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Events

‘Econ-Enthusiasts’ Assemble at L’Economiste’24!

By DU Beat February 25, 2024

The Department of Economics at Hindu College, Delhi University, conducted its annual fest, L’Economiste, on February 23, 2024. The fest included a speaker session by Mr. Vinod Rai and three competitions, namely, Potentate, Ranjan Roy Memorial Debate, and Hindu Stock Exchange.

L’Economiste 2024, the annual fest of the Department of Economics at Hindu College, was held on February 23, 2024, where economic insights, ideas, and solutions interacted with each other. The inauguration ceremony began with a melodious performance by Alankar, the Indian Music Society of Hindu College. The fest included an engaging and insightful speaker session by Mr. Vinod Rai, the 11th Comptroller and Auditor General of India, at 10:30 a.m. His brilliant sense of humour and intellect shone through his thought-provoking discussions on social auditing, electoral bonds, the vast field of economics, and his personal experiences as he reminisced about his time at Hindu College as a student.

What are certain things in a person’s life? One is that they say death; everybody is going to die. The other is, what? I refer to it as paying tax. That’s also going to happen to you. The third is the day you were born.

– Remarked Mr. Vinod Rai.

A variety of competitions with exciting cash prizes were organised as a part of L’Economiste 2024. The Ranjan Roy Memorial Debate Competition, with debates centred around economic motions and a legacy of 10 years, was a test of both oratory skills and social science knowledge. “Panel, try to understand!” from St. Stephen’s College bagged the first position, with team “Mavericks” from Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College being the first runner-up.

‘Potenate’, structured around World Economy and Politics, the second competition in this event, was a perfect amalgamation of auctions, negotiations, crises, and policy formulation. With deeply engaging and highly energetic bidding rounds, this competition offered the participants a policy discourse simulation. Team “Aces” from Hansraj College bagged the first prize, with team “Syndicates” from Ram Lal Anand College and team “Chocolate Cake” from SRCC bagging the first runner-up and second runner-up positions, respectively.

Lastly, the Hindu Stock Exchange offered participants, or rather traders, an opportunity to transport back to the 1990s stock market and indulge in a battle to get themselves declared as the best portfolio managers, cruising through one of the toughest stock market simulations.

“Utkarshharc” from Hansraj College bagged the first position, followed by “CB-sites” from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies and Tamanna Goel and Ujjwal Mittal from Kirori Mal College, begging for the first runner-up and second runner-up positions, respectively.

Rounding up, the flagship event provided in-depth financial global insights for ‘econ-enthusiasts’ and otherwise!

Featured Image Credits: Himanshu Kumar for DU Beat

Gauri Garg

Features

Stories of Love, Acceptance, and Triumph

By DU Beat February 22, 2024

Beyond the heteronormative confines, let’s celebrate love that is real, joyful, innocent, and proud!

A student from Delhi University shares their love story—something that started off as a childhood crush, a relationship ended on unfinished terms, and a friendship that’s mature and understanding.

“So, as a kid, our family moved around a lot, so I was always the new kid that could never really make good friends as I wasn’t a conventional “girl.” I used to cut out pictures of Deepika Padukone from magazines, but obviously I was straight! The first boyfriend I ever had also turned out to be queer, so that was great. When I was in the 8th grade, our family moved to Orissa, and we lived in a corporate township. There was this girl with curly hair who soon became my benchmate. Since we lived pretty close to each other, bicycle rides, study sessions, and long conversations soon became the norm and blossomed into friendship. I started penning poems for her in my diary: “Her hair glistened in the sun,” reminding myself of the fact that “I’m definitely straight.”.

Soon I realised that “kuch toh hai.” I don’t want to be just friends with her. I started justifying my identity too. The pandemic sort of gave me a sense of stability as well. I assured myself that “being a lesbian is valid.” After the lockdown, we started hanging out again. I used to call her up at night, asking her “homework samjhado.” She knew I had done the homework, yet she explained everything. One day I just called her (it was the 14th of July), and a cyclone was about to hit, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to meet up with her for some time. We met up, and I told her, “Oh, I think I’m gay,” and she said, “I think I’m gay too,” and we just cycled back to our homes. We met up again on the day of our SST exam. She said, “I’m not into girls,” and again, we cycled away. A couple of days later, she tells me, “I like you,” and again, we just cycle together. There is just a lot of delusion going on. Time passed by, and she was about to move out to go for JEE coaching. I knew I couldn’t beat around the bush anymore. So I just told her, “I like their pronouns.” We just cycled together again. We were having a 6th standard type of love story in the 11th standard. She finally moved away.”

(Trigger warning: s**cide.)

