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Double-Edged Sword: A Brief of the Unnao Rape Case

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In the light of the recent Unnao rape and assault case, it can be discerned that there is a double-edged sword of patriarchy and poverty looming over the justice system for crimes against women.

 

In 2017, 17-year-old goes missing from her village, Mankhi in Uttar Pradesh. She was allegedly gang-raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, his brother Atul Singh and their goons. The only association she had with the four-time Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bangermau was that she had approached him for a job. Her family filed a missing person case with the police, and the girl was found in Auraiya village, two weeks later.

 

The next day, a case under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against the men. The next developments, in this case, took place more than a year later, when in April 2018, Sengar was arrested days after the girl threatened to set herself aflame outside Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence in Lucknow. In the meantime, her father was arrested in an arms case and died in police custody. It has been alleged that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has deliberately left out the names of MLA Sengar and his brother in the case of the victim’s father’s death.

 

in the face of such brazen show of power, the family wrote to the Chief Justice of India on July 12, requesting refuge in the face of grave danger from the accused. Earlier last month, the uncle of the survivor was convicted in a 19-year-old case of attempt to murder that had been filed by Atul Singh. A few days later, in Rae Bareli, a truck-car collision (where the number-plate of the truck had been blackened) left the girl and her lawyer critically injured and two of her aunts were killed in the accident. The truck-driver and cleaner of this truck have been asked to undergo a narco test by the CBI.

 

Currently, the victim is battling for her life at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi now with multiple fractures, head and chest injuries, her lawyer is also on ventilator support. Meanwhile, the CBI has promised to take action against the Station House Officer (SHO) of Mankhi for causing deliberate delays in recording the victim’s complaints.

 

On August 1st, MLA Sengar was expelled by the central leadership of his political party and the Supreme Court transferred five cases of crimes committed against the rape survivor and her family from a CBI court in Lucknow to its counterpart in Delhi and ordered the UP government to pay her INR 25 lakh as interim compensation. The Tis Hazari court of Delhi has also found prima facie evidence to frame charges of rape, kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy against Sengar. He will also be charged under some sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

 

 

UP has a high rate of crimes against women, mainly because many are reported, unlike in some other States. According to National Crime Records Bureau figures, released in 2016 – the last time data were uploaded – of the 38,947 cases of rape reported, the second highest was from U.P. (4,816). As for all crimes against women, Uttar Pradesh reported 14.5% (49,262 out of 3,38,954 cases) of the total, according to a report by The Hindu.

 

In a state where the abuse of power by virtue of political or bureaucratic connections has been the norm, the delivery of justice to the poor and backward sections of the society has always been a concern for law-keepers and policy-makers. In the specific context of crimes against women, there is also the added layer of complexity with respect to the inherent patriarchal values that have been normalised in the psyche of people for ages. The compensation to the victim and her family might bring some relief, despite the inordinate delay in justice but the reality is that even seven years since the shocking Nirbhaya case of Delhi, nothing changes on ground-zero. German professor Maria Mies once said, ‘Peace in patriarchy is a war against women,’ a statement that aptly summarises the reality of the justice system with respect to crimes against women in our country.

 

The rampant impunity of crimes against women and the outrageously unsafe living conditions in our society have failed each female of our nation, each day.

 

Image Caption: Accused MLA Kuldeep Sengar from Bangermau, Uttar Pradesh

Image Credits: Indian Express

 

Bhavya Pandey

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Arts & Culture

St. Stephen’s College and India’s freedom

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‘People who study in these colleges are nationalists’ was chanted all throughout the country when students of University of Delhi(DU) either climbed walls to be part of Quit India movement or colleges gave shelters to the revolutionaries.

 

Despite that, DU contributed actively in the form of cadre and infrastructure in the Indian freedom struggle. In the University’s contribution to the freedom struggle, St. Stephens college played a prominent role.

The college has been a dreamland for all, known for its excellence in education and holistic growth of its students, St. Stephens College is rightly one of the top colleges, the University of Delhi has to offer.

The college was founded on 1 February 1881. Along with Ramjas College and Hindu College, it was one of the first three colleges to be affiliated to University of Delhi (DU).

