While the news of students scoring 99 per cent in the first semester result of Economics left the student community baffled and teachers appalled, DU Beat went to the so far faceless students who scored the near-perfect marks and asked them how it felt for them. Here is what they had to say…

Shreysi Mehndiratta, who has scored 98%, stood second in SRCC. “I was just not expecting these marks. Although the exams went well, no one expects to get in 90s, not in Economic Honours at least.” She added, “I can’t really say if DU is doing this just to prove that the semester system is any good because I’m not sure if the result has been the same for all the courses.” On asking her how she changed her mind from engineering to Economic (Honours) even after having science without Economics in school, she said, “I always had an interest in the subject (Economics) and I got the marks to get into the best college for the course.”

Rachit Dua, one of the students who scored 99%, is studying in SRCC. When asked about the result he said, “I was expecting somewhere around 95%, but definitely not a 99%. The paper’s difficulty level was quite normal. It wasn’t very difficult and it wasn’t even easy.” On asking whether he thinks it has been done to vindicate the efficacy of the semester system, he said, “Well, It can be. You never know.”

Gaganpreet Kaur Chadha of SRCC who also scored 99% said, “I was expecting somewhere around 85% as that is the highest anyone expects in Economic Honours, from what I’ve heard. The 99% was quite a surprise really.” When asked further about the unusual result she said, “I think the checking must have been very lenient as there are so many who have scored well. And the papers were also quite easy. So I too feel that this has been done by DU in order to show that changing to the semester system was the right thing to do.”

Milan Bindal of Hindu College is the third top scorer. She said, “Was I expecting this result? No! In previous years, the top scores had gone up to 90. I was aiming for a 92. My only objective was to secure first rank in the University. To be honest, the result is a little shocking. Although I do think students have been rewarded this time for their efforts; moderating doesn’t mean you deduct marks that students deserve in the first place. There was tremendous pressure on us from day 1 and I think that has helped our result. I couldn’t get through SRCC by one mark and I’m glad I joined Hindu College. The faculty has done a great job in giving us a lot of extra time apart from the college hours. The exams were easy and I don’t think we’’ll have such scores in the coming semesters. Also social networks like Facebook don’t fascinate me and I guess that helps me remain focussed. I want to do my majors from London School of Economics.”

Additi Seth
additi@dubeat.com 

How did you start out and what was the inspiration behind Youth Ki Awaaz?

It started out in 2008. I was preparing for my entrance examinations after my board results were out. While the preparations were on, I came across an array of issues and realizing that the mainline media did not really pick them up, I wanted to voice myself. On approaching established media houses, I was dejected when my opinionated letters to the editor were not published. I knew I had to chose an alternative path to voice myself and thus I took to blogging. I started blogging at youthkiawaaz.blogspot.com. After about an year of blogging and getting a small but loyal audience, Youth Ki Awaaz got its very own domain: youthkiawaaz.com and I opened up the blog for readers to join in and pitch in their views on critical issues. The main inspiration has been the very problem that India and other developing nations face. The problem of inability to express oneself freely at a large scale – reaching out to a mass audience. There is an information overload and an attention deficit, but the populace that matters is the most neglected one.

How do you plan to take YKA forward? Are you also working on other enterpreneural projects?

Personally, I see myself sticking on not just to one start up. I am already working on my second start up, which again is a social enterprise solving the problem of credible research in the social, educational and health sector. I want to identify problems in the society and build innovative products and companies with the sole aim of solving these problems. Youth Research India, my next start up, being co-Founded with Youth Ki Awaaz’s Vice President, Mridang Lodha, will be India’s first and largest platform for young people to collaborate and conduct organized researches with the help and support of expert organizations and industry veterans – with the aim of creating credible information availability in the domain of social issues, educational problems, environmental issues and the health care sector in India.

Reporting about a problem and directly impacting change have often proved to be a dichotomy. How do you plan to bridge the gap?

