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In light of the recent condemnable events surrounding IPCW college, DU Beat’s print editor, Anwesh Banerjee, spoke to Dr. Maya John, a professor of Jesus and Mary College and an alma mater of Delhi University about the need for women to reclaim spaces within college campuses and the collective efforts necessary to shape university spaces into more safe, equitable and democratic ones.

 

Anwesh: We have with us Dr. Maya John, assistant professor of history at Jesus and Mary College. She was also the first female president of St. Stephens College student union during her tenure there as a student from 2003-2006. We are here to discuss the issues that have been transpiring lately at the IPCW campus, but before we jump into that, we know that you have played a seminal role in the history of fighting for spaces for women. It’s been almost twenty years since you fought that fight, stood on your claims, and twenty years later, as a professor in the same university space, how do you react to the current situation?

Dr. John: Thank you for giving me an opportunity to share my insights and also sum up the disappointment that stems from the experiences that are repeating themselves in a space like Delhi University. In response to your question, I would say that, of course, the Delhi University campuses have proven to be very unsafe spaces for women students, karamcharis and teachers. The reality is that, it’s not just an unsafe space in terms sexual harassment being a pervasive problem, but it’s also a space that is highly unequal, therefore it’s a very contentious space. One’s own experience, as you trace it back to my student days – twenty years back, this was precisely the nature of the university. It was this prestigious space that was admitting women students, researchers, and teachers; but remained a space wherein structural inequality was embedded. Premier colleges like Stephens, Hindu, etc. in the early 2000s did not have adequate residential facilities for women students. Most who came from outside Delhi struggled in off-campus accommodations, and the women out-station students were often victims of sexual harassment at the hands of landlords, experienced rampant street harassment when commuting, etc. Women students were pushed out of campuses after 4 or 5 in the evening, leading to restricted involvement of women in co-curriculars and other contributions.

We fought this battle for equality in the university space, equality in something so fundamental as residential accommodations. So back in the 2000s we launched a campaign for more women’s hostels and safe neighborhoods. In present times it has taken newer forms, because it still remains an unaddressed issue. Even though the University of Delhi and colleges within have opened up hostels over the last decade, there aren’t enough, plus they are too expensive, especially the new hostels. It is worrying to see how their admin functions in a very ‘disciplinarian’ undemocratic way, instituting rules that don’t reflect the times, the demands and needs of the students. Thirdly, to demonstrate the existence of a systemic gender bias, everytime we have festivals like Holi being celebrated on campus, it’s always women staying in hostels that are held hostage – women can’t step out, are locked in, while men staying in hostels, especially post graduate ones take out these filthy rallies outside women’s hostels for hours. Most of the time these practices are within the knowledge of the proctor’s office of DU, yet no actions are taken to stop these activities. When I was staying in a post-grad women’s hostel, we were writing representations one week before Holi regarding not wanting to be held hostage and we demanded a stoppage on the rallies by male students – to no effect. The university authorities brushed it aside claiming it to be a tradition and saying they would be accompanied by police. That was even more ridiculous, to have police accompany a rally of men who are drunk and are taking over the street and making public movement difficult. This is the kind of tradition one has seen. I would also connect a lot of what we are seeing in IP college – the incident on 28th March and the subsequent crackdown on students who are asking for accountability, raising a question for why did such a security lapse happen, and I just want to explain this event in terms of a longer history of a lot of institutional apathy, tolerance for sexual harassment, and complicity of institutions in this culture of sexual harassment.

Interestingly, IP College, around 2008 was besieged by a similar incident of women students of the college being attacked by groups of men, being groped and molested. This incident was at the hands of men who had come to appear in neighboring government schools for the Delhi Police constabulary exam. Not only were the IP women a large number of victims that day. Since men had appeared for the exam across different areas, there must have been in different parts of the city similar horrible experiences for women who were molested by mobs of men who couldn’t of course be easily identified. IP college of course saw a huge protest. The then vice chancellor was questioned in terms of why his team did not know that an exam of this sort would be happening in many areas in the campus, why was there no increase in security, why the DU admin was not registering a formal complaint, etc. Questions were also asked of the police and higher authorities as to why was the police not willing to cancel the exam? These men were to become policemen themselves and how could the authorities let them get away. It was very important to send out a public message by cancelling the exam because of the way the candidates behaved. Look at the extent of institutional apathy, there was a crackdown by the principal back then asking students not to protest and the Delhi police never agreed to cancel the exam. The issue went right up to the home ministry of the Government of India. That’s the level to which sexual harassment in these institutions is brushed under the carpet and normalized. It becomes the mainstream narrative that – victims are exaggerating it, it wasn’t that bad. Even right now in IP, the college administration is asking for a proof and is denying that mass sexual harassment actually happened, whereas students actually have so much to share on what exactly went down that night.  Because of this larger institutional apathy that goes right up to the top brass, it’s not surprising that the university and the local police stations continue to turn a blind eye to these experiences, and make them seem as if they are never that big in scale, and that incidents are actually being exaggerated by women who have lost their minds.