If only one could lean over to listen to the walls of St. Stephens College, one would witness tales of bravery and patriotism.

St Stephen’s College along with Ramjas College played a vital role during nationalist movements such as the Non-cooperation movement and the civil disobedience movement.

Lala Hardayal, the first revolutionary, and Sir Chhotu Ram, who became the leader of Unionist Party of Punjab, hailed from St. Stephens College.

Aditya Rajendra Kumar, BA Programme, First Year, St. Stephens College told DU Beat that “It feels very humbling and slightly dizzying to know that I walk the same halls where the destiny of the country was decided”

They say that the only real freedom is freedom from fear and people in St. Stephens college were absolutely fearless. The desire to see a Free India surpassed the students and even resonated with the teachers as they were also an active part of the national freedom movements.

According to the official website of St. Stephen’s College, Charles Freer Andrews, an English teacher in the college, was known for his work as a conciliator and fighter against social injustice and political exploitation. Andrews was close friends with Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. It is said that Andrews went to South Africa in 1914 to persuade Gandhi to come to India and lead the freedom movement.

Perhaps not many know the connection St. Stephens college shares with Mahatma Gandhi and with being the place where many leaders sat and decided the country’s future. For venerable St Stephens College, Mahatma Gandhi had a very special relationship, Gandhiji on his maiden visit to Delhi (after he came back from South Africa in 1915) had stayed with the principal of the college, Prof Sushil Kumar Rudra, inside the college premises.

Gandhiji stayed in Delhi from April 12 to April 14, 1915. During those days, the college used to run from the building in Kashmiri Gate. According to eminent historians of Delhi, he had confined to college premises on the first day. Some teachers, though, came to see him. They were keen to know as to how he fought for the rights of blacks in South Africa.

On the second day of his stay, students and teachers from nearby Hindu College came to meet him. The draft for the Non-Cooperation Movement and the open letter to the Viceroy, giving concrete shape to the Khilafat claim were prepared at principal Rudra’s house at Kashmere Gate.  A photograph, recording this visit of Mahatma and Kasturba Gandhi is still there in the principal’s office.

IMAGE 2

Gandhiji And Kasturba Gandhi at St. Stephens College when they first visited Delhi.

In the times when the British Government manifested high into the roots of the country, the time when they even controlled the funds of the University of Delhi. There was CB Young, an English professor and editor of the college magazine, who had the valour to write against the reigning government condemning the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Stephens has a glorious tradition and the fact that our college had participated in the national struggle is a significant indication of its commitment to noble ideals of patriotism and service to the nation.

Anushka Dasgupta, St Stephen’s College, BA History, First-Year said “We feel proud to have come into this inheritance and feel that it is our responsibility to keep up the ideals of our institution. It’s during the difficult times of our nation that we the youths come together and prove to be a true Stephanian.”

There was not a hint of fear in then, just 19 years old students when they went to great lengths for freedom. They actively participated in protests during various phases of the Indian Freedom Struggle. In 1946, Sameeruddin Khan, a Stephanian, disrupted the morning assembly and with 50 to 100 boys, they boycotted classes, organised a protest march, and pulled down the Union Jack from the flagstaff. Though the college was mostly run by Christian missionaries, it produced many freedom fighters like Amir Chand, Asaf Ali, Awadh Bihari, Brij Krishna Chandiwala.

On a quiet day, one could lean over to listen to the walls of St. Stephens College and one would witness tales of bravery and patriotism.

 

 

Image credits :

  1. edu
  2. Quint

Chhavi Bahmba

[email protected]

 

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Arts & Culture

Ramjas College and India’s road to freedom

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With more than a hundred years of its humble existence, Ramjas College stands tall as one of the most integral and defining colleges of the University of Delhi. Dig in deep to know how Ramjas contributed during the freedom struggle of India and has left its impressions in the history of our country’s independence movement.

Founded by the great educationist and philanthropist, Rai Kedar Nath, Ramjas College, stands mighty, more than a hundred years after it opened its doors to the students. Being one of the oldest colleges of Delhi, it was initially affiliated with University of Punjab, Lahore up to intermediate level.