“We started flirting over Whatsapp. She came back from the hostel, and we held hands and walked around; she was stable. My mom thinks, “She’s a very good friend.” Yes, a friend, with whom I used to spend hours in my room studying (making out). Thanks to my sister for always being there for me. Letting me “hang out” with my “friend” in my bedroom. My sister has always been my biggest support system. She used to always ask the barber to cut my hair just a little more. She bought me binders and fought for me to have even the little bit of freedom I could in my house. When I came out to her, she said, “I knew since the time you were simping over Deepika Padukone.” ! The second standard made me extremely s**cidal. Our parents started to question our sexuality. Her parents thought I was a bad influence on her. We were constantly pitted against each other. Family and academic pressure were extremely high. We broke up without even speaking to each other. I didn’t want to see her anymore. And we left on unfinished terms.”

“During our CUET exams, she came back. I saw her on the day of my first slot. Our eyes just locked together across the exam centre. My mom asked me to go say hi to her. I was extremely shocked, and I just stared at her. And I ran away; it seems like we were just always running away. On the second day of CUET, we met again. This time, we hugged each other and just bawled our eyes out. Then, we left things on unfinished terms again. After our CUET results, we were both getting into the same college, but her parents didn’t want her to go near me. They didn’t allow her to come to DU. We then called each other up. I guess we were much more mature then. We spoke to each other for hours and decided to end our relationship. She said how I should have always known she liked me back in school. “You were giving me gay panic back when we were bench-mates, and you used to run your fingers through my hair’, she said. We are still extremely good friends. I did love her first, and I guess I’ll always love her, but this is not a love story. We left things on unfinished terms so many times that we didn’t realise when our relationship became toxic. I guess I was always the red flag. But I just want to say that I’m much more confident, mature, and just a better human being now. We just grew up. We still sometimes flirt with each other. By the way, she’s in a relationship with someone now, and she constantly reminds me to stop flirting with her, but I guess old habits die young. She sends me origami swans, and I like to bind books, and I always do it for her. I once gifted her a hand-bound copy of “The Blue Umbrella,” her favourite book, and that’s just our love language. I still love her. I always will. We sometimes joke about how, when we’re 50 and neither of us have wives, we will just marry each other. But again, just to reiterate, this is not a love story. I think it’s a story of friendship and support. Her, my sister, my friends in college now, my people—they are all my love.”

A student from Hindu College shares their journey of self-love, self-acceptance, and being loved.

“I went through a lot of internal strife before even considering sharing this. You’ll realise why when I tell you who I am—a gray-romantic bisexual AFAB (she/they) dating a straight cis man.

Throughout my life, when I was aware of things like my romantic and sexual orientation, I’ve always been at odds with my feelings. It took me so much effort to come to terms with who I am—the constant question of, Am I straight? Am I gay? Or am I just seeking attention? coupled with the feeling that something’s wrong because, as much as I find men and women and envy people hot, I did not cry desperately like my friends did for love. I had no clue why I had to be bi when I didn’t feel the need for love only?! I sought validation in queer media and online queer spaces, where again I could relate to the struggles of being bi, the biphobia, etc., but my other half of the struggle was left unseen.

Then I met a friend who suggested the term “aromantic.” She identified me as Aro-ace, and yet again, I was torn—it seemed like I was an anomaly. My two halves would never be reconciled. I dehumanized myself and saw myself as some heartless monster who could never enjoy the beauty within people. I had come to terms with the fact that I would just not be able to relate to love; everybody is hot, and it is okay. I would get myself a cat, and I would be the single crazy cat lady forever.

That was until I met my partner. I am that extroverted person who can talk people’s ears off and yet not open up a single thing about herself. I had trauma growing up, and it created giant walls around myself, and because of my nature, very few people notice it and try to get past the walls.

It is safe to say that the people I let in just created more trauma for me. They saw me, but I never felt seen. And here comes this shy but playful boy, who saw me at one of my worst times, holding my hand and telling me, “It’s okay. You’re not a monster. You’re just another human who was let down by people who should’ve never done that in the first place. I promise that I’ll try my best not to join them.” For the first time in my life, I felt seen. I had not known what it’s like to feel love, but for me, that was it—to be seen. To be understood. To be supported.

Now I smile whenever his text pops up on my screen. I love him with all my heart; he’s been nothing short of wonderful, caring, and supportive. I am happy and content with everything I have in my life. Then what’s the strife? Again, I’m a gray-ro-bi AFAB dating a straight cis man. Every word of that sentence is a plot twist. There aren’t days when I don’t feel like maybe I’ve just been lying to myself and everyone all along—that maybe I’m just a straight woman who might not have “found the right guy yet.” I thought I had defeated my internalised aro-phobia and biphobia long ago, but now I realise it’s never as simple as that. Queerness is never a static thing; it flows and does so in beautiful ways. I might feel like I’m a walking and talking contradiction and that I’m not queer enough to be in queer spaces. But those are just that—just feelings. I’m still gray-romantic, still bi. Still queer, and a loved one at that too.”

