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March 29, 2017

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On 17th and 18th of March, various newspapers and online news portals carried the report of University Grants Commission (UGC) having decided to cut funding for research centres at several universities across the country that study social discrimination. According to a report  by the Telegraph, UGC has decided to cut funding for various research centers that were established under the 11th five-year plan (2007-2012) and then were later renewed in the 12th plan. While everyone was expecting a renewal of the same to take place in the 13th plan, various varsities that include such centres received circulars saying that their plan funding would end on March 31.

The Wire, reported  “According to ministry and UGC sources who spoke to the Telegraph, this order has been sent to all those centres that have not been upgraded to a full-fledged department by the universities.” It also quoted N. Sukumar, Ambedkar scholar and teacher of political science at Delhi University who said “It’s ironic that these centres, which research Dalits, B.R. Ambedkar’s philosophy, social exclusion and inclusive policies like reservation, are being closed down when the University Grants Commission (the higher education regulator) is funding courses on Vedic studies,”

 

However on 19th of March, NDTV reported that the UGC has said that the letter is “blatantly false” and “based on a forged letter. In its press release, UGC said that it has established Centers for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy in various universities in the Xth Plan on plan-to-plan basis provided these Centres give a satisfactory progress in the areas of their focus.  Keeping in view the same procedure the UGC would be extending these Centres from 1st April, 2017 onwards.   Reiterating what NDTV said, the UGC claimed that the letter in the newspaper is a forged one and has not been issued by Ms. Sushma Rathore, the undersecretary of UGC. It also reaffirmed that no records of theirs show such a letter being sent and that legal action would be taken against the person behind this forgery.

 

Image Credits: www.freepressjournal.in

 

Aditya Narang

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The Placement Season for Shri Ram College of Commerce this year began in the month of August, open to a variety of job profiles like Investment Banking, Consultancy, Finance, Audit, Marketing, Sales, etc. The Placement Cell was successful in bringing the biggest names in the industry on campus. Be it the consulting giant McKinsey & Company or the highest paymasters Parthenon-EY and Barclays Capital, every company that has visited the college so far has been impressed by the caliber of the students.

This year turned out to be a success with a placement of 340 students, the highest package being 30 Lakhs per annum. Over 50 companies have visited the campus such as Deutsche Bank, Citi Bank, JP Morgan, Barclays Capital, McKinsey & Company, A.T. Kearney, etc. First-time recruiters included JP Morgan, Facebook, etc. The college saw the advent of many internship companies such as DSP BlackRock too.

Companies from the finance sector worked out to be 20% of the companies on campus whereas consulting and banking companies had a share of 29%and 10% respectively. The average package increased from Rs. 6 Lakhs per annum to Rs, 6.5 Lakhs per annum for the year 2016-17.

 

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Figure 1: Diagram represents the sector-wise distribution of recruiters.

– The Placement Cell, Shri Ram College of Commerce.

In  a world where there are 5 steps for everything, be it flying to the sun, we come up with three, even lesser than 5,  infallible ways to win our elections.

Being the proud denizens of the great republic of India, we have had the unequal privilege of enjoying the unpredictability of the vibrant Indian democracy for almost 70 years. Our pious elections are won by the virtue of a candidate’s flawless track record, unquestionable honesty and  knack for development and public welfare, a manifesto which caters aspirations of the people and numerous other paradigms of dharma; so were you told by the political science textbook of class 10th.

Now these are difficult boxes to tick and hence results generally used to be a surprise.

But not anymore. Here we come with 3 foolproof tricks which are 100% guaranteed to make a party rise above the rest and come up with flying (saffron, preferably) colours in a general election.

 

  1.   The Time Factor.

You must have heard the saying that early bird catches the worm. So here is the trick- Hijack the social media and you have hijacked the minds. If you are ruling currently, start projecting your achievements, scarce they may be. If you are on the other side of the table, fret not. Start with bashing the ruling party. Next run to a poet and come up with some jumlas or some cool acronyms. The most important part, start selling dreams and other lures. Hesitate to nothing, even sky is not the limit anymore. (Need a hint- How about making petrol completely free? ). Fake data, false stats, or illegit allegations, all is fair.

 

  1.   The Mr. X. factor

Not having a very good candidate, worry not. Find a superstar campaigner. Or else hire one. Works magic if you have the prime minister campaigning for you.

 

  1. Vote Management.

Now that you are done with campaigns and false claims, it’s time for the finishing move a.k.a polarisation. But you don’t have to do the dirty work, just make an air of it. Media will instantly go gaga. Your opponents will consequently voice minority, hence irate majority and lo! your mission is accomplished. To hell with social fabrics, only winning counts.

 

Picture credits- rediff.com

 

Nikhil Kumar

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A student spends most of his/her day in the campus, but is it really a safe place? With recent incidents of sexual harassment at college fests, the dilemma has become even more prominent in the eyes of the youth.

Meghna Singh, a student from Miranda House, got masturbated on at SRCC’s annual fest, Crossroads. But she isn’t the only one who has gone through an assault like this – many students have recounted their horrific accounts where they have been sexually harassed on campus. When Meghna told the details of what happened with her at SRCC on social media, thousands of people didn’t believe her. Soon enough, she became the topic for jokes, memes and internet trolls where people labelled her as a liar.

Meghna’s story might be the first one to surface online, but it isn’t the first time a girl on campus has been assaulted like this. Sukhwinder Singh’s gig at Hindu College’s fest Mecca also saw a molestation incident where a girl got groped twice in public. One would think that being a student friendly area, the campus would be a safe place where one could walk freely, but is that really so?

