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Gender Studies Group organises DU’s first Lesbian Film Festival

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Using the medium of film, Gender Studies Group attempted to sensitize the youth of Delhi University by organising its first Lesbian Film Festival on 26-27 September at Lecture Hall, Faculty of Social Sciences.

Gender Studies Group is an independent, University-wide student group “committed to reading, writing and thinking about gender”. It conducts reading groups and organises events around questions of gender every month.

Among the films projected was Deepa Mehta’s Fire, which was met with a lot of outrage and controversy in India in its public release year of 1998. The film revolves around the life of a woman who falls in love with her sister-in-law.

The film festival drew an audience of over a 100 students on both the days. “Women who love women are ‘invisibilised’ and erased. Same sex culture is dominated by gay men. Women are not given space to be on their own in the culture, to breathe in their own space. So, we want to create that space and focus on how to create that space,” said Aapurv Jain of Gender Studies Group. While the organisers consider the festival majorly successful, they also recall unsavoury remarks made both online and at the festival, especially related to the name of the festival.

Among other films showcased at the festival were Umbartha by Jabbar Patel and Debalina’s Ebang Bewarish and More Than a Friend. The movies were followed by a panel discussion on lesbian representation in cinema.

 

Image Credits: Gurbir Singh Sidhu

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Top Picks

5 things that made Orkut special to the Indian teenager

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It’s time to bid farewell to Orkut and the average Indian teenager is bound to walk down memory lane. Here are 5 things which made Orkut special!

1. Stalking: Orkut proved to be a boon to the lives of Indian teenagers. They were finally able to stalk their crushes while still being under the constant radar of their parents. Often the stalking went down the drain when they realised that their crush is apparently a Justin Bieber/Miley Cyrus lookalike.
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2. Fake profiles: With the evolution of Orkut many of the ‘Premlatas’ took no time to turn into ‘Pamelas’.
Well, thanks to all such Pamelas, even the nerdy Shayam had a sexy international friend to chat with!
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3. Lingo: January, 2004 marked the birth of a whole new language. Izn’t dat kewl?
An Orkut scrap wasn’t just a message from one friend to another – it seemed like a bouquet of weirdly spelled words. Srzly lyk..Oh Mah Gawd!
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4. Alias names: Teens with names like Tamil Movies such as ‘Rajendra-The Phoenix’ popped out in large numbers. Also, e-mail IDs like [email protected] and [email protected] had a whole new purpose in life.
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5. Password – key to everything!: An Orkut account’s password used to be the most precious thing a teen ever owned and losing it to their sibling meant ‘death in disguise’. After all, it would be just a matter of seconds before their parents, grandparents, maid and the family dog would know their personal chats – and personal chats pretty much say it all!
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Small Screen

The Big Bang Theory – 8 things that keep us hooked

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Season 8 is here to replace the sitcom vacuum and it is overwhelming us already. Whether we liked Penny’s pixie haircut more or Sheldon’s (and Howard’s impersonated) “nooo” from the premiere episodes of the new season is food for thought. Read on as DU Beat enlists the top 8 The Big Bang Theory elements that tickle our funny bones the most!

1. Howard’s mom jokes: Traditionally people joke about their friends’ moms, but Howard has outpaced such people. She’s a character only heard but never seen on-screen, but what we do know about her is that she is obese, loud and her moustache is bigger than Bernadette’s dad’s.
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2. Sheldon’s cocoon: For a man who needs to be petted to sleep with the lullaby, Soft Kitty, Sheldon has a lot of self-esteem. His world is the one in which ladies forever want to get into his pants and Stephen Hawking is his best friend.
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3. Raj and Amy’s quest for romance: It’s a difficult world for these two characters, desperate for affection. While Raj, who only recently started talking to women, has finally gone the distance with his girlfriend, Amy would do just about anything to make Sheldon reciprocate her feelings.
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4. Soft kitty: Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr. Are you asleep yet? Sheldon is.
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5. Regular Star Trek and Star Wars references: From a lightsaber-ed Professor Proton dressed as Obi-Wan to Raj’s breakfast menu that has Chai-Tea-3PO, TBBT has packed it all. Penny still can’t differentiate anyhow. The show also has the odd Game of Thrones reference!
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6. Bazinga!: This, along with his inimitable laugh (which is basically just him inhaling and exhaling from his mouth) is what we call Signature Sheldon. Also, it’s the title of our believable fake news column!
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7. Fun with Flags: Drained of all confidence when confronted with a camera, Sheldon still manages to humour us all with his podcast, Fun with Flags.