Dear reader, let’s not let “love” be restricted to an idea, romance, or mainstream holiday. I believe it’s a celebration, something we experience every day, and there’s love in our joys, our sorrows, our laughter, and our tears. Your love story is valid; it’s real, and it’s yours. Let there be love, and let there be light!

Featured Image Credits: Sukriti for DU Beat

Gauri Garg

Arts & Culture

An Attempt at Feminist Validation: Animal

By Manasvi Kadian February 15, 2024

A dissection of Animal, a movie that is Reddy’s toxic alpha ideology wrapped in daddy issues with an honorary bow of feminism.

If your highly stereotypical ‘Men will be Men’ ads were made into a movie, this would be it. Big gun toys (with a pinch of Aatmanirbhar Bharat), one man killing 500 other men while his friends (aka bhai) sing in the background, socially-approved infidelity that gets justified in the end, and crass humour that crosses all lines of decency in the name of being funny are just the tip of the iceberg with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal.

After the commentary and critique faced by Kabir Singh—for having too much unnecessary violence, for having a female lead that isn’t so much of a lead, and for that one slap—it seems like Vanga tried really hard to be accepted with his latest release. With its narrative of “a strong, independent woman” who is bold and actually questions the male lead, the movie tried to fulfil the “feminism quota” by adapting itself to the taste of its feminist critics but still (somehow) failed horribly. Maybe having the woman slap her husband rather than vice versa isn’t what feminism is about (aw, what a shock).

While the movie with its storyline had the potential to be impeccably emotional (cue a dysfunctional Sooraj Barjatya film), the mirch-masala of misogyny, subtle Nazi imagery (?), and alpha male toxicity only took away from the father-son dynamic the movie was trying to portray.

While Ranbir Kapoor’s character clearly had certain mental issues and a deep-seated desire for validation from his father (in common parlance, daddy issues), in a country plagued by a highly illiterate and influential population (read: padhe-likhe gawar), a movie like Animal became a spokesperson and an enabler, allowing not for an understanding of the character but rather a glorification of him, walking a precariously thin line as the audience fell in love with a son who just happens to be highly problematic. While the portrayal of such characters onscreen shouldn’t necessarily inspire its audience (watching Dahmer—the Monster didn’t make you want to be a serial killer, did it?), Ranbir Kapoor in Animal was advocated as the perfect green flag who does everything right (gaslighting 101), leaving little to be questioned about the “alpha” he was.

In the Vanga universe, the checklist for being the perfect male comes down to being pretty straightforward—raging anger issues? Check. Can it “turn on” with a snap of a finger? Check. Preaches about the superiority of being a man? Check. For a movie that wildly oscillated between a bloody rape scene and the (not so) boyish charm of snapping bra straps and pulling on one’s wife’s hair, it is as if Vanga had only one (albeit veiled) objective: wanting to present a picture-perfect image of all the problematic parts of the alpha male ideology.

As a woman, the movie felt like taking a walk in a shady area with no streetlights while a group of men catcalls you for three hours at regular intervals (as if the streets of Delhi weren’t enough). Under the guise of obsessive and possessive love, the movie tactically parceled and sold off misogyny and toxicity in bulk amounts. Every joke made, every blatant ignorance of the concept of consent, every misogynistic sprinkle of “love” and “strength” received ample validation from the snickers and the smirks of Ranvijay’s (Ranbir Kapoor’s character) friends, not so much different from the reaction of a majority of this animal-loving audience.

A dissection of the movie makes it clear that Animal are nothing if not driven by pure (poisoned) testosterone. The smartest feat of foreshadowing and direction in the movie? Opening with the definition of animal.

Featured Image Credits: Onmanorama, filmfare

Manasvi Kadian

Campus Central

DU’s Voice on Fest Advisory: Critical Concerns Raised

By DU Beat February 12, 2024

As the fest season unfolds, students offer a sharp assessment of Delhi University’s fest advisory, highlighting the associated concerns.

In light of recurring security and management lapses at Delhi University’s fests, the university has issued advisory/guidelines to be followed by all colleges and departments regarding the organisation of various programmes and events. The 18-point advisory, which has been updated three times between April 2023 and January 2024, focuses on the necessary rules of pre-registration of attendees, submission of their details to the police, and also a requirement of a NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the police, among the various other guidelines. A guideline among the 18 others mentioned: ‘Entry for events should be through pre-registration, like on Google Forms, with details of the event, i.e., date, venue, and the expected number of participants (to) be maintained and submitted to the police with a copy to other departments. The registration forms should include scanned copies of the college IDs of participants.’

