle. We’re always giving them advice & treatments but sometimes we fail to understand their background, their ethnicities & their risk factors. Some have more demands from a heart disease point of view and some have less. The challenge also is making minorities & immigrants aware of the resources available for them. They only come in contact with health – care professionals when the damage is done. I want to make them aware earlier, so we can prevent the disease & the damage.”

Dr. Anmol Kapoor, originally from India, went to a medical school in Russia, then came to Canada for more schooling, 1st in Lethbridge, then Edmonton & Winnipeg. In the fall of 2010, he arrived in Calgary.

Dr. Anmol Kapoor helped establish a clinic in Marlborough, run by nurses, that deals with some 200 heart disease patients, thereby taking the strain off hospitals. He’s also involved in developing an app that will allow patients to be triaged at home. It’s a groundbreaking project, deploying artificial intelligence that will undergo a clinical trial.

New Delhi: A plea claiming that all students of the Kendriya Vidyalayas, irrespective of their faith and belief, have to compulsorily recite a prayer based on the Hindu religion at the morning assembly, led the Supreme Court on Wednesday to seek the government’s response.

A Bench of Justices R.F. Nariman and Navin Sinha issued notice to the government on the plea which said that the morning assembly prayer was being enforced throughout the country in all the Kendriya Vidyalayas, which are also known as central schools.

The petition filed by Madhya Pradesh resident Veenayak Shah said the practise of prayer created obstacles in developing scientific temperament among students as the whole idea of God and religious faith is given immense priority and instilled as a thought-process among the students.

“Students as a result learn to develop an inclination towards seeking refuge from the almighty instead of developing a practical outcome towards the obstacles and hurdles faced in everyday life, and the spirit of enquiry and reform seems to be lost somewhere,” the plea said.

‘Prayer enforced on minorities, atheists’

The petition also said that since the prayer is being enforced, the parents and children of the minority communities as well as atheists and others find the imposition constitutionally impermissible.

Justice Shah also submitted before the court that the common prayer is a “religious instruction” within the meaning of Article 28 of the Constitution and should therefore be prohibited.

Article 28(1) of the Constitution says that no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds.

“A perusal of the prayer shows that it is based on Hindu religion and it is very different both in substance and form from the prayers of the other religious/non-religious orientations mentioned above.The issue that arises therefore is whether the state may impose the above mentioned “common prayer” on students and teachers throughout the country,” the plea said.

“Issue direction to respondents (Centre and KV) to forthwith discontinue any form of prayer from the morning assembly or otherwise in Kendriya Vidhalaya [Vidyalaya] Sangathans and to promote scientific learning among the students,” it said.

The Kendriya Vidyalayas are a system of Central government schools in India which were instituted under the aegis of the Ministry Of Human Resource Development.

The network expands to about 1,125 schools, ensuring a uniform curriculum and syllabus all over India, thus making it one of world’s largest chain of schools. These schools have been operational for over 50 years now.

(PTI)

Gurugram: Journalists here on Wednesday organised a silent protest against a FIR registered against journalist Rachna Khaira and The Tribune for exposing the flaws in the Aadhaar system.

The journalists gathered at the main gate of the Mini Secretariat located near Rajiv Chowk on Delhi-Gurugram Expressway and marched to Gurugram Deputy Commisioner Vinay Pratap Singh’s office where they submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The breach (of Aadhaar data) was a threat to national security and violation of rights of citizens. The government must appreciate the efforts of the journalist and reward her instead of punishing her,” the memorandum said.

The journalists warned that if their demands were not met, they would stage further protests.

Journalists also demanded suspension and departmental action against the UIDAI officials who, instead of owning responsibility for their lapse, got the FIR registered against the Tribune and its reporter.

After a January 3 report by The Tribune over breach in Aadhaar data, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) registered an FIR against the newspaper and reporter Khaira.

The FIR invokes serious charges under the Indian Penal Code, IT Act and Aadhaar Act.

The UIDAI move has attracted widespread criticism from press bodies, the Editors Guild and journalists across the country.

(IANS)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today said it would constitute a fresh three-member SIT, to be headed by a former high court judge, to monitor probe into 186 anti-Sikh riot cases, that followed the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, in which investigations were closed.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra asked the Centre to suggest names today itself for its consideration and appointment in the proposed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said the proposed committee will be headed by a former high court judge and consist of one retired and one serving police officer.

It also made it clear that the retired police officer shall not be below the rank of DIG at the time of his superannuation.

The apex court said the supervisory body, appointed by it has found that out of 241 cases, 186 cases were closed without investigation.

The apex court today perused the report of the supervisory body which was submitted before it in a leather box with number lock system.

(PTI)