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Hindu College Students Protest for Annual Fest ‘Mecca’

By DU Beat April 23, 2023

The annual festival of Hindu College, ‘Mecca’, has allegedly been put in jeopardy by an administration order to reduce the 3-day, star-studded event to just 1. Students of the college have reportedly gathered outside the college gates to stage a protest against the same.

An important cultural event in the college calendar, this year’s ‘Mecca’ was scheduled to be held on the 26th, 27th, and 28th of April, culminating in a megastar evening on the final day with Sunidhi Chauhan. Agreements had been made, and Coke Studio had signed up for sponsorship of about Rs. 34 lakhs. However, with the event just a week away, on April 20, the organising committee was informed by the college principal that the event should be wrapped up in a single day, i.e., April 28.

This order by the administration was reportedly in part due to the recent advisory issued by the University for college fests requiring NOC from the police or being limited to the students of the college. Students who have been working hard for months for this event have come out to protest against this arbitrary decision. The organising committee has also opposed this decision, saying that MOUs have been signed and all the arrangements have been made. The college administration has also allegedly made the distasteful demand that Sunidhi Chauhan be dressed in a saree; otherwise, she won’t be allowed to perform on stage, as a gimmick to stop the event from taking place.

“The admin has shown a similar attitude towards every event. We had a North-East Fest in our college which had an open entry, but the principal denied that just one day before the event. They’ve always opposed Mecca from the first day, but if they’re letting it happen, why cancel at the last moment? Coke Studio can easily file a case against the OC head of Mecca for breaking the MOUs.” – Devesh Arya, a third-year student at Hindu College

According to sources, various protesters allegedly came to the college on the night of the 20th, breaking the locks of the gates and protesting for Mecca to be held according to the original itinerary of 3 days. The next morning, they reportedly didn’t let the professors into the college as a sign of protest. Later in the day, they shifted their protest to the principal’s office. While some students alleged that protesting students were detained by the police and lathi charged, others have claimed otherwise. On the same day, i.e., the 21st of April, the principal issued a notice stating that they “were anguished to the state that they were left with no choice but to seek police assistance”.

“Students have crowded outside the auditorium since last night; they’ve spread the mattresses and are continuously protesting. Since then, the principal has also made many attempts to leave the premises, but every time was stopped by protesting students.” – An eyewitness from Hindu College

Many people in the organizing committee claimed having their own money pitched in, but now that there are limitations on the people allowed to attend the event, the students fear that the sponsors will back out and also tarnish the name of the college.

“We don’t have any additional demand; we just want to continue with the same old format that Mecca used to happen. This is all our demand, and as long as it’s not fulfilled, we will continue to protest. A meeting with the principal happened, but no response was received.” – Prabal Mishra, a student of Hindu College and Junior Executive Head in PR

Featured Image Credits: Devesh Arya for DU Beat

Samra Iqbal
[email protected]

Foreign Ties: a Conversation with an Exchange Student in DU

By DU Beat March 16, 2023

Did you know that the University of Delhi offers a Student Exchange Program? DU Beat recently got in touch with Dominik, an exchange program student from Austria who’s currently enrolled in Hindu College, University of Delhi. Read on to find out all about this program from a candid conversation with Dominik and his journey so far.

Applying to Attend Delhi University

A history student from the University of Vienna, Dominik is currently enrolled in Hindu College as an exchange program student. Talking about his experiences while applying for the program, he says,

“It was a long process. It took me six months to get everything through. It could have taken even longer if I hadn’t begun on time.” – Dominik

The University of Delhi is in a partnership with the University of Vienna under which students and professors from the two universities are given the opportunity of an exchange program, post a rigorous selection process. In stark contrast with Delhi University’s generally ignorant and secretive nature surrounding the student exchange program, Dominik talks about his home university’s efforts in helping him contact a previously unresponsive DU.

“Getting in touch with the University was the hardest part. My home university professors would constantly email on behalf of me and helped me get in touch with Delhi University. This followed extensive research on available courses and colleges.” – Dominik

A mandatory prerequisite for the program is a language proficiency test. For Dominik, he was required to submit his English language proficiency test scores. The next crucial stage involves several rounds of interview sessions with professors and exchange program officers, who evaluate the student’s overall suitability for the program. The important documents which are essential to be kept handy are a motivation letter, CV, cover letter and academic transcripts.

