The Department of Political Science, Hindu College in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has organised a two-day conclave christened ‘The Dancing Elephant: Perspectives on Indian Foreign Policy’, today being the first day.
At a time when the foreign policies of states are aligning and realigning based on the economics of interests and benefits rather than on ideologies, this conclave seeks to generate a broader conversation as to where India stands and perceives itself globally.
On the first day of the 2-day conclave, the event kick-started with the lighting of the lamp, followed by the welcome address by the Principal of Hindu College, Ms. Anju Shrivastava, in the auditorium of the college. Thereafter, the inaugural address was given by Anirban Ganguly, the Director of the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookherjee Foundation.
Session one started with the keynote address by Harsh V. Pant, Fellow and Head of the Strategic Studies Programme of the ORF. In the rather spirited discourse on the changing contours of Indian Foreign Policy, Pant made thought-provoking observations regarding how our international relations with other countries needs to be looked at with a fresher set of eyes. Besides asserting that India should stop being ‘a balancing power’ and should instead become a leading power, he also remarked that the aspiration of countries to align on the basis of ideological fixation is today gone. India, today, is ready to take help from any country, provided its security concerns are met. The idea that India’s priority is domestic consolidation was very subtly put forth in Pant’s speech.
Post noon, a panel discussion was held on the most imperative question facing Indian Foreign Policy today: Can India Ignore Pakistan? Moderated by Senior Fellow of ORF Maya Mirchandani, the discussion was taken ahead with insights from TCA Raghavan and Sushant Sareen. The vibrant discussion ranged from topics such as the twin threats of nuclear warfare and terrorism from Pakistan to whether SAARC would be able to establish South Asia as a cohesive region despite the fractured relations between India and Pakistan.
In today’s global economy, when major powers are facing suppressive regulations for environmental concerns, how India transforms its economy is a big challenge. Shedding light on the apparently opposing nexus between economic growth and equitable sustainable development, the next session was a dialogue on how India will galvanize a development model by managing the workforce disparity, energy security, and its natural resources.
Post lunch, the enterprising discourse was taken ahead by a panel discussion on non-alignment and Nehruvian idealism and whether these ideas still have relevance in the current scenario where the world has increasingly moved towards multi-polarity. Moderated by ORF Fellow Abhijnan Rej, the discussion was enriched with perspicacity from Diplomatic Editor of The Hindu, Suhasini Haidar, and Member of Parliament Swapan Dasgupta.
Wrapping up an eventful first day of the conclave, most students found the same highly enlightening, especially the International Relations enthusiasts.
Today, we’re looking at a very different get-political scenario than what was prevalent a few decades back. As we move ahead with higher education, some of the textual learning might not be very effective in helping us gauge India’s foreign policies. That’s why, it becomes important to engage in these events where students get first-hand knowledge from diplomats and distinguished people who themselves mould our nation’s foreign policies.
On the eve of White Cane Safety Walk, Save The Quest organised a blindfolded walk throughout the North Campus, University of Delhi. The purpose of the walk was to sensitise people about the difficulties faced by the visually impaired people and how we can help them with a little effort.
The event started off with registrations at 8:30 in the morning. Orientation programme took place in the auditorium where we were welcomed by the teacher-in-charge of NSS Hindu College and the founder of STQ, Mr. Saif Ahmed Khan. At 10:30 we were asked to hold a white cane, put a blindfold and join the crowd with a partner each. One was blindfolded and other remained sighted, which got reversed half-way through the walk. It was not just an emotion of selflessness, it was a feeling: to salute our fellow visually impaired friends who manage to carry out their daily chores. We were accompanied by a chain of volunteers and policemen who controlled the traffic. A 2 km blindfolded walk and we faced so many difficulties in getting through despite having someone to guide us and the visually impaired ones- they do not always have people around them to be their eyes. The world seemed black and the way we were walking on, vast and scary. We came back to our starting point, shared our views on how we felt and what we feel towards our friends. Then, we had a performance by Save the Quest VIS band.
Mr. Saif Ahmad Khan distributed white canes and Braille Signature tool to all the visually impaired students present there and later a vote of thanks to NSS Hindu, Adroit, advertising society DCAC, NSS DCAC: all for their selfless hard work.