8. Bernadette being a boss behind her squeaky voice: It was just a mental note for me till the season premiere in which her bossiness is openly discussed by Penny and Berny’s boss. From her dad to her boyfriend, she spares no one.
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Shri Ram College of Commerce

Debating Differently: SRCC plays host to new batch of Fresher Debaters

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Shri Ram College of Commerce hosted its Annual Fresher’s Conventional Debate on September 23. The debate aims to provide first years, who are new to the parliamentary debate format, with a chance to debate in a sphere that is familiar and comfortable for them. The competition was invitational and had teams of two from 16 institutions.

The judges were legendary debaters and adjudicators Jagat Sohail (Delhi School of Economics) and Harsh Jain (Faculty of Law). They judged the participants on the basis of manner, matter, and the interjections raised. The motion for the debate was ‘This house will let it be’. The open motion saw multiple interpretations ranging from transsexuals to thought control.

For the top spot, there was a tie between National Law University,Delhi and College of Business Studies. The best speaker prize was awarded to Sukriti from CBS and best interjector went to Arunima from LSR. The event concluded with an address by the judges who gave feedback to the teams on how they could improve their speeches and on public speaking in general. This paves the way for SRCC’s Fresher’s Parliamentary Debate that aims to provide first years with a greater platform.

 

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DUB Speak

Ways to Deal With the Stress of Getting Bullied

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‘They say I am too fat, they say I am too dark, they say I am the culprit. They say I am not worthy of living in this world. If I have sinned then I should be punished. But this is not punishment, its torture.’

These words were embedded in a diary which I used to maintain when I was in the 7th Standard. While there are so many people who feel that their school life has had a positive effect on their life, I felt quite the opposite.
I did learn how to speak, how to behave, how to respect elders within the school hours but the School bus ride had always been no less than a horror to me. Getting ‘beaten’ by seniors was just an understatement. While I got beaten, I was often laughed at by my peers and juniors. What made me deserve such a ‘prize’? (That’s what they used to call it), was something that I never could understand, though I had decided to deal with the stress in my own way:

 

 Accepting yourself for who you are:

“Someday I’ll fly, Someday I’ll soar. Someday I’ll be so damn much more, Cause I’m bigger than my body gives me credit for” – Bigger than my body, John Mayer

This is probably the most important advice that you will hear and should take into account, for without this embedded into your mind, you will never get over the mental frustration and stress. You might be socially awkward, you might be gay or you might be impatient, but do not change your self for the sake of others because doing so always results in catastrophe as a result of imitating ‘something’ you are not.

 

Finding a creative outlet for the stress and the anger:

“Dedicate yourself and you are going to find yourself, standing in the hall of fame
and the world’s gonna know your name” – Hall Of Fame – The Script

This is the most constructive step that you can take to mitigate your mental frustration. I always had a knack for writing. If there was anything to let out my frustration with, it was writing. I started writing songs when I was in 9th grade which slowly motivated me to sing and play music. There are so many ways by which you can divert your anger. While painting and Photography are other common options, learning martial arts or boxing are the unorthodox ones.

 

 Being strong enough to tell your parents:

“Have no fear for giving in, have no fear for giving over. You know that in the end it’s better to say to say too much than never to say what you need to say” – Say, John Mayer

While you have ‘friends’ to help you out in some cases, it is your parent/ guardian who is most likely to come to your need. In the beginning it was always a challenge for me to tell my parents. I was scared to tell them that their son was ‘weak’, ‘awkward’ and ‘unorthodox’. But when it became absolutely necessary, they were the ones led the charge. They gave me confidence and the power to look past all the barriers and understand that it feels awesome to be who you are.

 

Sharing your life with those having similar problems:

“They are here to listen, they are your counterparts. They are who you are but they are not you. That’s the catch. It’s time to share with your match.”

The first time my school got the whiff of what I had been going through mentally, I was sent to my school counsellor. There I was made to sit next to people who were either insolent or were ill – fated ‘outcasts’ like me. We would often discuss about how we were bullied and what the people who bullied us, told us while they would give us the ‘prize’. The insolent ones would often turn out to have anger management issues. They would however feel more than happy to join us as they could see that there were people other than them who knew how to channelize their anger into things that produced constructive results. In spite of all the negativity shared, we came out of the room smiling.

