The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed all varsities and higher education institutions to ban sale of junk food in their campuses.
On Wednesday, 23rd August 2018, the University Grants Commission (UGC) issued a notice all the Vice Chancellors of the universities under it to ban junk food in their premises. The letter states, “Banning junk food in colleges would set new standards for healthy food and make the students live better, and learn better and also reduce the obesity levels in young learners, thus preventing lifestyle diseases which have a direct link with excessive weight”.
According to the Press Trust of India, UGC secretary Jaspal S. Sandhu said that the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry wanted to issue instructions against availability and sale of junk food in Higher Educational Institutions.This is done to ensure strict adherence to the advisory issued in November 2016 for banning junk food in colleges.“You are requested to ensure strict adherence to the advisory. Create awareness among the younger generation who are vulnerable,” the circular read.
DU Beat contacted a few students and teachers regarding the same. Aryan Pandla, a student from Delhi School of Journalism says, “Eating junk food is not unhealthy. But the excess of it creates issues like obesity. A ban should not have been imposed by the UGC but instead a regulatory measure should have been taken. UGC should promote healthy food like daal-chawal, but banning on junk food is not the solution. The students will still have access to junk food because of prevalence of small food outlets near the college.” Ms.Nazish Khan, a professor in Bharti College says, “It’s a welcome move by the UGC and should have been implemented long ago. However, it’s never too late. There might be some problems with the execution but nonetheless, it will bring a healthy living.”
A same move was made by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) two years ago. It had asked all its affiliated schools to ensure that food items like chips,carbonated drinks, ready-to-eat noodles, pizzas, burgers and confectionery items like chocolates, candies are not available in the school canteens.Schools were also asked to inspect lunch boxes of students, create awareness about nutritious food and regularly monitor students’ health. The circular was released following a report by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on consumption of foods high in fat, salt and sugar and promotion of healthy snacks in schools.
Further, the board also advised all schools affiliated to it to try that no such food items are available around 200 meters of the school premises.
It’s no revelation that women apologize more readily than men. Women need to talk a lot more in public spheres and should not be worried about upsetting people and saying things in a ‘nice’ way.
Women apologize a lot, no second thoughts about that. I realized this first, few weeks into college. Instead of simply asking questions and inquiring about things I had no idea about, there I was, saying sorry unnecessarily. I misunderstood politeness with apologizing. Women know what I’m talking about. Men might find it difficult to relate to this.
The apologies women make, if you observe are often knee-jerk reactions. They say sorry even when they are clearly not at fault. Saying sorry for asking questions in class, saying sorry when presenting ideas before a group of people, saying sorry when asking someone to stop doing something that’s making them uncomfortable, the list is endless. Eventually, it ends up being an ice-breaker and a great conversation starter. You lose count after a point of time. It becomes so normalized that one inculcates it as a habit which refuses to leave.
Right from their childhood, women are expected to be polite. They are viewed as the more responsible gender, the gender which diffuses tension in unwarranted situations. They, very easily feel guilty. They usually put themselves under a lot of pressure to not upset anyone and be a people pleaser. According to a 2010 Canadian study in the journal Psychological Science, women have a lower threshold for what requires an apology because they are more concerned with the emotional experiences of others and in promoting harmony in relationships. The word ‘sorry’ is used to soften the blow and to confront people in unavoidable situations. “Women believe that they are making people mad when they’re speaking up”, says Radhika Nair, a second year student from Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences. “I sometimes think that we are expected to be very grateful for whatever opportunities we are bestowed with”, says Annmary Alex Thomas, an Ambedkar University student.
It is often seen that women tend to say sorry more for feeling a certain way, for not coming across as a woman who’s ‘difficult’ or ‘emotional’. Indian women, who are financially dependent on their family or husband, believe that they have no right whatsoever to express their opinions during family discussions given that they do not earn.
Ladies, listen up. Do not say sorry when someone encroaches upon your private space. Do not say sorry for your choices, indulgences, views and opinions. Your over-apologizing shows your lack of confidence in yourself. Instead, challenge the status quo and break free from the realms of conformity. Start checking the number of times you say sorry in personal conversations, over the email. You might have been conditioned to internalize this attitude but it’s in your hands to shift this attitude. Be unapologetically you!