Speaking to DU Beat, Rajnish Sah, a member of the Organising Committee of ‘Mecca’, Hindu College’s annual fest said:

It is almost impractical to keep an adequate track of all the records and documents on all the potential entrants and hand them over to the police. It might be feasible for small departmental events, but for events like annual fests, where people attend in thousands, it just proves to be an additional strain on the already burdened organising committee.

When asked about the tight cap on the number of attendees allowed to attend the festival, he added:

DU is known for its exposure and its exchange among the students, especially during the fest season, when students from various colleges connect. Tight attendance limits may hinder the fest’s true purpose.

The university-issued festival advisory guidelines also mention that ‘the concerned college or department is solely responsible for any untoward incident during any event organised by the concerned college or department.’

Considering the following statement, Rajnish added:

Putting all the responsibility of any incident with the college and authority would just put a constraint on the level of a fest. It is impractical to hold the college accountable for every incident that happens.

Anubhav, sponsorship head at Nexus, the annual fest of Sri Venkateswara College, supports this and adds:

The college can be held accountable only up to an extent. It is also necessary to ensure that the legal responsibilities are taken up well for the smooth conduct of a fest.

He also added that currently, there are no significant sponsorship issues arising from the attendance cap.

As per reports from The Hindu, a student claimed that there has been a problem in extracting sponsorships for the events:

Sponsors are brought on board based on the number of attendees. With a cap on this number, agreements are becoming increasingly difficult to secure.

– said Harsh Dalal, President of the Student Union of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), which will host ‘Crossroads’ in the first week of April.

The report also mentions how some students believe that the advisory would ensure security and make things better for the organisers.

Pre-registrations and controlled entry will make things easier and improve the quality of the fest.

– said Aman Choudhary, president of the student union at Sri Venkateswara College.

In March 2023, a group of men allegedly entered Delhi University’s Indraprastha College for Women by scaling the boundary walls and harassing students when the college celebrated its annual festival. A similar incident had also occurred in 2022 during Miranda House’s Diwali Fest, where men were allegedly seen climbing the college walls and indulging in ‘cat-calling and sexist sloganeering’. The rising and repeated cases demanded an advisory to regulate the incidents. As per the fest-advisory guidelines, ‘Prior to any big event in the institution, there should be an assessment of the boundary wall of the college. If found low, concertina wires should be installed to prevent outsiders from scaling the walls.’

A representative from Maitreyi College’s Student Union (identity withheld for anonymity) says:

Where are the notices outlining the repercussions for intruders if another incident occurs again? You can raise the walls, but when will you actually hold the intruders responsible for disregarding the boundaries? How can one ensure that the registered attendees do not create any nuisance on the college campus?

The representative acknowledges that the college has implemented strict measures like applications, registrations, and identity checks for issuing passes to outsiders. However, they highlight that there is no restriction on the number of passes a student from the college can acquire due to the ‘monetization’ of the passes. They then continue and add on to the ‘budgeting issues’ with regards to maintaining security at DU fests:

Since the beginning, many DU colleges have continuously encountered difficulties in securing adequate funding. Things like the security arrangements and illumination of the dimly lit places as per the advisory need funding and resources.

Continuing her statement, she asserts that colleges cannot and should not be solely accountable for all incidents occurring within the campus, stating that the fest-advisory guideline serves merely as a means to deflect legal responsibilities.

Featured Image Source: The Indian Express

Dhairya Chhabra

Arts & Culture

The Lesser known History of Majnu Ka Tilla

By DU Beat October 8, 2023

One of the most popular hangout spots that DU students as well as Delhites love is Majnu Ka Tilla. This piece is an attempt to trace the lesser known history of such a place.

Majnu Ka Tila has been loved for it’s delicious Tibetan food, some of the specialties being Laphing and Thukpa. The colony has numerous Buddhist monasteries and in a way is a photogenic place. Posing with the prayer wheels is one of the many loved ways one likes to be clicked. Every knows about it for its beautiful Tibetan vibe along with narrow lanes that actually does feel like only a home away from home.

As a street photographer, Majnu Ka Tila is one of the most interesting places to shoot your heart out. Dogs, old ladies, children, everything that exists in the place is something that creates a core memory once you go and capture it.

But this article isn’t a description about Majnu Ka Tila, it’s about the very sanctity that this place has developed over the years– it’s origins. Most of us haven’t even heard of the Majnu Ka Tila Gurudwara. We just go to Majnu Ka Tilla to rewind and relax in the Tibetan Culture that creates a whole different vibe. I personally, am on a look out for hidden or lesser known places, especially since I have come to Delhi and I couldn’t have been happier to find out that traces of Sikhism can be found at this place.