On the morning of 4th October, an image was posted by Pinjra Tod – a collective against the sexist and discriminatory practices in higher educational institutions – on its Facebook page. The image was of a poster from Hindu College, which said “Hindu mein Maal aur Maal dono milta hai”. In Hindi, the word “maal” is a slang term that is used to either refer to women in an objectifying manner, or to refer to narcotic substances.
An excerpt from Pinjra Tod’s caption sums up the view of those aghast at the language used in the poster thusly: “The many ways in which patriarchy reinforces itself every day in our campuses to convey the message that we may be studying in a university, we may be sitting in classes together, but women are to be primarily seen as sexual objects of exchange amongst men.” The poster almost seems to be bragging about the presence of women in the college, who are apparently not to be treated as equals or as peers of same intellectual calibre, but primarily as objects for men to lust over. Women are used here in the same breath as addictive substances, indicating that both are objects for pleasure. What adds to the whole issue is the fact that the poster was used during a Freshers’ party, and was probably one of the first messages that the new students picked up from their seniors regarding women’s place and perception in the institute. Universities are meant to widen horizons regarding thinking openly, but the regressive poster seems to be contributing towards promoting the opposite.
The Prime Minister of the college’s student union, Brijesh Tiwari, issued a statement that condemned the incident on Facebook. An excerpt from it said, “The Hindu College Parliament unanimously condemns the usage of such shamelessly gendered and misogynist phrases on campus or anywhere else. We at the Parliament consider it our utmost endeavour to arrive at a stage of gender equality, withering of misogynist practices and tendencies, and an overall climate of equal opportunities for all genders. We recognise how such phrases and their usage become an impediment in trying to achieve all of the above. The Parliament ensures that it will do its best to nip all such practices in the bud and to ensure that the student-driven crusade against misogyny must never be weakened.” Further, administrative lapses on part of the organisers and “deeply entrenched” misogyny that is “not a new innovation” were blamed.
This is, however, not the first instance of discrimination and sexism in Hindu College. Back in August, women students protested the administration over the differences in the hostel fees for men and women. The newly opened women’s hostel, in the college’s 118-year history, charged its residents more than double the fees charged from the men.
Imtiaz Ali, an alumnus of Hindu College, was seen interacting with the students of the English department on Monday, 20th September. He was there to talk about his life and career, his passions, film-making, and theatre.
The event, which was named Tale Talk with Imtiaz Ali was organised by the English department, Hindu College, where one of the senior-most professors, Mrs. Swaroopa Mukherjee, who also happened to have known Ali from his college days, took the role of the speaker. This event was able to draw out from Ali a lot of his adventures during his college days, some of which even led to inspirations for the plot of his films such as Rockstar. When asked about the sources of ideas for his films, Imtiaz said, ‘Stories have just been in side me. For the ones like Highway, I didn’t have to think out of the box. It is the story of a simple girl in the most ordinary situations that anyone can be caught in. For the ones like Rockstar, I never needed to have an idea. I guess I’ve had enough idea about Hindu and Stephen’s during my time here!’
What was interesting was the fact that he revealed how he never really liked most of the titles of his movies. ‘I never wanted Jab We Met to be Jab We Met’, he said. ‘As a matter of fact, Jab Harry met Sejal was suggested by Ranbir to Anushka and neither Shahrukh nor I liked it. But I still approved these titles because I want to keep myself away from the naming business. I feel I’m not great at it.’
He was also very excited to meet Ibtida, the Dramatics Society of Hindu College, of which he happens to be the founder. He narrated tales of how even before coming to college he had planned on joining the Dramatics Society. The dilemma after coming was that there wasn’t any such society in Hindu at that time. ‘It was time that Ibtiba needed to come into being. And it did.’, he said.
The students seemed really delighted to meet him. One of the third years said, ‘He is so relatable. He is still as clueless about what he is going to do next as we are!’
After weeks of protests being organised at Hindu College due to the availability and facilities of the girls hostel, the Delhi Commission for Women has sought UGC’s response.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has issued fresh summons to the University Grants Commission (UGC), for the latter failed to respond to the earlier ones, say the members of the DCW. On the issue of the girls’ hostel of Hindu College, the DWC stood alongside the students who were protesting day and night. They sought a reply from the former as to there was a Rs. 30,000 difference in the fees of the girls’ and the boys’ hostel. This move was adopted after the panel had repeatedly written to the UGC seeking answers regarding the discriminatory hostel fee for the University as a whole, but they were not obliged with a response.