AISA President Kawalpreet Kaur was attacked by goons yesterday. With frequent attacks on students, the safety of North Campus students raises a serious concern.
On Saturday, 18th August 2018, the University of Delhi President of All India Student’s Association(AISA) Kawalpreet Kaur and her four friends were attacked by goons around 12:05 a.m. in Vijay Nagar Double Storey area of North Delhi.
Kawalpreet Kaur was with four of her friends, Ankit Pandey, Jatin Verma, Rishabh Mishra and, Aman Nawaz when the incident took place outside Dinesh General Store in Vijaynagar. Three to four goons tried to harass Kawalpreet and passed lewd comments. When one of her friends tried to stop the goons, they attacked them. After few minutes, four more people joined the goons. Some of them appeared heavily drunk. One of them carried a pistol along with him and pointed it towards Kawalpreet telling her that he would kill all of them. Kawalpreet moved inside a building and locked herself up to protect herself from the goons, But, her friends were brutally attacked by beer and glass bottles. Ankit Pandey and Jatin Verma have sustained some serious internal injuries and fractures along with bruises on face and head. The CCTV footage of Dinesh General Store clearly shows the horrifying incident.
Credits – Kawalpreet Kaur’s Facebook Profile
A FIR has been filed by Kawalpreet Kaur regarding the incident in Model Town Police Station.The sections of the Indian Penal Code applied are Section 308- Attempt to commit culpable homicide, Section 323-Punishmentof voluntarily causing hurt, Section 341-Punishment for wrongful restraint ,Section 509- Word,gesture or act intended to hurt the modesty of a woman, Section 506(ii)- Punishment for criminal intimidation, and, Section 34-Acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention.
Kawalpreet Kaur along with some students took out a march from Vijay Nagar to Model Town Police Station on 19th August 2018 against the hooliganism taking place in the area, the attacks on the students and, for the police to take swift action. Delhi Police has identified and arrested four people named Ayush, Rahul, Shubham and Monu regarding the same. One of these owns an ironing shop in Vijay Nagar. The person with the pistol has been identified as Pawan, from Sangam Vihar and is yet to be arrested by the Delhi Police.
DU Beat spoke to Kawalpreet Kaur on the issue. She said, “With such crimes rising day by day, a question arises on the safety and security of the students living in the campus area.” Kawalpreet also informed that the Delhi Police inspector of Model Town, Satish Kumar questioned her as to why she was outside her room around 12:15 a.m. instead she should have stayed inside.
With an increasing number of crimes in North Delhi, a question arises on the safety of the students.
On Sunday, 5th August 2018, a dead body was recovered from a white bag in front of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, University of Delhi. The body was discovered by the locals around 8 a.m. and they immediately informed the police. The head and the hands of the body were chopped off. According to the police, the body is unidentified but the man appears to be around 30 years old and the probe is underway. Delhi Police is also looking at the CCTV footage of the cameras installed in the area to identify the suspect and establish linkages related to the crime.
The body was found in North Delhi, one of the posh areas of the city.It is a strategic place with many college’s like Hindu College, Ramjas College and, Miranda House. Along with that North Campus is the hub of students all over Delhi primarily because the University’s main offices departments are located here. It is also to be noted that important buildings like the Delhi Assembly and the Red Fort and markets like Kamla Nagar are just a few kilometres away from this place. The number of murders, which are considered the prime indicators of crime situation in the city, witnessed a rise in the first quarter of 2018. A total of 130 murders were reported till 31st March 2018.All these factors raise a question about the security and create fear in the mind of the students.
DU Beat tried to reach out to the students and the teachers but, most of them seem to be ignorant towards the situation as of now.
NSUI alleges that their magazine launch, which was slotted to be held earlier today, was cancelled due to ABVP involvement.
A magazine launch event organised by the NSUI-led DUSU which was to be held in the University Conference Center on 31st July, 2018 was abruptly cancelled and the organizing students were barred from entering the University Campus. The National Student’s Union of India (NSUI) alleged the involvement of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the cancellation and refused to budge, despite barricades being put in front of the Dean’s office by the police.