The college has played greatly when it comes to the independence struggle of India. During the Quit India Movement in the year 1942, a group of students from the college had participated in the Quit India movement and had to face the repercussions from the British. In order to honour their brave spirit, a plaque with their names had been put up in the college in their memory some years later after India attained its Independence.

A part of the plaque reads, “This plaque is being erected in the cherished memory of Ramjasians who valiantly and fearlessly participated in the Quit India Movement-1942 and suffered imprisonment and privatisations.”

 

 ramjas plaque

A plaque at the Ramjas college which has the names of the students who took part in the independence movement

As a part of oral histories of the college, it is also believed that during the time of the freedom struggle, the famous freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad took refuge in the college by disguising himself as a Sikh student from Pakistan.

Two of the college’s students, Ram Bihari Mathur and Saxena have sentenced life imprisonment and were shipped off to the islands of Andaman by the British forces.

The college played a monumental role in education by running in two shifts during the Partition, much like IP College in order to cater to students who came from the Lahore University and had migrated as a result of the partition.

The college was later inaugurated at its new location by Mahatma Gandhi, thereby reinforcing the strong ties of nationalism and patriotism which are associated with the college.

With Dr B.R. Ambedkar as the Chairman of the Governing Body of the college, the institution had the honour of having him on the chair.

Amongst other dignitaries, Dr Rajendra Prasad had inaugurated the current building of the college.

Even after the independence struggle, the college continued to host people from varied political spectrums but with one common goal- of reaching the mission of leading lives with dignity and giving value to human life, no matter what race, colour or background a person might have. This was also emphasised in the late 1950s when the famous black American leader Dr Martin Luther King Junior paid a visit to the college and gave a memorable speech to the students.

As the college ventures into its 103rd year, it continues to be a living legacy which has stood the tests of times and continues to be a leading figure in the sphere of contemporary Indian politics and stands as a major turf for moulding students as leaders of tomorrow.

 

Image credits

  1. Aakarsh Gupta for DU Beat
  2. Udeshay Khurana for DU Beat

Amrashree Mishra

[email protected]

 

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Admissions

CYSS Organises Protest for Fee Reduction and Hostel Reservations

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The party members of Chathra Yuva Sangharsh Samithi (CYSS) protested in front of the Arts Faculty today. They demanded a reduction of fees and, hostel facilities for the he OBC and EWS category students.

CYSS, the student wing of Aam Aadmi Party, held a protest in the Arts Faculty. The protest began at 11:30 in the morning continued till three in the afternoon. The protest saw many party workers with banners and posters, shouting various kinds of slogans. 

The march was being led by, Delhi-region State President, Mr. Sumit Yadav. The protest was organised against the fee hike in various colleges and the lack of admissions of students of OBC students postgraduate hostels. It aldo focused on the provision of admissions to OBC and EWS category students in law and other postgraduate courses.

The University had recently increased the fee in various colleges like Mata Sundari. The lack of reservations has been an issue in the University of Delhi (DU) hostels where students are given seats on rank and vacancy basis making it impossible for students of reserved categories to secure admissions in hostels.

However, other than these issues, the issue of a young Muslim girl wanting to seek admission was also raised. 

Afshan, a postgraduate aspirant, wanted to seek admission in DU after completing her graduation from Zakhir Hussain College. She believes that she was prohibited from giving her entrance because of her name which indicated she was a Muslim. 

In addressing the gathering and DU Beat, Afshan said in her speech, translated from Hindi here- “I graduated a year back in 2018 from the University, people here say things like ‘Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao’ yet I have been struggling for two years now for getting my admission done. There was a girl in Unnao who was silenced for asking justice and that’s what they are doing to me. I wanted justice for my education and my leg shivers stating what they’ve done to me. I’ve been blackmailed and told they will ruin my documents as well. I filed a complaint, yet there is no investigation. They say they’ll abduct me. I feel shivers down my spine.” 

She later tried to get in the conference hall of the University, yet she was stopped. There were policewomen ready to tackle her. After a long quarrel, she was finally admitted in the conference hall.  

Later, DU Beat interviewed Mr. Sumit Yadav, Delhi-region State President. He stated, “DU is considered one of the best institutions in the country. All the students across the country even people from rural places of Delhi like Najafgarh choose DU because they get a great education at lower price. Now due to privatisation, they’ve increased the prizes. Our party has always been against privatisation and we’ve been raising our voices for the same.”

