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Top Societies for DU Fests 2018: DramaNomics, College of Vocational Studies for Street Play

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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

From all the societies that participated, a tally of top 3 positions were created and from those, the society that emerged as the top society was selected. Every society that won the 1st position was awarded 3 points, the 2nd with 2 points and the 3rd with 1 point.

Eight college fests were referred to while evaluating the top societies tally this fest season. They were: Tarang, LSR; Ullas, KNC; Tempest, Miranda House; Montage, JMC; Mecca, Hindu College; Reverie, Gargi College; and Nexus, Sri Venkateswara College. For Street play, we counted Nexus, Montage, Mecca, Reverie, and Ullas.

The Top Three

Following this scheme, the societies that bagged the 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions in the Street play category were: DramaNomics of the College of Vocational Studies with nine points, The Dramatics Society of Lady Shri Ram College with six points, and Natuve of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (Morning) with four points.

Points Tally: Street Play

The Winning Society at a glance

DramaNomics stood out this year with their hunting annual production ‘Rape’. While street theatre in Delhi University has a history of producing content on sexual assault, this play dealt with the issue in an explanatory manner. It underlined rape culture and also recognized male survivors of rape who are often neglected from the conversations surrounding harassment. The impeccable performances, engaging and concise plot, as well as impactful dialogues,  made DramaNomics the winning team.

Jai Mehta, President of the winning society told DU Beat, “Dramanomics, to us, is an opportunity to give in everything and try to make a change that is required around us.With this year’s street production, our biggest win is the way our audiences have appreciated our viewpoint on such a sensitive topic. We are happy, apart from receiving all the praises for our creative endeavors, primarily for the effort that every team member has put in to change at least one layman to understand what Rape is.”

Performing members:

  • Hannu Oberoi
  • Jai Mehta
  • Divyanka Arora
  • Shivansh Manaktala
  • Sanchit Ahuja
  • Rachit Raj Singh
  • Himani Kalra
  • Sanskriti Negi
  • Anjali Sharma
  • Kamya Mittal
  • Aashish Luthra
  • Divyaratan Gulati
  • Harshit Katiriya
  • Deepshika Mehta
  • Abhishek Arora
  • Aiman Khatoon
  • Daksh Mahajan
  • Deepak Kataria
  • Devrishi Mehta
  • Komal Rana
  • M. Saqib Hindustani
  • Nikita Shith
  • Nitin Vimal
  • Raghav Dheer
  • Rishabh Makan
  • Sanjivani Sharma
  • Tavleen Kaur
  • Vikas Yadav
  • Vikas Kumar

Winners Tally : 

Out of the eight colleges we considered, DramaNomics bagged positions at:

I Position: Montage

II Position: Mecca, Nexus

III Position: Reverie, Ullas

(Hover over the icons to know more about their victories)

 

Images Designed by Kartik Kakar ([email protected])

Niharika Dabral ([email protected])

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak ([email protected])

 

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Student Groups Carving Equality in the Varsity

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The University of Delhi (DU), despite several shortcomings, has given birth to a fair share of strong women. DU has taught and forged generations of strong women like Chhavi Rajawat, Mira Nair, and Shikha Sharma amongst others. A huge amount of credit for this goes to groups that have taken upon themselves to diffuse progressive ideas in the campus and beyond. Let us take a look at a few of these amazing associations.

Women’s Development Cells – Your Local Feminist Propaganda Machines

Women’s Development Cells (WDCs) in the University of Delhi have been created with an aim to not only try to bridge the gaps prevalent between both genders in terms of equality, but to also initiate conversation with regard to sexism, patriarchy, ignorance, and the general discrimination that is faced by women in status quo. Here is a look at the work of some of Delhi University’s very own WDCs:

Lady Shri Ram College for Women

Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) was one of the first colleges of Delhi University to start its own WDC in 1985. The WDC of LSR is also one of the most active ones, with a commanding social media presence. The team believes in initiating active conversation as it constantly promotes feminist thinking in the events organised by them. Through the last academic session, the WDC has worked with organisations like Nazariya and Eco Femme which work for the improvement of the situation of women all over India. They have organised several guest lectures, book readings, slam poetry performances, movie screenings, and an event called “In Hysterics” which invited participants to perform stand-up comedy, and merged the act of humour with feminism in Tarang-the annual cultural festival of LSR. The WDC also organised protests in their college to condemn the flinging of semen-filled balloons on students of LSR and Jesus and Mary College (JMC)

Daulat Ram College

Pragati, the Women’s Development Cell of Daulat Ram College, hosted activities that included seminars, workshops, lectures, debates, essay writing, poster making contests, field trips, film screenings, street plays, graffiti competitions, pledge walks, and filmmaking lessons. Activities organises by the cell last year included self-defense training workshops in association with the Women’s Cell of Delhi Police, collection drives in association with the NGO- Goonj, a workshop on child sexual abuse in association with Rahi Foundation, The Teach India Campaign, in association with The Times of India and British Council, I am Shakti Movement with the India Today Group, etc. The WDC of Daulat Ram College has effectively organised multiple inter-college conventional debate competitions, slam poetry events, and poster presentations on the theme- Women: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