The event which was supposed to be attended by University of Delhi (DU) Professor of Hindi, Dr. Apoorvanand Jha, the founding Editor of The Wire, Siddharth Vardarajan and Member of Parliament (MP) Rajeev Gowda, was supposed to be on Freedom of Speech and Expression.
In a dramatic turn of events, the NSUI and the invited guests decided to launch the magazine in front of the police barricades under protest. The guests also delivered short speeches on the freedom of speech and expression while claiming that the spaces for creative freedom were increasingly lessening in the country.
Allegations of interference
Rishabh Gogoi for DU Beat
The event was initially supposed to launch the first ever student magazine of DU named DYouth. The magazine which featured various articles by students of DU as well on-record interviews given by people like P. Chindambaram, Subramaniam Swamy, Yogendra Yadav, Sheila Dixit, Prashant Bhushan, Sunita Narain and Karan Thapar among others, was edited by a team of editors from the colleges of DU.
Ruchi Gupta, the NSUI’s National-in-charge, while speaking to DU Beat, claimed that the NSUI had obtained prior permission to launch the magazine in the Conference Center. “This permission has been cancelled at the last minute at the behest of a complaint by ABVP goons who are only able to understand the language of guns. They bring guns inside DUSU office and NSUI will not be allowed to launch a magazine.” she added. Ms. Gupta and several other members of the NSUI publicly condemned the cancellation after the magazine was launched under protest in front of the Dean’s office.
DU Beat spoke to several sources in the organising team of the event and they all alleged that the ABVP was putting pressure on the administration to cancel the event at the last moment. However, another source on the condition of anonymity, said that things were “too quiet for the ABVP to be involved.”
AISA’s Kawalpreet Kaur, who was also present, extended support to the NSUI in a public speech claiming that she was upset as a student of the University because of the condition of politics in the campus. “We remember last year when there was a programme held by RSS here in the presence of Subramaniam Swamy and the ABVP waved saffron flags here inside the campus, indulging in hooliganism. We didn’t throw stones at them at that time. Neither did we cancel that programme. We agreed that there should be dialogue within this University. We still remember the episode at Ramjas college where the teachers were brutally attacked by the ABVP. And today, at the eleventh hour, the launch of a magazine by NSUI, which should be a cause for celebration for every student, has been cancelled and bizarre arguments have been put forward in support,” Ms. Kaur added.
Perturbed dignitaries
Rishabh Gogoi for DU Beat
The three dignitaries invited strongly criticised the sudden cancellation of the event. Mr. Vardarajan, speaking to DU Beat said, “I think it is very unfortunate that the DU administration did not allow this programme to happen. The irony is that we were going to discuss freedom of expression. And our own freedom of expression has been compromised in this way.”
When asked what he thought about the allegations of ABVP’s involvement in the same, he added, “I don’t know the facts because I am not from here. But the ABVP across the country has been well known to object to all acts of democratic expression that they don’t agree with. I was myself a victim of ABVP intolerance at Allahabad University when they wouldn’t let me speak. So if this has happened in Delhi University, it’s quite believable.”
DU Beat also asked Mr. Jha about the allegations of ABVP meddling in the cancellation of the event. While Mr. Jha denied knowing why the event was cancelled, he also added, “I can say from my experience that University spaces are being made inaccessible to people for open discussion and that is, in a way, dismantling this University. A simple release function is now being forced to be seen as protest, which is very telling.”
Rajeev Gowda, a professor of IIM-Banglore, claimed that the clamp down on NSUI’s launch was a symptom of events across the country. He attacked the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for all the instances under them where freedom of expression has been threatened claiming, “In a few miles away from where Prime Minister Modi rules the country, you are able to see that freedom of expression has no meaning but there are still people willing to stand up and fight for the fundamental right that we have enshrined in the Constitution.”
