Latest
DU Beat – Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper
Tag

ABVP

Browsing
Campus Central

ABVP Releases its Manifesto for DUSU Elections 2019

By

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has released their 2019-20 manifesto for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections.

ABVP has released their 2019-20 manifesto for the DUSU elections, with the vision that when the University of Delhi (DU) celebrates its centenary year in 2022, it should be in among the top 200 universities in the world, and must top the NIRF rankings. The manifesto puts emphasis on the 5Ps-

  • Parisar (Campus)
  • Pathyakram (Course)
  • Pravesh (Admission)
  • Pareeksha (Examination)
  • Parinam (Result)

 

  • Parisar (Campus): Demands for state-of-the-art infrastructure and other facilities that are important to support students in higher education.
  1. ABVP initiated a campaign for “Paryavaran Yukt- Nasha Mukt” Parisar.
  2. ABVP demands a plastic-free, smoke-free, and safe and secure campus.
  3. ABVP stands firm on its commitment towards sports students of the University.
  4. New colleges should be opened with state-of-the-art infrastructure.
    1. University stadium, polo grounds and other sports ground should be [accessible] before all students.
    2. Diet rates for sports students should be increased in line with the price index. Attendance relaxation should be given to sports personnel and ECA students.
  • High-class sports’ equipment should be provided to students.
  1. We demand special assistance for sports personnel and ECA students.
  1. New hostels should be opened by the University.
  2. The overall infrastructure of the University should [be] improved and modernised, especially Tagore Hall, and Shankar Hall.
  3. We would also struggle for the establishment of East and West campuses.
  4. We would demand more beds at the university medical centre.
  5. We would try to get the Central and Arts Library fully digitised.
  6. We reiterate our long-standing demand to have one sports complex in the South Campus.
  7. Photocopy, scanner and printer shop should be in all colleges.
  8. We are also dedicated to struggle towards bettering hostel facilities in South Campus.
  9. Room rent control action should be executed most effectively.
  10. Free Wi-Fi services in every Department and college of the university.
  11. We would also demand to provide free computers with internet facility to the students on the college campus.
  12. Sanitation issues in colleges: Good and clean toilets for students in all colleges. ABVP also demands water coolers at every 200 metres at Chhatra Marg.
  13. The University Health Centre card should be issued for all students.
  14. To stop the exploitation of students who belong to outside of Delhi, Coordination Committee of Private Hostel owners, Land Lords and Students should be made.
  15. Open gym in all colleges.
  16. Free education for [the] transgender [community].
  17. Facilities for differently-abled students in all departments and colleges.
  18. Health Wellness Society in all colleges and departments.
  19. Healthy and subsidized food for students in all colleges and departments.
  20. Healthy and subsidized food canteen in North Campus.
  21. Formation of Gender Sensitization and Complaints Committee under DUSU to instil inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community in DU.

 

  • Pathyakram (Curriculum): ABVP envisages that the Du curriculum should be subjected to the 3Rs: Review, Rational Debate, and Representation.

    1. The academic council of DU should have student representation.
    2. Remedial classes for all SC/ST/OBC/Economically weak students.
    3. The Central Placement Cell of the University should be more effective. It should also work in tandem with the Skill Development Department of the government.
    4. Dedicated staff should be employed by the University.
    5. Placement officer in all colleges.
    6. ABVP will try to provide social internship to at least 10,000 DU students in various government and non-government organisations.
    7. We would try to make Post Graduate class available in Hindi medium and provision for Hindi medium exam writing mode as well.
    8. Students should be allowed to choose their Generic Subjects as per their own choice; it shouldn’t be imposed on them.
    9. Effective utilization of MOOCs; credit transfer should be allowed if students wish to do their courses on SWAYAM or other MOOC platforms.
    10. Special departmental classes for training students to take the NET exam.
    11. English speaking classes for needy students should be introduced to make them more confident and employable.
    12. Notes and Reading Materials should be provided in regional languages.
    13. Value-based education through counselling.
    14. NSS, Yoga, and NCC should be offered as elective.
    15. Health and Wellness Society in all colleges for Fit India.
    16. Funding and Social Entrepreneurship.
    17. Effective implantation of EK Bharat Shrestha Bharat Programme.
    18. We would demand to introduce evening classes in every college of the university so that more students can get the chance to study at this prestigious university.