“It’s so hard to get anything done, get a signature or a stamp. They send you back and ask you to come back later, and there’s no actual reason for it.” – Dominik

University Culture

The conversation further delved into life at university and the cultural aspects of it. Dominik shares,

“One thing that’s great about the university culture here is that you are really close to your professors. They know your name, they really help you out, you have their phone number. This is something which is unimaginable in Austria.” – Dominik

He further emphasised on the attendance system in Austrian universities, saying,

“One thing that’s really different in Austria is that we don’t have an attendance policy, you have a choice whether to attend classes, so there’s a lot of freedom and time to pursue other things that way.” – Dominik

Academic Contrasts

The selection of your course is a crucial step involved and conducting extensive background research before applying is a good idea. Dominik shares his personal experience of going through hundreds of answers posted on websites which eventually helped him make the choices. Availability of a certain course or paper also plays an important role, since unlike Austrian universities, Delhi University has a pre-structured curriculum. Discussing academics, Dominik adds,

“In Austria, you can choose amongst various different courses and you have the option to decide which course to study in which semester. In the framework of sixteen credits, you can build your own course so to say and try out what suits you best.” – Dominik

Speaking of his experience of studying history in Delhi University, he comments,

“You can learn about colonial history from the victim’s side, and not from the oppressor’s side. You can feel the emotions still attached to this history, so it’s really interesting to learn from this perspective, and break free from the Eurocentric point of view of history.” – Dominik

Words of Advice

“Don’t give up. It’s a long process but it’s so worth it. There’ll be bureaucratic hurdles; all this hard work and problems will be forgotten and you’ll only have nice memories then.” – Dominik

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Sigy Ghosh

News

Hindu College Boys’ Hostel End Three-Day Hunger Strike

By DU Beat February 27, 2020

Hindu College Boys’ Hostel ended its strike on Wednesday, 26th February 2020 after the administration agreed to their demands. Three students were on a hunger strike since Monday.

The residents of Hindu College Boys’ Hostel had posed the list of long-standing demands to the Principal on Monday, 24th February 2020 and on her failure to address them, they began an indefinite strike at 1:30 pm in front of the college administration. Around 50-60 students were protesting against three major issues:

Merit criterion that was increased for the readmission of second and third years including PWD students
Resolving of Wi-Fi problems.
Reinstallation of hostel boundaries that were broken for the construction of a food joint PAM (Pizza and More) within the hostel premises.

The present criterion for admissions and retention of seats in the hostel is 6.5 CGPA for Arts and 7.0 for Science and Commerce courses and considered averse to the students participating in extracurricular activities or preparing for entrance exams. The residents demanded revision in the re-admission criteria, decreasing it to the previous 6 CGPA for Arts/Humanities courses and 6.5 CGPA for Science and Commerce courses and scrapping it altogether for Persons With Disabilities (PwD) students. In the official application to the Principal, the President of the Hostel Union writes that in case a student fails to maintain the criteria then his contribution in ECA and Sports should be considered.

Image Caption: Students write to the Principal for redressal of their demands.

Regarding the Wi-Fi issue a resident of the hostel quotes, “Wi-Fi concerns the accessibility of study material to the students since DU servers provide access to academic websites and even general connectivity considering the poor signals around the campus.” In fact, a payment of Rs 3,500 was taken at the beginning of the academic year for replacing the existing Wi-Fi system but no action was taken.

Pizza and More (PAM) is a shop in the college that was being shifted in one of the hostel lawns since a new building was being built over there. According to the students, the construction of the cafe in the hostel lawns is an attack on their democratic spaces where they can sit, talk, organize events or play cricket. A resident anonymously told us, “The decision of PAM being constructed in our hostel lawns indicates the increasing privatization in our college. Moreover, it would create inconvenience for the residents especially the ones residing in rooms facing these lawns since their privacy would be in threat and also the cooking would cause a lot of smoke”. Some parts of the construction were started without the consent of the hostel union after which it was destroyed by the students the very next day.