The other side of the story
Rishabh Gogoi for DU Beat
DU Beat spoke with several policemen on the scene who were all unwilling to answer our questions. They directed us towards the people in charge, including the Deputy Proctor, Dr. Anupam Jha. On speaking to DU Beat, Dr. Jha claimed that the NSUI was misleading the people and that proper permission for the event had not been taken. “We are just abiding by the High Court’s orders which have upheld the decision to disqualify Rocky Tuseed’s candidature as DUSU President,” he added. Mr. Tuseed’s candidature had been revoked by the Delhi High Court previously due to his inability to release the details of the disciplinary action taken against him during his undergraduate study.
In an attempt to know more, DU Beat also contacted Mahamedha Nagar, the secretary of DUSU, who denied allegations of ABVP’s interference. “Why should we allow a magazine which has been just spearheaded by a Vice-President or a Joint Secretary, under the banner of DUSU? Was the money that was used for the magazine, in the name of DUSU, only the right of a President, and that too, a President who is no more a President? There is nothing about DUSU in the magazine. No suggestions were taken. I don’t think it makes sense to launch such a magazine under any venue of DU.”
While both NSUI and AISA have issued several official statements condemning the ABVP for their alleged involvement, it remains to be seen where the discussion on freedom of speech and expression takes us.
A former DU Beat Correspondent, Namrata Gupta writes her second book, a romantic thriller titled ‘The Full Circle.. Stumbling Upon A Sinful Mystery”
Namrata Gupta, an alumnus of Delhi University and a former correspondent at DU Beat, wrote her first book, ‘A Silent Promise’ (2015), while she was pursuing her graduation in Literature from Hans Raj College. She went on to get a masters’ degree in Management from LBSIM, Delhi. Her debut novel, ‘A Silent Promise’, was launched by Mr. Petko Doykov, the Ambassador of Bulgaria, and has been a part of Gurgaon International Film and Literature Festival. Wishing to make an immutable influence on the minds of readers through her writing, Namrata got her second book, ‘The Full Circle.. Stumbling Upon A Sinful Mystery’ (2018), released recently.
‘The Full Circle.. Stumbling Upon A Sinful Mystery’ is a Romantic Thriller. The book captures the story of a traveller, Aditya, who on his journey to finding a ‘home’, ‘home’ in the spiritual sense of the word, becomes a part of various stories and helps people in his own way. He helps strengthen people, makes them realise their own worth and changes them for the better before leaving for some other place. He gets very popular at the places he visits because of this quality. Aditya always took something from the places he visited and this somehow helped him give something to his next destination, which is now Darjeeling. Aditya meets his contrast in Zinnia, who prefers stability in life, while staying as a tenant in her mother’s house. His adventurous way of living life is challenged when he develops strong feelings for Zinnia, who considers his way of life as a prolonged hobby. While helping Jacqueline, an emotionally distraught girl, into shaping her life in a new way, he realizes he feels lost, for the first time in his life, without Zinnia. Amidst all the happenings, he stumbles upon a devastating secret about Zinnia’s past that will turn her life upside down. The past and the present merge beautifully as they uncover the truth behind her past.
The book breaks stereotypes at many levels and questions ‘settlement’ as being related to ‘fixedness’. The concept of a ‘home’ is shifted from the physical domain to the spiritual one. The book asserts the fact that ‘home’ doesn’t necessarily has to be a place. It can be a person too. And ‘settlement’ is a state of mind, related to contentment with one’s life.
Namrata has always loved travelling and exploring new things. She feels that the memories of the places one visits is the best form of treasure that one can accumulate in his life and the best of the stories are narrated when they are told across boundaries. Fascinated by the idea of having a home everywhere and nowhere, she went on to explore how travelers live and impressed by their way of life, she decided to give the idea greater reach by writing about it. At the same time, wanting to write a thriller, she merged the two concepts. And so in her book, the story of a traveller is charted out in a Romance Thriller framework.
Besides capturing a range of stories at the places Aditya visits, the novel also highlights a range of complexities in its characters, who come from different cultures, backgrounds, mind set and have had different life experiences. Zinnia’s is a complex character. She has had her own struggles to fight with. She is tough yet soft. She exhibits motherly care yet is a young girl at heart. In the same manner, Jacqueline and Aditya too have had their own past. Jacqueline’s character is reformed from an emotionally distraught girl to an empowered one. Aditya is shown with fine degrees of empathy, understanding, maturity and kindness.
