On Tuesday, a delegation of students raising their demand to get quota for Delhiites in Delhi University met the Union Minister of Health- Dr. Harshwardhan to address the issue. Dr. Harshwarshan had reportedly assured the students to take up the matter with Mrs. Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Human Resource Development.
The argument for reservation of Delhi students in Delhi University traces its roots back to when AAP and BJP promised state wise quota in their manifestos for elections of Delhi Legislative Assembly. The students of Delhi are demanding 85% quota since every other state university provides for students of their state.
“I strongly believe that it is the need of the hour. Delhi students are forced to migrate to other universities due to rising cut offs. Other universities do have state quotas so why not in DU where there are many 100% state funded colleges”, said Vijay Kapoor, a resident of Delhi and a student of Economics Honours in Delhi University, in support of the quota. However, not all students favour this proposition. “A child’s future should not be decided on the basis of the state he belongs to but on his credentials. Since there is a similar level exam by CBSE then there is no need of partiality to students of the native state. It is quite irrelevant as it is not uplifting the deprived section of the society but giving priority to a population on the basis of region in which they live which is unfair”, said Rahul Anand, a B. com Hons student in DU from Kota.
According to the latest circular issued by the Registrar of Delhi University to different colleges, the university has decided to award some concessions in the admission of Kashmiri migrants for the academic session 2014-2015. For admission to Four Year Undergraduate programme in different streams except the courses where Entrance Exam is conducted, the wards of Kashmiri migrants will be centrally registered. The registration process will commence from 2nd June 2014 and will continue up to 16th June 2014.
The allotment of seats to the courses/colleges is to be made on the basis of preference-cum-merit, allowing not more than 3 seats in one college subject to maximum one seat for one stream. One seat in merit quota as additional seat will be reserved in each technical institute for admission to B.E courses under Faculty of Technology for the academic session 2014-2015.
The candidates can submit their applications at Academic Branch-I, Room No 218, Administrative block, University along with the prescribed documents. The list of candidates for admission to each college will be issued by the Deputy Registrar on 11th July 2014. The candidates then will have to pay the fees and to the colleges concerned for admission before 15th July 2014.
Guidelines for children/ widows of armed personnel.
The University also issued guidelines for Children/Widows of the Officers and Men of the Armed Forces including para-military personnel, killed/disabled, or those who dies/disabled on duty, Gallantry awardees for admission in the academic year 2014-15. The candidates have to submit their applications from June 2nd to June 16th 2014.
The admission list will be notified on the university’s website and the Notice Board of New Administrative Block from 1st July 2014. After the issue of provincial slips to the candidates by Academic branch-I, the candidates will have to pay the fees to the colleges concerned from July 1st to July 3rd 2014.
With an unwavering devotion to Old School Rock n Roll music and measureless energy which they offset at the stage with the purpose of making each and every person in the crowd jump out of their seats and rock with them, Delhi-based band Distortion of Mischief (DOM) proudly calls itself as ‘People’s Band’. Comprising of 5 members; Ashutosh as vocalist, Minaam as Lead Guitarist, Ishaan as Rhythm Guitarist, Guru on drums and Mahesh as Bassist, this band is a bunch of jumpy, high spirited and mischievous members which they all vow to be deeply embed in their personalities.
Here DU Beat gets in conversation with the band members and let’s see what they’ve got to say!
Q: When was your band formed? What is the genre of the music that you people usually play?
A: Distortion of Mischief was formed about 7 months ago in October 2013 after the breakdown of a previous band.
We’re into Rock n Roll and Classic Rock music.
Q: Where all has DOM performed till now? What response do you usually get from people after your performances? A: In the past 7 months we’ve played in about 17 places out of which 15 were college fests and Battles. Public response, well we can say they love us, at least our compositions, from the way they react when we’re off stage, congratulating and praising our most popular composition ‘Bombshell’.
Q: Which famous musician/artist/band does Distortion of Mischief usually take inspiration from?
A: We’re all hardcore ACDC fans. And owe them big time for what we are today. Every time we walk onstage to perform even one cover of them (which people say we do quite well), the crowd goes wild no matter where we are.
Q: How often and long do you people rehearse? What do you practice – exercises, new tunes, hard tunes, etc?
A: More than rehearsal, it’s the bonding we have between us, we do practice, but more than that hang around a lot which kind of helps us understand each other better, in turn helping us perform better. And when we’re practicing; we do more of new tunes that pops up every now and then when we jam together.
