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Priyal Mahtta

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It seems that the University of Delhi’s feud with the Delhi government is here to stay for a while longer, albeit more serious than before. The Delhi Government has ordered to continue with the decision to freeze funds for the 28 colleges it funded either partially or fully, till the time governing body is not appointed by the Varsity.

 

Furthermore, the government has asked Delhi University not to conduct recruitments for ad hoc or permanent teachers, or make any severe changes in the administration staff until this issue is resolved. This to-and-fro of documents has been going on since October last year, but has gained momentum only recently. On 31st July, Manish Sisodia, the Delhi Minister of Education directed a stop to funds inflow for the 28 colleges it funds, and in a tweet he claimed that it was a “deliberate and malafide attempt to delay formation of governing bodies by DU”. On 14th August, the list of governing bodies was finally sent by DU, but was rejected by the government citing procedural grounds.

 

The governing body of a college comprises of five members from the university panel, five members from the government, two university representatives, two representatives of the college faculty and the college principal. The Varsity recommended just 5 candidates for governing body to the government, whereas it was supposed to send a pool of names out of which the government had the liberty to select any five. Since the options weren’t provided for the same, the government has given DU stern warnings to not “infringe upon its rights” of nominating members. At this stage, the government reportedly wants DU to accept the nominations cleared by them and has sent the university a fresh list.

 

Since February 2017, the list concerning these recommendations has been tweaked with minor changes, edited because of change in format and rejected on procedural grounds. If the government plans to pursue its impromptu decision to halt funds, the 28 colleges that it funds will soon sway in an array of confusion and chaos.

 

Feature Image Credits: Manish Sisodia’s Twitter Handle

Vijeata Balani

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The National Green Tribune (NGT) has issued a warning to the University of Delhi (DU) in particular regarding non-compliance with the tribunal.

The National Green Tribune (NGT), having failed to make a mark with words, resorted to action on Wednesday issuing a warning to the University of Delhi (DU), the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) regarding the wastage of paper during the polls this year.

A plea was filed by Nithin Chandran, a third year law student in DU when he was flabbergasted by the modus operandi of campaigning through the humongous wastage of paper. The plea read-“On every election, tonnes of paper are wasted for canvassing by the candidates and their supporters. Wherein, there is no accountability for usage of paper and neither there is any norm or procedure for re-cycling of this waste paper”. Relying upon the report published by the TIMES OF INDIA, the NGT was informed of the non-compliance of its order on Tuesday by the counsels of the law student- Piyush Singh and Aditya Parolia. The bench consisted of the NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar and B S Sajwan.

The conduct of the elections is based on the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee to be implemented from the year 2006 by the order of the Supreme Court which stated- “No candidate shall be permitted to make use of printed posters, printed pamphlets, or any other printed material for the purpose of canvassing”. “Candidates may only utilize hand- made posters at certain places in the campus, which shall be notified in advance by the election commission/university authority”.

The NGT has thereby, issued a warning to the DU students of rusticating if caught in action. Under section 26 of the NGT Act 2010, the maximum punishment if found guilty of contempt of the orders, is three years’ of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10 crores.

Apart from just the art work on the walls as well as the premises of the campus; it becomes imperative to note that the littered papers are not disposed of properly or re-cycled, hence, leaving an imprint of the elections held every year. On the contrary, the Lyngdoh Committee states- “All the candidates shall be jointly responsible for ensuring the cleaning up of the polling area within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling”.

According to reports, while the next hearing is scheduled for the 18th of this month; the DUSU polls are ahead on the 12th. With all of this happening; we have to watch out for the big day and the probable last minute changes that the manifestos of the several parties might suffer.

Shrija Ganguly

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PV Sindhu’s recent feat in BWF World Championships of Badminton made India’s heart soar with pride. We can slowly see a change in the sports culture where sports other than cricket are getting their due recognition they rightfully deserve. For a very long time, cricket dominated the scene, but recent times have suggested that other sports are also being encouraged.

PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal’s outstanding performance in the BWF World Championships of Badminton inspired me to throw light on some of the women badminton players of India who have time and again made us proud

  • Arundhati Pantawane

Born in 1989, Arundhati Pantawane hails from the state of Maharashtra. She is an Indian female badminton singles player. Pantawane won a gold medal at the 2011 National Games, and a silver at the 75th Senior National Badminton Championships. Coached by Pullela Gopichand, she holds the Bahrain International Challenge 2012 title. She recently married Arun Vishnu, a multiple-time national doubles champion.

 

  • Ashwini Ponnappa

Ashwini Ponnappa was born in Bangalore, Karnataka in the year 1989. She represents India internationally in both the women’s and mixed doubles discipline. She, along with Jwala Gutta, has been ranked among the top 20 in the BWF World Rankings. Asnwini won the bronze medal at the BWF World Championships in 2011, and a gold medal in women’s doubles in 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi. Her recent victory includes a gold in women’s doubles in South Asian Games 2016 held in Guwahati.

 

  • SainaNehwal

Saina Nehwal hails from Hisar, Haryan, and was born in the year 1990.  Having achieved remarkable success at an age of 27 years, she has become extremely popular. In 2015, she  attained  world number 1 ranking, hence becoming the only female badminton player from India, and overall second Indian player after Prakash Padukone, to achieve such an astounding accomplishment. She was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, and the Arjuna Award by the Government. In 2016, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Bhushan Award.

 

  • PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu  currently holds rank number 4 in the BWF World Ranking. She won a silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics becoming the only woman player apart from Saina Nehwal to have won an Olympic medal. Coached by Puella Gopichand, Sindhu is a right-handedplayer. Her recent match with Nazomi Okuhara at the World Badminton Championships in Glasgow was the second longest women’s singles match  bringing  the viewers at the edge of their seats.

 

  • Jwala Gutta

Jwala Gutta along with Ashwini Ponnappa have been ranked among the top 20 BWF World ranking in 2015.  She has won the National Badminton Championships fourteen times. She has won a bronze medal in the 2011 BWF World Championships and one at the 2014 Thomas and Uber Cup. She has made India proud at many occasions and continues to inspire young badminton players.

 

Feature Image Credits: www.india.com

Anukriti Mishra

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Known as one of the largest student elections in the country, but the question remains; are they representative of all the students who cast their vote, or is it just a game of political dominance with a handful of players participating each time?

Beginning from a sociological point of view, it is imperative to state that the caste system forms the foundation of Hinduism. Its ubiquity can be guaranteed from the simple fact that its absence from any of the aspects of life will lead to the collapse of the religion as a whole. In recent years, it has successfully made its way into student politics.
Be it the power of a temple in the state of Uttar Pradesh, or the presence of students belonging to aspiring minority communities in bulk in the University of Delhi (DU); caste as an entity has struck at every rung of the political system.

With the nearing Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election day , parties are leaving no stone unturned to establish their presence in every DU student’s life by featuring life size posters boasting of the names of the contesting candidates . However, if observed carefully, one can conclude (like I have), that almost all the candidates belong to either the same community or different communities within the same region; predominantly the Jats, the Gujjars and the Yadavs. Hence, caste becomes an overarching term bringing region into its fold as well; in this case, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

This practice becomes evident through the composition of major student wings such as the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and the NSUI (National Students’ Union of India) of the ‘INC (ndian National Congress) . When I consider the range of DUSU elections all over the country, I do not find any candidate from down South, the East, or the North-East. The northern region remains centripetal not just for the monetary and muscle factors, but also for the empathy factor that works in the undercurrent.

Taking into account the statistics of elections conducted in the last couple of years, it has been observed that the candidates elected for the post of president have belonged to either of the communities. For example, Amit Tanwar, the outgoing President from ABVP belongs to the Jat community. There were others such as Arun Hooda and Ajay Chhikara from NSUI, and Mohit Nagar from ABVP.

Apart from the ABVP and NSUI, who usually grab the ballots’ limelight; minor parties such as INSO (Indian National Students Organization) and CYSS (Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti), the student wing of the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) too invest in candidates from these communities so as to gain impetus. AISA (All India Students Association), the student wing of CPI (ML) (the Communist Party of India’-(Marxist Leninst) ) mostly banks on female candidates for its premier posts.

