Author

Prachi Mehra

Browsing

With the end of school life, admission fever has caught up and life is changed forever. The cocoon of school life has burst and you are in for a rollercoaster ride at the University of Delhi. One of the most relevant debates in the University is: North Campus or South Campus? I understand that everybody does not have the privilege of choosing between the two, but the preferred choice has always been the North Campus. Having settled for a South Campus College, I can vouch for the differences but each one has its own pros and cons.

Location
All the colleges in North Campus (NC) are located within walking distances of each other. In addition to this, all the Departments and Faculties of the University lie in the vicinity along with teachers’ residences and apartments. Cluster Innovation Centre and Delhi School of Journalism are also a part of North Campus. South Campus colleges are located in a gap of kilometres from each other and walking is not feasible. Being in such a close-knit environment, NC students have the opportunity of coming across other fellow students from other colleges and making friends beyond just their college, the same is not plausible for South Campus students.

Activity
With the benefit of having all colleges, departments, and faculties in the same neighbourhood, students are often found at locations other than their colleges during free hours. Not a day goes by when there is not a talk, seminar, play or other events (s) in any one of the colleges. Such privilege has not been bestowed upon the South Campus students because a) not enough events take place during odd semesters and b) time travelling to NC would consume the free periods.

Hangout Spots
Anna Canteen, Tom Uncle’s Maggie,  Majnu Ka Tila, and Hudson Lane are some of the favourite hangout spots for North Campus students.  Kamla Nagar (Knags), a favoured shopping stretch, is at a stone’s throw away from all colleges. Satya Niketan, Hauz Khas Village, Lajpat Nagar, and Nehru Place are the preferred hangout hubs for South Campus students offering an array of options for eating and shopping.

Hullabaloo
The protest culture is a double-edged sword. The sloganising and haranguing have often excited and disturbed the North Campus students. The right to protest is a blessing in disguise for the University teachers and students to claim their fundamental rights, but often the same protests are used as a  propaganda tool of the political parties which disrupts the schedules of North Campus colleges. Residing in solitude and away from the protest culture, the South Campus colleges carry on with their lives in peace, but that has not deterred the students and teachers from joining their compatriots on various occasions. Considering most protests often culminate at Mandi House, all colleges get equal access to participate in vibrant student-led movements.

In conversation with the DU Beat correspondent Dr. Anjana Nera Dev, Assistant Professor at Gargi College, articulated, “The North-South friendly rivalry is part of the urban legend heritage of DU admissions. While common sense dictates that geography and academic credentials are the reasons for the inter list migrations between the two, there seems to be more to this than meets the eye. Also, the preferred direction seems to be North, while South is better for all the co-curricular activities. I wonder when the compass will go back to having four cardinal points and the East and West will also become desirable destinations to which students will aspire and about which the media will debate.”

Everybody’s college life has its own share of ups and downs and once you have settled in your college, you love your college no matter what and it becomes your home.

Feature Image Credits: The University of Delhi
Prachi Mehra 
[email protected]

In an emergent meeting held on 3rd July, the Hindu College Staff Association (HCSA) passed a unanimous resolution to remove the officiating Principal, Dr. Anju Srivastava, Dr. Ashok Mittal, and Chairman of Governing Body, Mr. S.N.P. Punj.

In the press release, the Staff Association has requested the Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi (DU) to take the administration of the college from Hindu Education Trust to be changed into a university-run college. They have also appealed the Vice Chancellor to expand the Governing Body (GB) by bringing in more academics and teachers of the university.

HCSA has stated that it will approach authorities deemed appropriate by the executive to inform them of the tactics employed by the Chairman for his past moves for acquiring autonomy and a ‘Deemed University’ status. HCSA will not be restricted just to the Vice Chancellor, Delhi University, University Grants Commission Chairperson, Ministry of Human Resource Development, and Prime Minister’s Office.

In 2016, Chairman S.N.P. Punj had written to IAS Mr. Tarun Bajaj and Mr. Brijesh Pandey of Prime Minter’s Office seeking expansion and re-structuring of the college into The School of Sciences, School of Languages, and School of Social Sciences. In the letter, he proposed to start professional programs like B.Sc Microbiology, B.Sc Nanoscience, B.A. in Financial Services, B.A. in International Relations, and eight others on a self-financing basis. Some fundamental level courses like Environment and Public Health, Mind and Behaviour, and Governance and Citizenship were also suggested.  According to his plan, a chain of colleges would have opened in Haryana, Rajasthan, and Punjab under the Hindu College banner.