The various slogans shouted out were “Chhatro par ab reham, karo fees hamari kam karo ( Have some mercy on the students, reduce fees now)” and “Rehne ko awas chahiye humko Chathrawas chahiye (We need shelter to stay, we need students to have homes)”. They also had slogans critiquing the Vice Chancellor’s inability to provide adequate hostel facilities.

The Party members marched towards gate number four but were stopped by the guards and were not permitted to cross. The situation turned hostile when members tried to climb the gates and cross it over. The guards were forced to push them back. 

“We are protesting here against the fee hike in various colleges which has been implemented this year, that is from ten thousand to twenty-five thousand rupees. It deters students from poor backgrounds from courses diversity courses  as they cannot afford such high fees. We are also protesting again courses as of hostel facilities because of which students are exploited by PG owners to pay very high fees,” said Mr. Hariom Prabhakar who is the General Secretary of CYSS, while in conversation with DU Beat.

Feature Image Credits: Stephen Mathew for DU Beat

Stephen Mathew

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Chhavi Bahmba 

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

To the Indians Who Love Their Bharat Maa, Let’s Focus on Mother Earth?

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Indian political discourse manages to stay off climate change. Read on to find out the reasons and implications of this ignorance. 

In India, there is a water crisis in several states. Case in point: Chennai. We are a leading country in population, and have leading cities in pollution- to the effect that being a non-smoker in Delhi is no longer possible, as we all breathe in toxic fumes. Ghaziapur garbage dump is as tall as Qutub Minar, among other dumps in Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai. One-third of Himalayan ice caps will not survive this effect of climate change; the melting of glaciers has doubled in the last two decades. It will only increase in some time. There is close to no rain in Delhi, but the regular floods in Mumbai, Assam, and Bihar are not unheard of. 

Despite the deteriorating situations, climate change and environmental policies were still not a priority during the elections. Jobs, corruption, and security have always remained popular ideas in the country’s political discourse. This sadly reflects on what the voter-base wants to hear, and shows that we still have a long way to go. Among various reasons for this ignorance, poverty and illiteracy become major factors. For a starving family of unemployed seven or eight people, living in a makeshift tent under a flyover, a square meal will be more important. But who will be affected immediately, and to the worst effect in this situation of climate change? The majority of our population includes people with no homes, who barely make their ends meet, and they will all face the brunt of this (ignorance) the most.

The image of mother, or Maa in Hindi, is highly glorified. The mother, who is called the backbone of the family—in line with the pedestalised notions of motherhood—is only talked about when there is a need to evoke a sense of nationalism or to emphasise the proverbial self-sacrificing nature of women. But between the loud traffic and noises blaring on news channels, all the screaming voices in our country hardly say anything for our ‘Mother’ Earth. 

The crux of the matter is that India needs more environmental policies and laws to be enacted and strictly enforced. Class twelfth Political Science books talk about how after the British drained our resources, it took several years for us to realise the problem, and only much later were we able to rectify them—we are heading down this path again. It is not the time to convince people if climate change is real, because it is. 

The Ministry of Environment and Forests needs to be seen as the highest profile allotted in any cabinet. Simply because currently, environmental issues are not the focus point; our existing policies do not suffice and many of our policies allow industrialists to cut down trees in bulk, and we are ill-equipped to manage any natural disasters. 

Recently, the Garbage Café in Chhattisgarh has acknowledged an important concern. It will open next month, and take certain kilograms of garbage to provide food to people. This café will open in Ambikapur, India’s second cleanest city. A similar story was heard about a school in Assam, which provides schooling to children in exchange of plastic waste. Another revolutionary idea was the Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals having been made from 80,000 tonnes of recycled electronics and mobiles. 

Theories on the world ending in 2012 gained a lot of traction, but scientists telling us how to protect this Earth—an act for which we pointedly have time till 2030—is yet to make as big of an impact as a movie. These ideas that have been proposed are unique solutions to fighting multiple problems together. But they are yet to gain the social mileage that they deserve. The Indian political discourse needs to change and reflect today’s problems to fight the real enemy. 

