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Food Review: Aam Aadmi Pakwaan

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North Campus just found its own ‘mummy ke haath ka khaana’ food joint. Aam Aadmi Pakwaan is easy to find as it is right in the heart of Kamala Nagar, in the lane behind Adidas. The board lit with neon lights welcomes the customers with a friendly offer of free Wi-Fi along with Bollywood music which adds to a homely experience of eating. Though the choice of music can be diversified, the interior is humble and so is the whole atmosphere in the restaurant.

Aam Aadmi Pakwaan lives up to its name in all its essence. The menu consists of all vegetarian Chinese and South Indian items coupled with a few snacks. It is a quiet place where you can go to have a peaceful time with nominal prices. We were expecting a lot and we definitely got what we wanted.

What we ordered: Fresh Lime Soda, Cappuccino, Crispy Baby Corn, Utthapam, American Chopsuey and Spring Roll

The drink that we ordered first off was lime soda, which had spot mix of sweet and salt and wasn’t short on ice. It was tangy too and the best thing about it was the hint of lemon zest around the edges of the glass. Then we proceeded to order Chilly Baby Corn which easily proved to be the best part of the whole meal, though more variety sauces would make it wholesome. The quantity was more than decent and could make your low appetite belly a repository for food. In the main course, we ordered Uttapam which arrived in a big plate complete with sambhar and the famous coconut chutney coupled with the ginger and mint sauce in the preparation time of 5-6 minutes. The subtle hint of spice and other flavours were just right and it could easily be compared to home cooked food with its light texture.

The cappuccino was next. It had a nice, earthy flavour like the one you can get at a hillside coffee shop in Himachal Pradesh. The aroma was sincere and reeked of coffee extract. We decided to try different cuisines and we narrowed down to authentic Chinese food. Well somewhat hybrid, because we ordered American Chopsuey next. The sauce startled one of our correspondents who belonged from Calcutta and had a palette for tasty Chinese food. The texture of the chowmein in the chopsuey was nice. Next we laid our hands on the spring roll, which was decent, consistent, well cooked, spiced and tasty. There was no doubt about the authenticity of the place.

We also ordered a chocolate brownie, which was decent too. Each and every component in the meal was cooked with love and conviction and the humble atmosphere spoke wonders about the honesty of the restaurant.

After our sumptuous meal, we had a word with the owner who gave us a bag of surprises. He was young and friendly and had a humble chat with us. He handed over to us some loyalty cards, which can help us get discounts the next time we came to eat. He also told us about the 200 rupees per head party packages. So in case you have a freshers’ party planned out, this is the place to be. It has free home delivery services in and around North Campus, open 7 days a week and provides hefty discounts to students.

All in all, Aam Aadmi Pakwaan is a humble place offering food with a touch of homely cooking at outrageously nominal prices. The price came out to be roughly 200 per person inclusive of drinks and desserts. The place is student friendly, the atmosphere is great and the taste is ecstatic. It truly is a place for the aam aadmi of DU.

Image Credits- magicpin.in

Ishaan Sengupta [email protected]

Tarushi Verma [email protected]

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Features

Para-sports and overcoming challenges: In conversation with Sharad Kumar

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Sharad Kumar knows what it’s like to deal with the highs and lows of life. From being diagnosed with polio myelitis at the age of two which left him with asymmetric paralysis in one leg, to excelling in sports during his school years, he learnt how to deal with it all at a very young age. He was on a high after winning the high-jump title in Malaysian Open Para-Athletics Championship and had his eyes set on being a part of the 2012 London Olympics, but an unfortunate ban because of allegations of doping forced him out of competition for two years.

A graduate in Political Science from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, he went on to pursue a masters in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Sharad returned with a bang in the 2014 Para Asian Games at Incheon, winning the gold medal in high jump and also breaking a 12-year Asian Games record.

All set for the World Championship next month in Doha, Qatar, he talks to DU Beat about the importance of sports in his life, and his goals:

Q- Disabilities are hard to deal with, especially for a child. How did you deal with getting affected by it at such a young age? How much do you think being involved in sports helped you in this?

Ans: At a personal level, dealing with disabilities is not tough, but it is tough to deal with people who think of people with disabilities like they belong to a different category. Luckily, I was in an amazing boarding school where everyone was treated equally, and that made me do the same things that other kids did. I think sports activities are the best kind of therapy for any problem, not just disabilities.