The students ended their strike on Wednesday, 26th February 2020 after two of their three demands were accepted. They have been assured by the authorities that they will look into the Wi-Fi problems and construction of PAM. The residents reported, “The Principal told us that the readmission criteria are decided by the warden and hostel committee. Since we could get her to accept what was in her hands, we stopped protesting in front of the Principal’s office. The warden also has assured us that the hostel committee will try to relax the criteria especially for PWD students.”

DU Beat reached out to the Union members and residents on hunger strike for their statement, but is yet to receive an official response from their end. This report will be updated as and when the parties comment.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Aishwaryaa Kunwar

Women and Gender Cells Across The University Rise Against Hindu College’s “V-Day Puja”

By DU Beat February 18, 2020

After the controversy following the “V-Day Puja”, Women and Gender cells from across the University have risen to support the struggle of students at Hindu College against the sexist tradition, by observing a protest at the College on 17^thFebruary 2020.

On 17^thFebruary 2020, Hindu College observed a demonstration against the College’s annual ‘V-Day Puja’ , annually celebrated on the Valentine’s Day, and the unsuccessful executional ban over this year’s annual puja. Despite previous negotiations amongst the Student body and the Administration, deciding an unanimous ban over the event for this year, it was still observed by the Boys’ Hostel Union on 14^thFebruary 2020.

Students claim that ABVP’s men were allegedly involved amongst the mob that ignored the administration’s denial of permission and continued to observe the tradition. A demonstration was therefore observed against the incident at 1 pm outside the college. However, ABVP has denied all claims of involvement, and have called the rumours of their involvement as criminal defamation.

Ankitaa Biswas, President, ABVP Hindu College told DU Beat, “ABVP-Hindu College was not involved in any act of hooliganism that happened on 14 February,2020 during the V-tree function within the college premises. Neither ABVP, nor any ABVP activist partook in the impugned act of campus commotion. All allegations pertinent to ABVP’s involvement in a bevy of mischievous acts ranging from provocative poster-making to incendiary sloganeering are unsubstantiated and appear contrived to sully the organization’s good name and reputation. Such unfounded assertions constitute criminal defamation.”

She further added, “According to several eyewitnesses, the sequence of events on that fateful day stands in stark contrast to the ridiculous claims being made by ABVP’s ideological adversaries. Saboteurs belonging to SFI, AISA and Pinjratod trespassed into the Hindu College, misbehaved with the students, and made extensive efforts to vitiate the atmosphere of peace and harmony on the campus.”

The Administration of Hindu College has been in question regarding the ‘V-Day Puja’ for years, with people claiming the tradition to be discriminatory, patriarchal, Brahmanical, and a blatant display of toxic masculinity and sidebars for female dignity. After the condemnation of the tradition gaining momentum, the students were denied permission by the Administration to observe the Puja. Yet the puja was still observed on 14^thFebruary, with no retaliation from the administration and allegations of ABVP hooligans’ involvement in the mob that disregarded the official orders.

“The misogynistic acts besides V-Tree and violence on women and protestors on Valentine’s Day inside the College premises. We condemn such misogynistic and violent acts, stand in solidarity with the victims and demand immediate disciplinary actions against the harassers and who violated the decision which was declared the Principal in the Students-Admin meeting. The incident that happened at Gargi College shook us all and compelled us to think are University Spaces really safe for women? Are University Spaces really inclusive? This sorts of mobs that often enter College and University spaces to wreak havoc that we also noticed in JNU. All of us have to fight against the mob constitutionally and peacefully,” All India Queer Association (AIQA) stated.

Various Women and Gender Cells from across the University have risen up to provide support and stand in solidarity with the women students of Hindu College, namely the Women Development Cell of Miranda House, Lady Sri Ram College, Sri Venkateswara College, as well as Gender Forum of Ramjas College, The Gender Studies Cell of St. Stephen’s College, IP Student’s Collective, and the Delhi School of Journalism.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Shreya Juyal

DUB Speak

Valentine’s or Violent-times in Hindu College?

By DU Beat February 13, 2020

This Valentine’s Day, let’s take out a page from University’s history. The chapter is regarding Hindu College’s (in)famous Virgin Tree (V-tree).