Feature Image Credits: MIT Technology Review

Shivani Dadhwal

[email protected]

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Arts & Culture

Judging Judgemental Hai Kya

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Despite scrutiny and debate over its film’s title and political correctness, after watching the film it seems that this title persists as a more appropriate one.

Plot Devices are generally evasive and cut short. They are supposed to be a tool of getting across a point. They are the basis of any film, a defining characteristic for any character or just there to prove a point. Mental illnesses become plot devises for many films, to either explain a villain’s psychopathic tendencies or well, or to explain something inconsequential.

Judgemental Hai Kya is built on a story of mental illness, of Bobby Batliwala trying to live in the world with voices in her head. The film takes you inside her headspace. It is loud, clumsy, cluttered, convoluted, chaotic and curious. Here, this acute psychosis of her isn’t just a plot device to explain why she is the way she is. It is the story of her accepting it and moving on with it, being unapologetic of those voices, and images, and peoples, and ideas.

I wouldn’t call this romanticising like many would suspect it to be. The film delves into the dark side of her obsession and mental instability. They are sensitive towards it and begin it all with a flashback of her life’s tragedy.

This is a simple thriller involving murder, accusations, funny cops, a time leap, realisations and pretences culminating in a fiery climax, all this made complex by its stock characters played by the ever-dependable Rajkumar Rao and the brutally hardworking Kangana Ranaut.

Bobby’s character has the most weightlifting to do; it is the story of her paranoid turning real depicted by the constant eerie background music, the comparisons to the reel life characters she voices and her hallucinations. Her perspective is the one which remains constant and her point of view is as vibrant and startling as it can get.

This movie is a cinematic representation of how perspective works. The camera moves along with Bobby as if she is putting herself inside what she is seeing and experiencing. Her hallucinations, the cockroaches, the fire and the Ramayana characters in her head, everything works out precisely.

We see people inside and outside the screen judging her for the way she is. Hence, the title works. No one stops to sympathise or empathise with her and she doesn’t even need it. She remains an unstable weirdo for many and it questions our innate reactions towards everyone, and how problematic they can be. More than once several characters say ‘Voh Paagal Hai! (She is mad)’ meaning it in a colloquial sense, just the way many of us in the audience also do.

In the end, she doesn’t even pretend to not see or get bothered these judgments being passed, rather, she embraces them, calling herself mad, being okay with the abnormality in her perspective. This again might sound romanticising these ideals, but it works as way more than that. It is a commentary on the way our society refuses to think beyond pretences, outlooks, words, and behaviours.

Judgemental Hai Kya might have the most meaningfully presented and meticulously crafted opening credits in a Bollywood film in a very long time. They gave me chills in the very beginning even before the film began. It reminded me of The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson where he uses real-life statistics of violence against females in Poland when a new part in his novel began to re-emphasize that his story might be fiction, but this story is real for many.

 

Image Credits: Times of India

Sakshi Arora

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Campus Central

One Mind, A Million Thoughts: How to Deal with Them?

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The University of Delhi (DU) commenced its new academic session 2019-20 on 20th July 2019, with over 62,000 freshers joining the Varsity this year. Here are a few thoughts, fears, and anxieties that may be numbing the minds of all freshers, and how to cope up with them.

Freshmen hailing from all parts of the country (and some even from outside the country!) have started on their three-year journey with immense zeal and excitement. Apparently, there are a million thoughts flocking in the minds of the new-comers to the Varsity. The diversity in the student composition of the University is immense, and so is in their thoughts. Some possess a desire to shine out in the crowd, while some are willing to remain just the way they are.

But don’t worry, we are here to help! In pursuance of a better understanding of dealing with these thoughts, here are a few things that we did to make ourselves feel comfortable in the same space.

 

  • Nostalgia– This is one feeling that has clenched us every time an era has come to an end, and a new phase of life has started. Sometimes, being nostalgic is soothing. But more often, nostalgia is depressive, and restricts our ability to initiate a new start. Kashvi Verma, a first-year student in Political Science at Kirorimal College said, “I’ve been missing school a lot lately! I really didn’t think that would happen because I was too excited for college, but reaching here, I started to miss all the busy work schedules I had in school, all my friends, etc. I felt welcomed in school, but here it’s all so different, suddenly, that it makes me want to go back. But I am trying, to be comfortable with it.”