Youth Ki Awaaz is the first step towards change. To work towards any problem, you need to first understand it and get the right kind of knowledge – that is awareness and this is where Youth Ki Awaaz comes in. Our impact is the change in the mindset of our readers and writers. Almost 60% of our interns join the social sector after our internship – and that in itself is a big impact on their lives, thus changing the lives of many others connected to them. I have a strong alignment towards the power of journalism. We combine that with the power of the youth and technology. Talking about some measurable impact, I must mention a recent case. When Libya was under turmoil (it still is) we heard that a lot of Indian nationals were stuck there. The Government was not sending ships to get them back on time and lives were being lost. The mainline media faced a problem of reaching out to these Indians in Libya or even their families. At the same time, one of our readers’ father was stuck in Tripoli and was suffering at the hands of the violence. The reader wrote a very emotional story about his father being stuck their, asking for help. Within seconds, the story went viral on twitter and Facebook with thousands tweeting about it and sharing it. We got a flood of emails from media outlets like CNN IBN, asking us to connect them to the writer. We even got an email from the Govt department asking us to not spread panic – which was actually the truth. A lot of media outlets picked the story, quoting us, and pushed the Government to send ships to get the Indians back, and in the next 24 hours, the ships were sent. We might have played a minor role in all this, but just the fact that the writer’s voice was picked up and spread by the mainline media was enough of an impact. His father is back in India and safe.

And finally do you have any message for the aspiring social enterpreneurs out there?

The best thing about being an entrepreneur who solves problems is that you get to change lives. I would like to push young people to pick up that one passion and go out of their way to make it big – to make it happen. That is how change is done!

Q. How closely can you, personally, relate to Udaan?
A. Quite personally. Though my parents gave me the best of education and support, there was this thin line dividing broad minded and too broad minded. I wanted to go all out and become a writer, they wanted something better and conventional…, I wanted it my way. I ran away.

Q. You chose to produce a movie which involved a lot of first- timers. How confident were you of the Director, Vikramaditya Motwane?
A. I have always known him as someone who has great potential and have looked up to him as a filmmaker and a friend. A superb film by him was just waiting to happen. I happened to produce it., that’s incidental.

Q. Our parents and grand parents believe our generation to be generally impatient, with a weaker moral base and greatly influenced by western culture. How do you view this cliché, is it a lot different from yours?
A. There will always be resistance to change. Earlier the resistance was more and much stronger with each generation having, say 33 years to themselves. They were too different from each other and too entrenched. In current times, we see a new generation every decade. They will be raring to go being dynamic with a lot of chaos and a lot of creation. It’s (change is) almost unstoppable and will take the ones who resist with its tide.

Q. You ran away from home at a young age. A lot of students go through similar predicaments. How difficult is the journey, alone? Do you, at times, regret this decision?
A. There might be times of introspection but that conviction to take the decision in the first place kept me going. Come what may I was not going back. It probably couldn’t have been done any different with all its mistakes and mess intact. I don’t know if I can go through all that again, but if need be, one has too. With all the adrenaline and the pop-philosophy and the rebel stings going wild, one needs to keep focus on what one had started off with in the first place. If you lose focus on your goal, that initial act of rebellion will lose steam soon. The point is not just to start a rebellion, sustain it. I still am struggling in my own way.

Q. How do you perceive your audience, when you make a movie and chart out characters because your movies are generally niche?
A. I tell people my stories, I don’t know if it’s niche or mass or A or B. I can’t get into things drawing a pie-chart or a power point presentation. I believe that’s how people who watch my films function too. I try and make it with my instinct, they watch it with theirs. Probably that’s how we connect.

Q. What is your most distinct memory as a student of Hansraj College?
A. The canteen and the girls.. bunking classes to watch films, and there was this one girl I would follow, no matter where she went. She never looked back at me.

Q. What is your message to the aspiring film- makers in DU?
A. Go ahead and make it.

-
As told to Radhika Marwah

Q.Cliche’d as it may sound, have you ever suffered from a writer’s block?
A. Touch wood, but I haven’t suffered from such a thing as yet. In fact, I am not even sure that such a thing exists. Perhaps, it is another word for depression. Personally, it may even be a state experienced when one doesn’t really have anything to say (laughs again).