 

  • Pravesh (Admission): ABVP demands to further simplify the admission procedure to get into DU.
  1. One course, One Fee: ABVP will make sure that same fee is charged throughout the University for a Particular Course.
  2. The admission process should be made more student-friendly and priorities of the students should be taken care especially in matters of college and courses.
  3. We also demand to give concessions in admission to the students who belong to the rural background.
  4. Some colleges have introduced few specialised courses without proper infrastructure, we demand from the university authorities to first improve the infrastructure and then introduce new courses.
  5. We would work for the increment in the scholarships for SC/ST/OBC and demand to link scholarship with price index in line with the increase in DA.
  6. We would also try to get the vacant OBC/SC/ST/PH seats in various colleges filled. Various aspects of the fee structure of the university will be analysed so that we can make an effort to make it more equitable and logical.
  7. We would also struggle for scholarships to all SC/ST/PH students.
  8. Admission in sports and ECA quota should be done in a very transparent manner. ABVP supports students’ demands to fix parameters for ECA quota.
  9. Special Admissions drive should be started in all colleges after elections to fill all the vacant seats in all the categories.
  10. University should make inter-college migration policy transparent and clear at the beginning of the admission process.
  11. Centralised Hostel Application Form.

 

  • Pareeksha (Examination): ABVP demands that both admission and semester examinations should be held in a manner that provides students with ample time to prepare.
  1. Generic Electives and Skill Enhancement Courses (SECs) are scheduled on the same day in the morning and evening, which is taxing on students.
  2. Draft datesheet should also be shared with student unions and councils for their feedback.
  3. We demand that the university must start special supplementary examinations for the final year students of all courses.
  4. One-time special chance should be given by the VC to all the students to complete their degree.
  5. ABVP demands student-friendly Internal Assessment monitoring committee and grievance redressal cell.
  6. A review committee should be set up to increase the extra time given to specially-abled students.
  7. Regular Assignments and Exams should happen throughout the semester for continuous evaluation for Internal Assessments.
  8. Students should be given an additional chance to improve their Internal Assessments.

 

  • Parinam (Results): ABVP demands that results be declared on time and without delays.
  1. The university calendar should include fixed fate of result declaration.
  2. By this date, all the colleges and departments should necessarily declare the results.
  3. The results of supplementary examinations should be declared before the beginning of the new session so that the final year students can take admission in the commencing academic year.
  4. If students demand they should be given a chance to view their final exam sheets with a minimum cost if required.
  5. Teachers should not boycott evaluation and make students as a victim of their protest.
  6. All the students should get an online certified copy of mark sheet and also printed mark sheet of all the semesters separately.
  7. The result should clearly highlight the marks scored in different subjects with the bifurcation of Internal Assessment marks.
  8. University should develop a mechanism to expedite the printing and delivery of Degree to the students post their course completion.

 

ABVP has also introduced a manifesto for female students. The party claims that ABVP led DUSU will organise Mission Sahasi 2.0: Making of the Fearless to strengthen the educational facilities, safety, and security for women at the college and university campus, by making the following efforts:

  • Continue with the demand to make North Campus a compact campus.
  • To make girl students more self-confident by organising Self-Defence Training Camps in various colleges and university campus.
  • Try for the provision of police both near every hostel/college and make sure that there are female police staffs present at every booth.
  • Girls Activity Centre should be established, mobile apps for the safety of female students like I Feel Safe should be available to all, and awareness must be spread.
  • Patrolling of PCR vans around colleges and especially around girls’ hostels should be increased.
  • We demand a permanent DUSU office having a welcoming atmosphere, where students can visit any time to raise their problem or suggestion if any.
  • ICC elections should be held in all the colleges and departments in time and complaint box should be present.
  • Restrictions should be made on the entry of outsiders in the college campus.
  • CCTV cameras should be installed in colleges and departments.
  • Each college should have their security team 24/7.
  • Gender Sensitisation camps and programs should be organised by student unions of colleges.
  • Sanitary Napkin Vending Machines and Incinerators should be there in all colleges.
  • Girls Common Room should be made available in all colleges.
  • Proper signs outside male and female washrooms.
  • Female trainers in sports and ECA as per students.
  • Helpline should be introduced at the college level for students being abused on social media websites.