The matter escalated for the HCSA when it was found that the Chairman had applied to the Prime Minister’s Office for executive intervention to convert the college into a deemed university last year, which would speed up the process of expanding the brand name. The proposal was undertaken without the knowledge, consent, and mandate of the staff council and other GB members.

The President and Secretary of the HCSA have been threatened in the past with show cause notices for protesting against the proposed sale of the college to the highest bidder by the GB. Such steps were bound to lead to higher fees, more expensive hostels, lower academic standards, and dilution of constitutional equal opportunity norms.

In conversation with DU Beat, Professor Atul Gupta, Assistant Professor of Commerce, and Secretary of the Staff Association commented, “The teachers have been protesting against autonomy for two years and the Principal and the Chairman of the Governing Body have kept them in the dark. They are ready to sell the college and use the Hindu College brand name to earn money at the cost of students and teachers. My only appeal is to the students of the University to join the dharna from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Hindu College premises because this is the time to safeguard our colleges from getting prvitised.”

Kawalpreet Kaur, President of All India Students’ Association (AISA) Delhi, has vouched for AISA’s full support to Hindu College professors and their demands. She has claimed that the Principal and GB Chairman lied to the students and professors and secretly colluded with the government, it is completely illegal and unfair that important stakeholders were left out and not consulted, she remarked.

The HCSA will be sitting on the dharna for seven working days starting 4th July. If the authorities fail to concede to the demands, the HCSA will escalate the method of protest. On the last day of the dharna, a press conference will be held. A campaign on social media by the college has already begun under the hashtag, #SmashAutonomy.

 

Feature Image Credits: Hindu College Staff Association

Prachi Mehra

[email protected]

The General Body of Delhi University Teachers’ Association has resolved to continue the evaluation boycott due to the absence of apathy by Ministry of Human Resource Development, University Grants Commission (UGC), and DU Administration.

The teacher community is on a no-cooperation front until the demands of the ad-hoc professors are met, the Roster Notification of the UGC is withdrawn, and the autonomous scheme is put on back-burner.  A letter by the Joint Secretary of the UGC dated 5th March 2018 is addressed to the Registrars of all central and state universities receiving grant-in-aid to implement the reservation policy of the Government of India by preparing the roster system department/subject-wise and in all categories. Till 2006, Department-wise roster system was not meeting the proportions of reservation and UGC called it a violation of the policy. UGC ordered roster system to be applied to college/university as a unit. Despite the current situation, the Government and UGC have filed SLPs (Special Leave Petition) against its own order.

Teachers are appalled by the UGC’s refusal to withdraw the Roster Notification, which has also put a stop to permanent appointments (none took place since 2006) and endangered the re-appointment of ad-hoc teachers in the new session of July. This may lead to reshuffling and change in the composition of the department. As stated in the DUTA Press Release on 1st June 2018, DUTA categorically demands the restoration of status-quo of the 200-point roster and permanent appointments against the advertised posts immediately.

The Department-wise roster policy adversely affects the appointment of SC/ST teachers. The problem goes beyond the University premises. Only till students of backward minorities have an affirmation of securing jobs and uplifting their status quo, will they enroll in institutions. The bigger issue is the representation of these underprivileged sections in the larger framework of our country’s democracy. Not resolving the issue is a threat to harmony and promotion of disparity in the nation.

Abha Dev Habib, an active member of DUTA told DU Beat, “There is a neoliberal-cum-manuwadi policy onslaught. Change in the Roster scheme and commercialisation of public funded higher education is a way to deny the same section a chance of education and jobs in higher education. If the UGC Notification on Roster is implemented, the proportions will never be met as it asks institutions to use Department/subject as a unit. For those universities which have advertised posts on the basis of the 5th March notification, the numbers of SC/ST seats have gone down drastically. Due to this ST candidates will be affected the most. It will also hit job prospects of researchers from dalit-adivasi backgrounds.”

A Press Conference by DUTA along with other leaders of political parties will be organised, the date will soon be finalised. DUTA will be holding a protest programme called ‘Kali Patti Rally’ on 5th June from Mandi House to Shastri Bhawan and seeks the support of students’ groups and members of parliament. DUTA will also hold a Jan Sampark Programme on 6th June by distributing leaflets and talking to the general public on busy spots.

Feature Image Credits: Delhi University Teachers’ Association
Prachi Mehra
[email protected]

“Did you watch Baked?”, “Did you complete The Girl in the City series?”, “Oh my God, The Tripling is so amazing”. This is the age of web series and the concept is pretty new to India because it all kick-started in 2015 but we are all abreast of it. Web series are a relief for the millennials from the boring, typical and content-less Indian TV shows. In fact, not just youngsters, middle-aged people like mine and your parents are entering and traversing the era of watching shows on YouTube and other media platforms.