Hindu College

The WDC of Hindu College was established in the year 2006. Since then, it has been committed to raise awareness about issues like female foeticide and sexual harassment. On 8th February 2018, the WDC of Hindu College collaborated with Delhi State Legal Services Authority to bring to light the legality surrounding harassment at workplace, domestic violence, and property rights. Subah is the annual bilingual magazine of the Women’s Development Cell of Hindu College. What makes this magazine standout is the fact that it is a handwritten magazine that started in 2014. Paras Arora, President, Women’s Development Cell, Hindu College, told DU Beat, “Subah has essays, book reviews, interviews, poems, and artworks by not only the students of WDC, but also the faculty, non teaching staff, and alumni of Hindu College.”

Kirori Mal College

Parivartan, the Women’s Development Cell of Kirori Mal College (KMC), organises film shows, workshops and other events on issues such as gender stereotyping, discrimination, and violence. The WDC also provides the services of a trained counsellor and hosts bi-weekly meetings called “The Forum” on issues related to gender, sexual violence, harassment, sensitisation, patriarchy, femininity, masculinity, and so forth. Parivartan organised an open-mic session to discuss gender inequality prevalent in today’s time to celebrate the occasion of International Women’s Day on 9th March 2018.

Miranda House

Miranda House has an extremely active WDC. It is popularly known as a “space for exploring gender stereotypes, making connections between private lives and public worlds, and sensitising students to a feminist understanding of their lives and contexts.” The Cell organises lectures, workshops, documentary screening, and discussions on topical, pertinent issues. They organise campaigns to raise awareness about several issues concerning women. One of the most popular events hosted by the WDC of Miranda House was called “Letters to Patriarchy” on 15th February 2018, in which the audience discussed how patriarchy is a hindrance to equality. In 2016, they collaborated with Goonj (an NGO) and organised a campaign to provide women with sanitary napkins.

Sri Venkateswara College

Shakti, the WDC of Sri Venkateswara College, is a proud feminist society that refuses to comply with gender norms or the patriarchal setting of the environment. It aims to inculcate values of gender inclusivity in its students and reduce discrimination on campus. The WDC is active and organises talks and seminars to initiate an active conversation on gender based discrimination. Shakti also organised an Entrepreneurship Talk and Women’s Conclave, Shaktiodaya, where they hosted prominent feminist scholars like Kamla Bhasin and Usha Ramanthan amongst others.

Pinjra Tod – The Coven of Witches

Pinjra Tod is an autonomous feminist collective, which comprises primarily of DU students, and has been working for the freedom of women within university spaces. Their protests and campaigns have most notably revolved around the abolishment of curfew timings which are discriminatorily implemented in women’s hostels and paying guest accommodations. Since their inception in 2015, Pinjra Tod has consistently worked towards amplifying the concerns of women by curating and creating plays, nukkad nataks, poetry sessions, group exercise sessions, public meetings, and hearings.

Thanks to the creative minds at the collective, all their events are crowned with snazzy titles like – Bus Hai Teri Meri, Chal Saheli, and a long bus ride in public transport. They have been popularly accredited with inventing famous slogans like ‘Karengay Politics, Karengay Pyaar’ and ‘ABVP Why So Creepy’. One thing that distinguishes this advocacy group is its night marches. Tinged with militancy and loud sloganeering, the night marches are held in campuses and residential colonies that house large number of students to showcase dissent against discriminatory curfew timings. They gather outside hostels and sing songs and poems of feminist struggle. Often, those who participate in these marches resort to physically breaking the hostel gates, climbing over them, and even get involved in violent altercations with opposing factions.

While speaking to DU Beat about the problems that Pinjra Tod faces, an activist said, “The greatest challenge we face is to continuously build our collective strength, and to create effective support systems for women across the different locations and experiences that we come from.” She further added, “The rising cost of education including the hostel fees and paying guest accommodation rents, surveillance on campus, the indifference of the administration are everyday challenges that we face. Lastly, the rise of the right wing in the country and the changes they are introducing in the education system and social dynamics has made things much harder for all women in society desiring to live a life of freedom and dignity.”

Nazariya – The Rainbow Mafia

This Holi, the University of Delhi (DU) saw unprecedented uproar against the prevalent harassment that plagues people, women in particular, after a student of Lady Shri Ram College for Women raised the issue of being hit by what appeared to be a balloon filled with semen. In response to this, protests and awareness campaigns were organised by several groups, and at the forefront of these protests was Nazariya. The collective was subjected to trolling on social media but instead of shying away the members reclaimed insults like “Rainbow Mafia” in a clever fashion.

