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The 2018 Annual Best Colleges of India Survey by India Today and Outlook saw multiple colleges of Delhi University and Jamia Milia Islamia included in the top ten.

The annual survey of best colleges done by India Today and Outlook was done through extensive survey methods that included detailed questionnaires and field visits and revealed the rising academic excellence of Delhi University and Jamia Milia Islamia.

The India Today annual survey was conducted in collaboration with Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA), a Delhi-based marketing research and consulting organisation. It surveyed around 1000 colleges in various streams across the country on the basis of a revised tightly-structured methodology. Field visits to over 100 colleges helped to survey them objectively through five broad parameters:  ‘Intake Quality & Governance’, ‘Academic Excellence’, ‘Infrastructure & Living Experience’, ‘Personality & Leadership Development’ and ‘Career Progression & Placement’.

Among the Best Arts Colleges of the country, St. Stephen’s College attained the 1st rank, while Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) was deemed to be in 2nd rank. Hindu College (3rd rank), Miranda House (4th rank) and Kirori Mal College (5th rank) were also among the top ten.

Among the Best Science Colleges of the country, Miranda House bagged the 1st Rank while Hindu College came second. St. Stephen’s (3rd rank), Kirori Mal college (4th rank) and Loyola College, Chennai (5th rank) were among the top ten as well.

In the list of the Best Commerce Colleges of the country, Sri Ram College of Commerce bagged the first rank.  Hindu College came second followed by LSR, Hansraj College and Department of Commerce, Christ College (Bengaluru), in that order.

Among the best colleges for Mass Communication, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi bagged the first rank followed by AJ Kidwai Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI). In a press release, JMI’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Talat Ahmad congratulated the centres and departments of the university and also said that the findings complemented JMI’s 12th rank in the ‘universities’ category in MHRD’s NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) for two consecutive years, 2017 and 2018.

In terms of other parameters as well, the colleges of Delhi University were again at the top position. A few categories where they shone were  Career Progression and Placement (Kirori Mal), Personality and Leadership Development (St. Stephen’s), Academic Excellence (LSR), Intake Quality and Governance (St. Stephen’s) and Cost of the Best (St. Stephen’s).

The survey done by Outlook in collaboration with the Mumbai-based research agency Drshti Strategic Research Services included detailed objective questionnaires that were sent to more than 2700 colleges in the country across 12 streams including Engineering, Medicine, Social Work and Mass Communication. Five key parameters of selection process & institute profile, academics, personality and development, placements, employment & graduating outcome, and infrastructure were used to judge the colleges while separate perceptual surveys were conducted among students, faculty members and other professionals.  

In the ranking of top Social Work Colleges in India, Delhi University’s Department of Social Work was granted the 2nd rank with an overall score of 929 with TISS, Mumbai bagging the 1st Rank and an overall score of 947. Among the Best Law colleges of the country Faculty of Law, JMI bagged the 5th position as did the Faculty of Architecture & Ekistics of JMI, in the Best Architecture Colleges category. In Mass Communication, AJK MCRC, Jamia Milia Islamia, was judged to be the best college.

DU Beat wishes the heartiest congratulations to the colleges for their achievements.

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Sara Sohail

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One of the many things that make the University of Delhi happening and enchanting is the performing arts societies and their marvelous annual productions. In the past few months, we saw cut-throat competition across several Delhi University colleges. The hours and hours of practice and hard work were put to test this fest season and from amongst the pool of massive talent, some groups emerged brighter than the others. We attempt to select the best society of the lot.

Methodology
The best college society in each category was selected by creating a tally of the top 3 positions that could be won at various events. The society that secured the 1st position was awarded 3 points, the society that secured the 2nd position was awarded 2 points, and finally, the society securing the 3rd position was awarded 1 point.
Nineteen college fests were referred to while evaluating the top societies tally this fest season. They were: SGGSCC, Maitreyi College, Hindu College, Lady Irwin College, Kamala Nehru College, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Sri Aurobindo College (Morning as well as Evening), Shyama Prasad Mukherji College, Kalindi College, Bharati College, Shivaji College, Ramanujan College, Lakshmibai College, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women, Dyal Singh College, Satyawati College, and Daulat Ram College.  Colleges that were not affiliated to DU were not included in the tally.