Majnu Ka Tilla literally translates to hillock of Majnu. The name comes after a local Iranian Sufi mystic Abdulla, nick named Majnu met Guru Nanak Dev ji, the first of the ten Sikh Gurus in 1505 during the reign of Sikander Lodhi. The Iranian sufi had come to this mound and made a small hut to spread the word of
God. Impressed by the devotional praise of Shri Guru Nanak, the Sufi followed in the same footsteps and it has been recorded that on 20th July 1505 AD, Guru Nanak Dev ji gave darshan (appeared in a vision) to the Faquir at Amrit Vela. Guru Nanak stayed at this place and on the last day of his stay, he granted a boon to Majnu, the faquir that the place will be famous with his name and his name will remain till the living world.

But the story doesn’t end here. In 1621 AD, Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib ji, the sixth Sikh Guru of the Sikh order, had placed his sacred feet at the same place during the reign of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Jahangir had ordered the imprisonment of the Guru in Gwalior fort but when he saw the amount of love and devotion the Sangat of Delhi had for the Guru, and on the advice of Sai Miya Mir and other scholars, the Guru and 52 other kings were released. Majnu Ka Tilla was the place where the kings got their rightful kingdoms back.

In later history, Sikh military leader Baghel Singh Dhaliwal built the Majnu ka Tila Gurudwara to commemorate the stay of both Guru Nanak Dev ji and Guru Har Gobind in 1783. Today it is one of oldest existing Sikh shrines in Delhi and the surrounding estate was donated by early 19th-century Sikh emperor, Ranjit Singh .

Isn’t it powerful? To realize that one place, that is famous for its present day cafes and picturesque aura, has actually a deep rooted history? The kind of history that should be known to people but we as youngsters often forget to ignite that curiosity. The curiosity to know about a place that holds a strong and a divine aura. Well, Majnu Ka Tilla is the all in one place that has observed so many historic events allowing us to understand the collectivistic cultural and religious identities one place carries. And therefore, this celebrated place has left an imprint on our minds when we speak about a subject like secularism. The place has revered different religions together and becomes a vision for the citizens of India.

Image Credits: tripadvisor.in
Read Also: DUB Travels: Majnu Ka Tilla

Aanya Mehta
[email protected]

https://youtu.be/5NIh2iUmTcc

Arts & Culture

The Unsung Verses of our Anthem: A Translation

By Aayat Farooqui June 16, 2023

Ahead of our 75th Independence Day, here is looking at the four unsung verses of our national anthem by a fellow Bong and his experiences with the same

Growing up in a Bengali household, Rabindranath Tagore or “Kobiguru” (the guru of poets) as we were so fondly taught to call him, was a looming presence in my life. The drawing room wall had a two foot long portrait of the man with his cascading white beard and saintly eyes. On summer afternoons legs propped on the divan and orange peels on my fingers next to undone algebra I could hear him walking past the still curtains – his presence speaking of a quietude so deeply internalised that it could almost be akin to silent absence. On monsoon evenings when my heart was too heavy, his poetry gave words to my unshed tears. And on Independence Day, when I heard the country blaring the national anthem in a hindi dialect far removed from the original bengali pronunciation my heart would swell with anger.

In crowds, from childhood, I made it a point to sing the anthem in the Bengali dialect, while people around me would turn and stare at me with glaring eyes – indicating that I was the person who was singing it wrong. “Don’t be a rebel without a cause, of course there has to be a standard pronunciation for the entire country,” my mother would say each time I would go on an unwarranted rant about the hegemonic imposition of the hindi dialect across the nation. But little did I know that this was just the tip of the ignorance for most outside the Tagore-centric cultural bubble of Bengal.

In the middle of a casual video call with some of my recently made friends in DU, I found us humming the anthem after hearing a spectacular orchestral arrangement of the same on Youtube. But it was only when I continued to sing, long after the verse had ended that my friends curiously asked me as to what I was singing. That night I spent close to an hour, explaining to my friends, all from various ends of the country, how the national anthem is merely the first verse of a five verse long song composed by Tagore. It is with their shocked faces in mind today, that ahead of the 75th year of our Indian Independence, I present to all my readers the four unsung verses of the song from which our anthem originates. The translation will never be at par with the original Bengali and hence apologies are in order for all that will inevitably get lost in this humble translation.

Original Bengali:

Ahoraho tabo aahwan procharito shuni tabo udaar baani

Hindu bouddho joino paarsik musalmaan khristani

Purabo poschimo aase tabo singhasano-paase

Premhaar hoy gnaatha.

Janogano-oikyo-bidhayako jayo hey bhaaroto bhaagyo bidhata !

Jayo hey, jayo hey, jayo hey, jayo, jayo, jayo, jayo hey.

Paton-abbhudayo-bondhur pantha, jugo-jugo dhaabito jaatri

Hey chirosaathi tabo rathochakre mukhorito patho dinoraatri.

Daarun biplab-maajhe tabo shankho dhwoni baaje

Sankatodukkhotraata.

Janoganopathoporichaayako jayo hey bharoto bhagyo bidhata !