Nazariya, a queer-feminist group is just six months old, but its presence can be seen across DU. They have organised stress management workshops, film screenings, panel discussions, and meetings. Slowly but steadily, their influence is growing. Talking to DU Beat about what Nazariya means, Ruth Chawngthu, a DU student and cofounder at Nazariya explained, “Nazariya means perspective, and the name was chosen to represent the fluidity of one’s perspective. Our goal at Nazariya is to normalise and destigmatise the diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, which is to say that we want to change people’s perspectives. It also means we are open to other people’s perspectives as well.”

When asked about what has been the most rewarding incident while working in this alliance, she said, “It’s kind of difficult to choose just one rewarding moment, the entire “Nazariya experience” has been rewarding. All our events till date, and all our initiatives have been executed with zero funding or backing, and were made possible solely due to the hard work and cooperation of community members. This, to me is rewarding because it shows solidarity and unity within the community which makes it distinctive.”

The Delhi University Women’s Association – Strengthening Sisterhood Since The Sixties

The history of the Delhi University Women’s Association (DUWA) is quite an interesting one. DUWA was founded in 1964, at a time when, as per the website of the association, “Women did not generally move out much and were restricted to the four walls and confined to the domestic chores.” According to alumnus of the University of Delhi, there existed a “Men’s Club” where male students and staff alike would meet for recreational activities and sports, however, there existed no such meeting place for women. Women members from the University were allowed to use the venue of the Men’s Club only on Wednesday’s, i.e. once a week.

Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh, who founded DUWA, was a freedom fighter and an advocate. She envisioned an association for the female fraternity of Delhi University. The Association culminated with the aim to benefit the female members of the staff and female family members of those in the staff of Delhi University and its affiliated institutions. The members of DUWA also provided assistance to the soldiers who had fought in the Indo-Sino War of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965.The Association has grown significantly since 1964. In 2013, it opened the Mind and Body Centre (MBC). DUWA also houses a Souvenir Shop that started in 2014.

Today the centre provides psychological counselling as well as homeopathic and naturopathic consultation. Those visiting the facility have to pay an annual registration fee of INR 50, after which they can use the services for free. In addition to this, the centre provides free yoga classes and also hosts a day-care facility available to the children of the staff of DU. DUWA Secretary Dr. Geeta Sahare told DU Beat that the institution receives roughly about 30 consultations daily from DU employees and students. She added, “Most of our clients require counselling for psychological issues such as low self-esteem, family discords, anxiety, depression, exam-related stress, relationship problems, etc. We receive a large response particularly during the admission season, as aspirants seek guidance in their selection of college and the admission procedure.” DUWA is an extremely positive step undertaken by the University to inculcate a culture of acceptance and initiate holistic care for all clients of DUWA by tending to their emotional, physical, as well as mental health needs.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Ladies Finger

Bhavya Banerjee | [email protected] 

Niharika Dabral | [email protected]

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Kathua and Unnao: We Are Guilty, Both in Our Silence and Screams

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Kathua, the case of misplaced outrage.

On the morning of 18th January, Mian Altaf, an influential Gujjar leader in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, waved an Urdu newspaper that had printed a photograph of Asifa Bano with a news item of the eight year old’s gory gang-rape.  No one paid much attention to the story.

It was only recently that the groundswell of outrage against the rape grew and protests erupted on social media. The fact that it has taken so long for Asifa to get national attention highlights how difficult the fight for justice still remains for rape victims when the accused enjoy political power or patronage.

The girl from the Gujjar-Bakarwal community in Rasana was abducted in January, held captive in a local temple, drugged, raped repeatedly by at least three men, and then strangled. Her body was found in the forests on January 17th, a week after she went missing.

The charge sheet of the case names eight accusers and puts 60-year-old Sanji Ram, custodian of the temple, as the mastermind behind this rape. It goes on to say that Ram had hatched the plan to terrorise and dislodge the Muslim nomads from the Hindu-majority area where the girl lived. Asifa’s house is now locked. Nobody seems to know where the family that belongs to the nomadic Muslim tribe has gone. Seems like Sanji Ram’s purpose has been served.

Soon after the first arrests were made, hundreds of people, under the aegis of Hindu Ekta Manch, rallied in defense of the accused, thereby revealing the volatile religious fault lines. Those defending the accused include Lal Singh and Prakash Chandar Ganga, both of whom are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers in the Mehbooba Mufti government. Along with them, The Jammu Bar Association on Wednesday protested against the crime branch probe as they thought it was ‘targeting the Dogra community’ in the state. To ensure neutrality in view of the Hindu-Muslim polarisation, the state government has appointed two Sikh special public prosecutors for this case.

It is ironic that slogans like ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ are being used in such rallies, even as Gujjars and Bakarwals have in the last 29 years of political turmoil in the Valley remained loyal to New Delhi, only to be refused cremation in their own land. The locals of Rasana did not even allow the Asifa’s family to bury her bruised body. It had to be buried in a neighbouring village where her relatives live.