The Top Three

At the top position is I VOGUE, the fashion society of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce with a total of 18 points. Poise of the Institute of Home Economics is at the second spot. Galore of Maitreyi College are at the third spot. Nakshatra of Hindu College surprisingly established itself as a strong competition and came fourth with 12 points.

Points Tally: Fashion

The Winning Society at a glance

I VOGUE has established itself as the top fashion society for a long time now. With their dark-colored structured clothes, clear messaging, and awe-inspiring props and surprise elements, they have remained the favorite of both the crowd and the critics. Speaking about this year’s annual production, Chayan Jain, the President of the winning society, said, “This year we dedicated our performance to a call for humanity. We wanted to shed light on the irrelevant differences that we as a society are a constant prey to; namely gender differences, caste discrimination, and the religious segmentation. The theme this year was named “A Walk Towards Humanity” was entirely a team effort without any outside help. Be it the choreography, designing, modeling, hairstyling, or conceptual ideas, we have all done this ourselves. We owe our success to each and every member of the society who did every task with full dedication. It warms our hearts to see all our hard work paying off it.”

Performing members

Choreography 
Chayan Jain (President)
Jugti Bakshi (Vice president)
Harsh kapoor
Prabhjot Batra

Designing
Ankit aggarwal
Ishpreet Kaur
Chayan Jain
Jugti Bakshi
Harsh kapoor

PR team
Chayan Jain
Ankit Aggarwal
Pranay Valecha

Other Active Members
Nutan
Elisha Mayor
Bisman Jaggi
Daman Papneja
Prabhpreet Singh
Harbandana Sareen
Divyjot Kaur
Muskan Arora
Ishita Kumar
Jasmine Gujral
Rishabh Dabas

Winners Tally 

Out of all colleges we considered, I VOGUE  won at:
1st: Hindu, Lady Irwin College, Shyama Prasad Mukherji College, Dyal Singh College

2nd: Shivaji College, Kalindi College, Kamala Nehru College,

Images Designed by Kartik Kakar for DU Beat  ([email protected])

On 18th May, the Delhi High Court refused to grant relaxation to a second-year law student from taking her fourth semester examination which commenced on 16th May due to low attendance. The Bar Council of India mandates at least 70% attendance for its professional course, but Ms. Ankita Meena could not attend classes in the fourth semester because of her advanced pregnancy.
Her lawyer stated that she was a regular and diligent student who could not attend classes due to health issues and the birth of her child but the Court refused to grant the relief in lieu of the provisions of Rules of Legal Education of the Bar Council of India and other High Court decisions. The student had relied on an ordinance of a chapter of the University of Delhi which reads, “in the case of a married woman student who is granted maternity leave, in calculating the total number of lectures delivered in the College or in the University, as the case may be, for her course of study in each academic year, the number of lectures in each subject delivered during the period of her maternity leave shall not be taken into account.” The petitioner had not applied for a maternity leave.
While speaking to a reputed newspaper, the Judge declared that once Rule 12 of Rules of Legal Education of the BCI prescribes a mandatory attendance of 70 per cent in each semester of LLB, no reliance can be placed on Rule 2 (9) (d) of Ordinance VII of Chapter III of Delhi University, which is a general provision that does not deal with a professional course like LLB.
The student’s counsels Ashish Virmani and Himanshu Dhuper then approached the apex court on 22nd May on an urgent basis but Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Navin Sinha denied her plea to appear for an exam on Wednesday afternoon. The Court sought the arguments of the University’s Council, who appeared before the court at 1 p.m. and by the time the hearing would have concluded, the exam would have gotten over which was at 2 p.m. on 23rd May.

However, The Supreme Court bench granted the liberty to the petitioner to seek the decision of Division Bench of Delhi High Court, where the case is already pending.