2. What drove your interest in sports and motivated you to pursue high-jumping?

Ans: My brother was an amazing athlete. We studied in St. Paul’s School in Darjeeling where he was popular for being good at sports. He was an outstanding high jumper. His popularity compelled me to take up sports too. I got to know about Para-sports from my favourite teacher Mr. Dennis who had taught me right from my primary classes. He told me that I would do wonders in Paralympics after I broke my brother’s high jump record in inter school meets.

I was not allowed to take part in athletic events at the beginning because being new to the school and having a disability, but I still used to stand near the high jump arena and watch. I loved high jumping from the very beginning, from the first time I saw the event.

3. How was the experience of representing India and winning the gold medal at the 2014 Para Asian Games held at Incheon after 2 years away from

competing?

Ans: I very much needed this experience. The medal is getting me support from the government too. It feels like being wronged to anyone who is ignored and misjudged but I knew I would triumph, if given the chance. I am still living on the success of the Asian Gold medal, but my next target is the World Championship in Qatar next month.

4. You are going to represent India at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Would you consider winning a gold medal there your ultimate achievement?

Ans: Winning the Paralympic Gold medal is my only dream now.

5. Based on your experience, what do you think is lacking in the way Para-sports are treated in India? What all improvements do you think are necessary for more of our Para-athletes to be able to compete internationally?

Ans: Things were terrible 6 years back, but now Para-sport in India is gaining momentum. I think the future is bright for Para-athletes and their mistreatment will soon stop. The government has done a tremendous job by making Paralympic medals equal to that of Olympic medals, which will surely benefit Para-athletes.

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Sounds

Troye Sivan’s Blue Neighbourhood touches and breaks hearts

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Troye Sivan’s much-talked about second major-label EP WILD released on September 4 and has already earned shoutouts from the likes of Taylor Swift and Sam Smith on Twitter. Along with excellent electro-pop music, with bass drops and emotional lyrics that will either calm you down- thanks to Troye’s soothing vocals- or make your stomach lurch with feelings, the EP has also resulted in a three-part video series called ‘Blue Neighbourhood’ which features songs off the EP.

Troye, who publicly came out as gay in 2013 and has since then used his massive fan following to impact the lives of many, has once again used the platform he has to present a simple, non-stereotypical portrayal of a love story between two boys who go from being childhood best friends to falling in love. The trailer of the trilogy that teased at love blossoming between the two friends despite facing odds like their families being at strife and homophobia at the hands of one of the characters garnered a lot of buzz, and with the first two parts of the series already out and toying with everyone’s feelings, it’s clear that the young, aesthetic looking 20 year old singer-songwriter (and actor and YouTuber; he’s a man of many talents) has given the world a heart-tugging LGBTQ romance that doesn’t fetishize or stereotype their relationship or their identities.

The first video, which is of the title track WILD, focuses on the friendship of the two boys from their childhood, with intermittent glances of what it has progressed to. The mostly happy lingering feelings from WILD pretty much get trampled on in the second video FOOLS, which shows Troye and his partner (played to perfection by Matthew Eriksson) wanting to explore their relationship but stopped short because of a certain other character. Ending on a cliffhanger, the video left a lot of people who watched it begging the singer to release the third part early.

As someone who has listened to the EP repeatedly since its release and has followed the series since the release of the first video, I find the narrative fascinating. If a ‘feels’ trip is what you’re looking for, look no further than the Blue Neighbourhood. And as we suffer through together, here’s hoping the third part is released sometime soon to end our agony!

Watch the first two parts here.

Feature Image Credits: tumblr.com

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DUB Speak

What Nicole Arbour’s “Dear Fat People” gets wrong

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Recently, a video uploaded by comedian Nicole Arbour, titled “Dear Fat People” went viral on the internet for all the wrong reasons, mostly because there were no right ones. In the video, which clocks over six minutes, the Canadian YouTuber rants about things she feels everyone wants to say to fat people. The result is an appallingly ignorant and hateful video which might even be triggering for people with body image issues. What makes it worse is that Arbour presents herself as someone who is “concerned” about the health of heavier folks.