In these contexts, like every rape, this case is heavily political. Sanji Ram decided (allegedly) to kill Asifa in order to instill fear in her community, who he feared would over number Hindus in the area.  The Hindu Ekta Manch and Bar Council came out in protests because the accused were Hindus.  This case has gathered celebrity attention, but those ‘placards’ are apolitical in nature. They ignore the politics of region and religion. They reduce the identity of Asifa to a young girl, instead of a Bakarwal Muslim girl who belongs to a marginalised nomadic tribe and is hence more vulnerable, especially when she is in a Hindu majoritarian area of Jammu and Kashmir. Yes, a rape is a rape, it is a grave problem, but to solve any problem, we have to acknowledge its various facets. By ignoring the communal angle of this tragedy we are being dishonest.

We must politicise it because, guess what, it is political.

In a U-turn, the Jammu Bar Association has announced its decision to organise a candle light march for the eight-year-old girl. Dear Bar Council, we don’t want your mild candle light marches, we want the rage full fire to burn in your chest against something as heinous as rape. You questioned the work of your own colleagues and pitted the national flag against the dead girl’s shroud. Your hypocrisy and fundamentalism will not be absolved with a symbolic protest. We don’t need your obligatory march, we need your apology.

Unnao, the story of a feisty survivor and her complicit neighbours.

In June 2017, a 17-year-old girl from Unnao alleged that she was gang-raped for more than a week by Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), and his accomplices. However, when they tried to file the First Person Report (FIR), the case registered by the Unnao police did not name the MLA.

The survivor’s family eventually approached the chief judicial magistrate to finally get an FIR lodged against the MLA. Even then the Unnao police took no action in the case. On April 3rd, the survivor’s father was thrashed by Sengar’s brother and his men. The police did file an FIR but didn’t name the MLA’s brother despite video evidence. Instead on the same day, the police arrested the survivor’s father himself and booked him under the Arms Act. A few days later he died in police custody. The post-mortem report listed multiple injuries on his body.

It was only after the survivor tried to immolate herself outside Adityanath’s residence on 8th April that the administration and the media took notice of the case. “I was raped. I have been running pillar to post for the last one year but no one is listening to me. I want to see all of them arrested, otherwise, I will kill myself,” The Indian Express quoted the survivor.

On 12th April, the Uttar Pradesh government registered a case against the MLA for kidnapping, rape, and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). On 14th April the arrest was made.

All this while the survivor and her family are living in a government guest house as they fear for their safety. It has been almost a year since the survivor and her family are fighting for justice. They didn’t give up. We cannot even imagine the amount of pressure she must be subjected to, we cannot even imagine her trauma after the death of her father, and we cannot even fathom the strength of her bravery. She didn’t give up and we, as fellow humans, should be grateful for her courage, for it shows us how to fight against all odds.

She shared the location with her rapist, everyone in the area knew what had happened, everyone saw how her father was assaulted, but no one said anything. People like Sengar seek their impunity from our compliance. He was a bahubali leader who won four times. Who elected him four times? Us, the people. According to reports, Senger earned his social standing by giving away freebies in his constituency. Next time when someone like him offers us gifts or favours, will we accept them with wide smiles and marigold garlands? Will we ask him tough questions when he comes to our threshold with folded hands?

Despite the bad history of Senger, the Modi government accepted him in his party. Yogi Aadityanath’s administration who claims to curb the Jungle Raj didn’t give to hoots about the victim until she caught media attention. Next time when we vote I hope we remember what people like Senger do. Next time when we see someone struggling against the powerful, I hope we extend our solidarity. I hope we become more brave, more political, and most of all, I hope we stay angry, very angry.

 

Feature Image Credits: NDTV and ANI

 

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Hindu E -summit 2018 concludes successfully!

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The Entrepreneurship Cell of Hindu College recently concluded its year-long endeavors with its annual flagship event the Hindu E -summit.

The event was hosted by the E-cell over a course of two days, which saw participants from all over the country take part in an extravaganza of events, which were curated perfectly by the E-Cell members to test the wits and grits of the budding entrepreneurs.

The summit started with the main attraction event – the startup expo, a one of its kind event that was aimed at bringing leading investors looking to diversify their profiles and the student-run startups and others alike to a common stage to facilitate future avenues of collaborations. Leading investment firm Fisca Global was the title sponsor of the event and was accompanied by prominent investors from the Delhi angels circuit such as Mr. Syed Faiz Hassan and Mr. Ajay Muttreja to name a few. A plethora of startups also knocked the doors of opportunity that awaited them. A number of startups bagged fundings in multiple rounds of pitching and even pocketed investment of up to 50 lakh rupees, while other got a chance at fixing meetings for further talks. A striking feature was the elevator pitch, which simulated a 60 seconds pitching opportunity which tested the improvisation and extempore skills of the startup founders.