Q: What major awards, achievements has DOM bagged till now? A: Every prize we get is important in its own way…Okay that is a very old one to quote here!
But honestly it’s the crowd cheering for us that counts more than the prize. But if you insist (which you will), our first victory at Fortune Institute of International Business was the most important and memorable one.
And after that over a period of 7 months and in 15 competitions we’ve won around 11 of them.
Q: How do you see your rock band for English music fitting the culture of Indian music? What is the scope of rock music in our country? A: We’ve never felt that English was never supported in India, it always has been and we’ve been able to make many people like Distortion of Mischief and Rock n Roll too.
Q: Do you people write your own songs? What are the songs generally about? (Any specific themes) A: Yup, we write our own songs, we’ve got around 6-7 compositions in our list. The topics of our songs are mainly mischief, fun and well girls to be very honest.
Q: How do you justify the name of your band with the music that you play?
A: Distortion of Mischief is mainly all about fun and mischief. Being a band that plays Rock N Roll, we add fun and mischief to our music and performance, on stage and off stage too.
Q: Since everyone is a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands looking to get gigs and airplay some tips? A: It’s more about the music that you guys play. Stick to the genre that you’re playing and don’t think whether this genre is supported or not. If you like it, play it. Oh yeah… and don’t do drugs (laughs).
Q: Tell us one thing which you feel that sets you apart from various upcoming bands in the country.
A: We call ourselves the “People’s Band”, we’re more fun and crazy when it comes to performing. Plus we’ve got this mission to resurrect Classic Rock in this age of music, so that’s how we think we’re different.
One can find more about their upcoming gigs and music on their Facebook page.
The second day of Ambrosia 2014, the annual cultural fest of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce concluded with a series of cultural events and finally the performance of ‘Rap Da Badshah’-Bohemia live on stage.
The day kicked off with a multitude of people turning up for the Scavenger Hunt competition where the crowd searched for various odd items to complete the list in order to win. A team from DCAC which included Manan Chaudhary, Ennam Pathak, Rishabh Jain, Ravinshu Kumar Jain and Mitul Nanda won the Scavenger Hunt with the maximum items collected on the campus. This was followed by ‘Swarachit Kavita’ a self composed poetry competition where Rachita from P.G.D.A.V College won the first prize followed by Saksham of Dyal Singh College. After that there was a ‘Bad Singing’ competition which was won by Aditya Mehra of Maharaja Agrasen College.
The college also witnessed some powerful dance performances in the competitions of Western Dance and Street Dance events. Western Dance was won by ‘The Immortals’ of Satyawati College and Street Dance by ‘Zorks’ of Trinity College. The Battle of Street Dancers was won by a group called ‘Breaker 4’.
After the competitions, DJ Hitesh and rapper Dahek opened the stage for Bohemia’s performance. They interacted with the crowd and cracked jokes engaging the audience. Dahek performed his songs like ‘Aao milo’,‘Sorry Shaktiman’ and the Bollywood number ‘Mera Mann’.
Bohemia finally arrived at the stage around 6 pm amidst a large crowd that had been waiting for his performance since noon. He performed all his popular numbers like ‘Kali Denali’, ‘Sahara’, and ‘Future’. He also introduced Daler Mehndi’s son, Gurdeep Mehndi on stage and talked about their upcoming collaboration.
Adagio led the group with 13 points. It is followed by Gargi College’s Sparx and Hans Raj’s Terpsichoreon with 10 points each.
The Winning Society at a glance
Adagio, Kamala Nehru College
Adagio, the 13 member Choreography society of Kamala Nehru College has excelled at most of the fests at DU this year which including big names like Crossroads and Mecca. ‘Adagio’ also bagged second prizes at Mood Indigo (IIT Mumbai) and Oasis (BITS Pilani). “We have a close-knit group of dancers who practice a lot. We don’t focus on a single form of dance and try to make sure that we excel in every facet”, says Aseng Borang, Adagio’s President.