Q. Sir you mentioned depression. Is that something intrinsic to a writer’s profession?
No, I wouldn’t say so. In fact I think good humour helps the creative process. While suicide may be a good career move in case you are interested in posthumous critical acclaim. But yes, maybe writers are more sensitive to the suffering in the world. Yes, the world is a difficult place but all writers need not be sad individuals.

Sir, thank you so much for your time. It has been wonderful talking to you.

Rebecca M. John is the lawyer defending Kobad Gandhi, allegedly the top leader of CPI (Maoist) who was arrested on the 22^nd of September. Shortly after the arrest a storm of violent incidents took place which occupied much media attention and were said to be indicative of the ‘Naxalite Crisis’ in our country. In the midst of all the discussion and debate surrounding these highly charged issues DU Beat brings you a conversation with the fascinating person who’s been given the responsibility of defending the man of the hour.

DUB: What made you decide to take up such a controversial case?

Rebecca: I am a criminal Defense lawyer, it is my job to take up  cases that come to me and defend  people, to the best of my ability. It is  the constitutional right of every citizen to be defended in a Court of Law. I pass no moral judgment on anyone; to me this case is no different from the countless others I have taken up before, so there is no additional pressure.  I was asked  by  Civil Liberties groups to appear for Kobard Ghandy . I took it up as I would have done any other case.  My judgment has never been coloured by public opinion and indeed that should never be an issue for any lawyer who upholds the Constitution and believes in the Rule of Law.

DUB: How do you reconcile yourself to the various ideologies your clients represent? Is it a problem if it clashes with your own?

Rebecca: You don’t have to be friends with your client, just defend their right to a fair trial. Their ideology has nothing to do with the case as long as you uphold their rights. I perform my obligations and I work within the framework of the law and I  sleep with a clear conscience at night. I have taken up many difficult cases and I  deal with them professionally. If the prosecution can prove its case then the person will be punished,  and if they can’t then he is set free and no one should be able to contest his innocence. We are not   some banana republic, in our Constitution we have trials which proceed   with the  presumption that an accused is innocent until proven guilty. Which is why Ajmal Kasab is undergoing   a   trial and has  not been shot dead or lashed at a public stadium before a blood thirsty mob , as some people were suggesting. If he is found guilty he will be dealt with appropriately as mandated by the Law.

An independent Judiciary and a Criminal Justice System which upholds the Rule of Law, is the fundamental basis for a free and fair society, so thank god for Defense lawyers.

DUB: Considering the fact that you work within the law and subscribe to its administration how do you defend someone whose basic ideology consists of overthrowing this administrative system?

Rebecca: There is no evidence to suggest that Kobad Gandhi  is trying to overthrow the government or its administrative system.  How can you say he doesn’t want to work within the system? Why is the middle class so threatened by someone like him? Why is public discourse on the subject influenced by  propaganda and complete ignorance on the subject?   In any case my client has never made any statement supporting violence of any form.

DUB: The Government has decided to launch a military offensive against the Naxals and deploy armed forces in the Naxal hotbeds. What are the legal intricacies involved in employing troops in civilian ground? What are your views on the matter? How can violence on the part of the State be justified?

Rebecca: This is an administrative decision and you need to ask officials from the Home Ministry about the logistics involved in troop deployment.

Personally I  have reservations about Operation Green Hunt since it means that  the Government is hunting down its own people. Who are we declaring war on? What are we declaring war on? Can Naxalism really be wiped out by brute force?  Should the Indian State declare war on its most despairing citizens?  As Himanshu Kumar, a Human Rights Activist in far away Dantewada says, why are all these poor people attracted to an ideology that will end in death?

These  are the most deprived sections of our society and all that they are asking for are   basic  rights, food, water , clothes, health care and  schools and their legitimate right over their land and how do we respond to this criminal neglect of over 60 years ? We ‘hunt’ them down.  I am not justifying  Maoist violence, I abhor all violence, but I do believe the State should consider looking at the cause of the problem before jumping to find hasty solutions. We could all do well to read the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, that sacred document that protects the rights of tribals over their forests and land!

Atleast now we talking about Adivasis, Dalits and tribals and their state of disempowerment  and destitution , issues we never spoke of even five years ago.