The summit not only catered to college students and the startups, but recognized that the young adult generation is on its toes raking up the next big idea and in a bid to promote that it hosted the Young Entrepreneurs Challenge (YEC) over a course of two days which saw students from the length and breadth of the country battling it out in an elaborate and holistic series of events. DPS Bhopal emerged as the overall winners of the YEC and took home the trophy along with a number of accolades for the 2018 edition of the event.

The other attractions at were the Entrepreneurial Forum which was a first of its kind discussion forum with real-time topics and live interaction amongst the various stakeholders. The outcome was some really intelligent and fruitful discussions which provided gainful insights. Corporate -Knot saw participants get the idea from the paper and chalkboards to a simulated investor market, handling everything like government policy changes, and investing hassles on the way, but the budding entrepreneurs put up a good fight and were successful in curating their B plans to success.

All work and no play makes the entrepreneur a dull one and in lieu of that, a number of informals were planned which included ‘minute to win it’ and a life-sized biz monopoly along with the refreshments.

A unique networking event- The Linkedin Local- for professionals and students alike to promote more synergy and opportunities, which was accompanied by icebreakers and concluded with hi-tea. The event was highly appreciated by all stakeholders and was successfully concluded with the awards distribution ceremony and closing notes by all post holders.

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Seminar on Ambedkar Withdrawn: Organisers Alledge Discrimination, Faculty Says Permission Wasn’t Taken

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Just as the world was gearing up for the 127th birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a seminar at Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC), University of Delhi, was allegedly cancelled at the last moment.

The seminar ‘Dalit Empowerment and its Challenges’ was scheduled for 13th April at 1.30 p.m. in the CIC seminar room. The posters for the same were posted across the North Campus and circulated diligently on social media.

The illustrated speakers list included Manoj Jha, a member of Rajya Sabha and the national spokesperson of the Rashtriya Janta Dal, Bal Gangadhar Baghi, a Bahujan poet and Jawaharlal Nehru University research scholar, Harish Gautam, a Dalit activist, and Bhasha Singh a journalist and an author.

According to the Nishant, a final year student of B.A. Honours (Humanities & Social Sciences), the seminar room was booked on 9th of April and the intent of booking was made clear to the director’s office. However, just a day before the event Prof. Harinder P. Singh, Director, CIC, declined the permission after the organisers personally informed him about the event. The Director cited security issues and instead asked the organisers to attend another event which the University is conducting on April 14th and in which Union Social Justice Minister is taking part.

Another student, on the condition of anonymity, told DU Beat that the Director asked the organisers to shift their venue from CIC to Shankar Lal Hall because he “doesn’t want any controversy in the Centre”. “The Director gave us a long speech explaining a complicated procedure that we were suppose to follow. Honestly, these are all excuses. Everyone knew that the seminar is going to happen. As we are working with the Communal Harmony Project, the project mentor, Prof. Ashu Misra, knew about the seminar. While filling the form for booking we explicitly wrote the purpose of booking. The administration is seeking refuge under ignorance. We spent weeks trying to contact the panelist. It broke my heart when I had to cancel all invites. All money that was put into posters is wasted,” he rued.

Speaking to DU Beat, Dr. Saleem Mir,  Coordinator of B.A. Hons. (Humanities and Social Science), said that permission wasn’t sought before the event. “As a Programme Coordinator, I was also not informed about the upcoming seminar. I got the call from the Director about the event and I couldn’t tell him anything about it. The students just sought permission to organise an event without giving the details of who is coming and why it is being organised. Any talk, event, workshop, lecture, activity, be it academic or co-curricular or extra-curricular, can be organised, but prior permission has to be taken from the Coordinator and the Director.”

He further stressed, “When even teachers take permission from the authorities prior to inviting the people or planning the event then shouldn’t students also do the same? Sometimes you can take permission a little later, but not just one day before the event. How is the University going to make security arrangements especially when a politician is coming to speak?”

When DU Beat contacted the Director’s office, Mr. Prem Bhagat, Assistant, told us that due to upcoming National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) visit and other engagements the Director missed the details of the event. He also told us the event was merely asked to be postponed.

The press release issued by the organisers claims that the permit was revoked “under pressure of some groups and individuals who are against the idea of Babasaheb”. “The abruptness with which the permission for the programme was cancelled shows the deep-seated Brahaminical attitude of some groups and individuals in Cluster Innovation Center,” the statement further asserts. The press release also accused Prof. Pankaj Tyagi, Coordinator, M.Sc. (Mathematics Education), of vandalising the posters. DU Beat’s attempts to reach Prof. Tyagi were unsuccessful.

Refuting these allegations Dr. Saleem Mir, Coordinator, B.A. Hons. (Humanities and Social Science) said, “Is our Director a Brahmin? He is a Sikh. Is the Coordinator a Brahmin?  I am a Muslim. I don’t understand where from did this Brahaminical pressure thing is coming from. As responsible citizens, we must not level such allegations so casually. As students of CIC, the organisers must feel ashamed before leveling these allegations in an environment like CIC where the faculty is always talking about the nation building with minorities, Dalits, tribals and the marginalised as the main engines of the progress of a nation. Our curriculum is designed in such a way that we undertake our semester-long projects majorly focusing on problems of the poor and downtrodden.”