Jayo hey, jayo hey, jayo hey, jayo, jayo, jayo, jayo hey.

Ghorotimiroghano nibiro nishithe pirito murchito deshe

Jaagroto chilo tabo abichal mangol natonayone animeshe.

Duhswapne aatonke rokkha korile anke

Snehomoyi tumi maata.

Janoganodukhotraayako jayo hey bharoto bhagyo bidhata !

Jayo hey, jayo hey, jayo hey, jayo, jayo, jayo, jayo hey.

Raatri probhaatilo udilo robichchhobi purbo-udayogiribhaale –

Gaahe bihangamo, punyo somirano nabojibanoraso dhaale.

Tabo korunarunoraage nidrito bhaarato jaage

Tabo charone nato maatha.

Jayo jayo jayo hey, jayo raajeswaro bhaaroto bhaagyo bidhata !

Jayo hey, jayo hey, jayo hey, jayo, jayo, jayo, jayo hey.

Translation

Endlessly resonates thy charitable call to uplift –

Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsees, Muslims and Christians.

Across the East and West, unites this call, in strings of love.

You, the one who binds together the people in unity,

The one in whose hand sways the fate of India

Hail to thee!

Reflected in the wheels of your chariot O! the Timeless One,

On the jagged road of crests and troughs, walk a million listless.

In the midst of astounding rebels, rings loud your clarion call to revel –

You – the one who quells evil and distress!

Hail to the thee, the hand who sways the fate of India

And who shows its millions the path to traverse!

In the expanding gloom, of the darkest nights of distress,

Was awake forever, your bent unblinking gaze.

In the darkest of dreams, in the direst of circumstances,

You held us in your embrace –

Like a piteous mother to her babe.

Hail to thee, the hand who sways the fate of India

The one who vanquishes the distress of our souls!

The night melts into day, and rises the sun

On the eastern horizon front

Sing the birds, swayed by the holy breeze,

Tunes of a new life impending.

To your blood marked songs of compassion

Answers a nation rising from slumber,

Bowed forever at your lotus-feet.

Hail to the thee, O! Mightiest of Rulers,

The one in whose hands rest forever, the fate of India!

Here is a rendition of the song from the 2015 Bengali film Rajkahini (A Tale of Kings)

Anwesh Banerjee
[email protected]

DU Admissions

DU Law Aspirants Complain CUET Paper was Dominated by Maths

By DU Beat June 14, 2023

DU LLB aspirants complained that most of the CUET paper had mathematics-based questions, while questions based on legal studies hardly featured in the test.

Many applicants for the three-year LLB programme have complained that the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) test featured more questions about mathematics than their chosen field. The same has been true this year for a number of other programmes, including African studies and library sciences.

Several aspirants claimed that 75% of the paper had mathematics based questions, while featuring hardly any questions on legal studies. It had been reported that a separate paper had not been assigned for LLB aspirants and that they would have to give a general paper. Many students complained that they were being asked about terms like “dot matrix printer”.

“There were around 12 questions that covered general knowledge and legal aspects. Around 20 were related to English, which law aspirants can attempt. Beyond that, everything was high-level mathematics. As a law aspirant, I don think this will help us in any way.” said Muskan Jain, a graduated from Dyal Singh College, in conversation with the Times of India.

With several questions being beyond their purview in the entrance test conducted on June 8, many students say that they have given up hope of getting into Delhi University and will now have to fall back on private universities. Expressing her disappointment, Jain further added,

“I had taken a gap year, and I cannot afford to miss another year. I will probably have to give up on my plans for DU. This is really disappointing.”

Another aspirant, Lisa Kukreja, who graduated with a BA (H) in English from Sri Venkateswara College told TOI,

“The question paper was filled with mathematics-based questions and that too on the lines of what one would expect for RBI entrance or UPSC. DU has obviously been my first preference as it is a leading central university. But with the current status of the exam, I will have to look for a private university.”

Topics like Language Comprehension, General Knowledge and Awareness, Logical Reasoning, Verbal Ability, and Computer Basics were to be covered in the question paper in accordance with the CUET 2023 LLB Syllabus. However, candidates for this programme claimed the otherwise.

Image Source: The Hindu

Vanshika Ahuja

Campus Central

Power and Politics in the Delhi University Student’s Union

By DU Beat September 20, 2022

If we turn the pages of our history, we will realise that our freedom struggle was an essential chapter in the history of the University of Delhi. It has been about 80 years since Mahatma Gandhi gave us the slogan “Do or Die”, and within weeks of the pronouncement of the slogan at the Bombay Session of 1942, protests started to take shape across the colleges of DU. From burning down an electric sub-station (by the students of Ramjas College) to marching in protest on 10 August 1942, against the authorities who jailed the Congress leaders the previous day (students of Hindu College, Indraprastha College, and St, Stephen’s College), DU was the political hub during the time. So, this culture of protest so firmly entrenched among DU students even today can be traced back all the way to our country’s struggle for independence.