With another round of elections coming up this year, while nothing can be ascertained until the declaration of results, some things form the norm! But, for more, we will have to wait for the big day!

Feature Image Credits: Indian Express

Shrija Ganguly
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As a step towards spreading awareness about abusive drug consumption by students, Mirror Now, a National News television channel hosted a debate at Indraprastha College for Women, to have a one-on-one conversation with the students.

 

Ms. Faye D’Souza, the Executive Editor at Mirror News, along with five panelists, hosted a debate in the campus of Indraprastha College for Women on Thursday, August 31, 2017, in the college’s auditorium. The panel included a practicing advocate and member of the Bharatiya Yuva Janata Morcha, a pediatrician with significant contribution in the field, the DCP of Delhi police, a script writer hailing from the Bollywood industry, and a student of the college.

With the aim of initiating a dialogue between the general consumers of drugs and those opposing the consumption, D’Souza started by discussing its easy accessibility around educational institutes by taking the Hyderabad drug bust case as an example. Inviting opinions from one of the panelists, Nandini Suri, who is also a student of the college, the panelists discussed about the urgent need of enabling a communication about the issue at a national level, between the country’s leaders and the general masses. One of the panelists who is a practicing advocate at the Supreme Court and a member of the Bhartiya Yuva Janata Morcha, the student wing of Bharatiya Janata Part (BJP), talked about the provisions in the Indian Constitution that prevent the illegal circulation and consumption of drugs, which widened the debate’s horizon to the connection between drug consumption and the law’s role in curbing it.

Further opening the debate to the audience which primarily comprised of students from the college, various concerns and angles about the issue came to the fore. The primary issue discussed was the vulnerability of an average teenager, and the corruptibility of the Police Force which has enabled a manifold increase in such rackets across the country. The debate included the aftermaths of abusive drug consumption, however casual or occasional it may be. One of the panelists, the DCP of Delhi Police added, how even casual or occasional consumption of drugs facilitates other rackets including human trafficking etc. The students also raised questions about the validation provided to drugs’ or alcohol consumption, majorly by Bollywood and/or the entertainment industry, and its subsequent influence on teenagers.

 

Faye D’Souza, in her concluding note, welcomed solutions to fight the problem, where one of the panelists put forward “flipping the peer pressure” as one of the solutions that might prevent many teenagers from being consumed by this culture of abuse.

With the debate, Mirror Now took their responsible step towards preventing an entire generation which is at stake.

 

Feature Image Credits: Priyal Mahtta for DU Beat

 

Priyal Mahtta

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Sarahah.com follows the likes of Ask.fm and Sayat.me to provide a platform to share “constructive” feedback. The site markets itself as a window that helps people write feedback and/or compliments to fellow coworkers, colleagues, and other groups by allowing users to send anonymous messages to each other and replying directly to the feedback received. This has enabled Sarahah to gain the title of the most popular free app. The developers claim that the purpose of this app as a platform that “helps you in discovering your strengths and areas of improvement by receiving honest feedback from your employees and friends in a private manner.”

However, such sites have always found themselves criticised for promoting cyberbullying where the users are met with abusive responses and malicious content. In times like ours, where our self image is driven mostly by our social media status, such platforms can aggravate the situation. Anonymous feedback can do more damage than good, leaving the recipient pushed further in a state of self loathing. As smoothly as it promises to help people grow through productive criticism, it can destroy people’s self-belief and become an easy tool for revenge posts. Catering to a younger audience,  it can leave a feeling of vengeance and bitterness especially amongst teens. Platforms like these can easily be misused to write destructive feedback instead of an encouraging and progressive post. Increasing popularity of such platforms is alarming as it’s indicative of the fact that we as a generation are becoming more and more dependent on external sources for validation. The platform has opened the floodgates of online harassment due to the feature of anonymity. These pieces of feedback can often turn into offensive statements which have potentially adverse consequences.