ABVP will be contesting with this manifesto in the DUSU Elections 2019-20 on 12th September 2019.

Feature Image Credits: Janam TV

Shreya Juyal

[email protected]

 

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

SFI Attacked During DUSU Nominations

By

Scuffles, violence and threats are not unheard of during the election season. The nomination day saw its repetition. 

The DUSU nominations were scheduled for the 4th of September. Political parties, supporters and candidates waited in the barricaded Chhatra Marg to file their nominations. 

In the official statement released by SFI, the incident occurred around 2:35 p.m. when they were attacked, and their nomination form torn up in front of gate number four of the Faculty of Arts, North Campus by ‘ABVP goons’. 

The SFI attempted to file the nomination again, around 2:55 p.m. when they were attacked for the second time. With their nomination forms torn up, and unable to meet the deadline of 3 p.m., the SFI couldn’t file their nomination. Only one candidate from the AISF, Alan Paul Varghese managed to escape the violence and submit the form. 

The scuffle resulted in injuries to Vikas Bhadauria, the Delhi State President of SFI and Paramanand Sharma, a visually impaired student. 

Recalling the incident, Utkarsh, the Delhi State Secretariat member of SFI claims that ‘around 20’ people attacked them the first time and ‘over 80’ people attacked them the second time.

IMG-20190905-WA0066

The attacks allegedly continued to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where during the presidential debate, SFI members were attacked by the ABVP in the middle of the debate. 

Sources told DU Beat that the SFI were attacked by the same group of people at JNU. 

So far, an FIR has been lodged with the Maurice Nagar Police Station and soon, a writ petition will follow through in the Delhi High Court. 

Allegations from the SFI have always been refuted by the ABVP. Ashutosh Singh, the Delhi Media Secretary of the ABVP said to DU Beat, “No it’s completely false. Only the candidates were allowed to enter the premises and outside the authorised premises lot of police force is present. So it’s completely a false allegation. As we are winning the elections SFI and AISF are trying to defame us.” (sic)

The SFI happens to share a rocky history with the ABVP. This is the third documented attack on the SFI this year. Just a week ago, the SFI held a protest at the Faculty of Arts after three members were attacked near the Vijay Nagar drain. An FIR was lodged in the Model Town police station. 

Feature Image Credits: Jaishree Kumar for DU Beat

Jaishree Kumar

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Veer or V.D. Savarkar: An Ideological Warfare

By

The University of Delhi (DU) saw controversy unfold over Savarkar, from demands to rename the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) Office after V.D. Savarkar, to the installation of a pillar with his bust, along with those of Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh in the campus. The ideological warfare about his thoughts continues to be controversial.

As the DUSU elections approach, the University is grappling with the Savarkar Statue Controversy. The illegal installation of the bust, followed by its removal, reveals the ideological tussle between the different schools of thought.

An extremist in his thoughts, Savarkar was an Indian Independence activist who rebelled against the British rule through revolutionary means, and was imprisoned due to his anti-coloniser activities. Following a failed attempt to escape while being transported from Marseilles in France, he was sentenced to two life terms of imprisonment, and eventually landed in the cellular jail or Kala Pani. Savarkar has been always been at the eye of the storm, for being viewed as a “coward” since he wrote letters to the British, pleading to be released from the torture of the cellular jail.

Being an atheist, he believed that Hinduism was a political identity having a powerful moral force. While in prison, Savarkar wrote the work describing Hindutva in which he defined that all people descended from Hindu culture as being a part of Hindutva, including Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. The noted journalist, Manu Joseph, recently opined, “The erasure of Savarkar by intellectuals 1.0 was so complete that at the end of it all, he was not even a villain. He was not mentioned in textbooks even as one of the accused in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Savarkar’s insight was that Hinduism was a powerful political identity that does not require gods, or even the cow actually, whom he did not love very much, and that Hinduism is a fundamental genetic force in all Indians. In this way, he invented Hindutva.”

The very fact that the revolutionary ideas of Savarkar remain to be missing from our mainstream reading and textbooks, does not allow the discussion on his extreme views in the freedom struggle movement through Hindutva. Vaibhav Purandare, in his book The True Story of the Father of Hindutva reveals Savarkar’s professed hatred for Muslims. In his early years as a revolutionary, Savarkar asked Hindus and Muslims to get along, but eventually, he wished to subdue Muslims.

