People often ask me what DU Beat is. And my standard answer to that is, “Well…we are an independent student newspaper”. But then what does this phrase that I so casually throw around mean. What exactly does it imply?
DU Beat is constituted by students of the Delhi University – we all come from different backgrounds and have different ways of looking at the same thing. But what unites us is our belief in the power of truth. Collectively we form the independent student organization that we call DU Beat.
Our principles aren’t very complicated, nor do they flirt meaninglessly in the realm of the flamboyant. Our principles are that of truth and freedom. We don’t believe in blotting out reality to manipulate the perceptions of our readers. For us truth is not only violated by falsehood but is equally outraged by silence.
Here in DU Beat we understand the power of expression. The power that comes with the expression of what is right. It could be in the form of a whisper. It could be a muffled grunt. It could even be a full blooded scream. It doesn’t matter how loud you are. What matters is that sitting silently as empty seconds go by isn’t going to get us anywhere. The easiest way to change things is to act yourself.
Unnervingly, it was in Spiderman that I heard a dialogue that changed the way I looked at things, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Now Spidey’s great powers and his great responsibilities are quite obviously pronounced. But the same axiom when applied to students and their powers of expression comes with its own brand of great responsibility- The responsibility of providing our readers with accurate news and most importantly, the bare truth.
As is probably apparent in my ramblings; DU Beat can’t really be defined. An Independent Student Newspaper, is more than just a phrase that can easily be categorized and explained. It’s an idea. It’s an idea that lets us believe that with the truth…there can be a spark. And with a spark, there can be a fire.
So we say, let there be truth. Let there be fire.
– Aniruddh Ghosal
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