 

Finding someone who accepts you for who you are:

“These labels that they give you just cause they don’t understand, if you look past this moment, you’ll see you’ve got a friend, waving a flag for who you are ” – Invisible, Hunter Hayes

Be it your best friend, your boyfriend/girlfriend or your sibling, these are the people who are always there to motivate you. They are the ones who chose you, over others and are the ones who are bound to bring a smile to your face. Your part of this trade is to keep this relationship intact. For once this jewel is lost or ‘stolen’, it is hard to get it back.

Image Credits: Mehr Gill

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Campus Central

Ad Hoc teaching staff exceeds regular teachers in Delhi University

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Four months after the FYUP ‘miscarriage’ where ad-hoc teachers were left in a jeopardy, Delhi University now witnesses ad-hoc teaching staff outnumbering the regular teachers. 5000 ‘temporary’ teachers have been apparently tagged as ‘permanently’ ad-hoc in the University. The irony behind this statement arises from the violation of UGC norms which validate the appointment of ad hoc teachers only in the time of emergency and also limits the proportion of these teachers at 10% of the total.

Permanent appointments have not taken place in the University for a long time now and the future of these teachers is put to question. With almost all colleges being the contributors to teachers’ questionable future, Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), India’s top institute also houses many more ad-hoc teachers than the permanent ones. Daulat Ram College (DRC), Atma Ram Sanatan Dharam College (ARSD), Maharaja Agarsen College (MAC) and Dyal Singh College also join SRCC’s list whereas Satyawati College(Evening) and Ram Lal Anand College (Evening) have 50:50 ratio for ad hoc and regular teachers.

According to the statement by University authorities, appointments were frozen between 2010-2013 due to the new point based system. However, Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has a different story to tell. “Since the appointment of Dinesh Singh, our present Vice Chancellor, University has stepped out of fresh teachers’ appointments. The point based system they talk about never existed for appointment of teachers. It was something only meant for promotions. However, every college had their own set of reasons for not taking in permanent teachers”, says Nandita Narain, President (DUTA).

“My game is over. I am a bad influence on everyone”: Pankaj Narang, longest term of 20 years as an ad-hoc

Pankaj Narang also seems to employed permanently now but as a temporary teacher at ARSD where there are 170 ad-hoc teachers compared to only 40 permanent ones. “I have a long association here – first as a student, then a research scholar and now a teacher. But what have I got back is absolutely nothing. My job is still not secure”, he says.

Prof. Narang teaches in Department of Physics at ARSD and he has been denied research grants to carry out research by the government. He adds, “The reason for such rejection is my status as an ad-hoc. There is zero input and the authorities expect full input from me. This is just unfortunate for me and is deliberately done by the University. I am a bad influence on everyone. No one wants to be a teacher when they look at me.” Apart from Prof. Narang, two more professors at ARSD with more than 15 years of experience are part of the ad-hoc faculty.

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DU ranked number one in India by the QS World University Rankings

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According to the QS World University Rankings for the year 2014-15 released on September 16th, Delhi University has been ranked number one in India in terms of ‘Employer Reputation’.

The QS World University Rankings consider many factors while compiling its annual list of world’s top universities. These factors include research quality, graduate employment, student-staff ratios, teaching standards and number of international students with major importance given to academic reputation. Around 800 universities around the world are rated by surveying the opinions of more than 60,000 academics about the merits of other academic institutions.

This year, the ranking of Delhi University based on ‘Employer Reputation’ has improved to the 122 making it 1st in India. On the basis of ‘Academic Reputation’, Delhi University has been ranked 196 which is also the highest rank achieved by an Indian university apart from some IITs. DU maintains its top position in India in the field of Social Science and Management with a rank of 166. DU’s worldwide rank in Arts and Humanities is 194 while it is 220 in the field of Natural Science.

Other than five IITs, Delhi University remains on the topmost position in India as per the released QS rankings of year 2014-15. In comparison with the previous year’s rankings, Delhi University has moved up by 20 ranks. Delhi University also remains on top in India apart from some IITs with a lead of 130 points from the University of Mumbai.