Earlier this month, on 12th August, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) demanded the DUSU Office be named after Veer Savarkar. Following this, the ABVP and DUSU installed the busts of
V.D. Savarkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Bhagat Singh outside the Faculty of Arts in the North Campus and faced criticism, followed by the attack on the statue and smearing black colour on the bust by the National Students’ Union of India.

Shakti Singh, the outgoing President of DUSU, said, “Since the beginning of my term, I was requesting the DU administration for establishing the statues but never got a reply from them. The left-wing forces and the Congress party have always defamed Veer Savarkar. So, I wanted that this issue should be debated so that the youth can know about his contribution to the freedom struggle of the country.”

Madhu Prasad, former Professor of Philosophy, Zakir Hussain College said, “Bhagat Singh believed that the country won’t get freedom unless there is equality. However, the current scenario in this country does not allow debate, discussion, and dissent, and idolising Savarkar is against the essence of freedom.”
While he worked upon reforming and revolting the colonial rule, his extreme positions on Gandhi, Hindu Rashtra, and Muslims bestows him with political exclusion.

Feature Image Credits: Prateek Pankaj for DU Beat

Sriya Rane

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Students Protest Against Fee Hike at Institute of Home Economics

By

Students from the Institute of Home Economics, with the support of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), engaged in a protest against the increase in the fees of the college.

On Monday, 1st September 2019, the students of the Institute of Home Economics led by ABVP protested against the increase in the fees of the college. ABVP placed several demands before the college administration including reduction in the fees, improvement in the quality of food in college canteen, renovation of college washrooms, and re-opening of the closed book shop inside college premises.

As per the latest fee structure, the fees for many courses have been increased by INR 8,000-10,000 from last year. Last year, the fee for courses such as B.Sc (Honours) Home Science and Microbiology was INR 19,675. It has now been increased to INR 28,890. Similarly, the fee for B.Sc (Honours) Food Technology was INR 29,895 last year which has now been increased to INR 39,995.

According to the students, the fee structure of the college always seemed inadequate to them as it has always been more expensive than other colleges affiliated to the University of Delhi (DU), but they had accepted it as the courses offered by the institute are not widespread and not a lot of colleges offer the same courses. However, this immediate increase in the fees seemed unnecessary and requires change along with other issues of the college.

According to Jyoti Chaudhary, ABVP’s State Executive Member and former Joint-Secretary of Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU)  “The fees of various colleges of Delhi University are constantly increasing, it’s a matter of concern for the common students. DUSU and ABVP had protested against the fee hike in colleges and hostels in the past as well, following which they were assured by the Delhi University Administration that their issue would be resolved but there has been no result so far. The way the fees are being increased by more than 50% in colleges, is not justified in any way. Colleges will continue to struggle against the fee hike.”

IMG-20190903-WA0001
Image Credits: ABVP Media
IMG-20190903-WA0002
Students from Institute of Home Economics along with members of the ABVP protest against the fee hike.                                          Image Credits: ABVP Media

Pratik Gupta, ABVP’s Institute of Home Economics Unit Chairperson said, “The fee of Institute of Home Economics is twice or thrice the fees of that of other colleges affiliated to the University of Delhi. Moreover, the college administration has imposed a financial burden on the students in several other ways adding to the common problems of these students. Fees inequality is unfortunate, considering that the condition of the washrooms and canteen of the college is not worth the additional fees.”

According to sources, hundreds of students participated in this protest against the authorities, but no one from the college administration tried to listen and understand the problems of the students. ABVP will soon conduct a protest on a large scale against the college administration in this context.

Feature Image Credits: Shiksha

Avni Dhawan

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

Ram ke Naam: ABVP and SFI Clash in Ambedkar University

By

Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) and Students Federation of India(SFI) had a violent conflict due to the screening of the documentary Ram Ke Naam in the Kashmere Gate campus of Ambedkar University Delhi(AUD). 

 

On the 30th August, Ambedkar University Delhi(AUD) branch of the Students Federation of India(SFI) organised the screening of the documentary Ram Ke Naam by Anant Patwardhan in their Kashmere gate campus when they were disrupted by members of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) and were asked to stop the screening. The screening was organized in solidarity with the students of the University of Hyderabad who were recently detained by the police for organizing a screening of the same.