“I joined Sarahah all in good humour, but after I started receiving sexually abusive messages, I was compelled to quit the forum. It is already a hateful world and I think anonymous forums just further worsens this hatred,” says a Sarahah user.

These derogatory and snide comments may be aimed at shaming and discouraging someone, passing lewd remarks, making sexual advances, and other types of hatred channeled through the capability of being an unknown sender. The cyberbullying propagated by this app has become a concern of the general audience as suggestive of the reviews of the app. Apps that allow anonymity can be easily manipulated as a tool for hatred and gullible users usually fall prey to it.

 

Feature Image Credits: Sarahah

 

Rashim Bagga

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Trishala Dutta

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Freshers’ Edition

Now that the Freshers have settled into their classes and gotten accustomed to the routine of college life, they are met with another crisis. But this is strictly a fashion emergency that Auburn is here to solve. The big question, What do I wear for the Freshers’ Party? will be answered here!

You can visibly see first-years running around, trying to find their perfect Freshers’ Party attire. There is the pressure to dress according to the theme, the fear of looking over-dressed and the stress of your Freshers’ being perfect. Well, here’s Auburn with a few tips and tricks that you can follow to make the day a stylish and memorable one!

  • Do it differently: In a room full of dresses, wear a pantsuit to give your outfit a unique touch. Doing it differently doesn’t mean doing something you’re uncomfortable in; just don’t follow the herd to be on the safe side.
  • DIY:You will always stand apart if you wear something that is handmade. Whether it is accessories, or clothes, DIY and show off your creativity. It will give a personal touch to our outfit and when people ask, “Where did you get this from?” – you can smile and tell them!
  • Experiment:College means pushing boundaries and stepping out of your comfort zone, so take that risk! It will be worth it. Experiment with a hair colour, a piece of clothing you’ve always wanted to try, or just do something out of the box!
  • Stick to the theme: It is extremely disrespectful when people don’t follow the theme, so make sure you start prepping your outfit in advance.You can go all out with the theme and dress from head to toe, or be a little subtle with it, but definitely stick to the theme.
  • Take inspiration: Don’t copy entire outfits; create your own by taking inspiration but make it yours. At the end of the day, you’re the one who is going to carry it so make sure to mould it according to your personality and style.
  • Don’t be scared: College is a new ground for everyone, so even if you look over-dressed/ under-dressed amongst everyone, don’t fret over it. Everyone here is figuring out life, this is just a Freshers’ Party outfit!
  • Click pictures: Do not forget to click pictures, with your friends, teachers and in every possible angle of your outfit; you’ll thank your past self for that when you look back at them. Also, save them for inspiration that you can give to your juniors next year!

All in all, make sure that after the Freshers’ Party, you’re a more confident individual; that is all that matters!

Feature Image Credits: Near Fox

Anagha Rakta
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Third-year B.Com (Hons) student and the President of SGTB Khalsa College’s Music Society, Vaibhav Kanwar’s love for music and entrepreneurship has led to the founding of “Clapbox”, a startup that manufactures and sells the percussion instrument, Cajon. With a six digit monthly revenue and listing among the best sellers on Amazon, Clapbox is all set to reach new heights.

With the idea of encouraging the fellow student musicians, Vaibhav’s “Clapbox” has announced a giveaway of 10 Cajons to the Music Societies of colleges in Delhi University.

 What was the idea behind starting this venture?

Seeing the unreasonable pricing of cajons in the market, I tried making one for myself. With a lot of research and trial and error, I finally came up with a possible frame for my Cajon. I approached many percussionists for trying out my prototype which allowed me to reach out to more like minded people.  I realized the gap that there was in the market for good quality cajons, which led to the birth of this venture. Being a portable music instrument, it works perfectly for percussionists during band practices and drummers with space constraints at home.

 

  1. What do you think has been your key to success?

 

With the goal of creating something unique, our team of product designers has been constantly studying the market and developing new models made of different wood. Each model, with its different specifications, competitive pricing and strict sound quality checks have led to the success of Clapbox.