For those who are untouched with the lore of the V-tree, it’s is a tree present near the Hindu College library which has been the site of a hostel ceremony observed every Valentine’s Day. A pundit from the hostel is appointed to do a puja around the tree which has condoms hanging from it and the poster of a Bollywood diva as Damdami Mai (any female celebrity in trend, hypersexualised for this purpose).

With the women’s hostel set up in recent years, a Love-Guru is also chosen to be worshipped by the women students. Yes, this is surely problematic but over the years, many saw this as just a casual joke in their ‘sex-driven college days’. The critics of the practice found their voices lost in oblivion. But since the past few years (especially last year), there was a whole clamour of voices echoing all across Hindu College.

Last year, the Women’s Development Cell of the College tried to reach an agreement with the Boys’ Hostel, who seemed to be pretty adamant on their stance of preserving the ‘College tradition’. But later on, the situation seemed to be manipulated, twisted, and turned a lot by the students and media alike, as the organisation Pinjratod too got involved, crossing the College’s gates on the eve of 14th February. This seemed to have hurt the ego of a majority of boys from the hostel, and they decided to conduct the V-Day puja with more pomp and fervour now. A few critics and Pinjratod members tried to raise slogans around the tree but to no avail.

Delving on last year’s incidents anymore would deserve a report of its own, and you can brush up your history with the Virgin Tree in DU Beat’s website itself. Now coming back to the present day, the situation seems to be quite perplexing. Ground reports suggest that a conscious voice among the students who stand against the V-tree ceremony has increased. At the same time, the ‘tradition preservers’ are still adamant.

On the 7th of February, talks tried to take place at the College’s New Academic Block but the adamant ones didn’t even agree to sit down at the discussion. Most of them stood tall and shushed the critics, justifying that they just want this puja to happen for the sake of the College’s culture and are not misogynistic, unlike the ceremony which they so vehemently support.

The main points of critique around this V-day ceremony are that it adds to the narrow view of looking at a ‘desirable’ male or female. So, a person is desirable, only if he/she looks like a Hrithik Roshan or a Disha Patani? In their defence, the hostel feels that this ceremony should be taken as a fun activity and they tried to accommodate other sexualities too (through a tokenistic rainbow-coloured heart featured in a poster hanging from the tree last year). The very fact that a pundit is appointed and a Hindu-style puja takes place, bothers some. Hindu College has ‘Hindu’ in its name but is a secular space, with no benefits given to any one religion.

What will happen now on the 14th, that, only time will tell but there’s still some hope brewing among Hinduites. A source from the Girls’ Hostel told us that they are planning to run a campaign wherein, the critics can try and
simplify the entire matter and actually explain to people what is the V-tree and why they are opposing it. There
are also hushed-down talks happening for a possible alternative ceremony around the tree that would not offend any religion, caste, or gender.

An all-night protest on the event (not by Pinjratod) is also likely on the eve of Valentine’s. Whatever be the case, it’s evident that on Valentine’s Day, love might be in the air but with revolution…

Shaurya Singh Thapa
[email protected]

Multiple Gatherings and Misunderstood Heckling at Hindu College

By Shaurya Thapa January 24, 2020

19^thJanuary has been a dark day in Indian history, marking the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 after increasing attacks by Islamist insurgents. This day has hence been remembered by the country as a mark of respect to the community but has also been extremely politicised, mostly by the far-Right in various ways.

One example of this can be what went down this Monday at Hindu College. Like many other parts of the country, the protests against the ruling government’s controversial Citizenship Amendment Act are in full swing especially among the student community in Delhi.

Similarly, groups of students had planned to hold their march in solidarity to these protests, and a reading of the Preamble. By last Saturday, word began to be circulated so that other students of Hindu College would also know about the march that would start from the College’s New Academic Block (also called the Science Block) and cover the rest of the college too.

Coincidentally, by Sunday (19^th January), a poster was being circulated regarding a gathering in memory of the tragic mass displacement of Kashmiri pandits at the Science Block on the same day, just half an hour before the march.

These two gatherings clearly felt to be organised by different sets of students. Controversy arose with a recent video featuring Deepika Sharma, a student from the college. She was at the talk on the Kashmiri pundits’ exodus at the Science block. According to what she said in social media, she was heckled by the participants of the other march.