 

The video starts off with her claiming, “Fatshaming is not real. Fat people made that up.” Several studies and the experiences of countless people who were discriminated against at their workplaces or elsewhere would disagree. The clearly misguided YouTuber believes that if people feel bad enough about their weight because of the hateful things that are levelled at them, then it’s not a negative result at all. What she fails to grasp is that people cannot be shamed into doing something positive. Shame is not a platform on which change builds well. In fact, studies claim that people who were made conscious of the fact that they were overweight lost less weight than the ones who weren’t. That’s because shame is not “Oh, I can do better than that”, it’s more “I am worthless and will never be able to achieve anything”. Shame is not motivation.

 

According to Arbour, “Just stop eating” seems to be a good enough solution to the problem. It’s apparent that she has never struggled through trying to lose weight, because not eating would result in eating disorders and a toxic relationship with food- none of which are actually healthy, since that is what Arbour claims is her primary concern. As a person who spent months trying to survive 10-12 hours a day on just a fruit in a bid to lose weight, I cannot emphasise on how wrong she is. Weightloss is not the simple arithmetic of burning more than you’re consuming. Fat people are hated and considered inefficient and sloths because most people see weight as something that can be easily controlled. This is increasingly being proved to be a misconception as scientists are discovering that there are a lot of factors that come into play when talking about obesity, including gut bacteria, genetics and environment. Again, as someone who’s been battling her own body since I was 10 years old, it’s not as easy as being active and reducing what you’re eating, but because we’re made to believe that it is that simple, not being able to lose weight results in feeling out of control and helpless about your own body.

 

The furore over the video resulted in several other videos in response. Whitney Thore of TLC’s “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” accurately noted, like many others, that you cannot possibly judge the health of a person through their weight. Often, people who are skinny have similar or worse health issues but they escape being stigmatised because their body doesn’t translate it into fat.

 

While not denying the benefits of a weight loss- if healthily achieved- this stigma tied to being fat needs to be broken down. Weight is not a measure of health and people should not be made to believe that it is a measure of their worth. More than losing weight, people should be motivated to make healthier lifestyle changes and have a positive relationship with food and their bodies. As for Nicole Arbour, I am not sure if she’s been through the struggle of weight loss or knows someone who has, but I hope they’ve never resorted to taking her advice or been subjected to her ignorance about fat people.

 

Shubham Kaushik

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

The reservation conundrum: Caste, need and efficiency

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hindustantimes.com

Affirmative action, popularly known as ‘reservation’, has been a topic of debate ever since its institutionalisation in India. It’s one of those issues we talk about and speak either for or against in the passing, conversational way we talk about a lot of social concerns. The recent protests by the affluent Patidar community from Gujarat moved the issue from that of casual conversation to the limelight. Demand for reservation in the OBC quota by the politically and economically powerful community brings to fore what has been said by scholars and social researchers for ages- there’s a need to assess the reach and benefits of the Caste-based reservation system and tweak it accordingly, rather than extending indefinitely what was supposed to be implemented for only the first ten years post its institutionalisation.

 

While some are entirely against reservations, claiming that it ‘dilutes’ merit, it would be unfair to not level the playing field for communities which have faced years of unjust oppression and lack of opportunities. That was the aim of reserving a certain percentage of seats/jobs/other benefits for certain communities- to level the playing field. If considering the notion of dilution of merit, we must also consider the many potentially meritorious individuals who never get to fulfil their potential because of denial of opportunities. Again, since the main issue is the lack of means, it is important to consider individuals who suffer from similar disadvantages but are not under the purview of reservation since they don’t belong to the list of communities under it. This is one of the reasons reservations based purely on the basis of caste could be called ineffective. And ineffective they are. Statistics show that most of the benefits of reservation go a few, well-educated elites in the communities. Families from the SC, ST and OBC categories who are poor and without the means to pursue education and employment- the ones who should be the beneficiaries- seldom are.

 

The Patel community’s demand to either be granted reservation or to essentially remove reservation entirely seems nonsensical. Reservationsor any kind of affirmative action taken to uplift backward communities isn’t bad, but the way reservations work in India has led to paradoxical results and undesirable outcomes. There’s a need for additional criteria to be introduced- like years of education of parents and the type of school attended- which will effectively filter out the elites from these benefits. The plight of disadvantaged individuals from other communities also needs to be addressed. Another important aspect to keep in mind is that of the level playing field- once it has been levelled, it is counterproductive to keep providing the benefits, which will lead to complacency. Generations of families getting reservation benefits when they’ve arrived at a level where they can certainly complete with other communities needs to stop.