With the advancement of technology and availability of smartphones with everybody today, these web series are our escape with their varied and relatable content. We, the millennials, cannot while away time sitting in front of our TV’s waiting for our shows to begin every night at 8 p.m. or that movie to air at 9 p.m. because we are busy chasing our dreams, conquering the world, breaking stereotypes, and having the best time of our lives so we entertain ourselves with these thought-provoking series readily available online. They easily fit into our busy schedules because an episode doesn’t last for more than 20 minutes.

We connect with the shows because the characters are funnily clumsy (just like us), real, and flawed. Web series like Man’s World and Ladies’ Room shatter stereotypes, and All About Article 377 brings issues of transgender people to the limelight. Issues like sex are no longer relegated to the fringes with Sex Chat with Pappu and Papa. The millennials are woke in the truest sense with the issues of the world and don’t shy away from writing about them.

Raabiya, a student of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College contributes, “I no longer like to watch movies now and that is because of web series. It’s a movie but with episodes, so it doesn’t feel like a chore. Moreover, since web series are being produced by the new generation, current issues are often taken into account. Interestingly, I realised that I was transgender while watching a web series. While watching All the Women, I somehow realised that that’s where I want to be.”  Shows like Permanent Roommates, The Tripling, Pitchers, Haq Se, The Trip, Little Things, Rise, and Official CEO Giri empower the audience in certain ways along with the comical elements. Muskan Sethi, a student of Jesus and Mary College comments, “I feel that these series are breaking the rut that the Indian soaps have created, the way they break away from the patriarchal mindsets and bring a fresh take on the 21st century lifestyles.”

The TRP ratings have immensely dropped with the advent of web series and their popularity has multiplied to the extent that Bollywood celebrities like Irrfan Kan, Naseerudin Shah, Priyanka Chopra, and Said Ali Khan wish to be associated with this revolution and bring more content with them. Companies like TVF, Y Films, Arre, and ALT Balaji are great platforms of opportunities for creative talents. These organisations have provided jobs to numerous upcoming artists and who are now famous even without their ‘big breaks’ in Bollywood.

These web series have come to our rescue when Indian television shows and Bollywood have disappointed their audiences and there is still a lot of scope for exploration, creative scripts, and ideas that need to see the light.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Yellow Sparrow

Prachi Mehra
[email protected]

The application and admission process in the University of Delhi can be confusing at times. Open Day is an initiative by the administration to clarify admissions related doubts of applicants. 

The University of Delhi’s Open Days for the Academic Session 2018-19 has begun at the Conference Centre of North Campus. Hundreds of students and their parents flock to the Open Days Sessions to clear their doubts about the admission process. The conference room gets jam-packed with aspirants their guardians who aspire to join the Varsity.

The online admission process of all colleges have begun but the aspiring students always have an array of doubts regarding the courses, quotas, colleges, number of seats, eligibility, and accommodation. The open days have members of the Admission Committee in attendance at all times, including principals of different colleges at times who clarify the admission criterion, number of seats in various courses and whether the college provides hostel accommodation or not.

Being one of the top universities of the country, University of Delhi harbours students from all across the country and diverse backgrounds. It is renowned for its affordability and for the quality of education it offers. Every year, more than two lakh forms are filled but the admission is provided to a little over 50,000 applicants.

The Open Day is particularly helpful to ECA aspirants or students hoping to join the University via Sports Quota. Queries regarding certificates, trials, scoring etc. are readily answered at these Open Day sessions. The Open Day which will continue till the 29th of May, is a move by the University officials to make the complicated and often intimidating and confusing admissions process simpler for aspirants.

The University aspirants who have doubts regarding eligibility in the different quotas, reservations of different students in different colleges, choosing a cross-stream course and the cut-offs, number of seats, eligibility for a subject you are not proficient in, and many other doubts should attend the Open Days Sessions along with their parents to inch closer to their dream University.

Feature Image Credits – Saubhagya Saxena for DU Beat

Prachi Mehra

[email protected]

 

The deadlock of the appointment of Governing Body (GB) heads of the 28 Delhi government funded colleges between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Vice Chancellor broke in March, after a rough patch of one year. AAP alleged on 15th May that the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Yogesh Tyagi has threatened the principals of the 28 colleges under Delhi government against appointing the candidates suggested by the Delhi government for the top posts of the Governing Bodies.