Protests have been circumventing the College for the past few days. They started with the students having foundational demands like reduction of fees for the girls’ hostel, similar curfew timings and rules in comparison to the boys’ hostel, the formation of a Student Council for them (like the one that exists in the boys’ Hostel) for facilitating communication between the administration and the students. The umbrella goal for these gatherings was to lobby for a clearly chalked out transparent admission process, where allotment of seats in the hostel would be made according to a cut-off list while maintaining the reserved seats for different categories.
The Commission also complained of many colleges within the University not having hostel for girls, making it even more difficult for them to come to Delhi and receive education. The girls who do come here are forced to live as paying guests in accommodations provided by private individuals who charge them exorbitantly.
The student protestors, apart from demanding equality in terms of rules and fees, also demanded an explanation as to why, after such long 117 years of the existence of the college, the authorities realised that girls also study here and they do need a roof under which they can stay. It is alarming that the realisation of the necessity of accommodation dawned upon them after decades, and yet the provision offered remains unaffordable to more than half of the population of this country.
Enactus, the global non-profit community which seeks to inspire action, has transformed communities in more than thirty-six countries with the help of visionary minds. Emphasising on the monumental impact of entrepreneurial action, the Enactus community has been working towards manifesting an independent world by generating employability through its unique projects. Colleges under the University of Delhi have established their presence through relentless efforts and have emerged successful in catering to the plethora of social issues plaguing thousands of lives. Here is a compilation of the events, projects, and achievements of the prominent Enactus societies of the University of Delhi.
Enactus Ramjas
The Ramjas chapter of this social venture commenced in 2011 and has successfully catered to three models of business since its inception. These include the Enactus Store, Project Bawarchi, and Project Transcreation. Enactus Store is an online platform which specifically caters to the products and services of Enactus teams all around the country. Project Transcreations seeks to help the transgender community to sustain their lives through providing them with entrepreneurial avenues such as cab driving, jewellery making, etc. They have also launched their very own beauty parlour in Saket solely run by transgenders. Project Bawarchi is a canteen exclusively being run by victims of drug and substance abuse near North Campus and is accompanied by food carts and tiffin delivery. The society has also conducted myriad events to serve the community this year. Under the umbrella of its Project Transcreations, Enactus Ramjas organised a transgender fashion show along with an LGBT pride march. It also conducted the biggest Enactus Festival in February of this year and saw a successful participation. Semi-finalists of Enactus Nationals 2016, the society has carried out more than 30 sensitisation campaigns related to drug abuse since the launch of the project.
Enactus Hindu
Conceptualised in 2014, Enactus Hindu launched its Project Veerangana in this academic session. The social endeavour aims to propagate safety ideals for all by transforming young, unemployed women into self-defence instructors. The previous social campaigns of the society include Project Shreshth and Project Oorja. Their pilot project, Shresth, transformed a group of financially dependent women from the Badli Industrial Area, Rohini into self-sufficient entrepreneurs who manufacture and market incense sticks under the brand name ‘Aanchal Aggarbatis’. Project Oorja strives to preserve environmental balance by providing clean solar lighting solutions to tackle the menace of rising carbon footprints. Under its current project, the society introduced a campaign titled ‘Be A Veerangana,’ and witnessed two months of intensive offline and online promotions, encouraging women to share instances of harassment and breaking the taboo around crimes. At Mecca 2017, the annual cultural festival of Hindu College, their team conducted ‘Road to Safety,’ a unique? simulation of the streets of Delhi, with the objective of raising awareness about simple safety measures which can come in handy in our day-to-day lives. The animal community was also served with its ‘Warmth for Paws’ initiative to provide clothes to street dogs with sweaters made from discarded woollens in the bitter cold months of December and January.
Enactus Khalsa
One of the youngest members of the Enactus community, the Khalsa chapter of the non-profit endeavour germinated in August of last year. While their pilot project is currently under development, they successfully organised an awareness campaign within the college. Titled #LetsMakeGodTalk, the students of the college were induced to deliberate upon the social sphere. On Daan Utsav, the society also organised a visit to a girls’ shelter home and spent a day there with the kids playing games and interacting with them.