 

Coping Mechanism:-
Make new friends from your own batch, they are all on the same page as you, and you are all going to make some ecstatic memories together.
Start getting involved in your college’s societies which will keep you engaged and you will get lesser time to think about how the past made you feel more comfortable. (And believe it, this is all going to settle down in a while, just give it some time, that’s all it needs!)

 

  • “I don’t know how to make friends, I’m lonely!”– This feeling need not be stressed over much because everyone has had this coming back to us multiple times for the entire duration of the first semester at least. A lot of times we’ve heard freshmen exclaiming, “What if they (fellow batchmates) judge me for my appearance?”, “Whether I’m impactful enough or not?”, “What if everybody hates me already?” This is something that all of us have struggled with at the beginning of college but we’ve all met the same conclusion, that it will end very soon, and the end is going to be beautiful. Garvit Goswami, a first-year student in Economics at Shri Ram College of Commerce said, “Thankfully, I managed to make quite a few friends on the day of my admission and on the orientation. But if that wouldn’t have happened, I can only imagine how lonely I would have been for the entire first week

 

Coping Mechanism:
You need not break out of your eggshell right in the beginning, but eventually, when you start feeling a little comfortable and confident you will have to make an effort, too, to be able to interact with the people around you and make a space for yourself in this ‘group’.
Don’t be afraid of being judged, everyone with you is in the same place as you and are entangled in the same thoughts as you.
Be firm and confident about what you are wearing, and how you are behaving.
Have a friendly appearance with a welcoming smile-  you will end up making a bunch of friends.

 

  • Popularity– Bollywood has definitely created a very misleading impression about college life in its series of “Student of the Year”, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” and “Main Hoon Na”. And let’s face it, everybody who’s been acing their fields in the micro-world of school, and comes to college thinking that the same will happen in the large world that you’re exposed to in college, actually has their hopes shattered as soon as the auditions and selection process for the co-curricular societies begins in the very first week. But by the time the third semester begins, the unknown ‘fuchchas’ start to make a name in the societies and in academics, and get to establish themselves in the place of their outgoing seniors. “I entered Hindu College as a little baby girl who needed real babysitting from her seniors. I was pissed at the very thought of having to speak to a senior for the smallest of things. Slowly when I started to realise what real college life was and joined the choreography society, I gathered the confidence to bunk classes, hang out with friends and have fun. The transformation from first-year to second-year is immense, and everyone going past this time will experience it for themselves,” said Urzica Chauhan, a second-year student of B.A. Program at Hindu College.

 

Coping Mechanism:
Join a Society! Societies not only help you polish your soft skills but also help you gain confidence and make a name for yourself.
Try and make friends with the seniors from your department. They’ll help you settle down in the department easily.

 

  • Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)– Fear of Missing Out, or FOMO as we call it, is the anxiety and stress that almost every new-comer to college experiences. It is the stress of having missed out on seemingly important stuff while acquiring other tasks/goals. Mostly FOMO is linked to tasks/goals that your friends are pursuing. Since they’re different from the ones you are acquiring, you fear that you probably missed out on important and seemingly life-changing opportunities, and thus start to become prey to it.

Coping Mechanism:

Chill out a bit! College has millions of opportunities to offer, and all of them will come your way. It’s okay to have missed out on a few to prioritise the ones you chose in the first place.
You need to imperatively stop comparing yourself with your friends/batch mates. Understand, that they are different people, with different insights and interests, and it is not important that whatever comes your way, also comes their way, and vice versa. At the end of the day, you will have to prioritise yourself, your choices, and your lives over theirs.

With this being said, we hope that all of our readers who are undergoing these pressurising thoughts, will come out of them as stronger, more mature individuals, and be able to face the real world of college with a more courageous instinct.

 

Feature Image Credits: The New York Times

Yaksh Handa

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Campus Central

The Happy Company: An Organisation for Mental Health Run by Students

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A feature on a recently started initiative by a student from The University of Delhi (DU) working on providing a helpful ear to people suffering from mental health issues, and conversations with the founder.