AAP Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha told DNA India, “Before the AAP government in Delhi, any member from the ruling party in Delhi used to be the chairman of the governing body of Delhi University (DU), but now because it is AAP who wants to work for the people, the University has planned to hold elections to have a new chairman. Not only this, they are also putting pressure through the vice chancellor’s office, so that nobody from AAP can be the chairperson of these bodies in any college.” Some colleges under Delhi goverment are Gargi College, Kamala Nehru College, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Maharaja Agrasen College, Rajdhani College, Maitreyi College, and Satyawati College (Morning) among others.

According to sources, the Vice Chancellor has suggested Mr. Rajiv Nayan’s name for the post in Satyawati College due to his close relations with him but the college authorities opposed this move. DU may also disqualify his membership for being a panel member of three colleges already.

In a conversation with the DU Beat correspondent, Mr. Shashi Shekhar Singh, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science of Satyawati College stated, “A letter was sent by the Joint Registrar of the University to the principal a night before the meeting stating that the meeting has to be postponed because Mr. Rajiv Nayan has withdrawn from the membership of Aryabhatta College and the college failed to inform the University about the tie in last year’s Governing Body elections. This was the third scheduled meeting to be cancelled, 11 or 12 faculty members had written to the Vice Chancellor on cancellation of the very first meeting but to no avail. The elections had been scheduled for today, the college has no obligation to inform the University about the tie since all the members were aware of it, and elections could have been held smoothly. The University is pressurising the college and interfering in the autonomy of the college. The college is being run without its Governing Body. Absence of a Chairperson and Treasurer has led to a delay in payment of pensions. The University has no right to interfere in this matter of the college.”

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Prachi Mehra

[email protected]

According to a report from a leading daily, teachers from the College of Vocational Studies, University of Delhi, have claimed that a non-teaching staff member is being paid the salary of an assistant professor. The college is fully-funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and has sought the matter numerous times in the past but the college authorities would not revert, an RTI has revealed.

The teachers have alleged that Mr. Kuldeep Ahuja, an instructor, was paid the salary of an Assistant Professor and provided PhD increment since the past 10 years. They also stated to The Indian Express that Mr. Ahuja will retire at 60 – the retiring age for non-teaching staff.

The letter sent by UGC in 2009 after the audit, articulated that the amount was in the ‘higher scale of pay as per UGC norms.’ A similar letter was sent seeking explanation on the part of the college in 2011. UGC asked the college to pay the employee in the band of 6,500-10,500 rupees, but Mr. Ahuja kept withdrawing 75,000-80,000 rupees.

Principal Dr. Indrajeet Dagar answered to the Indian Express that the college had no role in this as the University takes decisions of financial matters – the college simply followed the University’s South Campus office’s payment decision. He also questioned the timing of the issue being raised since Dr. Ahuja has turned 60.

However, in conversation with the DU Beat correspondent, Dr. Surender Singh of the Department of Commerce who also heads the Staff Association proclaimed that, “The allegations are absolutely false. Dr. Kuldeep is the Head of Department of OMSP; the department has been functional since 1972 and has 230 students currently enrolled in the course. He has been the Secretary of the Staff Council for a couple of years. The University as well as the college recognises him as a professor but UGC now refutes it. There is no promotional policy in this University and his post is in accordance with the University rules. His salary was duly approved by the University. He has been accused by 5 people from the staff for personal vendetta. The college has asked Dr. Kuldeep to retire in a letter but the case has been filed in Delhi High Court. The rest of the staff stands with the professor and is planning for a protest in the next in a day or two.”

Feature Image Credits: CVS Edu

Prachi Mehra

[email protected]

Rajib Ray, the President of Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), on behalf of DUTA has written to the Vice-Chancellor of the University on 17th April expressing concern over the recent sexual harassment cases that have come to light.

The letter stated various violations by the colleges. It has been observed that the accused is often a person of authority and is successful in intimidating and silencing the complainants and witnesses. Despite this, stern action is not taken against the accused which raises doubts about the inquiry committee and process. A number of colleges/departments have flouted the University Grants Commission’s guideline for conducting student elections for the Internal Complaints Committee. In cases where reports have been submitted to the Apex Committee, the recommendations have not been placed before the Executive Council for implementation. The other cases have not been pursued in a time-bound manner leading to the subversion of justice and redressal.

It has also been articulated that women students and employees continue to face sexual harassment. The DUTA President has urged the Vice-Chancellor to take the cases from Department of Chemistry and African Studies, Swami Shraddhanand College, Bharti College, Daulat Ram College, and College of Vocational Studies seriously.