Note: The thirteen fests included in our analysis for this series include SRCC’s Crossroads, Gargi College’s Reverie, Sri Venkateswara College’s Nexus, LSR’s Tarang, Hans Raj’s Confluence, I.P. College for Women’s Shruti, Daulat Ram College’s Manjari, Hindu College’s Mecca, Jesus and Mary College’s Montage, Miranda House’s Tempest, Kamala Nehru College’s Ullas, Kirori Mal College’s Renaissance, SGTB Khalsa’s Lashkara. Out of the fests listed, only 8 had conducted a competitive Choreo event.]]>
The hip-swivelling goddess of pop hits, Shakira returned to American pop scene with her tenth self- titled album last week. The 37 year old songwriter and producer seems to be changing the course in her latest album after delivering some sensational hits like ‘Hips Don’t Lie’, ‘Whenever Wherever’ etc. The recent album boasts of collaborations with big names like Blake Shelton, Rihanna that makes the soundtrack interesting to look into.
The up-tempo lead single with Rihanna ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’ might be perceived as a desperate attempt for a pop-hit and the duet with Blake Shelton ‘Medicine’ that works just fine. Dare (La La La) apparently the official 2014 World Cup Song is an outgoing song with a certain electro pop feel. It seems that Shakira tries to blend rock, reggae, pop, etc that signifies a sort of multiple influences that got into making this studio album from Shakira after four years.
The Columbian star does not put much ‘Latin-ness’ in the album but only two tracks in Spanish-‘Loca Por Ti’ and the Spanish version of ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’. There are a lot of personal influences on the album with tracks like ‘23’ which she wrote for boyfriend Gerard Pique and ‘The One Thing’, the mid tempo pop track written for her son Milan. She also sings about spite in relationships in tracks like ‘You Don’t Care About Me’ and ‘Cut Me Deep’ featuring band Magic.
The Grammy winning Latin pop star falls short of fulfilling the expectations we had after her charismatic and edgy tracks but provides a sense of fulfilment when considered in the range and blend of different music genres. The lyrics lack emotion and depth and the album on the whole leaves us with ambivalent reactions and discontented with an album coming after four years.
On 14th March 2014, University of Delhi conducted its 91st Annual Convocation for Conferment of Degrees. Candidates who emerged successful in examinations of 2013 were awarded in the Convention Hall of the Viceregal Lodge, University of Delhi. Among these degrees there were 499 doctoral degrees, 35 DM/MCh degrees and 162 medals to be conferred upon the successful students.
Lt. Governer of Delhi and Rector of Delhi University, Najeeb Jung was the Chief Guest at the event who also happens to be an alumnus of Delhi University. The Vice Chancellor of Delhi University, Dinesh Singh welcomed the Chief Guest to be a part of ceremonial procession along with the Pro Vice Chancellors, Director of South Campus, Dean of Colleges, Treasurer, Registrar, Deans of all Faculties, Principals, Executive Council and Head of Departments of Delhi University.
“I do not know if these prizes mean what they should really mean to the young minds, therefore I am largely speaking to them. You must think how this recognition can be put to good use and what the real duty that descends upon you is. These medals are conferred upon you to encourage and keep working for a bright future of India”, said Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh to the 700 people who were present at the gathering.
The Lt. Governer Najeeb Jung said,” There is no greater pleasure than having the opportunity to speak to these young minds who have this enormous quantum of energy seemingly waiting to burst forth and contribute to various facets of life. This is the time for you to understand the value of internal and external peace, forthrightness and openness to accept viewpoint of others and an intrinsic belief in having an inclusive society which will only lead to peace in our country” at the annual convocation.
He quoted the verse from Rubayyat of Omar Khayyam translated into English in 1859 by Edward FitzGerald,
“Dreaming when Dawn’s Left Hand was in the Sky I heard a voice within the Tavern cry, “Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup Before Life’s Liquor in its Cup be dry.”
He emphasised on the need to remain empowered and proud, to say, “I am the master of my fate and captain of my ship” while choosing from the unlimited number of choices that life offers to the young souls at present.
“I am happy to receive the award and all my family and friends are very happy at the award conferred upon me by the University”, said Neha Lal, a BA(Honours) Journalism student from Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) who won the University Medal for securing the highest marks in her course at Delhi University.
Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan is back with another dose of hard hitting realities of the divided Indian Society, with the second season of his reality show – ‘Satyamev Jayate’. Whether you are a nationalist or not, social activist or not, this series aims to hit you where it matters. Conceived with the sole agenda of creating awareness on various social and political issues that have plagued the country, the show also gives some valuable incites on remedial actions.