 

Feature Image Credits: India.com

Prachi Mehra
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In an incident that shocked the campus, around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a 3rd year student of English Hons. studying at Ram Lal Anand College in South Campus was allegedly molested by a sweeper. The student had gone to the washroom when the accused, an employee of Sulabh International, allegedly held her hand and pulled her towards himself. The girl raised an alarm which brought students and two teachers on the scene, including the head of the Disciplinary Committee, Dr. K.G. Tyagi. The accused was immediately handed over to the police.

An FIR was registered against the accused at the South Campus Police station under IPC sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 341 (punishment for wrongful restrain), and 323 (punishment for causing hurt) immediately. A court hearing was put for the case at 2 p.m. today. Since the victim was giving an exam today, her statement will be recorded tomorrow.

It was found that the employee was not wearing an ID and was neither wearing a uniform. Rishabh Jain, Central Councilor of Ram Lal Anand College, speaking to DU Beat said, “We had been unaware that these people were allowed entry into the college without IDs. They had just a uniform and a register where they put in their entry and exit times. Now, the Delhi Police has issued a notice that valid IDs would be provided to all Sulabh employees in all Delhi University Colleges after our demands today.”

In the said meeting, Mahamedhaa Nagar, Secretary of DUSU and Uma Shankar, Joint-Secretary of DUSU along with members of the Ram Lal Anand student Union, Shivam Rana (the President), Vikalp Choudhury (Joint Secretary), and Rishabh Jain (Central Councilor of DUSU) met with the Principal, Dr. Rakesh Kumar Gupta in the presence of the victim’s father and Inspector Anant Kumar Gunjan, SHO and two other officers from South Campus Police Station. The students demanded that the license of the contractor of the college’s Sulabh International should be revoked and IDs issued to all verified Sulabh employees along with the police verification of such IDs. The students also demanded that the accused be charged with attempt to rape under IPC section 375. The Principal and the Police have agreed with the demands and the Principal has already sent a show cause notice to the contractor of Sulabh International at the college.

The ABVP and the DUSU had originally planned a protest on Wednesday which was withdrawn after their demands were accepted by the college. Speaking to DU Beat, Shivam Rana said, “We were satisfied with the help provided by the college authorities. Even the victim’s father was more than satisfied. Hence, we decided to cancel the protest.”

 

Feature Image Credits: India T.V

Sara Sohail

[email protected]

Manga has created uproar in the world of animated books. It has gained a significant fan following across the world. If you’re wondering what the fuss is all about, here’s a guide for you to navigate through the majestic world of Manga.

Manga, simply put are Japanese comics or graphic novels. They are vastly different from American and European comics, in terms of the storytelling techniques and the visuals used.  Every kid from the 90s has watched the Dragon Ball Z anime series in their childhood, with Goku and the Z warriors fighting the evil.  Anime is Japanese animated cartoon films, made by huge production studios. For people who wish to dive into Manga, the range of genres and the number and volumes of books available can be a bit intimidating. It is typically printed in black and white. Here’s a beginner’s guide to Manga-

  1. How to read Manga – Manga is read from right to left. As comics usually start from left to right, it takes time to get used to the flow of the story for first time Manga readers.
  2. Genres in Manga – Action-adventure, business and commerce, comedy, detective, historical drama, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction and fantasy, sexuality, sports and games, and suspense, you name it, Manga covers it all. However, Manga can be broadly divided into these genres-
  • Shonen- The target audience for this genre is teen boys and boys from the age of 10-12. The main protagonist is usually male.

Genre: Action/ Adventure

Popular titles: Death Note, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata; Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto; One piece by Eiichiro Oda

  • Shojo- The target audience for this genre is teen girls and girls from the age of 10-12. It typically features a female protagonist who is mostly in the centre of a love triangle.

Genre: Romance

  •          Popular titles: The Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi; A Devil and Her Love Song, by Miyoshi Tomori
  • Seinen- The target audience for this genre is young men, mainly in their 20s. A wide range of stories are published under this category.

Genre: Adventure, action, romance, mystery, thriller, comedy

Popular titles: Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida; One Punch Man by Yusuke Murata; Berserk by Kentaro Miura

  • Josei – The target audience for this genre is young women. It is more sexually explicit and also contains content which shows infidelity or rape.