On the other hand the violence perpetrated by the State is really no different from the violence they are supposedly fighting. Take the ridiculous Salva Judum scheme in Chhattisgarh for example, where ordinary citizens are armed and encouraged to engage in violence  in order to fight the Naxals. In these cases the solutions become as much, if not more problematic than the problems they are supposed to resolve.

DUB: There are a lot of students actively demonstrating against the violent means the government plans to utilize over this issue. Any message for students who take these issues to heart?

Rebecca: I  support peaceful protests of any kind. I  have always felt that  people in our country don’t protest enough.  As a whole our society  is reluctant to  protest so if  students are taking up issues and getting interested in events of national importance I am happy because in India there is a complete absence of debate on critical issues and that is inexcusable.

If there is anything we have learnt from our freedom movement, it is that peaceful protests are an effective tool of dissent and are indeed the best way of achieving long term goals!

-As told to Pragya Mukherjee

Sonal Mansingh, the internationally acclaimed danseuse proficient in various dance forms be ranging from Bharatnatyam, which comprised her debut performance-arangatram and first raised her to heights of fame, to chauu and Odissi, has performed before the highest dignitaries all over the world and her art has won her the highest of accolades including Padma Bhushan (1992), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987) and the Padma Vibhushan in 2003, conferring on her the honour of being the first woman dancer in India to receive this award. However her tremendous achievements are not merely a result of talent but of tremendous grit and dedication to her craft. Her passion for dance was such as to make her run away from home in order to be able to continue to pursue dance as a career. She spent long years training under great luminaries in the filed of dance such as Prof U.S. Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi and later Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra who was the one to train her in Odissi.
Her sterling resilience was tested to the limit when during a car accident in Germany her spinal cord was injured and her legs lost their function. However this was when chiropractor Pierre Gravel gave her new hope by announcing she may be able to dance again. Living with this hope she made a complete recovery and within a year she was able to successfully perform to a full house.
Sonal Mansingh has been elected a member of the Executive Board and General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, National Cultural Fund, Ministry of Culture. More recently she has been appointed a trustee of the largest institution in India, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). In 1977 she founded the Delhi based Centre for Indian Classical Dances (CICD) which has produced numerous stage productions and been the training grounds of many notable artists today.
This legendary dancer’s passion for her art should be an example for all. Here’s a short tete-a-tete with the legend herself.

DuBeat: What inspired you to take up dance as a profession?
SM: I am from a political family. My grandfather, Mangal Das Pakwasa, was one of the first five Governors of India. My grandfather and both my parents were greatly interested in the arts and so famous artists would often come and perform at our house. I grew up among these artists and naturally grew an interest in it.

DuBeat: Was dance still not considered respectable enough that you had to run away to pursue it?
SM: Dancing and dancers had a negative connotation in those days and this prejudice hasn’t entirely died down even now. Dancing is still a problematic profession for some packets of society.

DUBeat: Wasn’t it difficult to steel yourself to run away? How were you able to make such a big decision?
SM: It wasn’t a hard decision to make. This is something I try to make my students understand as well. If you really do something with a passion nothing and no one can get in your way. You only realize you made a choice in hindsight but at that time nothing else really seemed to matter.

DUBeat: How did you develop an interest in Odissi?
SM: It was under Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra that I discovered Odissi and how much it needed to grow. At the time Odissi had a limiter repertoire so we began researching all aspects of it- performance, art and tradition. This was when I started learning Chau as well.

DUBeat: What was your reaction to the famous documentary film made on you by Prakash Jha?
SM: Oh he did a wonderful job! But now he can make a new one, so much has happened since (laughs)

DUBeat: Do you feel the youth today is losing interest in Indian Classical Dance?
SM: I wouldn’t say that. I still meet a lot of passionate youngsters interested in classical dance. However if interest is digressing into other newer forms of dance it is perfectly all right. It’s really all up to individual choice and what you consider to be enriching or fulfilling for you.

DUBeat: Any message for our readers?
SM: Be passionate about what you do and never lose sight of your principles. I don’t wish to generalize but there are youngsters one hears of with a callous attitude who carelessly crush people on the pavement or show similar disregard for the lives and problems of others. This insensitive attitude has to change. There are of course many young people who are passionate about change and keen to make a difference but there are also those who take life lying down. Always keep with you a strong sense of values and learn to be compassionate.

