Radhika Boruah, Author at DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

Salem: Bingewatching Witchcraft Trials

By Radhika Boruah July 30, 2017

“Your hair. It looks like fire. And smells of cinnamon. I wonder what it will smell like when you burn.”

Inspired by the Salem witch trials of the 17^th century, an American supernatural horror television series was created in 2014. Initially, it was titled Malice, to be later changed to Salem. The story follows the series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. The preliminary hearings were conducted in several towns; the most infamous being conducted in 1692 in Salem Town. Witch trials paint the Puritans as hypocritical scolds; yet also embrace the notion that there really were witches operating at the time, which makes their capital punishments seem a little less crazed and paranoid. Never mind that it runs counter to the rather duller historical record and lessons learned about the true nature of witch hunts. Here in the 21^st century, science and reason rule, but in a world of sorcery, clinging to rationality just makes you stupid.

Having prominent elements of gothic drama, the show stars Janet Montogomery and Shane West in the lead roles of Mary Sibley and John Alden. The story opens with Mary even under unyielding laws regarding fornication, facing an unwanted potentially fatal pregnancy courtesy of her lover, Captain John Alden. A pact with a sorceress resolves her problem, but as we can see when the story flashes seven years ahead, the innocent Mary we initially met has been sacrificed along with the child in the wilderness. Alden, inevitably, saunters back into town after years at war, complicating life for the now-married Mary, whose powers are certainly formidable, even if it’s not clear to what end they’re being used. Married, Mary is the new ruler of Salem. Her unnerving powers crushed the existence of her so-called husband, the head of Salem. Her sorcerer servants and the land of the dead consecrate to her powers. The townspeople are haunted by the witch hunt, wherein every now and then an innocent person is caught to be a witch.

Meanwhile, the witch-hunting Mather is crusading against this sulfurous threat, even if like some prominent modern-day religious leaders, doesn’t always practice what he preaches. Subsequently, Salem is afflicted by a terrible plague and a witch war was drawing close: the consequences of the Grand Rite of the witches. Mary is united with her son Oliver who is possessed by the Dark Lord, after the countless raising the devil in the form of a child. Mary died saving the life of her love, Captain Alden. But demolition of the Puritan values and the destruction of Salem had to be put to a stop.

So, binge the three seasoned series to know the rest!

Feature Image Credits: www.bsnscb.com

Radhika Boruah

[email protected]

Gods and gods, Goddess and goddess

By Radhika Boruah July 21, 2017

The pantheistic system (the belief that everything composes an all-encompassing, immanent god) allowed only a subordinate rank to the old polytheistic gods, and the actual religious belief of the people was probably but little affected by their existence. However, they continued to occupy a prominent place in the affections of the poet and were still represented as exercising considerable influence on the destinies of men. The most notable of them were regarded as the appointed guardians of the world, and as such, were made to preside over the four cardinals and the intermediate points of the compass. Within Hinduism, many personal gods are worshipped in the form of statuettes. These beings are either aspects of the Supreme Being or significantly powerful entities known as Gods. The exact nature of belief with regards to each deity varies between differing Hindu denominations and philosophies. Often these beings are depicted in humanoid or partially humanoid forms, complete with a set of unique and complex iconography in each case. In total, there are 330 thousand of these supernatural beings in various Hindu traditions.

People commonly refer to ‘God’ as the singular supreme power. The concept of Para Brahman, Allah, and Holy Father are treated as God. The Absolute, Jehovah, Brahma, the Creator, and the Divine Architect being those commonly used in Aetherius Society teachings. The use of the term ‘God’ specifically refers to the Abrahamic God or Yahweh or Allah followed by the three major monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But, ‘god’ generally refers a deity in a pantheon or to demigods who are powerful but not supreme. For example, Hermes the god of the crossroads from Greece, Surya, the sun god in Hinduism, or Tlaloc the rain god from the Aztec pantheon are demi-gods.