 

The documentary explores the campaign waged by the Hindu-nationalist Vishva Hindu Parishad to build a Ram temple at the site of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, as well as the communal violence that it triggered.

 

The representatives of the ABVP claimed that the SFI did not have proper permission and they should’ve sought permission beforehand. They said that the SFI intimidated the administration and gathered last-minute permission.

 

However, SFI denied all these claims stating they took all measures beforehand.

 

According to the SFI, The screening started at 2:45 and a few minutes into it, a few men barged into the room and turned on the lights. They began speaking about how their caste sentiments were being hurt by the screening of the movie. “Main brahman hoon and meri sentiments ko hurt karti hai yeh,” said one of the men present.

 

Mr. Siddharth Yadav, State Secretary for the ABVP Delhi, told DU Beat ” the ideological issue that they (SFI) were polluting the mind and not giving enough free space for students to judge for themselves whatever they were trying to show is not correct. They can have their version of whatever idea they were trying to represent, but space must be left for the students to judge for themselves. So it was a very biased and propaganda-based presentation that they were trying to make.”

 

Eventually, Dean of Student Services and the Pro Vice-Chancellor had to get involved. A representative of the students’ union asked the officials to ensure that these people leave and the screening continues. When they weren’t able to do so, so the guards had to drag them out.

 

When diplomacy did not work, the goons resorted to violence and tried breaking the projector. They went outside and tried manhandling the guards and throwing tables. Within a few minutes, the power supply was cut off for the entire campus.

 

In conversation with DU Beat, Ms. Shruti M D, Secretary of the Kashmere gate unit of SFI-AUD, said, “There were eight disruptions. The movie is one hour fifteen minutes long but the screening took two and a half hours two complete. We took a laptop and Bluetooth speakers and continued the screening of the movie inside while these people continued their ruckus outside… There were only 50 people in the beginning, but the screening finished with about 200 people who had come. The ABVP guys were less than 10 people.”

 

Utkarsh, another member of the SFI elaborated saying, “about 200-300 AUD students came to resist the 10 goons from ABVP, most of which were not students of AUD. common Ambedkar students spontaneously mobilized. It was a historic moment for AUD”

 

Later during the day, videos of goons vandalizing the campus and protesting the screening spread around Facebook. In one video, a man, who the SFI identified as Rahul Tiwari from ABVP, could be seen throwing a table. In another, members of both parties along with the other students of AUD could be seen in conflict.

 

When asked about the vandalism and destruction of property, Mr. Yadav said, “If there is a video of ABVP throwing tables, it will be headline news. Generally, ABVP is shown as vandalizing but if you investigate more into it, the administration would tell you how intimidating these SFI members were there to attain permissions for the screening…  The person in the video is not an ABVP member but a student activist. Turns out that normal students had also protested independently.”

 

The protest gathered attention and both the faculty and the students of AUD were present trying to make sense of the situation. “I was in my music society meeting when the power broke out. We thought it would be a normal power cut but someone came in and said that the SFI and ABVP were fighting so we tried to rush out of the college. There was a huge crowd and the police were there. I got out of there since I didn’t want to be involved but it was pretty violent.” said a student present.

 

Amidst political differences, accusations of vandalism and destruction of property emerge in a crucial time for ABVP with the DUSU elections just around the corner. This year, other student parties have also raised voice against the gundagardi in the North Campus.

 

SFI in their official statement wrote that they will continue waging a fight in defense of the secular and pluralistic ethos of our nation.

 

Featured Image Credits- AUD

 

Satviki Sanjay

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

ABVP Announces List of Shortlisted DUSU Candidates

By

On Friday, 30th August 2019, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) shortlisted seven candidates out of their previous ten, who would be contesting for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls.
On Friday, ABVP released the list of seven shortlisted candidates, out of their previous ten, who would be contesting in the DUSU 2019 elections.
These candidates are Tushar Dedha, Yogit Rathi, Akshit Dahiya, Pradeep, Tanwar, Shivangi Kharaab, Jaideep Maan, and Mansi Chauhan.
The ABVP also declared the composition of its Election Committee on Saturday, 31st August 2019. The Election Committee is headed by the State President of ABVP, Delhi Unit, Dr. Avneesh Mittal. The other members include National Executive Member of ABVP- Dr Manu Sharma Kataria, State Organising Secretary-Anand Srivastava, National Media Convener – Monika Chaudhary, State Secretary- Sidharth Yadav, Former DUSU President Shakti
Singh, and Central Working Committee Member- Abhishek Verma. ”