The second thing I wanted to bring in today in terms of experiences under institutional apathy which breeds a lot of sexism and unhealthy culture through inequality of access. Let us turn to how Delhi University treats scores of women students who are so vulnerable; i.e., the women students who come for a few handful classes on Sundays and gazetted holidays under the School of Open Learning (SOL) of Delhi University. The way these women are treated is ridiculous. Everyone from officials to guards at SOL treat these women as if they shouldn’t be there on campus, treat them like dirt. It’s also about how university spaces are considered as somebody’s “Raj”, some people treat it as if it’s their private property and not a public space that needs to be shared, that needs to be safe, and that needs to be egalitarian. The way these women of SOL are treated like cattle, shoved into classrooms – 200/300 of them in one class, then shoved out of campuses after their few annual classes. This is supported by high-handed measures like notices being put up in SOL centres about how women shouldn’t comb their hair, and take selfies in corridors on campus. These institutional actions perpetuate the ideas of the patriarchal gaze, and can actually translate so easily int someone misbehaving with these women, especially because they are treated as if they don’t belong here in DU.

DU very often has not made itself a safe space, egalitarian space for so many people, including women. The problem is going to keep coming up, there is always going to be an effort to deny it, brush it under the carpet. That is why students, women’s activists have to protest. It is ridiculous to see the way Delhi police is being mobilized to crush democratic students’ protests so easily. But where are they, and why are they not mobilized as a preemptive measure to situations like these in college fests. So obviously, this is a very selective use of policing and it reflects more on the insensitivity of institutions and administrators. Therefore it’s something we need to keep fighting.

Anwesh: I am so glad you brought up the 2008 incident, that’s a part of the research I have been reading up on, because this was not an isolated event. Just last year we had the horrific incident at Miranda house, and that wasn’t a lesson enough. You were talking about the police force and there was this picture a photojournalist from our team took at arts faculty the day the protest was. It felt as if we were in some sort of a riot looking at the amount of security personnel deployed in the arts faculty.  People could not move, there was a traffic jam. This also brings me to the idea of institutional apathy that was so beautifully elaborated upon.

Right now, Shambhavi who is a student from IPCW is under a show cause notice, since they were one of the most vocal students when it came to asking for accountability. That also brings to light this history that exists in this public university which is supposed to stand for the liberal arts and everything that’s democratic and egalitarian. Whenever you ask for this accountability there’s a certain kind of repression and suppression that happens as far as your voice is concerned. There are two students that have currently been suspended from giving examinations because of their attempt to screen the BBC documentary, Shambhavi is under a show cause notice. It’s also very interesting that this event happened 5 years ago as well, after the 2017 incident at Ramjas where the lives of so many students and professors went into danger because of their attempt to claim their academic space and the right to have an academic discussion. From what I know, you were also denied admission in a Masters programme at St Stephens, which is why you had to go to Miranda House to pursue your degree. As someone who has also undergone this fight, how do you deal with this even after so many years and how do students make sense of asking for their basic rights, or seek accountability and also for students around them who come from faraway places to this university to fight for their basic rights? They don’t find it in themselves to ask these questions because this is the kind of repression you are met with when you ask these questions. So how do you reconcile this entire situation with this kind of fear?

Dr. John: See, being an activist right from my student days, I have learnt it the hard way. One way is that you tackle people’s hesitation and you also tackle the concrete victimization through of course being very strategic in the way you plan the next level of your agitation. It is crucial to take as many students and participants along so you don’t get isolated. Next, it also means tapping networks, preparing the struggle in a way in which you are also putting pressure on the authorities from multiple dimensions. If the students of one particular institution are pitched against their administration, that’s not enough. The college admin needs to be made to feel pressurized from other areas. It would be interesting in this case to see how other groups – student groups, women’s organisations, women’s activists, alumni – how they get galvanized and put pressure on not just the concerned college administration in the centre of the storm, but generally even on everyone else who is accountable for an untoward incident. Everyone from DU’s big wigs, to the college principal, to the Delhi Commission for Women, to the Delhi Police needs to be held accountable and asked as to why was this incident allowed to happen. Putting pressure from different forces and dimensions becomes important.