Above the level of a Cosmic Master, is the Mother Earth herself, who is a living, breathing Goddess – a being of incomprehensible compassion, power, and wisdom. In Hinduism, she is Shakti who is the divine manifestation of primordial cosmic energy. She may be regarded as The Goddess. But Saraswati, Parvati, Lakshmi are respectively the consorts of the Hindu divine trinity and hence can be regarded as a goddess. But because they are said to be different forms of Shakti, they are also called as The Goddess.

Though we can relate and derive that the capitalization of a letter should not be used to differentiate between these mythological characters; there is this metaphorical difference between Gods and gods and Goddess and goddess as people tend to define the cosmic energy and the material things in two different ways. Thus, Cosmic Energy is The God or The Goddess, and the ones who look after our plants, our food, the rain, the wind- are gods and goddesses. To put it succinctly, God is a superset, and god is a set. The laws of creation are not just created by God but are God. God is the true laws of Physics, and everything in creation happens within the confines of God’s great laws. Some of these laws may seem ‘scientific’ and others ‘spiritual,’ but this is a man-made distinction, and all these laws are in fact perfectly in harmony with one another, and ultimately all laws are one.

Image Credits: visiontimes.com and rootlight.com

Radhika Boruah

Blurring the lines: Mythology and History

By Radhika Boruah July 21, 2017

In Greek, idein means ‘to see’ and to eidenai means ‘to know.’ Mythology is a collection of tales that explain the past; these may have a basis in fact but are also embroidered to explain the present. History is an attempt to uncover and create a factual account of the past. The word ‘myth’ itself comes from the Greek ‘mythos,’ which originally meant ‘speech’ or ‘discourse,’ but which later came to mean ‘fable’ or ‘legend.’ Myths in the present world are defined as a story of forgotten or vague origin, basically religious or supernatural in nature, which seek to explain or rationalize one or more aspects of the world or society. Some myths describe actual historical events but have been embellished and refashioned by various storytellers over time, making it impossible to tell what happened. In this last aspect, myths have a legendary and historical nature. This is a classic myth: to give the moral that you must persevere in the face of adversity.

There are several epics which point to many events of past. And then there are the Holy Books which incorporates teachings in metaphors which evidently are referred to as mythological encounters. Here are a few instrumental ways for distinguishing between Mythology and History:

Human History– When we say history in an academic sense, it is referred to as Human history, the documentation of Human civilisation. It does not cover the history of deities like Indra, Zeus, etc. and demons like Ravana, etc. Epics contain both Human history along with the history of both deities and demons. People don’t accept the history of deities and demons as the natural evolution of civilisation. Those are considered as a part of the mythology.
Earthly events– History documents social, political, economic, cultural events or protocols present in past civilisations on earth, and does not cover the supra-cosmic events occurred in heaven or hell. Whereas, the Indian epics contain past events occurred on earth as well as from heaven and hell. Those are considered as mythology because it does not fit into normal human perception.
Teachings– The purpose of history is to document the past events without any interpretation. For example, King Ashoka killed all in Kalinga, converted to Buddhism, and spread Buddhism throughout the world. However, history does not extend to incorporate Buddha’s teaching, because teaching is an interpretation to be covered in another stream of knowledge.
Consistency– In any stream of knowledge, consistency is a challenge. Historical events are studied keeping the sequence of events, possibly with a period. Also, information should be consistent across all authors or books, so rational mind considers those as mythology.
Miracles– History covers incidents. It does not cover accidental miraculous events. People do not accept these because there is no such scientific explanation of these events. We need to remove all supernatural events, characters from these two books, to be considered as history.
Authenticity– Any stream of knowledge must be authentic, including History. For example, the existence of Buddha is known from various stone images, and writings present on stone. Writings from stones, discoveries from various monuments, the study of metals, soils give clues about the past.

It is in this backdrop that the struggle to place mythological creations on a par with history or objective truth is best understood, for any concession to the imaginary nature of mythology relegates it to an inferior status.

‘Pegasus in ancient art,’ Pegasus is an ancient horse-like creature that could fly. But we find its records from stone carvings which are accounted in history.