This committee will now start having meetings, and discuss about the candidates, how their performance is going on in the University, their background, and personality of the candidates- content generation and how they’re speaking (and) addressing the students, what content they are putting in front (of the students) and on the basis of these parameters, our Election Committee will decide who will be our four candidates,” Monika Chaudhary, the National Media Convener of ABVP and a member of the Election Committee reported to DU Beat.

The party generated talks with last year’s elected President, Ankiv Baisoya being found to have had a fake degree, landing the party, as well as DUSU in hot waters. “Actually, we are not having a very, like particular system of how to check out the degrees of the students, and last year also, we gave (a) ticket to Ankiv Baisoya for the simple reason that Ankiv Baisoya was enrolled in the University and that time he was having admission in University in the Buddhist (Studies) department, and his nomination also got cleared, so we had no clue that the past degree would be fake. This time also, we have checked the background of the students, their degrees, but we are not having a very authentic system that we would have gone into other universities and (checked) their background. We have a simple system (in which) we check their backgrounds and previous degrees from Delhi University, and if they are a student of Delhi University, they’re genuine for us,” Monika Chaudhary commented.

Ashutosh Singh, ABVP’s State Media in-Charge commented, “Toh iss time hum log aur hamari Election Committee, saare candidates ki saari information ki acche se scrutiny kar rahe hai… Ankiv Baisoya ki cheez hamare dhyaan mein hai. [This time, the Election Committee is scrutinising all the
information regarding the candidates properly; we’re keeping Ankiv Baisoya’s incident in mind.]
ABVP’s Election Committee will be declaring the final candidates for the DUSU elections on 5th September 2019.

Feature Image Credits: Janam TV
Shreya Juyal
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

ABVP’s Main Agenda for Elections Revealed

By

For the upcoming Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) reveals that building new hostels is going to be the main agenda in their manifesto.

As reported by The Hindu, Sidharth Yadav, the State Secretary of ABVP said, “Building hostels will be the key agenda in our manifesto. With the commercialization of private hostels, rents have gone up.”

On 25th August 2019, the candidates from ABVP visited the University students living in hostels and paying guest accommodations and raised the issue of insufficient accommodation facilities provided by the University of Delhi (DU) for outstation students. Monika Chaudhary, the National Media Convener of ABVP said, “We had sent an application to the administration a while back with respect to building new hostels but they have not reverted to us, so we are going to campaign for it now. We are also hoping to get strong support from the government of Uttar Pradesh to build hostels for students from there. With regard to this, our President, Shakti Singh had a meeting with the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a while back.”

ABVP talked to the students about their campaign for the construction of new hostels in the University as a step against students having to pay a lot for their residence while completing their education. They asked for support concerning this in the upcoming DUSU elections.

Many students across the campus have shown support for this campaign. Sana Sharma, a student of DU and a resident of paying guest accommodation in North Campus said, “The University has very few hostels which are not able to accommodate even half of the student population. Only very few people get a place in these hostels and the rest of us have to have to pay very high prices for accommodations in Delhi. It is very inconvenient and costly. I support ABVP’s campaign to build new hostels and hope that the administration will hear us.”

Feature Image Credits: IndiaTV

Juhi Bhargava
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

SFI Calls for Left Alliance for DUSU Elections

By

The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) gave an open call for an alliance of all “Left-Progressive” student organisations to fight the upcoming student union polls together.

Students of the University of Delhi (DU) will elect their representatives in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) on 12th September, which means the various student parties are currently campaigning.

The SFI, amidst this, has given a call for a “broader left coalition” to fight the upcoming DUSU polls. The party gave a lengthy rationale for this call. “We only have our solidarity to resist the politics of money, muscle and arrogance,” the SFI’s statement read. While asserting that the various left organisations have agreed to come together on a common minimum programme, the statement admits that “There can be some confusion flowing from how do we define the progressive forces which can lead to various conceptions of unity also.” Calling for a “unity which would electorally reflect the united struggles of the progressive students in Delhi University,” the statement denounced “the short-cut of the opportunistic electoral alliance by compromising the ideals of progressive student movements”. The statement also said that the alliance would fulfil “aspirations and demands” of DU students to see a “grand left alliance in DU on the lines of JNU.”