Secondly, you have to fight, because if you don’t fight, you don’t get anything. If you stand up, you keep the collective mobilization going, you’d be able to challenge the apathy and change the general ambience that people in the administration work with, i.e., the yeh toh chalta hai approach. So, as long as you fight back and you keep that going, and you connect and build the next phase of the movement in a strategic way, you do push for accountability. Whoever’s in powerful offices feels the pressure. Am sure the principal is currently having her own share of sleepless nights. My point is, we have to remember that it’s the continuous efforts that end in important change. If you don’t fight, nothing will change. If you fight, bring people together, then of course it is one important step in democratizing the way universities function. Because remember it is still a university space, it cannot get as hostile as a workplace or the world outside. So if you can bring them to their knees, which is a relatively more cushioned space – the university, then it’s an important battle the women students are winning.

Anwesh: Absolutely. There were two final questions I wanted to conclude the discussion with. The first being, because you are also a professor of history I wanted to ask, whenever these debates about university spaces come in there is also a lot of literature and writing that is produced in terms of how DU, especially the north campus is constructed as a space. It’s not a closed campus, like you have in private universities. There are students literally staying in very residential parts of Vijay Nagar or Kamala Nagar. Then in the centre of these spaces, you have these spread out college campuses. Almost 80% students don’t have access to the hostel spaces, only the top scorers can avail these. Others have to resort to taking flats or pgs in nearby areas, which has turned the entire accommodation business into such a thriving one, who exploit these students. I myself have so many female friends and gender minority friends who have been sexually harassed and assaulted by landlords, and have been in very vulnerable positions. They are staying far away from their families, who they can’t even inform about these situations. Do you think this sort of architectural structuring of the university space also plays into this narrative for the space not being safe enough for the university students? If yes, then is there any solution to finding a way around this?

Dr. John: One major change that is needed is for the university to create more of its own accommodation. When I say the university needs to provide for as many needy and outstation students, it also has to be an affordable accommodation. As I had mentioned a few minutes back, even the hostels made over last 10-12 years are very expensive and the facilities provided are very questionable. I believe all of us know about the Rajiv Gandhi undergraduate women’s hostel and all problems there which triggered protests by the women residents. So, it’s an important struggle that pushes the university to provide for safe and affordable accommodation with proper facilities. I feel that making Delhi University a closed campus is something we will not be able to immediately achieve, and even if it became a closed campus, it doesn’t guarantee that within DU classrooms, within college buildings, lawns, etc. sexual harassment won’t happen and that the incidents will not be continuously brushed under the carpet. Let’s face it, a closed campus is not such an important solution. What is important is that we equalize the space. It means we provide residential accommodation, more of it, so that students, especially women are not left in these vulnerable conditions and paying through their nose just to be able to come and study here.

Anwesh: Ya, the beauty of the university is that it is such an open campus. That is why when I read such arguments it really annoys me so much because that is the beauty of this campus. Okay, just the last question before we end this interview. Like you said, there are so many authorities and institutions, whenever such incidents happen, women and gender minorities are asked to prove and this entire culture of “yeh toh chalta hai” and probably “aap toh zaada bol rahe ho”, it’s something not to be worried about. This entire culture has placed women and other minorities at this position wherein they have to prove their oppression. Yesterday, I was out a little late in the night and I was coming back, I saw the North Campus claim the night march – something that has been going on for a while now and so what do you think is the role of these groups like Dastak, which are coming together, motivating women to go out and spend entire night reading, talking to each other, walking the campus and claiming the night. What other ways are there to show that these stories are real stories and the institutions need to believe us when we say this has happened to us, this violence is real, which we face on a daily basis?