Genre: Romance

Popular titles: Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa; Gokusen by Kozueko Morimoto; Suppli by Mari Okazaki

  • Yaoi: The target audience is female, written by female authors. It basically focuses on sexual relations between the male characters.                                                                                              Genre: Romance

Popular titles: Ten Count by Rihito Takarai

  • Yuri: It mostly focuses on sexual relationships between female characters.

Genre: Romance

Popular titles: Sakura trick by Tachi

Among the popular titles mentioned above, some noteworthy ones are Bleach, Death Note, One Piece and Berserk.  Also, Akira (Genre: Seinen) and Full Metal Alchemist (Genre: Shonen) are some of the best Manga books ever written. They are acclaimed by critics and have a huge fan following too. Death Note is another popular choice for people to dive into the world of Manga and it happens to be one of the most brilliant supernatural thrillers among Manga books. However, Manga books can be expensive. One can read these books using various apps like Manga. AON and Manga reader. They are free and offer lots of books of different genres. Now that you know where to start, what are you even waiting for? Go for it and happy reading!

Feature Image credit – FluentU

Disha Saxena

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Being apologetic about the mistakes that you made is a good quality but saying sorry for the sake of it is not good. We express regret for things which are a part of our personality and have no control over. It’s time to stop saying ‘sorry’ for every little thing.

I am one of the people who apologize profusely, sometimes for no reason at all. We often say ‘sorry’ in the spur of the moment without even thinking twice. However, for certain things, one shouldn’t feel guilty for and offer apologies.

Taking a break– It’s okay to take time off and take a moment to just breathe. In this technological world, every day has become super hectic, with one being just a call or a text away. All of this can be overwhelming and can lead to burnout. One should not have any feelings of guilt while taking a break, guilt of being unproductive. It’s important to stop sometimes, for your own good, especially when being overwhelmed with work.

Expressing your opinion– One should not be afraid to use their voices to express what they think and feel. Nobody wishes to hurt others’ feelings or let people down but the truth must be spoken. It’s important to raise our voices and freely express ourselves when something doesn’t feel right.

Being yourself– You’re what you’re today because of the experiences you had. You may not be at your best today. However, one should work hard every day to become the best version of them. Nobody is perfect and hence, one should be a little gentle to themselves. We all make mistakes and it’s a part of the process. Stop being so harsh on yourself and keep your head held high.

Asking for help– You can’t always stay strong. You fear that by showing that you’re being weak at your lowest point you are being vulnerable and that someone would take advantage. However, that’s not the case. After all, you’re a human. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s totally fine to ask someone for help if the situation wants you to. Do not listen to your ego which tells you otherwise.

Putting an end to unhealthy relationships– It can be so unpainful to let go of people who were once a huge part of your life. However, if that person is destroying your mental health then it’s time to let go. Everyone deserves to be loved and appreciated. Also, you should not feel bad for doing this.

Displaying emotions– Some people are uncomfortable with the fact that a small percentage of people like to show their emotions. They can’t seem to deal with the rawness and honesty of the emotions and end up asking you to suppress them. That’s not a healthy approach to have. One should express their emotions freely and should never be ashamed for being upfront about them.

Feature Image credits – The Swaddle

Disha Saxena

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The art of photography is heavily dependent on a variety of skills. Apart from knowing the technicalities of the cameras and lenses, a skilled photographer has a keen eye for detail. A lot of times, however, this skill is subject to the availability of the proper photography equipment. Many amateur photographers do not wish to pursue this lucrative career path by the virtue of the fact that almost all equipment is expensive. To help such people, the photographers at DU Beat have compiled a list of inexpensive photography supplements, detailing the importance of each and listing down the expected price rates as well.

1. Lenses Filter

Polarizing filter:  A polarizing filter removes the reflections of glass, water, plastic and everything. It helps to pop up the colours of the image and increases the contrast a little bit of the picture. Neutral Density (ND) Filter:  A Neutral Density Filter helps to cut the light entering the camera. It is used in various ways in daylight shoots when you have to take long exposure shots say for example a picture of a waterfall.