The video of this has been misinterpreted and shared by various platforms like OpIndia, Swarajya, and The Logical Indian and some celebrities like director Vivek Agnihotri. Such sources allege that ‘leftist goons heckled and shouted at her’. In the video, you can hear ‘Islamophobia’ being shouted in the background by protestors. But here’s the truth behind it from ground reports at Hindu itself.

First of all, calling the protestors ‘leftist goons’ is a very basic stereotype and a false claim. For the truth is that not a single Left-aligned poster or flag (with allegiance to any Leftist student body like AISA and SFI) was raised. The students in the march and Preamble-reading had gathered as students of the college, and not representing a particular political front.

Second, the slogans regarding the current government being Islamophobic were not meant to bring down the talk on Kashmiri pandits at all. These slogans were raised, solely for the students’ own dissent. These were students. Not goons.

Some of the protestors do feel that they could have silenced the volume of their slogans a little as they passed through the side of the Science Block where the other talk was happening. But before this issue gets further politicised, what needs to be understood is that this protest was anti-CAA and by no means, anti-Kashmiri Pandits or anti-Hindu as other sources or Deepika Sharma might misinterpret it.

In fact, as you can see in the image featured above, the posters used by the protestors also tried to evoke empathy for the pandits. This protest didn’t seem to have been pro/anti towards any religion or community.

So, one needs to go through the contexts of both these gatherings again before jumping to conclusions. A close analysis will tell you that the claim of ‘one girl battling the heckling of Leftist goons’ is an exaggerated misinterpretation of an unintentional clash of events.

Image Credits: Himanshu Singh and Abhiram

Shaurya Singh Thapa

News

Students of Hindu College Protest Against New Hostel Criteria

By DU Beat October 6, 2019

Hostel dwellers of Hindu College protested in front of the Principal’s office against the new stricter criteria of attendance and GPA to be maintained to retain hostel accommodation in the second and third year by residents.

Recently, the newly-elected Students’ Union of Hindu College, led the protest against the hostel administration, as allegedly the college administration was threatening them by making calls to their families, and disciplinary action in terms of electricity cuts was imposed on the students.

The Union claims this was a protest to demand their rights. It was also said that these stricter rules were just to discourage the students to avail hostel facilities. The students also believe that the increase in fees of hostel facilities is just to pave way for privatisation of hostel in the coming years.

Delhi University (DU) Hostel for outstation students, who cannot afford the expensive PG life that Delhi has to offer, works as a suitable alternative. However, one must question the relevance of this protest.

Two years ago, the College Hostel administration had decided that only those who get above 6.0 CGPA in the Arts stream and 6.5 in the Science stream and who have above 67 per cent attendance will be able to retain their hostel accommodation.

Last year the it had been increased from 6 to 6.5 for the Arts stream and from 6.5 to 7.0 for science stream and the attendance criteria had also been increased to 75 per cent.

Many students were affected by this criterion, as it was stricter and student weren’t made aware of this earlier. However, no immediate protest took place.

There are few arguments that show this protest as a political move than a liberal one.

A Hindu College student who lives in the boys’ hostel, under conditions of anonymity told DU Beat, “The protest is not for the rights of the students. As the students of this year were well aware of the new rules as mentioned in our undertaking. The GPA and attendance criteria were mentioned.”

The Statement of undertaking is a legal binding document that is made signed by each hostel dweller. It is done so to make the students accountable for the conditions they have agreed on to avail hostel facilities.

As all the students had signed the undertaking in their complete senses, without any use of force, their right to protest against the rules is invalid legally.

Other than this, what is more astounding is the fact that when these rules were first implemented a year back, no protest or resistance took place, neither by the hostel dwellers nor the student union. The sudden need for protest raises questions of the intention of the protest.

Whether the protest was necessary or not, one must not forget that the hostel facility is the only way many outstation students can afford to study in DU.

For the update on the protest that took place, another student in anonymity told DU Beat, “There was only one protest by the newly elected Students’ Union and the other inmates. It was just really a one-evening-thing, and was resolved (called off) when they finally discussed the issue with the Principal.”

Feature Image Credits: Yaksh Handa for DU beat

Chhavi Bahmba

Panchtatva – The Environment Society of Hindu College, took out a Paper Collection Drive

By Guest Writer September 14, 2019

Every year around this time, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election approaches and so the campus also starts to get littered with posters and pamphlets. Posters can be seen on walls all over the campus and pamphlets scattered throughout the roads.