Dr. John:  These are interesting and important initiatives, these marches etc. But as I said, a lot of bad experiences of sexual harassment and being denied democratic access to university spaces don’t happen necessarily only in the night. Our fighting for safer, more democratic spaces in DU requires us to build many other kinds of struggles, movements and initiatives. I would suggest addressing one important cause such as the state of lakhs of women students languishing like second class citizens in DU SOL. Fighting that battle, getting them more classes and access to the university facilities, and basically getting so many more women on campus would make a big difference to the nature of the campus. I definitely think there are many structural things that need to change which will make the university space truly more inclusive and truly more sensitive. Of course, while night marches and awareness building are important, it’s also about how democratized is the space in the morning hours, how many more women have quality access to the university and thirdly the way our hostel facilities function – their in-timing and out-timing need to be rationalized. The culture of locking up women at 9 is really not the solution because again having lonely roads outside campus after 9 is not something that helps or makes the space necessarily safe. So even the way in which existing university rules function, when a woman can enter or leave hostel are all initiatives that we need to fight for.

Anwesh: Thank you so much ma’am. Thank you so much for raising the issue of the SOL as well, because that is something we don’t really talk a lot about in the mainstream as much as we do about other issues, and it’s not as burning an issue as claiming spaces and seeking visibility is. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview on such a short notice. We genuinely hope that people do realize that the IPCW struggle is not an isolated struggle; it’s a part of a larger history of fighting for and reclaiming spaces in this University.

Following the detainment of student protestors against the harassment of women students at IPCW on Wednesday 29th March, Delhi Police has further detained numerous individuals during SFI and AISA protests at Arts Faculty on Friday, 31st March.

On Friday, 31st March 2023, student protestors at Arts Faculty in North Campus were brutally detained by Delhi Police and dragged towards buses to transport them to the police station. The protestors included individual students along with members of the Student’s Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students Association (AISA).

The SFI and AISA attempted to stage a peaceful protest outside Indraprastha College for Women gates. However, due to heavy police deployment at the IPCW campus, the protest was shifted to Arts Faculty. The “Azadi March” from Miranda House to the Arts Faculty soon invited police crackdown. The police have not only detained several student protestors but, allegedly, also innocent bystanders and media personnel. SFI and AISA have alleged that the activists have been ‘manhandled’ and ‘harassed’ by the police.

I took out my phone and showed them my media ID but one of the officers didn’t listen and continued dragging me towards their bus,” – Bharish, a DU Beat photographer covering the protest.

A release by AISA DU dated 31st March, 2023 states, “We call for immediate termination of Satender Yadav, the ACP Civil Lines. He has ordered a brutal crackdown on AISA’s Azadi March and has himself manhandled Anjali, AISA DU Secretary.”

SFI and AISA have been calling for protests ever since the Indraprastha College for Women’s fest was marred by unknown men. On 28th March 2023, Indraprastha College for Women hosted its annual fest, during which several drunk men scaled the college walls and harassed women students. The miscreants wrote and chanted vulgar and obnoxious messages and created an unsafe space for the fest-goers. There was alleged inaction from the administration or police to control the chaos. Since then, the principal has also failed to address the matter. 

The student organisations have demanded that Delhi Police and the IPCW administration take accountability for allowing the situation to take place and not providing adequate punishment to the unknown men behind the situation. They have also demanded to know the reasoning behind Delhi Police letting the perpetrators behind a similar situation at Miranda get away despite escorting them out of Miranda House at the time. 

Today’s protest at the Arts Faculty follows a similar scene observed on Wednesday, 29th March at the IPCW Campus where student protestors were detained at Burari Police Station. 

This is a very sad state of affairs which is happening from last few months. We are seeing how administration with the help of police has been dealing with the students who have been peacefully protesting against the events that are happening in the university campus.” – Samaa, Co-convener at SFI DU. 

Allegedly, the classroom windows of IPCW have been covered with sheets to ignore the protests happening outside. Individuals present at today’s protest also allege that the walls of IPCW have also been painted saffron.  Students, along with the support of SFI and AISA have been demanding answers from the administration for the past few days, staging protests in an attempt to receive an answer from the authorities. These protests have so far been met with inaction from the University of Delhi and brutal action from Delhi Police.

Read Also: Delhi Police Detains Student Protestors at IPCW

Feature Image Credits:

Bhavya Nayak

[email protected]

On Wednesday, 29th March 2023, Delhi Police brutally detained student protestors calling for Delhi Police and the IPCW college administration to take accountability for the lack of repercussions towards the unidentified intruders at IPCW’s fest.