The Happy Company was an initiative started by Bhavika Mehta, currently a second-year student pursuing the BA programme in Sociology and English at Sri Venkateswara College. On talking to Bhavika, it was evident that she wanted to work towards reducing mental health issues in India, and The Happy Company is one step she has already taken towards this goal.

 

 Here are some of the questions DU Beat posed:

  • How does The Happy Company work?

The Happy company is available on Instagram where anyone who wants to talk can simply drop them a text, after which they will be assigned a volunteer who will talk to them, listen to their problems, and try to help them in any way possible.

 

  • What motivated you to start this project?

 While India has slowly started acknowledging the existence and reality of mental illnesses, most organisations are making efforts to raise awareness, while not much has been done about reducing mental illness and improving mental health and that’s where The Happy Company comes in.

 

  • The Happy Company was started as a one-woman operation. Tell us more about its inception.

I just made the Instagram page one day, and operated it myself from June 2018 to April 2019, but the page became bigger and bigger and I had to start looking for volunteers to help respond to all the messages.

 

  • How does the organisation handle a situation where someone with severe mental health issues approaches them, considering the fact that you and the volunteers aren’t licensed professionals?

My team and I are working on building and verifying a database of psychologists and psychiatrists to recommend in such situations.

 

  • What are the Government and other educational institutes should do about the students’ mental health, with suicide rates ever-increasing among students?

Most government schools and colleges still don’t have psychological counsellors including her college Sri Venkateshwara and several other DU colleges. Students should be there to help other students, that students lending an ear to help each other is always helpful.

 

To conclude, Bhavika said that the most important steps to improve basic health are ones that we take ourselves.

“Keeping ourselves before other people, that is keeping ourselves and our self-worth as our first priority. The other important step being taking some time at the end of the day to evaluate the last 24 hours, and finding the things we enjoyed most and which made us the happiest in that timeframe and working on them more,” is the note Bhavika left us with.

For those looking for a helpful ear: Click here

For those looking to volunteer: Click here

 

Feature Image Credits: The Happy Company

 

Prabhanu Kumar Das

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

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Campus Central

Investors’ Pitch Day At SSCBS Creates A Space for Opportunities

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Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies Innovation and Incubation Foundation (SIIF) provided a platform to young entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to real investors and experts, to create connections and to strengthen their knowledge for the real world. The event also provided exciting opportunities and cash prizes.

 Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS) hosted its Investors’ Pitch Day on 25th July 2019. The event was organised by SIIF, with support from YUVA, the E-Cell of the college. The Investors’ Pitch Day is an exciting platform which acts as a mediator between aspiring entrepreneurs and the seed funding they require to either sustain, or expand their startups.

Out of the 50 incubated start-ups with SIIF, 15 starts-ups which had the most promising growth and business model were shortlisted to pitch their startups to a board of savvy and experienced investors, which included Saurabh Jain, Paytm Vice President, Rohit Goyal, Founder Windrose Capital, Ravi Kant, Ex-Business head, Royal Bank of Scotland, among others.

Each entrepreneur was given a time limit of seven minutes to speak, followed by an interactive Question and Answer session with the panel of investors. The venture capitalists assessed the various business models on their revenue streams, profitability, growth aspects, management structure and their social responsibility. Companies were also specially commended on their contributions to real-world problems.

Saurabh Jain on the occasion said, “Entrepreneurship is not just a profession, but a state of mind.” He talked about the importance of job creation and self-learning. Jain went on to ignite the young minds by talking about the political system and how the solutions to the problems of this world now lie in our hands.

The platform was beneficial to the entrepreneurs that pitched their start-ups as they got fruitful critiques and pieces of advice from the investors, and it was enlightening for the audience who got key insights into the process and art of raising funds. These young entrepreneurs were provided with a platform to face real investors and to dig deeper into their potential of growth.

Vrinda Dube, Founder Knick Knack Nook, speaking to DU Beat said, “I have been incubated at SIIF for over a year now and SIIF has provided us with the foundational requirements like office space, office support and more. In terms of the event, it is a very well managed event with a lot of interesting investors.”