Speaking to DU Beat, Sumit Kataria, Vice President of SFI Delhi, said that there are two aspects behind this call given by his party – one, the electoral calculations; two, regarding campus protests. Saying that the SFI and the All India Students’ Association (AISA) – “historically the two major left organisations” in DU – have counted on a diverse voter base, Mr. Kataria pointed out that both parties have had certain colleges as their respective strongholds, and that it would make sense “to combine this influence electorally” to have a higher vote share to go against the incumbent Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). From the voters’ perspective, he said that many students who support both parties “get disillusioned due to the lack of an electoral alliance and end up not voting for anyone.”

Secondly, regarding political activity on campus, Mr. Kataria says that the left parties have organised joint protests on multiple issues. However, he alleged that some of these organisations had taken “sectarian positions” when it came to the DUSU elections.

Has the SFI made similar calls in the past as well? Did it receive a positive response? Mr. Kataria says that while the AISF and the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) have been contesting the DUSU polls along with the SFI as a united panel for the last three years, this panel is incomplete “without some left organisations who have adamantly stuck to their sectarian positions.”

However, parties such as the ABVP seem to be much ahead in the campaigning department. The party has already released a list of potential candidates and can be seen rallying across the campus. Similarly, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) officially launched in campaign through a press conference yesterday – 27th August.

On the other hand, the left parties are trying to come to a common ground for an alliance. It cannot be denied that the ABVP and the NSUI seem to be strategically ahead of the left parties. Mr. Kataria agrees. “We should (have done) that (alliance-making) earlier,” he said. However, he also added that the names of the candidates released by the ABVP were only probables and not the final names. “Discussion on alliance is going on,” he said.

What about the response? Mr. Kataria told us that AISF, AIDSO, and AISA were supposedly discussing the matter among their respective organisations. “Still, AISF most probably and AIDSO will join but from AISA we have not got any satisfactory reply,” he said.

Sources say that the AISA is also closing in on finalising and announcing its candidates for the polls.

We contacted the representatives of ABVP, AISA, and NSUI for detailed responses, but they did not comment by the time of the publication of this article.

Feature Image credits – Jaishree Kumar for DU Beat

 Prateek Pankaj
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Impact of the Syllabus Controversy on the English Department

By

The English Department of the University of Delhi (DU) continues to be negatively affected by the Syllabus Controversy. 

The Executive Council of DU has approved the syllabus for English for the first semester, but this approved syllabus continues to be a mystery for not only the students, but also the professors. In fact, even the Head of the English Department, Professor Raj Kumar has not been made privy to the new syllabus. This continued delay with regard to the syllabus has now moved beyond ideological and ethical debates, and has started to negatively impact the students, causing mass worry and frustration across the University campuses. 

In most colleges, professors have started to teach the first-year students the old syllabus, but they are not sure about whether what they are teaching the first-year students is going to be relevant to them with respect to the upcoming examinations. Priyanshi Banerjee, a first-year student of English at Lady Shri Ram College, said, “No one seems to know anything about the new syllabus and this is causing a lot of problems for us first-years. Examinations are not going to get postponed, but considering the current slow pace of studies I don’t know how we are going to manage to complete our course work.”

Students are not even able to procure the books being taught currently because the bookstores in the college campuses are not stocking them, because of a lack of clarity with respect to the prescribed texts. Shyla Sharma, another first-year student of the English Department, said, “All of us are very anxious. It is very odd for us to see other department’s students going about their course work when we don’t even know what our syllabus is. Even the professors seem upset and lost, and this is causing a lot of confusion. We don’t even have all of our books yet, as we have been told not to buy them. I hope the syllabus is soon released.”