On 29 March 2023, the Students Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students Association (AISA) gathered around Indraprastha College for Women to protest against the incursion by unidentified men on the previous day, on the day of the college’s fest, demanding questions from the authorities for the same. The protest, which started at about 11 a.m., was interrupted by Delhi Police, and they started detaining the protestors hardly 20 minutes into the protest. There was a protest inside the college by the students of IPCW as well.

On 28 March 2023, during the annual fest of the college, several drunk men scaled the boundaries of the institution and harassed the women students. Students who were waiting at the entry gate formed a huge crowd on the verge of a stampede. Allegedly,  there were no security measures in place except the gate not letting the people in. Soon enough, several men started causing havoc by climbing the trees and walls and jumping inside the premises.

The miscreants were screaming slogans of “jai shree ram” etc. and were hooted on by all other men in the crowd. One of the IPCW people (either someone from admin or security) jumped on the wall to calm everyone down and then the gates were opened to everyone, irrespective of whether they registered, or had student or govt ids, as a last-minute emergency action.,” – Molina Singh, a student who was in the crowd.

The drunk miscreants who allegedly smuggled alcohol and drugs inside the campus also took to hooliganism holding placards displaying obnoxious and vulgar slogans. Students present there reported use of slogans like, “Miranda nahi chhoda to IP bhi nahi chhodenge” (We didn’t leave Miranda so we won’t leave IP either), “We are single”, “Hindu ka yeh naara hain, IP college humara hain” (Hindu raises this slogan, IP college is ours). The harassment and vandalism continued while several women were escorted out by the organisers. 

 The miscreants wrote vulgar and obnoxious texts and flashed them to the female crowd

According to the students, the hooligans also tried to scale the walls of the IPCW hostel post which the entire college was locked down with students inside as per the instructions of the administration. 

The harm was verbal. They also would not stop shouting slogans of a certain religion and grouping up, and they were approaching random friends of mine, or ogling others down. There were Dettol bottles in hands of volunteers who were nursing wounds, ambulances were called, and we heard that a certain man blacklisted on the first day of the fest due to harassment of students had entered again” – an attendant in conversation with DU Beat

The police personnel present there were not proactive in stopping the vandalism. While the police officials stated that an FIR was lodged against 7 men, the protestors sought a chargesheet of the same which was not provided.

Students, who assembled to protest the following day demanding answers from the administration, were manhandled. Students also reported being groped. Reportedly, some people were severely bruised due to the manhandling and then detained at Burari Police Station in an attempt to disrupt the protest. The detainees were later released. 

After releasing us, they wanted to deport us back to IPCW so that the authorities could abuse us more but we refused and decided to walk out of the police station to go back by ourselves. We were extremely, violently manhandled and the police wanted our details even though they had no criminal proceedings against us,” – Titas Goswami, a third-year student from Miranda House in conversation with DU Beat

A press release, dated 29 March 2023, by the SFI DU stated, “Women are being harassed and mishandled inside the campus. When they decide to register their dissent against it, they are again harassed and mishandled by the police.”

It was reported by the volunteers of the fest, that a footfall of 10,000 people was expected. While the admin rejected the idea of having external security, the 20-21 students themselves were reportedly asked to control it. The miscreants were vandalising the walls and the admin allegedly asked for all gates to be shut down. The gates were only opened up for the car of a professor to be checked in when the pushing and shoving happened and that’s when the stampede started. Reportedly, people also tried to harass the professor inside the car and started piling and falling up.

Men started purposefully pushing the girls and then piling upon them, emerging with victorious smiles. Volunteers had to drag the girls out. People started panicking and there were no medical facilities available. One of our volunteers broke her leg in the stampede. Some girls had panic attacks while the men were trying to touch them inappropriately in the pretence of helping them.” – an anonymous member of the organising committee

 

After the ruckus volunteers were asked by the principal to escort the girls out. We were told to inform them that if they wanted to save their lives they must leave. And during the ruckus, the police instead started hitting our non-teaching staff volunteers and guards.” – an anonymous volunteer

A video of the principal alongside some identified Union members enjoying and dancing while this whole ruckus has also surfaced once making the students question the Accountability of the administration even more. 

After the entire chaos happened, the administration gave permission to complete the fest with the remaining students. A video has also surfaced showing the principal dancing alongside some students.