 

Feature Image Credits: Nishant Kabir

Niharika Dabral

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Dhyana Society of Lady Shri Ram College for Women organises Kairos’18

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Last week, on March 22nd, an Open Mic and Poetry Slam event: Kairos was held at Lady Shri Ram College on the theme: Change is The Only Constant. This was the very first time that an event like this was hosted by Dhyana Society.
The event lasted for about two hours and saw an audience of  35 people, with over 15 heartwarming performances. It was hosted by Sharmishtha Samal, a Third Year Philosophy student who connects to the art of poetry on many levels and therefore sought out to create an intimate experience for everyone in the room at the event.
It coincided with the DUTA strikes when most of the colleges were empty, and yet, saw a shockingly pleasant turnup of over 40 people and a wide range of performances ranging from satirical numbers on the despicable glitches in the political and educational systems that exist in current times, to heartwarming poetry on love’s all-embracing healing capabilities, to instances on anxiety and depression’s painful grip, melancholic and nostalgic prose on feeling the hollow left by a loved one,  poetry on the painful graphs of life which are omnipresent withing every happy situation, to even some Urdu Poetry.
Featured Poet aka Avnika Gupta stirred up the audience with her dynamic pieces on the Transience of Social Media which spoke about this generation of people with short attention spans. This piece was followed by a vulnerable poem narrating her take on love. She defines her experience at Kairos as one with a diverse range of skill, style, and form on one stage. She feels that the event created a safe space for the performers to be able to share the vulnerable sides of themselves through their art form. She identifies as a little girl trying to remind the world to move to the beat of its heart even when it sounds like the scariest and stupid thing to do. And Kairos upheld these underlying principles wonderfully, allowing one to speak, learn, change, and contribute. For what’s art, if not the courage to be stupid, irrational, and misunderstood?
Performers from a wide number of colleges like Vivekananda Institute for Professional Studies, Delhi Technological Institute, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Ramjas College, Maharaja Agrasen College, JIMS Vasant Kunj, Galgotias Universty, Bhaskaraharya College of Applied Science among others were seen at the event.
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The North East Cell of Kirori Mal College grandly concludes 8thnicia 

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The North East Cell of Kirori Mal College celebrated its annual cultural fest, “8thnicia” on 31st March 2018. Unlike ever seen before the event had various assets to display with their roots embedded to their very own home states.

The morning session constituted of a seminar addressed by Dr. Moirangthem Kennedy Singh on ‘Arrested Development in the North-East’ which was a grand success. The event was followed by the evening session mainly focused on the cultural grounds. The library lawn where the evening session was conducted was lushly decorated by the members of the North East Cell with a grand stage as the cynosure and various food and game stalls  on the sides. A photo exhibition by a Gurgaon based freelance photographer Mr. Lokesh Dang with the theme “Don’t Call Me Chinky” was also showcased. 

The cultural event was set off with an opening speech by Dr. M Ramananda Singh, convener of the North East Cell, and followed by exotic performances from the North East Cells of various colleges of the University of Delhi. Various graceful and astonishing dances and soothing melodies from the students made a huge crowd gather. But the core idea that made the event successful was the thought of being home away from home and the dedication and labor put forward by the members of the North East Cell and the support it got from the college, teachers, and the people in general.

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Miranda House organised Gender Equality Mela’18

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The Gender Equality Mela of Miranda House 2018 was celebrated with a great degree of success with on 4th and 5th of April.

Day one started with an interactive session by renowned feminists and social workers Kamla Bhasin and Suneeta Dhar who discussed various meanings and strands of the larger women’s movement. On their insistence, the students engaged in a highly stimulating session on their everyday stories of resistance.  In the second session of the day, Bijaylakshmi Nanda, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science at Miranda House, Divya Vaishnava, a social worker and founder of BUD Foundation, and Preeti Choudhury, author and lecturer, talked about various ways in which the culture of accountability can be remoulded in the context of sexual harassment and the issue of consent. It was followed by a round of Q&A with the audience that led to heated debates between the panelists and the students.

The speakers attending the third session were journalists Rakhee Bakshee and Richa Aniruddh who talked about the stigma surrounding female journalists and their work in the media in a session titled “What’s on Screen? Gender and Media”. Both of them highlighted the various biases they have had to confront during the years in their career ranging from adhering to a perfect body to ignoring sexist comments while pursuing a story. They concluded, after a vigorous Q&A session, that although there have been changes in the media now, women who are going to pursue this career still have a long journey to endure.