Image credits: sabrangindia.com

Radhika Boruah

News

28 colleges of DU face blockage of funds

By Radhika Boruah July 21, 2017

Out of the 28 colleges under University of Delhi, the Delhi Government fully funded 12 colleges and partially funded the remaining 16. According to some sources, the Delhi government gives about 360 crores annually to the 28 colleges. The Delhi government has now decided to pull its funding for all the 28 colleges if the DU Executive Council does not appoint governing bodies of the colleges by July 31. These colleges have been operating without a governing body for several months now. They have not had full governing bodies since October 2016, which is when their term ended. This is the first time that the bodies were not given a three-month extension. The government has alleged that there has been a “deliberate attempt” to delay the formation of the bodies.

Taking up the matter, Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia ordered both the Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) and the Finance Department to stop the funding for these colleges if the governing bodies are not appointed by July 31. DU and the Delhi government had to nominate five members each to the panels, to which Mr. Sisodia said that DU had been holding up the appointments by not sending the names of its nominees on time. The series of actions that infuriated DHE were: DHE writing to the Registrar of DU, asking for the panel of names on September 16, 2016. And then, separate reminders were sent on November 25, 2016, December 29, 2016 and February 1, 2017.Finally on February 14, a panel of names was sent by DU to the government. The AAP government then sent its panel of names for the approval of the Executive Council on March 6. On April 4, the government was asked to send details about the nominees in a different format. The list was again sent to the university by the government on May 11. The list was then tabled before the Executive Council on July 3, but it was not approved. A meeting of the council on July 6 was postponed. The matter was again tabled before the council on July 14, but it was not approved and a new committee was formed to review it.

Mr. Sisodia has ordered the DHE that the funds, including for salaries and contingency grants, should not be disbursed after August 1 if the governing bodies are not in place by July 31. The Finance Department has also been informed not to release the funds until a written communication confirming the appointments is not received.

Feature Image Credits: www.careers360.com

Radhika Boruah

[email protected]

Decoding Mythology

By Radhika Boruah July 20, 2017

Man has always sought to understand the world around him better, and myths are the imaginative traditions devised to explain his surroundings. Early Man would have been completely in awe of the natural and supernatural phenomena around him and assumably would have sought to make sense of the natural marvels such as lightening & thunder, rain & drought, day & night, birth & death. From myth come beliefs, from mythology customs. Myth conditions thoughts and feelings; mythology influences behaviours and communications. Through mythology, man sought to understand his environment, the nature of his world, and even the existence of God. However, it would be foolhardy to think of these tales merely as a product of someone’s overactive imagination. Indeed, if ‘myth’ is an idea, mythology is the vehicle of that idea.

Redefining ‘Myth’

The Hindu worldview can be startling to those accustomed to a Western thought process. Until, we challenge the old definition of myth; the irrational, the unreasonable, the false and embrace a new definition: the subjective truth expressed in stories, symbols and rituals, that shapes all cultures, Indian or Western, ancient or modern, religious or secular. The Sanskrit word for subjective truth is mithya-not the opposite of the objective truth; but a finite expression of satya, that which is infinite. It was the experience of their mystery, mingled with fear that gave birth to Mythology and eventually, religion. Hindus have one God, and 330 million gods: male gods, female gods, personal gods, clan gods, household gods, gods who reside in plants, animals, images, designs, and objects; and a whole host of demons, not all bad; but neither the character of the Devil, nor the concept of evil.

The perpetual Mythological force

Fascinatingly, people outgrow myth and mythology when myth and mythology fail to respond to their cultural needs. As long as Egyptians believed in the afterworld ruled by Osiris, they built pyramids. As long as Greeks believed in Charon, the ferrymen of the dead, they placed copper coins for him in the mouth of the dead. Likewise, the Chinese myth of Pangu, Vedic concept of Purush, and the Norse myth of Ymirall tell of a cosmic giant who is sacrificed to create the world, and we can understand these from the way Christ’s death changed the world around him completely. These ancient thought processes exist no more but somewhere, somehow they still affect the modern cultures.