The entire program was power-packed with astute entrepreneurs along with features like a session on entrepreneurship, audience address by notable venture capitalists and the networking lunch to bridge the gap between the entrepreneurial community. The first half of the event witnessed start-ups like Woocoupons, a socially responsible advertising agency, Gamer Planet, an official PUBG tournament app and Knick Knack Nook, an economically feasible alternate to every-day jewellery.

Followed by the address of the keynote speaker,  Jain highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship and said, “Entrepreneurship gives the economy job-makers instead of job-takers. It solves problems instead of relying on the government or authorities to come up with solutions.” He added, “even if a person doesn’t make it as a successful entrepreneur, there’s a cushion you can fall back to as you will be a very desirable employee.”

Later, start-ups like Emergency Vehicle Approaching Light (EVAL), and D-comfy, that rents house spaces to students at economical rates without any barriers approached the dais.

Shivansh Jindal, the E Cell, YUVA’s President, told DU Beat, “Most of these start-ups without the funding will blow past their saturation point. SIIF and Investor’s Pitch Day gives them an opportunity to raise their ask for a share in their companies. Investors here will negotiate and discuss the numbers in great detail to determine the overall valuation of the company. It is the process of connecting those who have money to those who need money. SIIF not only gives them access to investors but also helps them with their pitch desks, office support. SIIF truly mentors the start-ups.”

In conclusion of the event, after rounds of deliberation between the panel the following were felicitated with recognition and cash rewards from SIIF and PaytM collectively:

 

Best Use of Technology – DesignX

Most Innovative Pitch and Idea – Perspectico

Best Pitch – Chocowishes

Idea with Huge Social Impact- Medulence

Maximum Business Impact – Keep It Fresh

Choice of Youth – Knick Knack Nook

 

The event was an incredible initiative and a great success for mobilising the funds between those who have it access, and those who need it. The event portrayed how entrepreneurship can build a country’s economy, especially in a country like India, where educational unemployment exists in great proportions.

 

Feature Image Credits: Surbhit Rastogi for DU Beat

 

Shivani Dadhwal

[email protected]

Chhavi Bahmba

[email protected]

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Auburn Umbrella: Essential Pieces in Every College-goer’s Wardrobe

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With the cut-offs frenzy and admission formalities done for, it’s finally time to start college and settle in with some new fashion statements in your wardrobe!

Starting college is an overwhelming change and can be hard to adjust to. Now that all the craziness of securing a place for yourself in the University of Delhi (DU) has finally ended, some questions might be plaguing you – what to wear and how to prepare? Some of the essentials for your college wardrobe are simple fashion classics, but there are necessities outside of those classics that will help you get through your college years.

  1. Sturdy Denim Shorts, Skirts, and Jeans: 

This one is a no-brainer. Classic denim that is comfortable, stylish, and goes with pretty much everything, is going to be your savior for mornings where you have a total of 15 minutes to get ready and reach college. Increase or decrease the length of the leg to suit your needs.  

  1. Street-side Jewelry:

Be it Sarojini Nagar, Kamla Nagar, or any other street shopping place that is near your college, street buys often make for statement pieces that can light up a boring outfit. For the days you don’t know what to wear, put on a white t-shirt and faded blue jeans, and the jewelry pieces that will add that much-needed oomph. 

  1. Basic Tees:

These are great to stock-up on since basic tees can be paired with anything and you can create new looks with different combinations. They are the go-to for when you have no new ideas for outfits, and can be styled in infinite ways.

  1. Graphic Tees: 

Aside from being great conversation starters, graphic tees give you an outlet for expression. Be it your favorite comedian, book-series, or TV show, you can let the world know your choices just by donning these comfortable and foolproof garments.

  1. A Good Pair of Sneakers: 

Be it a last-minute errand before class, or a sprint to catch the metro on time, a comfortable and robust pair of sneakers will do you a great service. Go for a solid color and stay simple, or experiment with patterns and prints to suit your style.

  1. Flannel Shirts:

Practical, useful, and basically college-wear by default, flannel shirts are a timeless clothing essential. You can wear them unbuttoned over a shirt, or buttoned-up and tucked-in – the possibilities are endless.

So, get out there and make the most of your three years! Roam, look, learn, and grow.  

Feature Image Credits: P.V. Purnima for DU Beat

Bhavya Pandey 

[email protected]

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