The day ended with a roundtable session between the representatives of Internal Complaints Committee from various colleges such as Kirori Mal College, Hindu College, St. Stephen’s, Ramjas, Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, and Miranda House, talking about the institutionalised sexual violence in the University space. The session was moderated by Titiksha Vashisth, a Masters student from JNU and a Miranda House alumnus. The students discussed the structural problems regarding the functioning of the ICC such as an unhelpful administration while recognising that there is a need for the larger issue which is battling patriarchy and talking about sexual harassment.

The second day saw a series of interesting panel discussions again. The first event was an interactive session on the stories of acid attack survivors. Acid attack survivors Chandrahas Mishra and Ms. Geeta shared their stories of survival and dealing with the stigma that came with the horrific incidents that occurred with them. Mr. Mishra, a member of Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI) and an activist,  pointed out the difficulties that survivors face in getting treatment, overcoming their mental and physical trauma and seeking support from the government. Ms. Geeta also shared her story of courage and resilience and how ASFI helped her recover from her incident.

The second session was on ‘Women in Conflict Areas’. Rita Manchanda, a well-known journalist and research scholar, Mehroosh, a student of psychology of law at Jamia Milia Islamia and Samreen Mushtaq, a doctoral candidate at the Department of Political Science at Jamia Milia Islamia, were the speakers for the panel. In an intense, emotional session the speakers talked about the various shades of problems and identities that women grapple with in conflict-ridden areas with special reference to the Kashmir dispute.

The third session was on ‘Masculinity and Consent’ which was on various facets of the gender roles attributed to men and how consent plays a role in our everyday lives. The panel consisted of Suraj Pawar, social activist and program coordinator of Azad Foundation, Pavel Sagolsem, research scholar and program associate at Centre for Health and Social Justice and Dhruv Pandey, Assistant Professor at the Women’s Studies and Development Centre, University of Delhi.

The last panel discussion of the day was on the challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community, the speakers being Aroh Akunth, a Dalit and queer activist and member of the Queer Collective at Ambedkar University, Ritambbara Mehta, the co-founder of Nazariya and Rudrani Chhetri, a well-known transgender activist from Delhi. Kabir Trivedi, the founder, and president of the Miranda House Queer Collective moderated the session. The discussion veered towards the queer and Dalit politics in India especially the issues of identity, harassment, and marginalisation these communities face.

The two-day festival ended with a screening of Anurag Kashyap’s That Day after Everyday, an award-winning film on the problems faced by women every day in public spaces. The Gender Mela was deemed to be a success by all the members of the Miranda House Women’s Development Cell as well as the audience present.

 

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

Sara Sohail
[email protected]

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Campus Central

Highlights: Crossroads, the Annual Cultural Fest of Shri Ram College of Commerce 

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Crossroads, the annual cultural fest of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) was held from 17th – 20th March 2018. The four-day long extravaganza saw an array of competitions, contests, and this fest season’s most hyped star nights. Dotted with vibrant stalls and a jolly fun zone, the SRCC campus was a happening place during the fest.

Day one of Crossroads’18 started with The Game of Notes, a capella competition, organised by Catharsis, the western music society of SRCC. The seminar room was decked up with red fairy lights for the same. The competition hosted a total of nine teams. The judge for the event was Mr. Joezhotso, or, lovingly referred to as “Jojo Sir” by students. Mr. Joezhotso is a trained opera singer who has been a part of the international music industry for 21 years.

Enactus SRCC and the Travelers Society also hosted their annual event Leap, where they entertained and engaged kids in fun activities.

In Nazakat, the solo classical dance competition,  Suryansh Dixit of Maharaja Agrasen College got the title of Utkrisht Kalakaar and emerged as the winner. Karishma Sahoo of Pannalal Girdharlal Dayanand Anglo Vedic College (PGDAV) came second and secured the title of Uttam Kalakar. Adira Das of Dyal Singh College was announced as the Ubharta Kalakaar and came third.

Known for her highly energetic onstage performances, Teri Miko infused hard hitting trap beats with electronic sounds. Being a new-age electronic music producer who has been a part of major festivals like Sunburn Festival and Vh1 Supersonic, the ‘Fukuyo’ hit-maker amazed the audience with her remarkable compilations.

 

8. The ‘Stomp on the Yard’ Competition held at the front lawns was a site of enthusiasm and zest as the estrogen-packed dance societies of five colleges battled in three hectic rounds. While the first round was themed around freestyle dancing, the second round involved a one-on-one face-off between the teams. The third and the final round witnessed the finalists, Team ‘Verve’ from Sri Venkateswara College and Team ‘Zest’ from Dyal Singh College clash. Team ‘Zest’ was declared the winner by the sole judge of the competition, Nimble Funk.

Bollywood singer Benny Dayal’s closed the second day of Crossroads. His energetic performance was an instant hit with the crowd. His rendition of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” and even a Tamil song were a testament to his versatility as a singer. He charmed the audience with his lively exuberance as he moved from “Bachna Ae Haseeno” onto the chart-topper “Badtameez Dil”.