 

Image Credits: hindustantimes.com

 

ShubhamKaushik

[email protected]

 

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Reviews

Music Review: Halsey's 'Badlands' makes for chilling, atmospheric Pop

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Halsey dropped her full length debut album ‘Badlands’ after months of anticipation, and to no one’s surprise at all, it’s being talked about at length and generating a lot of buzz. The album starts off with ‘Castle’, a dark and edgy bass-heavy track, with a haunting choir-backed pre-chorus. The song gives strong glimpses of the settings of the fictional dystopian land the singer has attempted to portray in ‘Badlands’– a central power structure, called ‘Castle’, which is being infiltrated by a young woman who’s been told to “keep her pretty mouth shut” despite making her their Queen. The track lands you bang in the middle of a storyline that you cannot make sense of, yet. The first half of the album builds on the momentum of ‘Castle’. ‘New Americana’, the viral second single of ‘Badlands’ is an attempt at the grandiose song-of-the-generation, with the chorus “We are the New Americana/ High on legal marijuana/ Raised on Biggie and Nirvana”. While the song is well-liked and is receiving a lot of airplay, it’s not a personal favourite because the chorus feels like it’s trying too hard. The songs that make the album for me are ‘Drive’, ‘Roman Holiday’ and ‘Colors’, which are consecutive tracks and the strength of the album. ‘Roman Holiday’, especially, was an instant favourite. Halsey sings with the optimism of someone resigned to their fate of a dysfunctional and addictive relationship. ‘Colors’ is another high-point of ‘Badlands’, painting a glorious picture of a broken man through imagery. It also features some of Halsey’s strongest lyrical work yet. The second half is where my problem with the record lies. Our musical appetite has been satiated, and you feel stifled by the atmosphere and thus, want to stop the music. While ‘Haunting’, ‘Control’ and ‘Young God’ work as stand-alone tracks, when heard in continuity, it’s hard not to feel like the show’s gone on for too long. ‘Ghost’, the last song on ‘Badlands’ and Halsey’s breakout single, comes as a breath of fresh air to end the album on a high. While not the “Pop Artist of the Year” Halsey’s music has interesting things to say- both in terms of music and production. She doesn’t exactly succeed in delivering the concept of ‘Badlands’, but at the end of it, you’re left stuck inside songs and with glimpses of melancholic landscapes and dark skylines littered with neon lights. More than anything else, ‘Badlands’ is a promise of greater things to come from the 20 year old songstress. Featured Image Credits: Official Album Cover of “Badlands” Shubham Kaushik [email protected]]]>

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DUB News

DU Beat’s DUSU Opinion Poll- What we learnt

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DUSU Opinion Poll by Aditya Rathore

Delhi University goes to polls for the Student Union elections on Friday, September 11. With NSUI, AISA and the newcomer CYSS aiming to topple ABVP off the top, DU Beat attempted to gauge what is running through an average DU student’s mind.by conducting an online DUSU Opinion Poll which was taken by hundreds of students. Here are the key takeaways from the results:-

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By Aditya Rathore for DU Beat

1) ABVP barely edging past CYSS

After a clean sweep in the DUSU elections last year with a clear margin, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) seems to be headed for another win this year too, with almost 35% of the respondents giving them their vote. Their decisive margin of victory might be in trouble because of Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the student wing of AAP that will be making its debut in the DUSU elections this year. CYSS takes the second position, with nearly 31% respondents saying they will vote for them. These are followed by All India Students’ Association (AISA), The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and other parties, who have 14.7%, 13.2% and 6.6% of the votes respectively.

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2) Second consecutive term for ABVP after a “meh” year

ABVP’s lead in the polls is not surprising but definitely worth pondering over, given that most respondents-around 44% of them- rated the outgoing union (led by ABVP) as not up to the mark. Only a mere 20% of the respondents rated their performance as ‘Brilliant’, while 34% opted for ‘Poor’. The right-wing party has been criticised for its stand against homosexuality and live-in relationships, which might have led to a decrease in their approval in the progressive atmosphere of the University. Their push for important issues like the rollback of the FYUP, reintroduction of revaluation and ‘special chance’ may get them enough votes to secure another win.Fullscreen capture 982015 92033 PM.bmp

3) Rent regulation a hot topic yet again

Rent regulation for flats and PG accommodations as well as more hostels emerged as the most important agenda (31.6%), followed by the Curriculum (20%) which has been under fire because of the implementation of the hotly debated Choice Based Credit System (27.1%). These were followed by the ever-relevant demands for more colleges and seats as a way to counter the astronomically high cut-offs (20%), better Transportation facilities (6.7%) and calls for Gender Equality (6.7%). 