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Campus Central

LSR Journalism students hold their Annual Academic Meet- Juxtapose

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Vox Populi– the debate. The inaugural panel discussion, held on September 26, was on the topic ‘Election 2014: In Retrospect’ and had Ravish Kumar, Senior Executive Editor at NDTV India and R. Jagannathan, Editor at Firstpost and Firstbiz and was moderated by Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Associate Editor at the Frontline. The topic was discussed in the context of the rise of the new media in election reportage. Mr.Jagannathan highlighted that the future of media ownership was not corporate but more individual and philanthropic. He also said that the ‘mainstream’ is now increasingly becoming ‘sidestream’. Mr. Kumar expressed his opinion on the election reportage being biased and said that bias was becoming the new objectivity in journalism. In the Media Congress, the ‘Changing Contours of Conflict Journalism’ was discussed, again, in the context of the digital place. The panelists for the Congress were Srinivasan Jain, Managing Editor at NDTV 24X7, Suddhabrata Sengupta, Co-Initiator at Sarai, CSDS and Samanth Subramanan, author of The Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War. The session was moderated by journalist Shazia Nigar. The discussion not only focused on the problem of reporting from international conflict zones that journalists are currently mired in but also the reportage of internal conflicts- ranging from the Naxalite insurgency to the Maruti labour conflicts. Mr. Jain was of the view that while new media is an extremely important tool in reporting on conflict zones abroad, in India, a country where the daily newspaper still holds its relevance, the traditional media is more important. He said that while rumours or news spread on social media have tractions outside of the conflict, in India conflicts are mostly spread by traditional means for traditional reasons. Mr. Suddhabrata Sengupta spoke from the point of view of the reader rather than the media and talked about social media being an alternative space. He illustrated the importance of the social media with the example of the J & K government withdrawing internet services from time to time and the Hokkolorob movement. Mr. Sengupta spoke about the job still being the same, whether it was new media or traditional media and how the two actually complement each other. The third panel was a more conversational one where Anshul Tewari, Founder of Youth ki Awaaz and Tamseel Hussain from Oxfam India discussed about new media letting one be one’s own boss. The importance of alternative, pen and more democratic digital spaces was emphasized. The panelists also judged the ‘Minimize it’- the poster making competition where participants were given a news story which they to present in the form of a minimalist poster. The Ad-Mad competition, another on-ground competition, was also attended by a number of teams. Participants were asked to market products like ‘Humshakal Cds’ ‘Used toothbrush’ and ‘Weight gain belt’. The online competitions Panorama- the photography competition was based on the theme ‘Conflict’ and the V-Campaign- the video making contest was based on ‘social fads’. The Media Quiz saw the highest turnout and was hosted by quizmaster Kunal Savarkar from Express Minds, the top place was bagged by an IIT-JNU after a tie-breaker with a team from AIIMS. The debate was an equally successful event where students debated whether new media was killing journalism or not, it was judged by Karuna John from Tehelka. In all, the meet was an engaging collaboration between students, experts and ace journalists which gave the participants a new perspective on the rise of the new media.DSC_6195 DSC_6215 DSC_6241 Image Credits: Mugdha for DU Beat]]>

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Indraprastha College for Women

Beyond The Obvious: Indraprastha College for Women

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Indraprastha College for Women is the oldest women’s college of the University of Delhi and was founded in 1924 as a part of the nation-wide campaign for women’s education and empowerment, at the call of Annie Besant. The college premises saw a number of shifts from Old Delhi to Chandrawali Bhawan to the present Alipore House site which was the then office of the Commander-in-Chief. Having witnessed the British style parties and balls, the College is a heritage site and thus, proudly retains its architecture from the good old days.

The college is situated in the posh area of Civil Lines with an excellent metro connectivity from the college walls. Yes, the college has its own Metro Gate! The only neighbouring site to the college though is the National Centre for Vector-Borne Disease Control. But, IPites are undeterred. The college campus is sufficient enough to kill time in, it is that huge!

Free periods are mostly spent in the college’s very own Majnu ka Tilla, or the circular canteen, the library, bleachers, back lawns, gymnasium, tut-rooms, front lawns, pavilions or even empty classrooms. In winters especially, one can find girls sunbathing in the college field or soaking the sunlight in the back lawns.

While most girls like to remain in the campus, there is Moet’s-the Chinese restaurant and Mocha’s for the affluent who prefer to drop there in groups. Sant Parmanand Hospital across the college has Bikano, which is very affordable for anyone. The Momo’s Point and the Roll Point near the Metro Station are also frequently visited sites, along with the Wai-Wai noodles in the Metro station premises. You will often find girls sitting behind a narrow lane of the station, eating and smoking, or at the station steps chatting and laughing. But, the college’s favourite eatery remains the Bun-Tikki Wala aka Banta Wala, just outside the college gate. Anytime after he opens his shop, one can find around 25 girls standing and ordering his range of delicacies, rushing in and out of college between classes for the quick snack.