In conversation with DU Beat, Abha Deb Habib, an active member of DUTA added, a University with 1.5 lakh students in regular courses and over four lakh students in SOL (School of Open Learning) has to provide a safe environment for women students, which means that there cannot be any kind of laxity in handling cases of sexual harassment. With a large number of outstation students, it becomes even more crucial to provide them safety. It is unfortunate to see that in the Chemistry Department case, the Head was not removed while the inquiry was taking place against him on charges of sexual harassment. A system of fair and time-bound inquiry is a must if we wish to curb this social problem and empower our women students.

 

Feature Image Credits: Counter Currents
Prachi Mehra
[email protected]

In the day and age we live in, we are constantly surrounded by the latest trends, new diets, and a million opinions. Here is a look at how the prevailing generation is trying to break these harmful sterotypes surrounding body image. 

Beauty standards and stereotypes are constructed by the role models and brands we look upto. Unreasonable and unbelievable portfolios like skinny legs, no curves, and as clean as slate armpits are fed to the consumers. Pictures of celebrities on magazine covers are edited and altered on Photoshop so much so that they are not recognisable. Body shaming is rampant because we have been brought up with one notion of beauty. Tina Fey aptly defines that in her book Bossypants, as “every girl is expected to have Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits.”

We, as the millennials and influencers of this generation, must support beauty in all forms, shapes and sizes. Jennifer Lawrence as a successful Hollywood actor, has vouched for healthy body image all throughout her career. Celebrities like Mindy Kaling and Adele have openly shunned people who judge their worth according to their figures. These insecurities are not restricted to the women. Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, and Robert Pattinson have come out with insecurities and troubles of maintaining a certain body weight dictated by the society. Even models like Tyra Banks, Ashley Graham, and singers like Demi Lovato, and Lorde also promote a positive body image. While judging modeling competitions, Ms. Banks and Ms. Graham advocate participants to eat well, and become fit in a healthy manner, to discourage the occurrence of eating disorders, that are actively associated with this profession.

Renowned personalities on Instagram, like Kelvin Daves, Morgan Mikenas, Keah Brown, Emily Bador, Aashna Bhagwani, Neelakshi Singh, and Rupi Kaur try to effectively empower people who are not confident in their own skins, through their messages and posts. In fact, Instagram pages like Eat the Cake, Proud2BMe, The Body Book, and Curve Inspire, shame everyday societal norms and stereotypes in comical ways to raise awareness.

Each life is important, each body is beautiful, and each soul is unique. We all deserve to be respected and loved the way we are. As someone who has suffered through an eating disorder, Demi Lovato remarks accurately, “I am not going to sacrifice my mental health to have a perfect body.”

 

Feature Image Credits: Radar Online

Prachi Mehra

[email protected]

Han Kang wrote this three-part novella, inspired by her short story Fruit of My Woman, in 2007. Deborah Smith translated the Korean novel into English in 2015 and it won the Man Booker International Award in 2016. The book has been widely read and Ms. Smith has been appreciated for her sincere translation. The subject and not the protagonist of the novella is Yeong-Hye who turns vegetarian after a gory and bloody dream. The book explores the various dimensions and consequences of this decision on her husband and family. The first section is a narrative by Mr. Cheong, her husband, expressing the havoc the decision wrecks on their family. The second section titled ‘The Mongolian Mark’ delves into the utter neutrality and insanity of Yeong-Hye post her divorce and her relationship with her brother-in-law who remains nameless throughout the story. The third part titled ‘Flaming Tress’ traverses through the past and present of the sisters, their dreams, and their inhibitions. The story is a dark tale at some levels as it plunges into the depths of cruelty against animals as well as women. It also has a feminist edge to it because the two women/sisters do not wish to conform to societal roles and want to break free from the clutches of patriarchy, one evident example of which is their father. The narrative is rhythmic and almost musical to the reader’s ears. It has a spontaneous bounce at the end of each sentence that I have never come across in any book. The story floats in front of the eyes and you feel one with the subject, Yeong-Hye. By the end of the story, the very definition of ‘vegetarian’ undergoes a paradigm shift. The choice of consumption of meat is questioned multiple times and the reader cannot disagree with it. Being a vegetarian in India would not be a hullabaloo but it is a complete change of one’s lifestyle in Korea, the place of the story. I, as a reader would have loved to hear Yeong-Hye’s voice in one part of the book to get a deeper insight into her decisions, insanity, dreams and reality. In a nutshell, the story is moving tale and should definitely be given a try.   Feature Image Credits: Daily Jstor Prachi Mehra [email protected]]]>