Enactus Ramjas College
Enactus Hindu College
Enactus SGTB Khalsa College
Enactus Miranda House
An active member of the social community, Enactus Miranda House has been the launching pad of four successful initiatives since its inception in 2011. Namely Project Zaffran, Project Jazba, Project Tarang, and Project Daryaft, the society aims to boost the issues of financial dependency amongst the women community, strengthening the standing of acid-attack survivors, developing environmentally complementing products, and enhancing the tourism sector, respectively. This year, the society organised a seminar – ‘Astitva’ in relation to Project Jazba, along with a seminar with Mr. Vikramjit Singh Rooprai on the occasion of Heritage Day under Project Daryaft. The annual festival of Enactus Miranda House – Impressa 2017, was organised with the theme ‘Breaking Stereotypes,’ and witnessed events such as open mics and movie screenings. In addition to organising a waste collection drive, the society has also conceptualised an internship programme ranging from the Campus Ambassador Program to Synergy, the Winter Internship Program to propagate ideals of entrepreneurship and initiative.
Enactus SRCC
Perhaps the oldest member of the Enactus community, Enactus SRCC has been doing pertinent projects for a decade now. Some of their recent projects are as follows. Project Life On Wheels facilitates micro-credit for rickshaw pullers by enabling them to own their rickshaws. Project Aahaar is an initiative to rehabilitate underprivileged women by providing them with culinary training. Project Azmat was an endeavour to liberate manual scavengers by providing them with a sustainable source of livelihood through a development of a micro-enterprise and to facilitate construction of proper toilet systems. Project Sattva was an initiative to bring efficiency in India’s dairy sector by the rearing of high yielding cattle and value addition to milk through a mutually beneficial relationship. Project Asbah aimed at providing clean drinking water to rural households through the development and marketing of clay-based water filters produced by a community of potters. With projects like these, Enactus SRCC secured the second runners-up position at the Enactus Nationals 2016. They have received the prestigious KPMG grant and Walmart grant in recognition of the progress made by their projects.
Enactus Shaheed Bhagat Singh College
Since its formation in 2014, Enactus SBSC has come a long way with three socially relevant and inspiring initiatives. Their first project, Project Karva aimed at the upliftment of women. Under Project Roshni, visually impaired people were taught how to make candles as an attempt to become independent as well as self-sustaining. Inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, they conceptualised their third project, Project Aahar, which seeks to provide affordable as well as hygienic food to people in need. Other than the projects, two fundraising campaigns were conducted this year. From 5th-7th October 2016, Campaign Umeed took place where members sold bookmarks and notebooks made by the specially challenged children of Deepalaya School. On the 109th birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh under Campaign Anghaar, candles made by the visually impaired to the students of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College were sold. Campaign Sparsh addressed the women residing at Anand Parbat and introduced them to NGO GOONJ’s ‘My Pad’ – a kit that contains undergarments, sanitary pads, and a manual on menstrual health. They also addressed the issue of child sexual abuse as it is one of the major evils surrounding Anand Parbat through organising interactive activities for the children and showing videos that demonstrated the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching.
Enactus Miranda House
Enactus SRCC
Enactus SBSC
Enactus Maitreyi College
Established in 2014, Enactus Maitreyi is currently working in collaboration with the National Coalition of People Living with HIV on their third project – Project Samya. True to its name, Project Samya aims at bringing equality to women affected with HIV who are evidently socially excluded and are often forced to quit their jobs. Enactus Maitreyi’s first project, Unnayan, helped the women of Mayur Vihar to make and market a liquid dishwasher, ‘Clean Ninja’ for them to become self-reliant. They launched their second project, Swadhin in 2016, with the aim of helping the physically impaired community by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills. This year the society started its own plantation drive. Other than this, Enactus Maitreyi purchased stationery items for the specially-abled students of Anukriti School, with its own funds by keeping aside INR 2 from the sale of every product. To raise funds, Enactus Maitreyi launched a fundraising campaign called,#IDidMyBit, which was conducted over a period of 2 months. A photo booth in Connaught Place was also created to raise money.