Manju Kapur is a professor of English Literature at Miranda House, DU. Her first novel, Difficult Daughters, received the Commonwealth Award for the Eurasian region. In the past decade she has contributed to the literary world immensely by books such as Home, A Married woman and most recently the critically acclaimed novel, The Immigrant. A few days before The International Women’s Day are correspondent Hunar Katoch, gets the opportunity to talk to the woman behind these books of absorbing intelligence.

DUB: As a professor of literature in Miranda House, when you write a book do you keep in mind the amount of critical analysis a book can be subjected to?

MKD: Yeah well, that’s an interesting question, one I haven’t been often asked. No you don’t, as a writer your approach to a text is completely different. Before I started writing I actually thought that perhaps teaching or critiquing the novel may give useful inputs at the time of writing one, but when you read, criticize or teach it, you look at it from a completely different perspective. Often teachers dig out things in a novel that the writer isn’t fully conscious of when he/she writes the book. If I had to write a book the way I teach it, I doubt I’d be able to write a single word. At the time of analysis one deconstructs the characters and the theme so much but when you write the book its much simpler, so the writing process it’s very different. from the teaching process.

DUB: Are you currently involved in writing any other books?

MKD: Yes, always

DUB: Have your years as a teacher of literature influenced your writing technique?

MKD: Not my technique, but definitely the way I look at a character: always placing them in a context. That is exactly what I do while writing a book. If I would have done that otherwise also, I can’t tell since my writing is inextricably linked to the study of literature that I’ve done for so many years.

DUB: Most writers are prone to writers block? How do you overcome it?

MKD: See first of all I personally am not prone to writers block. Even though we hear a lot about it, I think it’s a myth. Whenever I’m stuck at a particular section I move on to something else come back to it later to prevent sitting in front of the computer without knowing what to write. Ensuring no compromise in the quality of the content requires many rewritings .I would say that writers block is not something I identify with rather its the repeated rewriting process until you are able to say exactly what you mean to say.

DUB: Your books, be it home or difficult daughters, have as many readers might feel an underlying theme to them, yet they aren’t the focal point of the story. Is there any reason behind it?

MKD: Absolutely the reason is that first I think of the theme and the story comes much

(As told to Vyoma  Dhar Sharma)

Raja Sen joined Rediff.com as a film critic in September 2004 .These days he writes for various other magazines such as Tehelka, Man’s World, and Rolling Stone and is currently working on screenplays . Although he quit Rediff in early 2008, he frequently writes for them on a freelance basis. After graduating from Don Bosco, New Delhi he pursued a Bachelors in English Literature at Delhi College of Arts and Commerce. Then followed a year’s worth of copywriting at J Walter Thompson in Delhi, after which he went off to do an MA in Creative and Media Enterprises at the University of Warwick He tells DU Beat about his experiences in film reviewing, the pressures of the job, the good and bad in Bollywood, benchmarks for box office success and the on-going Oscar fixation that Slumdog Millionaire is generating

DU Beat :Were the initial years on the job extremely demanding and difficult or did you  find it very flexible?

RS:       The thing is, Rediff has a really great bunch of people. The editorial staff is brilliant, I’m still in touch with a lot of them. So it’s a great place to learn and to find your niche, primarily because it gives you the opportunity to go out on a limb.

DU Beat:  The business of film reviews can’t possibly be as uncomplicated and straightforward as most people think. What are some of the intricacies that your readers remain unaware of?

RS:       A review can never be wrong its after all  its just an opinion. Even two diametrically opposite reviews are as valid as each other. The only difference with my review is that its an ‘informed opinion’, Hence, for me  it’s not sufficient to talk about what you liked or didn’t, but important to delve further into the reasons behind it. To appreciate or analyze a film you have to place it in context, provide a benchmark or frames of reference, and essentially try to look closer up at the film than the viewer usually might. And I always think a good review has to have enough flair and panache to be  an amusing read by itself, even if someone hasn’t seen the movie concerned.