Image Credits: Amazon
Image Credits: Amazon

Price: INR 50

2. Flash Gels

A flash gel is not like a gel at all. It is a sheet of transparent plastic that colours the light cast by the flash. You should frequently use flash gels when doing shoots to get the light match the ambient light or to introduce a creative colour into the scene For example Yellow, Green, Red etc.

Image Credits: Amazon
Image Credits: Amazon

Price: INR 1000

3. Gorilla Pod

The biggest advantages of the Gorilla Pod over a tripod are portability and the ability to attach to a vertical surface such as a railing or a street light pole. There are many Gorilla Pod hacks that help to make a video better than a tripod that too in creative ways.

Image Credits: Flipkart
Image Credits: Flipkart

Price: INR 700

4. LED Lights

LED lights are available in a wide array of colours and intensities, which allows you to see lighting as you compose your shot. LED Lights provide you as much light as three 300w tungsten lights uses less than half the power of a single 300w tungsten bulb. LEDs leave immense room for creative lighting by incorporating different colours.

Image Credits: Amazon
Image Credits: Amazon

Price: INR 1700(Approx)

5. Flash Diffuser

A flash diffuser is a simple light modifier that attaches to the upper part of an external flash unit. It’s used to soften or spread the harsh, concentrated light that bursts out of the flash, creating a more even and flattering light on the subject. It also helps in removing heavy shadows created by the harshness of the strong lighting. When using a flash diffuser, it’s best to point the external flash unit at an angle (and not directly at the subject) so that you can bounce the light off of a somewhat reflective surface—like a white ceiling, a nearby wall, or perhaps a reflector.

Image Credits: How To Geek
Image Credits: How To Geek


Price: INR 150 to 799

6. Reflectors

 A reflector is an improvised or specialised reflective surface used to redirect light towards a given subject or scene. They are used to bounce the light on the subject when there is insufficient light on the subject or the picture is taken against the light. Silver, white and gold are the three main colours that are used to reflect light on the subject. One can easily use their own creativity to play with lights and thus enhance their pictures with the help of reflectors.

Image Credits: Crafthubs
Image Credits: Crafthubs

Price- INR 600 (approx.)

Feature Image Credits: Epinium

Akarsh Mathur
[email protected]

Portrait Photography or Portraiture, the skills of photographing a subject using lights and backdrops is a skill most photographers are unable to master. Portraiture can be improved upon by incorporating certain tools and skills into ones routine. 

Portrait Photography

Portrait photography or Portraiture in photography is a photograph of an individual that attempts to encapsulate the essence of the subject by using effective tools like backdrops, poses, and imagery. Portrait Photography continues to be a skill that most photographers find trouble at perfecting. The tricky nature of it, along with lack of information makes people have a myopic perspective of what it is. Portrait Photography can be made interesting and can produce diverse compositions if one learns the additional hacks required to perfect it. Read on to know more about the same.