Similar incidents have occurred most recently at Miranda House’s Diwali Fest and before at Gargi College’s Reverie 2020. The continuation of such occurrences makes it appear that fests at women’s institutions are in danger. Although the DU Administration and Police are skilled in detaining protesters past destruction, the lack of such security as preventive measures results in hazy situations.

Read Also: Discovering DU: Indraprastha College for Women

Feature Image Credits: Unknown

Hritwik Pratim Kalyan

[email protected]

Yet another fee hike issue surfaced at IP College for Women as the administration issued the 2019-2020 hostel prospectus with the revised fee structure, which had a considerable rise. Hostel residents were distressed to find the 12,750 increase for new admissions and the semester wise re-admissions.

The college hostels, Kalavati Gupta hostel and the off-campus IP hostel with 280 and 180 seats respectively, boast one of the largest accommodational capacity of DU college hostels but the hike which was claimed as “unreasonable and exorbitant” by residents has put an excessive amount of pressure on the parents who prioritize the safe accommodation of their wards. “At the end of the day, we are forced to pay whatever the administration has put in the prospectus to keep our hostel seat. We really don’t have a choice except to cough up the extra amount for no added facilities,” said one resident on the condition of anonymity. The hostel fee which was 69,900 a semester last year has become 82,650 this year for new admissions and 74,550 from 61,900 for re-admission. IP college hostels already charge almost double the amount that other DU college hostels like Miranda House charge (32,190 for one semester) and this is why this hike has been called preposterous by the residents.

 

The residents are frequently plagued by numerous issues and the Hostel General Body meeting does more to humiliate the residents who bring up such problems than to amicably resolve them. The hostel seats are allotted based on merit for first years and 75% attendance for second and third years. Residents with low attendance are routinely singled out and their ‘privileges’ like the 10:30 p.m. late nights took away and the 8000 caution deposit forfeited. Requests of residents of the AC rooms, which sometimes becomes the last resort of students with low attendance and hence taken reluctantly, to shift to non-AC rooms upon the availability is also overlooked generally, even after improving their attendance. They have to pay 20,000 extra for the air-conditioning facility every semester, irrespective of the season or the actual usage.

 

Another predicament that the residents found themselves in was the rule to vacate the hostel exactly a day after the university exams end in April, even though they pay the fees for 11 months. Applications of some students who couldn’t book return tickets in time were not entertained and told they would be considered defaulters if they ‘overstay’.

 

The Hostel Union remains powerless in front of the administration, even issues like quality of drinking water have been dismissed baseless in the general body meetings by the administration. Many students who find it difficult to afford such high fees still prefer the college hostel just because of the safety concerns and this hike has made it even more difficult for them. The residents wonder why a government institution which should ideally provide affordable accommodation has such high fees in the first place, why there is no transparency and what is the necessity of this sudden unexplained 18% hike.

 

Anjana Krishna

[email protected]

The University of Delhi (DU) is famous for a lot of things. From the food to the gala experience the University offers, there’s something more that lies hidden in plain sight, something that’s at the heart of DU’s life: the acclaimed architecture with its glorious history. Dig in deep to explore how Indraprastha College for Women stands as one of the tall bearers of DU’s proud architectural history.

Fests? Check.

fest

Politics? Check.

election

Protests? Check.

protest

Apart from the quintessential characteristics which are often associated with the University of Delhi, one seemingly evident, yet highly ignored one is that of the architectural history that the University has to offer, be it to its students, professors or the celebrities and stars.

Bollywood has been a great contributor in bringing out the campus life on the big screen, showcasing DU to the world; mirroring the liberty, expressions,  and emotions which buzz through the DU experience.

Shooting of the film Raazi (2018) at Miranda House, University of Delhi
Shooting of the film Raazi (2018) at Miranda House, University of Delhi

The architectural history of DU is one which is associated with the culture of British architecture, remnants of the freedom struggle, the graffiti art, walls of democracy, and well, the famous red walls.

It is this heritage of the architectural history, which DU has carried forward with itself. This heritage that has survived the tests of times and has become an integral part of the college and University experience a student gains here at DU.

Looking up at the architectural history, Indraprastha College for Women is one such gem of DU that boasts of a rich and glorious past.

Indraprastha College for Women- 95 years of excellence.
Indraprastha College for Women- 95 years of excellence.

Formerly the residence-cum-office of the British Army’s Commander-in-Chief, the college is famous for its quiet ambience transporting you back to the era of the British the moment you step into its campus.