DU Beat: Which critics do you enjoy reading?

    R.S  :    Well, there’s Stephanie Zacharek of Salon. And then there are David Denby and Anthony Lane, both of the New Yorker. Roger Ebert  is in a particularly fine  form of late. Sites like metacritic.com [http://metacritic.com] are a fantastic resource.

DU Beat:      There is no denying the fact that a film review inevitably has an impact on how it  fares at the box office. Does that put pressure on you to be more kind or do you feel empowered to be brutally honest?

RS            Initially I was amazed to see the importance people give  to a review As far as I see it, several movies which get completely panned by critics go on to make loads of money. And that’s completely fair, I don’t think one factor leads to another at all. So I feel we must go out there and say exactly what we think about a movie,. Similarly, filmmakers need to go out there and, give us movies to feel better about.

            As for honesty, I think you have to be consistent to yourself as a critic. Its natural to be biased but one needs to be objective as well. Honesty is just part of the package because if you aren’t honest, you aren’t going to be taken seriously. A good review only matters when it counts, right?

DU Beat: While critiquing a movie, you obviously have to consider many aspects but is there any one, clear cut factor which distinguishes good cinema from bad?

RS :  Simple answer: No. Films are such a fantastic medium, it’s impossible to pinpoint what to love or  loathe them  - even though producers around the world would love to hear an answer. But seriously, anything about a film -from the cinematography to a supporting actress to a particular theme tune -can either get on your nerves or elevate you to a cinematic ecstasy. Not knowing which one it is, is what makes watching movies such a fascinating thing.

DU Beat: So, in 2008 we saw a mixed bag of hits and flops, directors experimenting with period films, horror, comedy, drama, teenage romances and many new actors making their debuts. What has been your favourite and not so favourite offering from Bollywood from last year?

RS        Last year was pretty bleak, and there really wasn’t much to applaud except for one flat-out dark drama, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. The film is sensational, and Dibakar Banerjee, the director of the smashing Khosla Ka Ghosla, captures the pulse of Delhi so well. It’s also one of the most minutely detailed films I’ve seen in a while, and the script’s duality is incredible. The characters, the music… Wow.

            As for bad ones, where do I start? There was Love Story 2050, which had a wannabe Hrithik Roshan do everything to ape the superstar short of sticking on a prosthetic thumb; there was Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, which was plain unnecessary; and then we had cinema’s ‘quality-man,’ so to speak, giving us a very, very average pot-boiler and selling it with biceps and haircuts to make it the year’s biggest hit.

            Ghajini is very watchable primarily because of Aamir Khan’s fantastic acting. But it’s a poorly structured, watered-down remake, and the girl is just atrocious.

DU Beat: Have you ever received threats for your frank criticism or generous gifts for sincere praises in your reviews? Can you recount any interesting incident where your words landed you into trouble?

RS        Yes, and I’m not going to tell you. On a more serious note, there have been times when directors have called up in the middle of the night and yelled at me, actors have made snide comments in post-release interviews, and production houses have threatened  rather illogically to sue me. A couple of people have even blogged pettily about me. I feel you just have to shrug it off and use it as a reminder of how crazy the film industry can be. After all you are just an observer.

DU Beat: Aravind Adiga got the Man Booker prize for revealing the dirty underside of the country and Slumdog Millionaire is raking in awards and unbelievable 10 Oscar nominations. Is putting poverty and deprivation on display the only way for India to gain recognition on the international platform? How important is this international platform?

R.S:      I haven’t read Adiga’s book, but I know writers like Arundhati Roy, who almost caricaturise Indian poverty are quite quickly accepted by the West,. Having said that, I think we’re all being too reductive.

            Slumdog Millionaire, for example, is  quite an exceptional movie. My advice to all those creating a hue and cry over it is that they should appreciate the movie  for it realy is rather than politicize its message.

            International recognition is important, because it shows we’re doing something as good as the rest of the world is. I’m not saying the Oscars are the be-all and end-all of cinematic achievement, but AR Rahman winning one would be fantastic. He’s someone we should all be proud of, as should we be of all the Indian cast and crew in Slumdog. The world deserves to see the best of Indian talent, and if the Oscars reach more people – and they do – then I’m all for it.