 

  1. What has been your biggest challenge in this journey?

 

Competing with the already established foreign brands on the same platform while minimizing the cost of production without compromising on the quality was a big challenge for us. However, we were able to overcome this problem by constantly interacting with customers and being responsive to their feedback. Being a drummer myself for the past eight years, my passion for music did not let me give up during hard times.

 

  1. Tell us more about your range of products.

We at Clapbox; in addition to our growing range of Cajons are planning to introduce a highly affordable line of other instruments soon. The success of our new models, the ‘Jingle Cajon’ and the ‘Adjustable Snare Cajon’ has inspired us to work on new models like ‘Electric Cajons’, ‘Travel Cajons’ and ‘Practice Pads’ for drummers.

 

  1. What are your future business expansion plans?

 

We are in talks with music stores across India and have been approached by some established business houses for an alliance. Let’s see how it pans out.

 

To stake a claim for a free Clapbox Cajon for your music society, please send in a request on your College Letterhead, duly signed by the President of your music society and attested by the College Principal to [email protected]

Feature Image Credits:  DU Beat

 

Priyal Mahtta

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The Aam Aadmi Party alleged, in a recent press conference, that the University’s administration under the Vice Chancellor is under pressure from the BJP government at the Center. It has hence, deliberately not constituted governing bodies in the 28 colleges that are fully or partially aided by the Delhi Government.

Out of the 28 Colleges of the University that are funded by the State Government, 12 of them receive 100% funding while 16 receive 5% of the total funding.

The governing body of each of these colleges is constituted of 15 members, five of which are nominated by the Delhi government. Five additional members are also chosen by the former, from the list of candidates provided by the college. The remaining members include the Principal and faculty members of the college.

“The tenure of governing bodies in these colleges expired in October 2016. But the governing bodies are yet to be constituted. The DU Vice Chancellor and administration is acting under pressure from BJP government at the Centre. It (Centre) wants to constitute the governing body that suits them. The Delhi University is an autonomous institution, but the Centre is resorting to similar tactics as it is doing with other universities across the country,” said Ashutosh, leader of Aam Aadmi Party, at the party headquarters.

He added that the University administration was delaying the process in order to set up a team that suits the interest of the ruling party at the Center.

The Executive Council meeting held on July 14, where the decision on the governing body was deferred, reportedly decided on forming a four-member committee to look into the suggested names as the nominations had been filed under “improper procedure”, as per an official attendee of the meeting. He added that the decision could not have been influenced by the Center.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader, however, expressed their disagreement with the move. “What was the need to review the panels which were recommended by the university itself”, agreed AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha adding the the University’s administration does not seem inclined towards constituting the governing body.
Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Priyal Mahtta

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The University of Delhi, in its supervisory meeting with the officials of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Delhi Metro and Delhi Police on 14th July, 2017, decided upon taking certain measures for making the campus ragging free and more disciplined in the upcoming session.

As per the press release by the University, two Joint Control rooms would be set up in North and South Campus from 20th July to 2nd August, so as to ease the induction process for the freshers. It has also been decided to deploy Delhi Police’s women personnel from the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC) trained in martial arts in the campus for keeping a check on eve-teasing and ragging inside. It has also been decided to provide special defense training to female students.

The measures also include extra vigilance around food joints inside the campus along with picket points providing special assistance to women’s colleges.

Moreover, sensitive areas of the campus have been put under electronic surveillance along with prohibiting unauthorised entry of outsiders in college hostels to curb ragging or any kind of indiscipline inside the campus.

The University has also issued steps on filing a compliant in such cases. This can be done by calling on the national anti-ragging helpline at 1800 180 5522, the North Campus Control Room at 011-27667221 or South Campus Control Room at 011-24119832.

The University’s authorities seem to be taking these measures as a step towards reducing indiscipline, however, it would be interesting to ask why such activities continue in the campus, keeping in view the already existing measures. With mandatory anti-ragging cells in every college and several women’s safety measures already in place, the efficiency and their implementation in campus becomes an important question to be pondered over.

 

Image Credits: The Indian Express

 

Priyal Mahtta
[email protected]