Given the trends and spending habits of the youth, money drains fast. Saving up becomes epochal and necessary. Being a Stanza Living resident takes care of it all without cutting back on the fun of your college life. With Stanza, students get to avail over 50+ exciting offers at select outlets throughout Delhi as well as on online services.
One can take advantage of services provided by high-end salons, gyms, cafes, and more. Here is a list of top 5 offers provided by Stanza:
NXGT Gaming Lounge
Human interaction is not everyone’s cup of tea. NXGT Gaming Lounge at Kamla Nagar is a video parlour that is the current favourite spot of every virtual gamer. To try your hands at the latest in gaming technology on Playstation, Xbox, and/or PC at a discount of 20%, head to NXGT Gaming Lounge with your Stanza ID card and let the fun begin!
Zomato
Everyone loves to order food online and have it delivered to your doorstep but sometimes we restrain our savoury urges because we have no pocket money left. To ensure you get delicious treats on time without burning a hole in your pocket, Stanza has partnered up with Zomato for a 20% off or up to Rs.100 discount on all orders.
Looks Salon
Grooming is a necessity, we all must sincerely attend to it and pamper ourselves from time to time. A simple haircut can change our entire look and take our confidence up a notch. Stanza residents can get a 50% off on haircuts at Looks Salon at Kamla Nagar. Be a trendsetter in your college with the always-trendy Looks Salon and your Stanza residences.
Rajendra Emporium Chemist
Falling sick even once can make your wallet run tight. In the face of unwanted emergencies, expensive medicines and healthcare, Stanza has your back with a 10% off at Rajendra Emporium Chemist in Model Town. With free delivery, convenience is your new alibi.
Anytime Fitness
Whether your goal is fitness or getting those killer abs, there should be no excuse to start exercising and being healthy. Anytime Fitness at Kamla Nagar, a prime gym with all the right tools and instructors, offers a special price of Rs.9000/quarter for all Stanza residents.
Alerting all theatre groups and dramatics societies! Here is an opportunity to display your talent on a platform that caters to a bigger cause!
Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Centre (www.kalamcentre.org) announces the National E-Street Play Championship, a one-of-a-kind initiative that aims to involve the youth in raising awareness about issues that can transform our country into a superpower.
In the first phase, the street theatre groups and dramatics societies will submit video entries online on any one of the following three themes:
Water as a crisis in India
Increasing the green cover
Extraterrestrial life
The shortlisted teams will perform at a prime location in Delhi in front of an audience of celebrities and citizens. Lastly, the basis of the first round of evaluation and online reach of the videos, one team from each category will win the National Championship Trophy from an esteemed panel of Judges at the Kalam Liveable Planet Conclave, which will include public figures, celebrities, and the notable board members of Kalam Centre. Previous guests have included eminent personalities like Dr Kailash Satyarthi (Nobel Laureate), Ms Dia Mirza (Actor), Ms Kiran Bedi (Retired Indian Police Service Officer), and Shri Anand Kumar (Founder, Super 30).
The University of Delhi has mandated all affiliated colleges to give up to 10 additional percentage points to applicants who have studied one or more Modern Indian Languages (MIL) in school if they take admission in BA Programme and take up the language as a subject.
Receiving over 1,34,000 applications last year, BA programme is perhaps the most dependable course offered in Delhi University. Unlike any other course, BA programme gives you an opportunity to study various combinations of subjects.
According to the Varsity’s newly-made rule, an advantage of up to 10 percentage points will be added to an applicant’s ‘best of four’ percentage, if they choose any of the MILs, except Hindi, as one of the subjects in their combination for BA Programme.
Although at first, there were questions raised on the authenticity of this news, a DU official confirmed the veracity of the news and said, “If an applicant opts for a MIL (except Hindi) as a subject, an advantage of up to 10% may be given in ‘best of four’ in those colleges where MIL is offered as a subject. Colleges can offer anything between 2 and 10 percentage points’ advantage.”