Related reading: What is rent regulation and why is it such a big deal

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4) Parties’ national affiliations a major deciding factor- ‘Modi wave’ still doing the trick for ABVP?

Another notable result was the importance respondents gave to the national political alignment of student bodies. It’s common knowledge that all parties in DUSU are associated with some or the other National political party, like ABVP with BJP, and NSUI with Congress. According to the results, this association affects the voting decisions of more than 51% respondents. This might be due to the understanding that if the party reigning DUSU is in sync with the national or state government, it would ensure smooth functioning and better and faster implementation of changes.

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5) Over half the respondents offered freebies

Ironically, with all the cacophony about ‘cleaning’ student politics and reducing muscle power, a whooping 57% respondents witnessed or were offered freebies in an attempt to woo them for their votes. Parties have been known to openly flout the rules by offering movie tickets and *ahem* organising concerts. 

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As a follow up to the DUSU Opinion Poll and to ensure the parties get a structured platform to present their agendas to students and that students get to make an informed decision, DU Beat is organising Delhi University’s first Presidential Debate at 6 PM, 9 September at Press Club of India, Raisina Road. The debate will be streamed live. Read more about it here. Here’s hoping for clean polls and an effective and decisive Union that puts the interest of the students first!

 

 

Disclaimer: The results have been drawn solely from the responses we received. DU Beat does not claim for these to be the actual results of Delhi University Students’ Union election 2015.

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Sounds

The “inconvenient” charm of pop music’s next muse: Halsey

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Every few months there comes along a new artist who’s touted as the ‘Next Big Thing in Music’. Ashley Frangipane, better known by her stage name Halsey, is that and much more. When you listen to the young New Jersey-born musician, you can hear the grandiose statements it’s trying to make while still remaining incredibly personal.

With her debut album ‘Badlands’ out this week, here’s three reasons why she should be your favourite already:

 

  1. Her musicianship:

The young 20 year old isn’t just masterful at writing heart-wrenching lyrics but also binds it up in haunting, subtle melodies around concepts that will make you change your perspective. Calling her a provocateur won’t be unfair since she proclaims herself as one. From the lyrics of her breakout single “Ghost” (I like the sad eyes, bad guys/ Mouth full of white lies/ Kiss me in the corridor/ But quick to tell me goodbye) to the less melodious, more conceptual sound of her latest release “Drive”, everything this aqua-haired woman does is bound to make people look up and pay attention. Billboard describes the vibe of her music as combining, “.. the synthy darkness of Lorde, the neon-pop chutzpah of Miley Cyrus and the flickering film noir of Lana Del Rey.”

  1. Her fearlessness:

It takes guts to be a beginner in a cut-throat industry and proclaim yourself as ‘inconvenient’, but Halsey is abrasively real, if not anything else. She isn’t everyone’s dream version of the popstars we’re accustomed to- the much-adored, clean, easy to market over-the-top celebrities that media laps up nowadays. Halsey’s past has been shrouded with drug abuse and severe issues with her mental health, something she isn’t afraid to speak out about. She recently took on the New York Times for what she called a blatant misquote in her interview about “identifying as a tri-bi” (bisexual, biracial, suffering from Bipolar Disorder). The singer says that’s who she is, not something she ‘identifies’ as. It’s a strong statement to make against a giant publication, but not something she’s unused to.

 

  1. Her debut album:

Badlands, that released on August 28, is one of those records that send you exactly to the mind-space it was meant to. Written as a concept record, ‘Badlands’, is a collective name of a fictional dystopian setting inspired by mega cities like Las Vegas and Tokyo- the hub of life but also power-structures and hedonism. If that doesn’t make you curious, the few songs already released as singles from the album- “Ghost”, “Hold Me Down”, “Drive” and “New Americana” should.

 

Image Credits: Billboard.com

 

 

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Miranda House

The optimistic reality of social welfare schemes revealed at Vishleshan

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Vishleshan, the official discussion forum of Arthashastra, the Economics Society of Miranda House college hosted Dr. Reetika Khera, an eminent developmental economist and social activist, for their first seminar of the session, titled “Doles, Freebies, Handouts: A Right(s) Approach to Populism”, on 26th August.