We have decided that all PG courses will follow the semester system from 2009, while the same will apply to UG courses from 2010. This will ensure systematic and consistent work by students throughout the year. In addition, this year 3 new M. Tech courses will be introduced: Business & Technology, Materialism & Non-materialism and Organics. These courses are important in an energy-starved country like ours.

2. So, was the internal assessment the 1st step towards such a system?

Internal assessment is necessary because teachers know their students better than someone who checks an anonymous answer script. I think we should include the grade system-1 and 2 marks don’t matter- what matters is what you’ve learnt and what activities you’re a part of. Evaluations should be regular.
We’re also thinking of introducing e-learning for students as a back-up for their classes. In addition, we plan to move towards a revised, credit system for PG and UG courses. Trying to introduce an Institution of Lifelong Learning (ILLL) will help in the direction of answering students’ want for quizzes or tests or self-evaluation processes.

3. How can students get a grasp of key issues outside the classroom?

The University Lecture Series, I believe, is a good way to start looking beyond the classroom. There is also a need to introduce more than adequate channels to connect all the colleges. The main challenge here is to make education stimulating and simultaneously to encourage extracurricular activities. Some ideas are to make the best 5 assignments, online tutorials etc. available for students to read.

4. What is your opinion on the quota controversy and politics in Delhi University?

When the Parliament passes something, the debate becomes dated. I don’t want to waste time discussing it. We should make the most of the situation.

5. What is your opinion on reservations at the teachers’ level?

When people are nervous about their positions, they try to carve places for themselves to feel protected. Courses that are important for national development should see an increase in seats. Quotas are here to stay: that’s the reality of the situation. We need to find other creative ways to help students of merit around the country.

6. How can we ensure that merit prevails in the quota system?

The only thing to do would be to ensure that the best students come through even in the general category. We increase the seats of those courses where employment opportunities and students’ enthusiasm is present.

7. Recently there was a huge uproar about girls’ hostel closing early. What is your opinion about street security?

I don’t think there should be time limits in hostel, and we should rather focus on improving street security.

8. But who takes care of that, why is it such a huge concern?

Headlines in newspapers scare people. Improving street lighting and continuing to talk to the police might help. The youth of today is very- if I can say- vigilant. Students should ensure that women’s security is functional on a large scale and there should be more student solidarity. We should work on reporting more complaints. For example, we have taken up many cases of sexual harassment, and many staff members have been dismissed from their jobs. Possibly, we could increase hostel accommodation instead of people living in private hostels.

9. What is your stand on the smoking ban in campus?

I have mixed feelings about this. I agree that if someone wants to take a risk on his/her life, they should be given the freedom. But young people are not taking care of their health. I don’t want to talk about smoking and drinking in particular, I feel the youth should emphasize more on physical exercise.

10. One of our readers wrote to us saying that the only difference this ban has made to him is now he walks all the way till outside the college gate. That is a form of exercise!

But then, how many times will he do that. It’s a good thing, because eventually he will get tired of walking out, and his intake will decrease.

11. Sir, but that becomes an issue of personal freedom…

Yes, I agree it is about personal freedom, but we need to discourage it.

12. While we are talking about personal freedom, when CCTVs were introduced on campus, a lot of people were a little uncomfortable with it.

All these things need to be avoided- because it gets introduced only when a case comes up. I think privacy needs to be maintained. At least, college canteens should not have them.

13. How has the character of the DU student changed over the years?

Options are more widely available, students are perpetually connected to the Internet. The exposure is huge but personally my concern is how much value are they adding to themselves while in college. Education is far more important than merely going in for a job. Also, I feel they’re not taking too many initiatives and their reading habits have decreased. Not many show a keen enthusiasm in knowledge. But I do realize the challenges today’s youth face.

15. Lastly, our readers would be interested in knowing what your favorite books are or the most recent one you’ve read?

Sudhir Kakkar’s ‘The Indian Psyche’.

Interview by Kriti Gupta and Aniruddh Ghosal
Compiled by Swetha Ramakrishnan