Established in 1922, a time when India was engulfed by its struggle for freedom, both students and teachers were active participants in the anti-British movement. However, soon, the students realised a need for a union. It was in 1947, under the founder of the Delhi School of Economics, Vijayendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao (V. K. R. V. Rao), when a provisional committee consisting of presidents of all the colleges was bestowed with the responsibility to draft the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) Constitution and take necessary steps for the creation of this institution. On 9 April 1949, DUSU came to life and was inaugurated by our first Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Since its inception, DUSU has become the first step toward the political scenario of the larger part of the country. Students belonging to various groups, having a range of ideologies, contest to be part of its panel. Some of the most notable student organisations that it represents are the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), All India Students’ Association (AISA), and many more.

Delhi University is as well known for its politics as well as for its historical significance and educational culture. Its political atmosphere is so important that at times, even mainstream political parties take keen interest in it. Nevertheless, it is worth noticing how the culture of protest and dissent was born in the sensitive pre-independence independence and how it has transformed since then to take its present form. Are the organisations doing their jobs correctly or are they just practicing dissent in the name of vote-bank politics? This is one of the most crucial questions we must seek the answer to.

The ABVP, a right-wing student organisation affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has had the most successful run in DUSU history in recent years. The root cause of this success can be traced back to the period of the Emergency in 1975, when DUSU once again became a centre of political resistance. Arun Jaitley, a former member of ABVP and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), was elected as the president of DUSU in 1974. He is known to have played the most instrumental role in bringing reform to DUSU. Until 1973, colleges used to elect 10 DUSU councilors, who further used to elect the panel of DUSU. However, from 1973 this policy was transformed into ‘one-student, one-vote’, turning the system from an indirect to a direct democracy. Also, Jaitley is famously known for being the first satyagrahi against the imposition of an internal emergency. In 1977, Vijay Goel, who was affiliated with ABVP, became the President of DUSU. His focus during the campaign was the excesses that occurred during the emergency.

More recently, Nupur Sharma, a former BJP national spokesperson, was elected DUSU president as the ABVP candidate in 2008. This broke the ABVP’s eight-year wait for power in the DUSU, which had been dominated by NSUI. That year, the other three posts (Vice President, Secretary, and Joint Secretary) went to the NSUI.

If we look at the last 10 years, the NSUI has only held the President’s seat only twice. This does beg the inevitable question of why the ABVP has found so much success. During the internal emergency, it can be credited to the country’s political atmosphere, which helped in garnering support. In its initial days, it is safe to say that people were more focused on work than their political inclinations and other interests. But what about today? Is it functioning the way the students desire or is it enjoying an undue dominance? Is it standing for the students and working for their demands, or are they too invested in getting memorandums signed in the name of vote banks? On the other hand, the left-wing parties, which emerged as a force to content with in DU politics quite recently, have centred their existence around fighting for or against various issues through protests and rallies. In this respect, their innovation and resourcefulness is beyond compare.

But the larger question remains: are any of the organisations working for the students, or has their functioning been overcome by their self-interest and blinded by lofty goals of perhaps being a part of the ‘real deal’?

But what is the real deal now, apart from the “glorious” past that DUSU holds? Since 2019, DUSU elections have not been held and even for this year as I type this out, there is no clarity or instruction about them. For a Student’s Union that has not seen elections in the past three years, to term this period as worthy of congratulations to the DU fraternity is a disaster in itself that reflects what sort of bizarreness surrounds DU politics today. At nearly every step the recommendations of the Lyngdoh committee (set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) in 2006 as per the direction of the Supreme Court to reform students’ union elections and to get rid of money and muscle power in student politics), are sidelined. Even a short conversation with those batches who have witnessed the famous DU elections is enough to know the huge amounts spent to buy students’ votes with freebies.

Every party in this arena carries its burden of faults. With major players being invisible throughout the year, some parties have engaged themselves in constant show politics. earning a name for themselves as “far protestors”. Be it any event or protest, you are most likely to see the same faces appearing everywhere, carrying faulty lies around.

But what’s the real issue here? Are parties facing problems in mobilising the students of DU? Or has its flame died down? Maybe it has just become a mere shell of what it used to be with constant clamping down on dissent at the college level. Though efforts by left parties in the form of reading circles can’t be ignored, ABVP too has attempted to mobilise students. But the fault of parties lies majorly in being unable to maintain a connection with the students. Even with these events and attempts to get closer to the students’ community, student parties cling to rigid ideologies rather than adapting to the circumstances, often barring those without political influence from engaging in what remains of student politics at the university. Indiscriminate fights and beatings do the rest of the work of turning students away from politics, with only 39% voting recorded in the last elections.