Reflector
Reflector
  • Interact with your subject – It is important to build a rapport and make your model comfortable. If your model does not feel comfortable, then that discomfort would reflect in the final shots. Instead of shooting away silently, compliment them about their look, motivate them to pose and don’t forget to show the pictures to them as you click to make them confident.
Zoom lens 70-200mm
Zoom Lens 70-20
  • Lens Choice- Your choice of lens has a big impact on your portrait photos. For face portraits with visual impact, a prime lens is best suitable i.e., 50mm f/1.8L IS II USM, 50mm f/1.4L IS II USM or 85mm f/1.8L IS II USM which will ensure wider maximum aperture than a zoom lens covering the same focal length. For full portraits with visual impact, a zoom lens like 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM is best suitable as it enables you to capture eye-catching full portraits. This is useful for creating images with shallow depth-of-field (a common technique in portraits) which enhances face zoom in closer to focus more on your subject; you can then reduce the amount of background and foreground distractions on display. Even wide angle lens like 24mm f/2.8 STM can produce eye-catching portraits by using innovative compositions.
Pose and Composition 2
Pose and Composition
  • Pose and Composition – While posing is your subject’s job, composing the frame is yours. One should not be lazy with their compositions. One should try to capture a portrait with different angles, by filling the frame, with different aspect ratio, by using Rule of Thirds, by playing with lights, colours, and shadows and using attractive backgrounds rather than just standing back and including the full subject in a simple frame. Creative compositions are thus a major part of portrait photography that cannot be ignored. How your subject poses and looks will have an equally dramatic effect on your results. While shooting, try and capture a range of expressions so you can pick the perfect one later. Also consider setting up portrait shots where your subject looks off-camera, up or down, or to one side. Play around and see what works.
Pose and Composition 1
Pose and Composition
  • Using Reflector – A reflector is an improvised or specialized reflective surface used to bounce the light on the subject when there is insufficient light on the subject or the picture is taken against the light. Silver, white and gold are the three main colours that are used to reflect light on the subject. One can easily use their own creativity to play with lights and thus enhance their pictures with the help of reflectors.
Prime lens 50mm
Prime lens 50mm
  • Focus – Focussing the subject rightly is very important while capturing a portrait. The best way to ensure is that while capturing tightly composed portraits, the focus must be kept on the eye and while capturing wider compositions, the focus must be kept on the head to avoid out-of-focus pictures. To help with pinpoint focusing, manually selecting a single autofocus (AF) point is the best way. Always try to keep the face of the subject a bit forward than the body while capturing tightly composed portraits to enhance the beauty of the portrait and ensure sharp focus on the face.
Fill Flash
Fill Flash
  • Using Fill Flash –Many photographers believe that using flash for portraiture can produce photographs that appear tacky. However, this is far from the truth.Fill Flash is a photographic technique which uses supplementary light to lighten shadows, typically outdoors in sunny days. It does not change the character of the primary light source, but rather adds on to it. Using a fill-flash can be an invaluable tool when capturing portraits. It helps in removing the harsh undesirable shadows, unbalanced exposures, and burnt-out highlights in the image caused due to natural lighting thus enhancing and lighten up the portrait.

Portrait Photography may appear to be intimidating at first, however, with time one can easily pick up the skills required to make them better at it.

Image Credits – Akarsh Mathur

Akarsh Mathur 

[email protected] 

Struggling with depression and procrastination can be a huge battle. It feels like you can’t get over this, and you are overwhelmed with work to the point where you just give up. This battle can only be won if we try a little every day along with seeking additional help as and when we need it. 

The other day, I woke up in the morning and set a deadline to complete this article by 11 A.M.  As predicted, by 10 A.M. I had done everything including cleaning my room, taking a bath, eating breakfast, surfing the internet, even daydreaming but I hadn’t started working on this article. A lot of people might find this relatable, many of whom take this issue lightly, laugh it off and write ‘professional procrastinator’ in their tinder bio. After all, by the end of the day, they manage to. However, for some people, it’s a different story altogether.

You have assignments to complete, presentations to make, and articles to write but are unable to type a single letter on your laptop. Time ticks by and the motivation to work is still lost. You feel sad because you think you’re being unproductive.  You feel stuck and somehow, you accept this routine. You wake up every day with a hope that today would be different. People dealing with depression would understand this struggle. You somehow learn to live with it and just do enough to get through but it is so unhealthy. Depression acts as a roadblock to one’s dreams and ambitions. How to deal with depression- induced procrastination?  Well, this is what I have learnt.

Go slow. Take things at your own pace and stop looking at what you have to do as a long series of tasks, instead take it one basic task at a time. The key is to try and take the first step without thinking about everything else you have to do and once that is done, it becomes easier. Do not multitask. Focus on one thing at a time. Make a checklist which should not only include important tasks but also easier, smaller tasks like taking a shower or replying to pending emails. Start with the easiest tasks (or ones you like the most/hate the least). As you check things off the list, it will make you feel better. If you find out that you can’t even do that, let it be for a while; take a nap and try again later. It’s okay. Also, be realistic with your checklist.  Do not pack it without taking into account the amount of time you need to eat meals and to relax.  Reward yourself after you complete a task which you had been postponing for a long time and couldn’t get around doing. Another thing that needs to be kept in mind is to allow you to not get bogged down by perfection. Do it badly. You are allowed to fail or deliver less than perfect results of work. Take your time and never forget to be gentle with yourself.