Dr. Reetika Khera, associated with institutions like Delhi School of Economics, IIT-Delhi, Centre for Economic Development and the Planning Unit at the Indian Statistical Institute, was actively involved with the implementation of the National Rural Employment Generation Act (NREGA) scheme and champions the cause of social welfare schemes.

The Seminar was preceded by a short reading group, where students discussed Dr. Khera’s work and talked about relevant issues, like the situation of public welfare schemes in India-the benefits they provide to people on a daily basis versus the expenditure on them. At 1.30 p.m, Dr. Khera took the stage after being welcomed warmly by Ananya Goyal and Arushi Gupta, Co-Heads of Vishleshan.

During the course of the seminar, which lasted for around an hour, Dr. Khera successfully broke down the concept of social welfare schemes and put forth her stance of supporting their expansion and upkeep. She mentioned how there had been recent talks about India’s social welfare policies being too “populist” when in actuality, we are a “world champion in social underspending”. Dr. Khera broke down the stigma against social welfare schemes by tackling the often-repeated issues like how expenditure on them adds to the fiscal deficit and how India cannot afford to fund these schemes anymore. She took on another major issue against schemes like The Public Distribution System, which are thought to be riddled with corruption and hence inherently ineffective.

In reality, statistics show that there have been considerable improvements in the PDS, with states like Bihar seeing a turnaround in their effectiveness. Dr. Khera also criticised the use of obsolete data from 1997-2001 which have been cited by columnists of leading newspapers to speak out against NREGA and other such social welfare measures. She ended her lively session by stating, “It just takes political will and basic technological intervention to run welfare schemes”, which was followed by an interaction session where attendees commented on and brought forth other relevant observations.

“In our quest for stimulating discussion on matters of importance in Economics, I believe that we are on a good start with the lecture by Dr. Khera. Her passion for her work, particularly for raising standards of living across the board by constitution of Rights for Necessities was inspiring for the entire lot of young economists in the audience,” said Ananya Goyal, the Co-Head of Vishleshan.

For more updates on Vishleshan events, visit their Facebook Page here.

Image Credits: Niketa Singh, Arthashastra (The Economics Society of Miranda House)

Shubham Kaushik

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

Is Indian Education System built around the Sciences?

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Our President addressed the faculty and students of Central Universities and institutions around the country on August 10, 2015. As one of the many students who attended the live telecast, I couldn’t help but notice the absolute lack of any reference to humanities, liberal arts, or anything other than science and technology-based education in India during the address and the following interaction. When arguably the most important figure of your country fails to mention the very stream of your choice of studying in an address related to energising the higher education in the country, it tends to make you think about not just the education system, but also your own love and future prospects in pursuing the same.

This is not the first, or the only instance, that comes to mind when thinking about this issue. The much talked about hierarchy of pursuing science followed by other subjects is real beyond the choosing of subject streams in Class 10. It is not just the stigma and trying to explain to people how studying English, Sociology or History wasn’t a decision prompted by your lack of options. Humanities shouldn’t be considered the paltry, last-option bunch of subjects people opt for when they haven’t qualified for another. Through this, not only are we, as a country and society, discouraging young, enthusiastic students who are keen on pursuing subjects but we’re also opening ourselves up to the very real possibility of not having enough learned people in these subjects. We have been conditioned to believe that having enough doctors and engineers would take care of our needs but by ignoring humanities, we’re ignoring the people who study our interaction as human beings and are, through their studies and theories, responsible for the structure, institutions and life the way we see today.

The interaction session following the President’s address was between the heads of science and technology based institutions, who talked about the leaps in their research facilities and making India a research-based education hub. While it is always amazing to hear about the leaps and bounds our country has made in terms of research and education, it was disheartening to not hear about any such research or study conducted by students pursuing humanities or discuss how our country fares in terms of education specifically in this stream. That’s mostly because we don’t. We’re a country made of and for engineers and doctors, featuring Science research. Our education system is built around it, and everyone panders to and reinforces it.

The young doctorate student questioned why bright Indian minds should go abroad for their higher education given the myriad opportunities offered in the country itself. It’s a good question, but it further raises an important point. Are we actually offering opportunities to students not pursuing pure sciences, medicine and engineering? And since we’re not, is it unfair to not expect students to leave the country in search of better opportunities? By failing to talk about humanities and the arts, is India responsible for a part of its brain-drain itself?

Image Credits: forbesindia.com

Shubham Kaushik

[email protected]

 

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