The Hinduism ideology

Many people perceive Hinduism as Monotheistic, Polytheistic, Pantheistic, or even Monistic; still, none of them may be wrong in their assumptions. At its core, Hinduism believes in One Supreme God who manifests Himself as many to create, preserve and ultimately annihilate the Creation. The Supreme Brahman is beyond concepts and images anyway, and from this attitude comes great tolerance and inclusiveness which is the characteristic of Hinduism. Sacred Hindu texts, the Vedas are believed to be of non-human origin and a container of timeless wisdom. The Vedas claim, ‘Truth is one, but sages call it by different names.’ Other religion has its God say, as Krishna does in the Bhagvad Gita, ‘All paths lead to Me.’

A fanciful tale

Throughout its millennia-old history, Hinduism provided its followers with the freedom of worshiping God in whichever form they want. Hindu seers long ago realised the world is limitless and boundless, full of unimaginable potential and possibilities. Any attempts to fathom the mystery through science, mathematics ,and logic were futile. What mattered more than the objective world was the subjective world of each. They, therefore, focused their attention and genius less on geography and history, and more on philosophy and metaphysics. What mattered more than the landscape of the world was the landscape of the soul. Myths came into the scene, and then came mythology: hyperbolic and fantastic.

Image credits: ancientsymbols.com

Radhika Boruah

radhikab@dubeat.com

News

Delhi Government Mulls Holding Out on Funding for Some DU Colleges

By Radhika Boruah July 16, 2017

The Delhi Government is a part benefactor to some colleges which come under the Universiy of Delhi. There are 28 colleges; 12 of them are fully funded by the Delhi government, whereas the remaining 16 colleges are offered a 5% grant by the entity, with the supplementary 95% given by the University Grants Commission (UGC). As the University of Delhi has deferred the formation of a governing body in government-funded colleges, the Delhi government is considering withholding funds to these colleges.

The governing body of each college has 15 members, out of which five are nominated by the government. As on June 8, the government had written to DU asking it to speed up the notification for the governing body and to begin appointment of new staff in these colleges “only after constituting a new governing body.” “We are seriously considering stopping funding to all DU colleges. Why should we give money to them when our governing bodies cannot be constituted?” a government official said.

“We are seriously considering stopping funding to all DU colleges. Why should we give money to them when our governing bodies cannot be constituted?” a government official said. University officials could not be reached for a comment.

The 12 colleges, which are fully-funded by the Delhi Government include:

The 16 colleges which are partly funded are:

At present, over 20,000 students are studying in these 28 Delhi Government-funded colleges. Earlier, there were apprehensions that the Delhi Government will set up a separate university by taking over 12 DU colleges, fully-funded by it. And now, due to failure in forming a governing body the government is rethinking about providing funds to these colleges.

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Radhika Bouah

[email protected]

News

Three try to get into DU with fake mark sheets

By Radhika Boruah July 12, 2017

Every year, almost without fail, at least one of the numerous colleges under the University of Delhi find fake certificates being submitted during the admission season. Caste certificates, mark sheets and even the Sports and Extra Curricular Activities certificates, trials for which begin in a few days, are all subject to thorough checking to filter the forged ones. If certificates are found fake, it leads to police complaints and dismissals in the middle of the academic year.

Recently, three students had come to a college with marksheets and documents issued by the ‘Board of Higher Secondary Education (Delhi)’. All three of them had filled up the forms and were in the process of getting their documents verified. Cases of fake admission surfaced at Delhi University’s Sri Aurobindo College (Evening) on Monday, following which the matter was reported to police. It was during the final verification process that the machine showed that the documents were not genuine. Apparently, there is no such board and as the officials were trying to verify their claim, two of the aspirants ran away. The third one also ran away, leaving behind the documents, a member of the college’s admission grievance committee reported. Delhi does not have its own board; however, the ‘Board of Higher Secondary Education (Delhi)’, on its website, claims to be an autonomous organisation under the Government of India.