Public gatherings like fests and concerts have witnessed many incidents like this take place and most of the time the victims don’t talk about it. And not just public gatherings; horrific incidents involving middle aged men on bikes stopping in front of girls’ PGs and masturbating to the ones standing in the balcony occur on campus on a daily basis.

Roads around colleges become almost abandoned after college gets over, because of the hostel/PG deadlines, and the empty streets have become a nightmare for anyone who is walking on them post 8 pm. Theft and assaults happen regularly and the police is doing the least about it.

As a resident of the campus and a student of the University, me and my friends have faced similar situations where the length of our skirts got men on bikes to slow down next to our rickshaws and call us out. Where simply walking on the roads of Kamla Nagar have gotten old men to masturbate to us. Where being part of protests got us groped and threatened with rape.

On a campus that is clearly not safe, it is appalling that people had problems believing Meghna’s story.

 

Image credits: DU Express

 

Anagha Rakta

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“They shouldn’t have done this. It was really hectic for us. Think, when you have to choose between SRCC and Hindu, it’s not easy” said my senior who was not so happy over the clash that happened within two of the big fests this season. He was confused whether he was angry at the organizers or sad because it was his last fest season. He did not seem so comfortable to discuss the fact now that the fest season was over, the next happening thing was his ‘Farewell’.

As fest season drew its curtains with lots of competitions, DJ Nights and celebrity performances, now students are busy with raking up their assignments, internals and course work, till this cycle is broken by the next big event hits the campus i.e- farewell. As the fool’s day gets over, juniors in department, societies will get busy with meetings and work towards giving a good farewell to their seniors. Admissions, elections, semester exams, fests, farewell and semester exams, these events have created a cycle in the cultural life of the university. Sadly, while the fest season is filled with joy, the farewell season which follows would see lot of swollen eyes filled with tears.

Sometimes with cards, sometimes with lighted photo frames- juniors use different ways to organise farewell so that their seniors have the best experience. Since the seniors have spent years in this same college, this is one of the memories that they are going to carry with them for life hence juniors don’t miss this opportunity to give their best in making the farewell function unique.

“I like these small lights around the frame. They are so adorable”, I remember these words said during a visit to Rajiv Chowk by the senior who seemed confused in the earlier part of this article. This makes me realise that I have to visit Rajiv Chowk to buy his farewell gift. As I make a note, and now that you have finished reading this article go ahead and tag your juniors who are going to give you a farewell or seniors whom you are going to give a farewell in the comments section. And don’t forget to share your farewell ideas and demands in the same.

 

Image Credits: en.paperblog.com

Srivedant Kar

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Ullas, Kamala Nehru College’s annual cultural fest, being held on 22nd and 23rd March 2017, began with a power-packed morning. There was an air of hustle bustle, along with several attendees who gathered within the college premises to give this much anticipated fest an energetic start.

The fest was inaugurated by Ms. Shikha Sharma, the CEO of Axis Bank and accompanied by the Principal, Dr. Kalpana Bhakuni. The inauguration consisted of lighting the lamp, followed by a keynote address by the chief guest and the Principal. After the fest was declared open, a variety of cultural events were all set to take place and enthral the audiences.

The enthralling western dance competition, Indian solo and group dance competition, and Indian choir competition were amongst the most popular events on the first day. The solo and group Indian classical dance event, hosted by Nupur, the Indian dance society of Kamala Nehru College, was one of the first events wherein the audience witnessed mesmerising dances from across the nation, be it Oddisi or Mohiniattam. The Indian music society of Kamala Nehru College, Sangeetika, held the Indian choir competition, which was a treat to the ears for all those who attended this musical morning consisting of ragas and taals. A thrilling event as always, the western dance competition had the entire auditorium packed to the brim, with students cheering for the participating teams. As the teams grooved along to catchy renditions of popular songs, the performances were a major hit.

indian-folk-dance ullas-winners indian-choir western-dance-competition

Day 1 ended with three musical performances by a number of celebrities. First, Hamsa Band got the audience all geared up and had them singing along to their renditions of popular Bollywood songs. Some of these included latest hits such as “Humma Humma” as well as some nostalgic numbers like “Hum Kis Galli Jaa Rahe Hain”.

Next up, Dhruv Sangari started the Sufiana Night with dim lights and soft sounds. After his soothing performance, the day was finally concluded by a performance from the renowned Nizami Brothers, who left the audience feeling calm and relaxed after such a full day. Ullas 2017 was off to a great start on its first day!

The second day of the annual cultural fest of Kamala Nehru College, Ullas’17, started off with the incredible performances of the Western Music Choirs of various colleges in the event Rhythm and Blues hosted by Zephyr, the Western  Music Society of Kamala Nehru College. Nrityakriti, a choreography competition curated by Adagio, the choreography society of Kamala Nehru College saw the participation of DU’s most exuberant dance creations which revolved around socially charged themes.

LaVogue, a fashion show competition organised by Glitz, the Fashion society of Kamala Nehru College saw glamour, poise and style of the best kind. The warm afternoon witnessed excited spirits with the electrifying performances exhibited at the Bass Drop, the band competition. The event saw motley of genres entertaining the crowd.

The musical high was carried forward by DJ Mash and Monkey Junk with the EDM evening. With groovy renditions, the contemporary hits mixed with adrenaline pumping beats were thoroughly enjoyed by the audience.

The two-day extravaganza pulled its curtains with the charged crowd dancing to the much-anticipated Star Night with the famous singer, Jubin Nautiyal, of ‘Humma Humma Again’ fame. As Ullas 2017 came to a close, the crowd exuberantly grooved towards the culmination of an enthralling fest.

Featured Image Credits: Sahil Chauhan for DU Beat

Saumya Kalia
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Vineeta Rana
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Joyee Bhattacharya
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Niharika Dabral
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Radhika Boruah
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