In spite of the mass tension, an academic debate in the midst of the syllabus controversy continues to flourish. Royina Chhabra, a first-year student of the English Department, said, “Restrictions are being put on our academic freedom. We should have a right to study what we want to, especially our history and culture irrespective of whether it is good or bad. How else are we supposed to learn and think for ourselves? This entire controversy is taking a huge toll on our education.” Many students also seem to be specifically upset about the negative debate with respect to the exclusion of the Queer Literature Paper. A first-year student of the English Department, who wanted to remain anonymous, said, “Queerness is a part of our lives. Section 377 no longer criminalises homosexuality, so why is our education system doing so? In fact, I believe that it is the responsibility of our education system to educate people about queerness because most people in India aren’t aware of, or comfortable about it. The fact that our new syllabus is probably going to be politically motivated and authoritarian in nature highly antagonises me.”

The Syllabus Controversy began when right-wing organisations like the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) objected to the English Department for including certain study material relating to caste and gender in the new syllabus. Specifically speaking, they had an issue with the story Manibein alias Bibijaan in which the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bajrang Dal are portrayed negatively, with respect to the 2002 Gujarat riots, and the inclusion of the depiction of Hindu deities in queer literature by taking references from texts like Bhagvath Puran, Sankar Puran, and Shiv Puran. Counter-protests for academic freedom by organisations like the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Association (AISA), Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), and Pinjra Tod soon followed, leading to ideological and educational confrontations. This controversy has led to the syllabuses of many subjects not being released, even though the new academic year has already started. 

Feature Image Credits: Sriya Rane for DU Beat

Juhi Bhargava

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

SFI Allegedly Attacked by ABVP in North Campus

By

As the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections come closer, the SFI (Students’ Federation of India) has come out with allegations of being attacked by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

During the early hours of 26th August, members of the SFI were putting up posters near North Campus’ Vijay Nagar drain. As recalled by eyewitnesses, men in a Scorpio showed up which had posters supporting the ABVP and Sahil Malik, ABVP’s likely presidential candidate for this year. Minutes later, a Swift pulled over and men emerged with hockey sticks and ‘a stick with numerous nails on it’.

The men demanded to the SFI members that they pull the posters down, outnumbered, they obliged. But minutes later, the men attacked the members of SFI.

The three injured activists are Noel, Sumit, and Himanshu. One of them suffered a head injury and the other suffered two fractures in his hands.

DU Beat spoke to Himanshu, who suffered a fracture in his hand. He stated, “We rushed to the hospital in a cab, after that, we went to the Maurice Nagar police station but the case was moved to the Model Town police station.” Himanshu alleges that Sahil Malik was also a part of the gang that attacked him.

IMG-20190827-WA0014

Members of SFI display their wounds at the Protest.
The pictures from the day the incident took place. Image Credits: SFI

Anagha, another eyewitness who escaped the attack recalls the ordeal, “There were a lot of females present so we tried to negotiate to not escalate the situation but as soon as we started removing the posters, the men attacked us. Some of us ran to safety. Sumit is currently hospitalised. Noel has a head injury.”

Members of the SFI gathered at the Faculty of Arts on solidarity with organisations like Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), Pinjra Tod Collective and All India Students’ Association (AISA). The gathering raised slogans against hooliganism, the culture of violence and the ABVP.  The sloganeering continued as people took turns to speak out against the culture of violence in DU.

Not the first attack.

This isn’t the first alleged attack on the SFI. Previously, multiple allegations of SFI members being attacked in the North Campus lanes have surfaced on social media.

On the 17th of May, members of the SFI were attacked by unidentified men, allegedly from the ABVP. On the same at the Faculty of Arts, Sidharth Yadav, Delhi Secretary of the ABVP refuted the allegations calling them ‘baseless’ and ‘old tactics’.

Earlier this year as well, videos of SFI members being attacked at the Vishwavidyala metro station had emerged.

Do the repeated attacks deter the SFI?

“I will continue with my activism despite the attacks. I don’t think it has deterred any of my comrades; in fact, our numbers have grown. We’ve only been more motivated to fight back. It has fueled us to go forward with our movement.” says Anagha with a hopeful smile.

On the other hand, Monika from the ABVP denied the allegations, she stated “No, as far as our info is concerned none of the ABVP members was involved in the attack. Since, DUSU elections are approaching and ABVP is getting student’s trust and moving in a positive direction. That’s why they are defaming us.”

Sidharth Yadav, the Delhi Secretary of the ABVP was unavailable for comments. Sahil Malik did not respond to DU Beat’s messages.

Feature Image Credits: Jaishree Kumar for DU Beat

Jaishree Kumar

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By