One of the biggest shortcomings of the DUSU is the exclusion of various colleges, especially ‘women’s colleges’, whose students have been visibly political in their stance. The absence of political presence on these campuses is clear exclusion by the administration and the silence of student parties over this issue makes clear their lack of concern over diverse representation in their parties, which is often stressed upon by them to win brownie points.

With fringe protests occurring only for some matters chosen specifically to grab as much attention as possible, the majority of student issues largely remain ignored. So, it is the right time to question what is being done of the legacy DUSU had in the name of power and politics and, more importantly, to start a conscious and organised movement to politicise (or rather, repoliticise) DUites.

Image Credits: Times of India

Ankita Baidya

Kashish Shivani

DUB Speak

The Ticking Clock: Students, Education and Politics

By Ankita Baidya January 31, 2022

Student Politics is believed to be a product of the present times. Yet, there are historical pieces of evidence that suggest otherwise. Read ahead to find out more.

When the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) protested against the punishment given in the case of the 2001 Parliament attack, students including Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid got arrested. When the Literary Society of the Ramjas College, University of Delhi decided to invite Umar Khalid to speak in a seminar on ‘Cultures of Protest’ in 2017, a fight broke out. What was supposed to be a peculiar argument turned out to be a massive protest, involving everyone from students to renowned political faces. Students have been a part of the political sphere for quite some time now but should students be a part of this political arena? When the involvement of political parties in student politics has increased for their benefit of expanding the core strength of the party, should students step into it? It is believed that Student Politics is a product of the current decade. However, student politics is not just ABVP or NSUI, it has a history that accounts for its greater place in the democracy.

Pre-Independence

There is no starting point but the late 19th century and early 20th century saw the students getting involved in political matters. The swadeshi movement that was led as part of the anti-partition movement saw active participation of school and college students. Because of this situation, the students who were found guilty were stripped of their scholarships, expelled, or fined. What followed this movement was a consciousness to protest against the unjust that was being served. The students like Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki actively participated in politics. As the movements developed with time, people realized that violence could make the Britishers leave the country. The non-cooperation movement too saw a wide participation of students. They boycotted their schools and colleges that were government-affiliated to show their solidarity with the movement.

An indelible name in Indian history is that of Bhagat Singh, a student of National College, Lahore who had his roots running deep into politics. His commitment to ‘inquilab’ (revolution) inspired a wave of students across the country. His political ideologies did differ but the goal remained the same, to sleep in a free country. The students continued to march for freedom. They were fierce and focused. They did not cease until they achieved swaraj. This political involvement of the students gave rise to a certain culture of student politics that this country was about to experience.

Post-Independence

India was deeply engrossed in realizing its new dreams that were to shape the country which was reeling from the state of shambles. The nation was disintegrated on the grounds of various socio-economic factors. Yet, the political breeze was always prevailing. Even during the demand for linguistic states, protests broke out across the country which again saw active participation of the students. Further, the Naxalite movement that started in 1967 saw enormous support from the students. With the onset of the recession, India was about to fall into the grips of an economic crisis. Students saw this as a threat to their future prospects of employment and this directed them to join the Naxalite movement. Political involvement of the students was well active in this period and continued to remain the same in the coming years.

The Navnirman Andolan in 1974 was a movement led by the students in Gujarat against a hike in hostel food fees. Clashes between students and police provoked an indefinite strike across the educational institutions in Gujarat. This led to the resignation of Chimanbhai Patel. Nav Nirman Yuvak Samiti was formed during the movement. They demanded the dissolution of the state assembly and for holding fresh elections. Further, Morarji Desai went on a hunger strike, and then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi had to give in. The day the election results were declared was the same day when the verdict on the latter’s electoral malpractices came. In the same year, the Bihar movement was initiated by the students which were led by Jayaprakash Narayan. The political movement was against the anarchy in the state government. This movement led to the formation of Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh. However, the movement later turned against former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (Sampoorna Kranti). As a result of all these, a national emergency was imposed by Indira Gandhi.

Emergency saw the suspension of all the democratic practices. This was resisted by all the sections of society, especially students. The government used repressive actions against the involvement of students in politics. This led to brutal consequences like the Rajan Case. P.Rajan was an engineering student who died as a result of torture in police custody during the Emergency in Kerala. Jailing and torturing the students because of their political support is a ‘trend’ of 1975 which found its place even in today’s times.

Present

Student politics has its roots through the pages of Indian history. As the times change, people learn more. The knowledge of a twelve-year-old child would be merely numbers and letters for the same-age child ten years into the future. This enhancement helps in a better understanding of the world and leads to demand for a better place to live. The students’ participation has always been there but has increased with the increase in their capacity to comprehend. Nevertheless, student politics will always be present and never cease to grow for better democratic functioning.

Featured Image Source: Youth Ki Awaaz

Ankita Baidya