The Dean Students’ Welfare office has also often warned students against touts during the admission days. A tout, according to past experience, is usually well-groomed and does not look shady. He or she will probably approach the student, offering to fill up their forms and asking to look at their certificates. Name dropping will be rampant and sometimes a tout will even go to the extent of talking to some authority milling around. He may be just making enquiries but a student from a distance can be fooled into believing that the authority is personally known to the tout. A student’s details can be copied to build up another student profile. Therefore, the basic rule to follow is to not give anyone your documents, or believe anyone who says they can give you a seat, because the admission process is too transparent and such things are not possible anymore, the authorities say.

Image credits: The Asian Age

Radhika Boruah

Admissions 2017

CBSE revaluation process to hinder ongoing DU admissions

By Radhika Boruah July 12, 2017

The Delhi high court on Tuesday said the ongoing Delhi University (DU) admissions could be impacted by the re-evaluation of Class XII examination answer sheets submitted to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Last week, the court had lifted all conditions imposed by the CBSE on students seeking to re-evaluate their Class XII answer sheets. The verdict came on a plea filed by an advocate who was representing four students against the board’s notification limiting the scrutiny of marks to just 12 subjects. Nearly 11 lakh students appeared for the Class 12 exams conducted by the CBSE this year, of which 2.47% applied for re-evaluation.

A bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar declared that the merit position of students could change substantially on the basis of marks obtained after re-evaluation. Therefore, as a matter of abundant caution, colleges and admission-seeking students need to be kept informed about the pendency of the writ petition as well as the fact that the process of re-evaluation of marks by the CBSE on the request of some students is underway. It ordered that it’s the “responsibility of the University of Delhi to make public as well as inform all the colleges regarding this position and to put the students, to notice about the order passed today”. Hence, the college principals and students have been mindful of the stipulations, and clarifications that have been issued in this regard by the admission committee.

However, Delhi University officials said this need not worry students who have already secured college seats. The officials declared that once a student’s admission is approved and they pay the admission fees, it will not be cancelled even if their marks get reduced after re-evaluation. Admissions will be cancelled only if the student provides the university with fabricated certificates and such. Also, there are provisions in the University admission guidelines to accommodate students whose grades have increased after re-evaluation: the guidelines clearly state that a student who qualifies under a cut-off list but fails to take admission may do so on the last day of admissions under subsequent cut-off lists, subject to the availability of seats. In view of the above, it is directed that the admissions effected pursuant to CBSE examination conducted in March/April 2017 shall be subject to the final outcome of the present writ petition.

Feature Image credits: Indian Express

Radhika Boruah

Campus Central

DUSU protests for failed third year students, University to look into the issue

By Radhika Boruah July 6, 2017

Members of Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) staged a protest at the North Campus of University of Delhi on Wednesday after the announcement of the results of the third year students not clearing the exam took to the news. Slogans demanding “Third-year students be promoted” rang outside gate number four of the university, as many students gathered to demand that they should be promoted, despite failing.

A number of third-year students failed in their practicals and in turn, failed to clear their third year. The students claimed that they were not informed that they had to pass individual components of a course in order to clear a subject, and hence their failing in the course was ‘unfair.’ Members of DUSU claimed that they had received applications asking for help from as many as 2000 students, most of whom had failed the practical component of a subject in their fifth semester: At least 700 applications from B.Com programme students who failed in practicals in Computer Applications, students who have had issues in Music, B.Com (H), and Statistics (H).

“I had scored 36 out of 45 in theory, and seven out of 15 in internals in Computer Applications which are both above the passing grade of 40%. Even my total score of 56% was above the passing grade. However, they said I have failed the subject because I have scored only 13 out of 40 in my practical exams. I was never told by my teachers, or my college, that I would need to pass theory, practical and internals separately to clear the subject,” said a B.Com programme student of Laxmi Bai College.

Meanwhile, DU officials have said that a committee had been formed to look into the issue and will check if the students have been misinformed. Relevant steps will be taken to resolve the issue.

Feature Image credits: www.hindustantimes.com

Radhika Boruah