But it is a matter of fact that very few are aware of National Green Tribunal’s order directing the University to ensure that no paper is used for campaigning on campuses and also it is prohibited to use printed materials for purpose canvassing according to Code of Conduct of DUSU elections.

So realizing it’s responsibility, Panchtatva – The environment society of Hindu College under the guidance of its convener Dr. Anuradha Sharma, took out a Paper collection drive with 50 members of Panchtatva throughout the campus. The objective of such a drive was to collect the littered paper pamphlets and posters so that they could be sent for recycling later and also to promote clean environment around the campus inspired by the Prime Minister’s visionary Swacch Bharat Abhiyan.

Dr. Anuradha Sharma, the convener of Panchtatva society, Hindu college said that it is the responsibility of each student to realize their duty towards the university and ensure to speak up and join hands together to prevent such wrongful practices in the University.

Hindu College’s Annual Prime Ministerial Debate asks ‘Iss Baar Kiski Sarkaar?’

By Sakshi Arora September 10, 2019

Atal Bihari Vajpayee once said, “There are only two Prime Ministers in India- one who sits in Parliament and another who sits in Hindu College.” The College Parliament is a student body that enriches the higher education experience for Hindu College students by exposing them to new frontiers and paradigms of education, discussion, and debate. Officially known as the Parliament of the Republic of Hindu College, it is a historic student body that aims at active student participation in running the College.

On 9th September, continuing the 83 years old legacy, the Symposium Society of Hindu College conducted the Annual Prime Ministerial debate, as a part of the ongoing campaigning for the college elections. The four candidates, namely Aman Malik, Ashish Kumar, Benna Fathima K. and Sanya Khurana, fighting for the apex position in the college’s Parliament (the only one of its kind in the whole of the University) were given a platform to present their ideas, visions, and agendas in front of the whole college. Each candidate was given ten minutes to speak, which was followed by a Question Answer session – where one question for each candidate was entertained from the audience, and the candidates were allowed to ask one question to any other candidate. Apart from the students (known as the members of the Parliament of Hindu College), the President, the Speaker, and the Marshal of the House were also present. Moreover, this is the first time in the history of Hindu College that one can see two female Prime Ministerial Candidates standing up for the post. Also, the Hindu Progressive Front led by Benna Fathima is the new key player among all four panels. The crowd was rapt in attention and charged with energy, the heat of the summer not deterring their support and voice for their panels. It was a highly successful event and the students left the venue with a much clearer picture of all the four candidates.

Shankar Tripathi, the President of The Symposium Society said, “We had special infrastructural bindings this year, since we didn’t have a fixed place to conduct the debate. The administration pitched in and we could conduct the debate out in the open, and I’m glad, even with all the heat and no seating arrangement for the students, there wasn’t any ruckus created. It’s safe to say that this was one of the most smoothly operated events even with all of the crowd going crazy for their candidates, and one of the biggest debates in terms of scale – all thanks to the society members and the crowd. I wish all the candidates the very best for the voting day”

Aman Malik, a Candidate for the post of Prime Minister, stated, – “My speech wasn’t a monologue, it was dialogue because the audience (my fellow students) were high spirited and exceedingly appreciative and motivated me to be where I was.”

Srijan Rai, a second-year student from B.A. (Honours) Political Science shared, “The intensity of the competition has certainly declined. Last year there was intense competition between all the five candidates, however this year the intensity of the competition was less. This is mainly due to the de politicisation brought in by several administrative measures. Secondly, this year owing to the rise in personality politics a single candidate emerged as the better one while last year even after the PM debate the people had difficulty in choosing the better candidate. Each year the PM debate evolves as the politics in Hindu evolves and the PM debate of this year was definitely one of a kind.”

Hindu is known for the platform it offers to the students to witness Indian Politics firsthand. The anticipation of ‘Who will win?’, ‘Who will lose?’, and ‘What this transpires into?’ will only settle on 12^th September, the day all the students get to vote for their favoured candidates.

Feature Image Credits: Swareena for Vivre (Photography Society, Hindu College)

Bhagyashree Chatterjee