Is that all to a life of an IPite? No. A 40 rupee ride to Kamla Nagar and GTB Nagar is all it takes if one wishes. Shopping, partying or simply singing loudly from their cars on the Ridge is what Ipites generally enjoy doing. Technically not in Campus, but very much a part of it!
The college canteen is often flooded with students, who have a variety to offer from the menu, at affordable prices. Chhole Bhature, Dosa, Chilli Potato, Cold Coffee, Sev Puri, Juices and a lot more is never kept out of service. A huge demand is always catered by a large supply.

The college is a photographer’s heaven! With peacocks and parrots around 365 days of the year, the college’s green campus with sprawling environment all around is natural photographic scenery. IPCW boasts of a beautiful front garden with a breathtaking variety of roses and other flowers and a scenically placed fountain. Another photographic place is the graffiti wall in the college.

The college has a wide range of societies to offer. Abhivyakti, the well-reknowned DramSoc in the DU Circuit and Afroza, the much-praised Western Dance Society, amongst several others, are the proud achievers of many competitions and events, bringing much praise to the college. The college has individual achievers too, from mountaineers to academic achievers, to national-level sportswomen.

Shruti, the annual college-fest is a favourite amongst the DUites. With Singers like Kailaash Kher and Euphoria having performed here in the past, the wide range of activities keeps everyone on their toes, in a fun way. The college-hostels are proud hosts of their independent Proms/ Guest Nights, held in February, which sees a lot of enthusiasm and dancing all evening.

As a part and parcel of an IPites’ life, every student is imbibed with the values of ‘keeping the college clean and tidy’ and ‘helping the needy’. An IPite is fashionable, fun, studious, helping, aware, success-oriented, opportunistic, crazy and hungry-for-food. But, the best part is that the life of a girl of IP College is guy-free. When in IPCW, you won’t miss guys for long, you will have girlfriends and they will be your best mates for life!

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An open letter to the leaders of India and Pakistan against nuclear weapons

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Here’s the open letter Global Zero released on the occasion of International Day for Elimination of Nuclear Weapons yesterday, on the 26th of September:

– See more at: http://www.globalzero.org/#sthash.UQagjNtz.dpuf

To Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Nawaz Shareef,

India and Pakistan, two nations, two identities but with one spirit, one culture and one desire to strive towards progress and peace. However it is not only our virtues but also our vices that make us one and the same. When it comes to our security, we are both nations with misplaced priorities. On this international day for the elimination of nuclear weapons, we ask you to revisit the inapt sense of security that the nuclear weapons have brought us as individual countries and as misunderstood neighbors.

Voicing the concerns of hundreds of young activists, volunteers, and leaders from India and Pakistan, we urge you to realize that amassing nuclear weapons will only lead to disaster, not military triumph. Some four decades ago, these weapons were acquired with the vision to enhance security and bring well being to the people of India and Pakistan. However, we have already faced each other multiple times since then, be it in 1987, 1990, 1998 (Kargil Crisis) or December 2001. All these instances have been periods of extreme tension between our countries, always shadowed by the impending doom of a nuclear war.

Each time, a catastrophic nuclear exchange between our two countries was narrowly averted. Four decades later, with a new generation, new ideas and new perspectives in place, we must question how safe these weapons really make us. We now have nuclear weapons that could cause 100 times the damage caused by the atom bombs used in Japan, which killed more than 200,000 in a blink of an eye. These shattering tragedies are not just historical events but portents of a possible future for any city, anywhere. Meanwhile, we spend less than 10-12% of our budgets on improving social welfare indicators like education, yet we spend billions developing weapons to trying to develop ways to prospectively destroy each other. We are a generation that does not need to cling to weapons that drain precious resources and assure our own annihilation. We ask you to lead the path to a nuclear-free world, which is a safe haven for our coming generations.

We are a group of volunteer leaders, advocates and concerned citizens who have all come together under the international movement for the elimination of nuclear weapons, called Global Zero, fighting for a nuclear-free world by 2030.

We both are nations with misplaced priorities, but we are also nations with an upcoming generation of leaders that truly believes that they can shift mentalities, break barriers and most importantly build bridges-not more nukes.

Yours Sincerely,
Global Zero leaders from India and Pakistan

Global Zero is an organization fighting for the elimination of nuclear weapons around the world. To know more about them, visit their website.

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