Enactus Sri Venkateswara College
Conceived in 2015, Enactus Sri Venkateswara College has been appreciated for its innovation and uniqueness of projects. The society has successfully churned out three projects, namely Project Captain Compost, Project Aushadhi, and Project CiggB. Project Captain Compost aims to provide a solution to the garbage menace in the city while uplifting the social and economic status of ragpickers at the same time, and Project Aushadhi merged the two issues of homelessness and medicinal waste. Winner of the Blue Dart Grant worth INR 40,000, the society launched Project CiggB this year which focuses on the disposal and recycle of used cigarette butts. To establish a communal outreach, they organised stalls in the fests of Hindu College, Indraprastha College for Women, Kamala Nehru College among others, along with stalls and exhibitions under ‘Heartist,’ where they provided a platform for street artists to showcase their skills and sell their products. In association with ‘People for Animals’ and Enactus SRCC, Enactus SVC also set up a winter cloth collection drive in December 2016. They have also collaborated with ‘Parivartan’, the social service society of Sri Venkateswara College for interaction and skill development of slum children and organised a special event for them to celebrate Children’s Day.
Enactus Hans Raj
A cognizant member of the Enactus community, Hansraj College’s Enactus has been running four projects since its commencement in 2011. Project Lekhni has been successful in helping five women from Jhandewalan to rise from the status of victims to the masters of their lives, Project Boond seeks to solve the problem of clean drinking water for the underprivileged masses by providing them with low-cost water purifiers that run without electricity, and Project Mithaas is an endeavour aimed towards providing a stable source of income to farmers in India by encouraging them to adopt beekeeping as a practice. Enactus HRC conceptualised Project Aaangan this year to provide day-care facilities to working women of lower income strata. Winner of the Best Project for showcasing the spirit of VEER at Enactus Nationals 2016, Enactus HRC has, in addition, conducted a donation drive for Project Aangan. Aashayein’16 was an initiative for the kids of an NGO Navjyoti to help them experience the dream they wished to live. It was a small drive by Enactus Hans Raj to fulfill wishes and spark a fire in them by overcoming challenges.
Vivre – The Film and Photography Society of Hindu College was formed with the aim of bringing together students who share a love for photography and an eye for filmmaking. Every year Vivre organises SNAP – The annual Photography festival which is the biggest in DU with participation from various universities. Snap, now in its 7th edition, organises events such as workshops, talks, discussions and an exhibition is set up showcasing our best work along with the winning entries. This year Snap featured Asutosh Kashyap along with the members of People’s Instagram page India in Black! Snap was a 2 day event this year.
Day 1
The audience was mesmerised by the talks of Mr. Dinesh Khanna and Mr. Gulzar Sethi. It was not an ordinary interaction session, it was a session which enlightened our paths as young photographers. Gulzar Sethi’s team also accompanied him to Hindu College, and personally guided our society members. It was a cherishable experience for all of us. After the talk, BRC took the eminent photographers on a ride full of creativity and imagination. On that day BRC was capturing the essence of SNAP, and inside of it was a magical world of photograph entries from across the country. Mr. Dinesh Khanna judged the entries on the theme ‘colour’ and shared some dazzling techniques on how to play with given camera tools. Mr. Gulzar Sethi judged the competition themed ‘manipulation’. Later, both of them shared their views on the photographs shot by our society members and taught a better way of looking at the world from behind the lens. We wrapped up the day by capturing our blissful moments with Mr. Dinesh and Mr. Gulzar Sethi.
Day 2
At 6:00 am it started. Yes. With sleepy eyes, in nightwear and camera in hands, our society members along with the members of India In Black, were ready to capture one of the most captivating sights in Delhi – Chandni Chowk. It was a memorable experience for all of us. And back at Hindu College, at 10 am, BRC was casted upon, with the society members’ photographs. At 1:00 pm, the photography treasure hunt started and one could easily find people running from one side of the college to another. And then the highlight of the second day was the Boomerang competition, themed on the famous melody of Shape of You by Ed Sheeran. Contestants were given 20 minutes to make a Boomerang and we received amazing entries, some dedicated to social causes like body shaming.
We wrapped up the last day of SNAP with hopes of making the next edition more exciting and entertaining to the young hotographers.
Watch the incredible work of the society in this hyperlapse video here.
A few prestigious institutions under the University of Delhi, namely, St. Stephen’s College, Hindu College, Ramjas College, Shri Ram College of Commerce and colleges run by theDelhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, have expressed the desire of achieving a deemed university status. The proposals are at very initial stages, but if granted, these colleges will have the power to formulate their own rules and fee structures which will not adhere to the functioning of Delhi University.