Jagmohan Kaushik, a member of the administration department at Deshbandhu College told the DU Beat correspondent, “For years, this system of giving concession to students wanting to study MIL in higher education has been followed, in one form or another, in many colleges.”
For instance, Hindu College gives an additional seven percentage points to those opting for Sanskrit while Kirori Mal College gives additional 10 percentage points to those opting for Bengali as a subject in BA programme.
But now, the Varsity has mandated all affiliated colleges to provide concession up to 10 percentage points to those opting for these subjects. The Modern Indian Languages offered in the university are Sanskrit, Punjabi, Tamil, Urdu, Telugu and Bengali and about thirty colleges, including Hindu College, Miranda House, and Kamla Nehru College offer MIL in BA programme.“This encourages students to continue to study MIL at the undergraduate level as they get an advantage due to it,” a university official said.
While University officials said this was an attempt to promote the study of Indian languages at a higher level, not all students have welcomed this decision with open arms. Harleen Kaur, a student currently pursuing BA Programme in Miranda House told DU Beat, “This advantage will result in reverse discrimination for those of us who did not study a MIL at the school level, or those who do not wish to pursue it in higher education.”
Notably, for admission to BA Programme, students have to take one language and any three elective subjects. But those applicants who plan to change their stream will face a disadvantage of up to 5 percentage points depending on which college they apply to.
An official from the Varsity said, “A deduction of up to 5 percentage points on ‘best of four’ percentage may be imposed if there is a change of stream for admission to BA programme, which means either from commerce stream to arts/humanities/social sciences or from science stream to arts/humanities/social sciences.” Feature Image Credits – Indian Express
Kidambi Srikanth recently became world no. 1 in the men’s category. Saina and Sindhu absolutely killed at CWG, 2018. They have made India proud. Let’s thank the man, their coach Pullela Gopichand for this success at the world stage.
I remember how as a kid I loved playing badminton. My father taught me the sport. We would watch the Olympics, the Championships and the BWF World Tours together. We would scream and clap at every point scored by our favourites. I also remember finding no Indian in the international circuit, which was something which would make me very sad. However, in 2009 when Saina Nehwal won the Indonesian Open Super Series, I was ecstatic. Things started to look up in 2010 when she won a hat-trick of titles and the world took notice of the Indian badminton circuit. Saina’s bronze in Women’s Singles at the London Olympics was a cherry on top.
Today, the Indian Badminton is at its peak and has reached its golden period. In 2016, Sindhu’s silver at the Olympics took the game to new heights of popularity. Srikanth’s win over Lin Dan at China Open 2014 finals made sure that boys were not left behind. In the year 2017, 13 major titles were won by seven different Indian players. Never in the history of badminton had so many Indian players dominated the circuit. Now, there have been so many instances when Indians are pitted against each other to win titles which were unimaginable few years back.
Saina, Sindhu and Srikanth, the pioneers of the Indian badminton share something in common which has helped them achieve such monumental success. It is none other than their coach, Pullela Gopichand. His academy at Hyderabad ‘The Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy’ has produced the most talented lot of Indian Badminton players. Mr Gopichand has changed the scenario of the game in the country with his hard work and patience with the players. He has groomed them, right from their childhoods to the most celebrated players of today. He’s nurturing budding players with the facilities available at the academy and of course, his never fading faith in his players. He has always believed in challenging his players and crossing difficult barriers to get to the top. Training sportsmen is a tough task, as it includes various facets. Mr Gopichand has devoted time to each of his players and has tried his best to turn their weaknesses into strengths. He has brought the best of them, all because of his hunger to put India on the map of world badminton.
His focused hard work over a long period of time has started bearing fruits. The way the Indian players have started playing in the tournaments leaves their opponents’ awestruck. His dedication is unmatched. He’s always had the back of his players whenever they come face to face with failure. India can never thank Mr Gopichand enough for his service to the nation. As someone who follows badminton, I thank Mr Gopichand, for doing what he does, so well. I hope you get the recognition that you deserve in a cricket-crazy country like ours.