Day three at Crossroads began with the Indian light solo song competition organised by Aarohan, the Indian music society of SRCC. Thirteen students from different colleges performed a range of semi-classical and Bollywood songs. The audience seemed to be visibly delighted by the melodies. Sharath S. Kumar, from Hansraj who presented a rendition of Jhanak Jhanak Tori, the iconic Manna Dey song, was declared the winner. Sukriti Poddar from Gargi college was the runner-up while Amlan Sarkar of Ramjas College and S. Arjun of Zakir Husain Delhi College were both the second runner-ups. Commenting on how the essence of an artist’s performance lay in his attire, the judge, Carnatic maestro and Bharatnatyam dancer, S. Vasudevan congratulated the participants for their dedicated efforts.

From teams which displayed terrifying passions through their ragas to teams that enveloped their performance in a state of perfect peacefulness, Saarang, the Indian choir competition witnessed versatility with finesse.

Fashion Walk, the fashion show competition, saw seven top teams compete for the top title. Amidst much controversy, Glitz, the fashion society of Kamala Nehru College secured the first position at while Prophecy, the fashion society of Lady Irwin College, came second. Demeanor, the Fashion Society of SRCC, presented the clothing line of Lulu And Sky as they walked the ramp at Crossroads on its third day.

Astitva, the multi-genre band performed songs spanning varied genres. The ‘Patang Dor’ hit-maker presented hybrid styles of exquisite melodies such as “Take It Easy Urvashi” and “Humma” to evergreen pop hits like “Dil Chahta Hai”. The audience sang along as the lead vocalist Salman Khan Niazi crooned to “Dil Diyan Gallan”. In the highly spirited performance, their renditions of “Om Shanti Om” and “Tumsa Nahi Dekha” won over the audience instantly.

The final day of Crossroads started with a choreography dance competition.

DU Beat got an opportunity to interview journalist Faye D’Souza on the final day of Crossroads.

Nucleya’s performance was considered by some as the biggest performance of the whole fest season. Despite heavy security, crowd was not managed well. However, no undesirable incident came to light and Crossroads’18 concluded with a bang.

 

Feature Image Credits: Akarsh Mathur for DU Beat

 

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]

Bhavya Banerjee

[email protected]

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

[email protected]

 

 

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Hundreds participate in DUTA’s People’s March

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On 28th of March, the much-anticipated People’s March led by the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) saw the participation of hundreds of students, workers, and teachers. The demonstrators raised an array of issues like the 70:30 funding formula, Self-financing of courses, Negative Pay and Service Conditions of teachers, attack on Reservation and Loan-funding through Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA), etc. The march commenced from Barakhamba Road at 1:00 PM and finally culminated in a huge public meeting on Parliament Street at 3:30 PM.

Before starting the march Manish Sisodia, who is the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and holds the Education portfolio, addressed the gathering. He expressed solidarity with DUTA and other student and staff associations. “This fight is not just yours or your teachers, it’s our fight. We all get affected by education. Today, from this platform, I pledge my, Aam Aadmi Party’s, and the Delhi government’s support to your cause.” he said.
The demonstration that was peaceful and planned was closely watched by heavy police deployment. Students carried snazzy posters and expressed their anger in emphatic yet lively manner. Predominantly the participation was from girls colleges, like Jesus and Mary College, Kamala Nehru College, Gargi College, and Lady Sri Ram College. Ramjas College, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, and Pannalal Girdharlal Dayanand Anglo Vedic College also participated in huge numbers. Busses stationed outside the colleges picked up students for the march.

Teachers and students from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Ambedkar University Delhi, Aligarh Muslim University, Indira Gandhi National Open University, and Jamia Millia Islamia also joined the People’s March. The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) members of Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) shared the stage with DUTA and other allied groups. Several representatives from political parties addressed the gathering at the end.
Brinda Karat of Communist Party of India (Marxist), Sanjay Singh of Aam Admi Party, and Sushmita Dev of Congress. Some protesters were seen perturbed at the presence of politicians in a non-partisan protest.

In a press release, DUTA explained the reason for the protest and wrote, “Government is keen to withdraw public-funding, impose Self-financing models on public-sector universities and colleges and force them to take loans for infrastructure by mortgaging public resources like buildings and land as collaterals. This puts a question-mark on the affordability of higher education. It also manifests itself in the Government’s unwillingness to appoint adequate teachers on a permanent basis, allow fair promotional avenues, and give pensions to retired teachers. University has been hit hard by all these issues in recent times. It has also been forced to start new courses in Journalism, Cyber Security and Strategic Diplomacy on Self-financing mode with teachers appointed on short-term contracts. This has severely affected the quality of teachers and the student-teacher ratio in the university. More than 50% of its faculty across colleges and departments are forced to work on ad-hoc and guest basis, without any job security or service benefits.”

While this powerful and passionate march has evoked awareness about government’s policy amongst DU students, but whether or not this will result in constructive policy change can only be seen with time.

 

Feature Image Credits: Bhavya Banerjee for DU Beat

Niharika Dabral
[email protected]

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