The matter was raised in the governing body meeting of Hindu college, and it was declared that in later stages if a college wants a deemed university status, they must have an ‘A grade’ accreditation under NAAC for 3 consecutive years. A senior university official stated, “Few colleges like SRCC, Stephen’s, Ramjas, Hindu and the ones run by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee want deemed university status. The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has also formulated some norms for providing more autonomy to colleges but deemed status will give them complete freedom of functioning on their own”. It has been speculated that if this status is granted to any of these colleges, they will not be bound by any of the rules and regulations of Delhi University, and thus there will be no need to seek sanctions from the University for any decision. Despite of all these proposals, it has also been speculated that the Student Unions of these colleges might oppose this move because the college will then have a liberty of deciding their own fee structure, and thus there might be a price hike in the fee which would make affordability a great reason of concern for many students.
St. Stephen’s College has already been in a tussle with the University of Delhi for the past couple of years regarding an autonomous status. Attempts to reach out to the Student Union of the college for their comments were unsuccessful.
In the wake of mass molestation at Bengaluru which sent shock waves around the nation, colleges in University of Delhi (DU) are going a step ahead by encouraging students to enroll for self-defence classes, and some are even imparting skill development training to empower.
Kirori Mal College (KMC) organised a 15 day long self-defence training camp for girls in collaboration with Delhi Police. “It’s difficult to change the sick mindset in our country. Women empowerment should be more than a slogan. Through this self-defence training, we will enable girls to defend themselves when in need” says Nikhil Agrawal, a third year student of the college. The program which is an initiative of SAHAS – Women Empowerment Cell of the NSS unit of the college started on January 9th.
Hindu College also started a self-defence and skill development program called Project Veerangana. An initiative of Enactus Hindu, the program imparts basic self-defence training for women and also helps them to turn their self-defence skills into a source of livelihood. “The objective of our project is not to just impart self-defence training to women but also help them become young entrepreneurs so that they can market their skills for a basic livelihood and teach more women how to be safe,” said Vishruti Jain, president of Enactus Hindu College. Under a three-tier process, the first 10 days saw a workshop conducted by the special police unit for women and children in association with Evergreen Public School. The self-defence workshop included 40 school students and 30 women from the slum area. After the training process, these women will in turn impart lessons to the other women under the supervision of colleges and schools. The program plans to impart lessons of entrepreneurship and communications to them, so that they can earn a livelihood by imparting these lessons in schools and colleges.
Satyawati College has also begun its self defence training program for girls which would be of 15 days beginning from 20th January. This initiative is being taken up by the NSS unit of the college in collaboration with Delhi Police Ashok Vihar police station. Rashi Nimi, the NSS vice president of Satyawati College says, “Crime is increasing day-by-day and so are the numbers of molestation cases. In such times, it is important that women be empowered in whatever way they can be. The students are very happy that such programs are being conducted, and if the response is good, we will organise it again.”
With growing cases of molestation in colleges and DU being a top choice of meritorious girls across the country, the colleges are serious towards ensuring safety of their students.
The Literary society of Hindu College organised a discussion on the pop icon’s win of the Nobel Prize and how it’ll affect the contours of literature and popular culture.
The ground of discussion was the contribution of Dylan in the Counter Culture movement in the US and how his music has had a universal appeal in prompting masses to sing the same lyrics in unison. Dylan’s non affiliation to any political organisation or party gave him the license to address the excesses of the American government, be it the arms race during the cold war or the civil rights movement.
The discussion also investigated the roots of poetry and the oral tradition and the connection between the two. Dylan’s penchant to create a mix of politically critical commentary with folk music was associated with traditional forms of poetry, which employ similar instruments.
In the wake of Belarusian journalist Svetlana Alexievich winning the prize in 2015 and Dylan following suit, the global community’s realisation to go beyond traditional definitions of literature was also discussed. Some participants also raised the fact that close to none of the popular authors have won the prize yet, making the Swedish Academy elitist in its definition of what constitutes literature. The prize given to Dylan ‘for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition’ was acknowledged by the singer – songwriter five days after the announcement, on his official website. But no sooner than the academy heaved a sigh of relief that Dylan removed the mention from his website. The mention read ‘winner of the Nobel prize in literature’. The participants also discussed the delay on the part of Dylan and his perceived unpleasant attitude.
That the prize was symbolic in the sense of giving boost to alternate forms of literature was acknowledged by the participants, who at the end of the discussion contemplated the future of the award and literature.
Featured Image Credits: The Literary Society, Hindu College