However, this advice might not help some people. If your mental health condition has deteriorated to a point where you cannot function, seek a counsellor or a therapist. Seek help if you feel that it’s interfering with your life to the point where you can’t go about your day or feel burdened most of the time. Don’t lose hope, things do get better. All it requires is that you recognise your problem and seek valid solutions to it rather than indulging in self-loathing. Recognising that you have a problem and giving yourself the gift of additional help is what you need to get of this seemingly impossible rut.

Feature Image credits – Viral Novelty

Disha Saxena

[email protected]

An Executive Member of DUTA, Dr. Yogendra Singh Mathur has accused the Chairperson of Deshbandhu College of tampering with the list of shortlisted candidates for the post of principal.

Executive Member of the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), Dr Yogender Singh Mathur, in a letter written to the Vice Chancellor (VC) has demanded the removal of the Chairman of the Governing Body of Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi. Dr Mathur has also demanded a detailed enquiry into the administrative and financial irregularities that he believes were carried out by consent of the Chairperson which intend to have a structure worth 30 Lakh Rupees be built outside the college canteen.

Alleging gross violations committed in the screening of the applications for the post of Principal, Mathur noted in his letter that the Chairman ignored the screening done by the Screening Committee formed by the Varsity and tampered with the list of shortlisted candidates for the Principal’s post.  In the letter, Mathur also alleged that the names of three candidates, namely Dr Ashutosh Kumar, Dr Vinod Kumar Paliwal, and Dr Charanjeet Singh were wrongfully removed from the list of shortlisted candidates.

Dr. Mathur told DU Beat, “The University had released applications for the post of Principal. A Screening Committee was formed to declare the list of eligible candidates. The Committee had finalized 20 names. But out of those 20 names, the Chairman, without the permission of the Screening Committee, removed 3 names. Then he added 2 names from his own side, one being that of Ajay Arora and the other being Dr. Hem Chand Jain.”

Informing the DU Beat correspondent that Ajay Arora was the officiating Principal of the college for 6 years, he further alleged, “The selection committee had earlier deemed Ajay Arora not suitable for the post of Principal. And now, this gentleman has included his name. The reason behind this being, the Chairman belongs to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and so does Ajay Arora.”

Notably, in his letter to the VC, Dr. Mathur had clearly stated 3 demands. One, the Chairman be removed immediately for the violations committed in the screening of candidates. Two, an acting Principal is appointed immediately as recommended by the Governing Body. And three, a comprehensive enquiry be instituted into the complicit acts of the officiating Principal, Dr. Arora and the Chairman.

Significantly, the letter also conveys Dr. Mathur’s distaste for the alleged tampering of applications, as he condemns the Chairman’s involvement in the “corrupt acts” of the officiating Principal. He alleges the retention of Dr. Arora “illegally by not appointing an Acting principal” a tactic guided by “considerations to serve each other’s interests”.

Dr. Mathur made multiple other allegations against Dr. Arora, claiming a relative of his, Mr. Shyam Arora was given all major work advertised on the college website but its payment was made to a firm where Mr. Shyam’s wife worked as a proprietor.

In a phone call conversation, the DU Beat correspondent asked Dewesh Kumar Tiwary, President of Deshbandhu College, whether he knew anything about the Chairman tampering with the list of candidates for the Principal’s post. Answering the same, he remarked, “Sorry. We haven’t been informed about any such tampering. I am only aware that the candidates’ list has been finalized. And now, only the interview is yet to take place.”

On a telephonic conversation in response to being asked about the chairperson being accused of tampering with the list of shortlisted candidates, Dr. Arora told DU Beat that “There are set University guidelines and as per those guidelines, the screening committee is bound to follow those in every college. The chairman alone is not the screening committee; the committee consists of other members also”.

DU Beat attempted to get the contact details of the Chairperson from multiple channels in order to incorporate their viewpoint but was unable to do so. It has reached out to the college on its official email id and will update the story once the email is reverted back to.

Feature Image Credits – Deshbandhu College

Kinjal Pandey

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Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

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