Aamir Khan had created high expectations among the people with the first series highlighting various issues like domestic violence, inefficiency of medicine industry, etc. With the first episode premiering recently and centering around the issue of rapes and social degradation of women, Satyamev Jayate turns out to be a real tear-jerker yet again.
The first episode takes the cue from the shameful spectacle of 16th December 2012 that brought people out on streets to protest for Nirbhaya who was brutally raped by four men in a moving bus on the streets of Delhi . The movement shook the whole nation and Aamir Khan poignantly portrays the agony of raped women in India in the series premiere. The episode reflected how a victim of a rape is treated as a criminal in our society and numerous discrepancies haunting our judicial system, law and order and the medical industry that often delays the dispensation of justice for several decades after a girl is raped.
It is advised to sit with a box of tissues while hearing the narratives of victims featured on the show, they will truly compel you to revise your beliefs about the progressive Indian society.
While the first episode deserves all the praise and approval of the people to know all the facts of various problems of one facet of the problems that have infected the country, the series definitely appears promising to lift the curtain off people’s eyes to know the present real situation. However, there is a school of thought that believes, the show puts more effort and energy in showcasing the problems in a grandly sensitive manner, while doing less to provide concrete solutions.
Make a watch, take a stand!
The Official Trailer of Satyamev Jayate ‘Season 2’, scheduled to run for five Sundays of March’2014
th, Delhi University’s Executive Council accepted the proposal to amend the Statute 11-F (4) of the Statutes of the University, where it has been proposed that now the Vice-Chancellor would be eligible to seek a second term. Earlier the statute mentioned that the Vice-Chancellor’s term can only be extended for a year at maximum at the recommendation of the Visitor i.e. the President of India.
In 2009, the HRD Ministry wrote to all central universities to create a provision of seeking second terms for VCs when VCs of only 7 Central Universities could serve for a second term. The heads of the remaining CUs including DU and JNU were eligible for a single term only. This matter came up for discussion by the Executive Council of Delhi University this week.
Former DUTA president and chairperson of AAD, Aditya Narayan Mishra said,” I am not opposed to any individual but on a matter of principles I believe that a five year term is a good enough to provide academic leadership to any institution. The VC as of now will only get to avail the right to stand for second term but all the procedure for electing the VC would take place according to the set guidelines.”
The decision has received tough opposition and resentment by many teachers calling the day as ‘black day in the history of Delhi University’.’The V.C presiding over the meeting with an agenda that is going to be beneficial to him is very improper. It is not a good idea to perpetuate one person and not good for the University. It is against the wisdom of the parliament and the Delhi University Act and only for one person’s benefit”, said Nandita Narain, President of Delhi University’s Teacher’s Association (DUTA).
With the latest amendments, the VC now has the authority to make a search committee for the next person to hold office, which would constitute three members. It would allow the Vice Chancellor to nominate two out of the three members. The visitor, who is the President of India, will recommend the remaining name.
“The E.C members are a bunch of yes-men to the VC who could be manipulated by threats and scares of being targeting in hundreds of ways. This is constitutionally undemocratic when principals and Executive Council members are targeted”, said Narain.
“There is a huge conflict of interest within the statute itself as only one clause of re-appointment is amended without amending the clause for setting up the search committee where the outcome can be easily influenced by the VC. A nexus can set in and the VC is sending out a signal, ‘I may continue so you better behave yourself’. I want to say that movement can’t be curbed and it will continue in all possible ways which we can think of in spite of the demoralising signals the VC is sending out”, said Abha Dev Habib, an E.C member and an Assistant Professor at Miranda House, Delhi University.
The professional code of ethics for teachers as approved by the Executive Council is an exhaustive set of guidelines created by UGC in 2010 that describes the ideal code of conduct for higher education teachers.
The Code of Professional Ethics makes “violations” punishable that has emerged as a cause of alarm where it mentions that “If the circumstances so warrant, the Vice Chancellor may direct the governing body of the college to initiate action against a teacher on the grounds of misconduct, failing which the Vice Chancellor may take such action as provided for in the Act, statutes and ordinances of the university.”
“He has enlarged the scope of what is called‘misconduct’. He has given himself the power to take direct action against any teacher even if governing body doesn’t agree. He wants to crush any kind of dissent on the syllabi and conduct of teachers. He is ‘all in all’ which is very draconian and like being back to the period of Hitler in 1939”, said Nandita Narain on the amendments to the ordinances.
Image Credit: Parandeep Goswami]]>