Being the oldest women’s college of the University, the college offers the charm of the past in its aura. Founded by Annie Besant, the college still speaks of its glorious past, both via the structures as well as the discussions in the campus.

The college building has been declared a heritage building by the Government of NCT of Delhi, as well as a recognised heritage site, thereby strengthening the deep historical ties the college holds with history.

The colonial architecture greets you as soon as you step into the college, with the presence of two pavilions situated at the entry that comprise of the elegant Roman Tuscan columns.

As one moves ahead and stands before the main heritage building, the rich infrastructure captures attention. The British colonial architecture featuring wide arches, massive wooden doors, square columns, and a pristine white building against the backdrop of a small fountain, gives the college the appearance of being straight out of an English classic.

The college also comprises of a museum and archives centre wherein lies an amazing collection of photographs, artefacts, articles and magazines which date back to the early 1920s.

So, what are you waiting for? The rich history of IP College awaits for you to discover it!

Feature Image Credits: Times of India, Hindustan Times, DU Beat Archives.

Amrashree Mishra

[email protected]

 

The course fee of BMMMC offered at Indraprastha College for Women was hiked from INR 67,845 to 1,00,845. The sudden hike has left students feeling discontented.

On 3rd July 2019, Indraprastha College for Women issued a notice stating that the fee of the Bachelor’s in Multimedia and Mass Communication  (BMMMC) course had been increased from INR 67,845 to INR 1,00,845. In the annual fee breakdown, the course fee was increased from INR 15,000 to INR 44,000. 

The sudden move has been met with backlash from the students. “This is unfair to the students from marginalised communities. The University of Delhi (DU) is a public university. We expected the fee to be lower here. The course is an autonomous course but increasing the fee to 1 lakh is absurd,” said a second-year student. 

Another student added, “It”s almost a two-fold increase in the fee structure. Last year, the it was around INR 67,000. We understand that the University calls BMMMC a self-financed course, but this sudden hike is exorbitant.” 

According to the college prospectus of the academic year 2018-19, the fees for the first-year students was INR 82,000 which included development fee and establishment charges. The fees for the second and third year was set to INR 67,845. The college has now hiked the fee for second and third year students to INR 1,00,845. The fee structure for the first year students is yet to be announced. 

The deadline for submitting the college fees is the 25th July 2019. 

The college facilities remain poor despite the annual fee hike.The studio fee of INR 15,000 stands underutilized. The equipment and computer systems need to be updated. It is said that the students rarely get to visit the studio. 

The clause of the refundable ‘caution money’ of INR 3000 seems unclear. Students are required to pay the sum at the beginning of the semester,  if they don’t meet the minimum 66% requirement of attendance, the money is forfeited. If the money is forfeited, students need to pay it once again in the next semester. 

 

The high fee in a public university prevents students from marginalised backgrounds from accessing it. In a public university system where casteism still survives, fee hikes like this only strengthens the elitsm of these spaces. 

The college is yet to give a statement on the reasons behind the hike. 

Feature Image Credits: College Dunia

Jaishree Kumar

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11 departments and one college were asked to prepare a first draft of the revised curriculum by 29th March; each department was to come up with a minimum of four drafts before finalising.

The University of Delhi (DU) has yet again asked the heads of 11 departments and Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW) to start revising the curriculum of their undergraduate courses and introduce the revised syllabus in the 2019-20 academic session.

The varsity’s undergraduate curriculum revision committee (2019) wrote to the heads of 11 departments, which comprised of computer science, history, botany, music, zoology, Sanskrit, microbiology and environmental studies, and the administration of Indraprastha College for Women, with a revision schedule, asking them to “abide by it”.

This pronouncement received criticism from the faculty members who were displeased by the bypassing of the democratic steps that are to be followed in reforming the syllabi. They called it a “serious statutory violation”. The members of the Executive Council (EC) and Academic Council (AC) wrote to Yogesh Tyagi, the Vice-Chancellor of the varsity, against the “manner” of this revision.

Rajesh Jha, an EC member, said to Hindustan Times, “As per DU rules of revising syllabus, the departments would root the draft of revised curriculum through individual committees of all courses offered by any department. It is then sent to each faculty for approval. It is further passed by the standing council before going for a discussion in AC. Then the final draft is passed by the EC. The university has bypassed all these steps.”

The EC and AC members have requested Tyagi to withdraw the communication. “The schedule was prepared without any consultation with the statutory bodies. So, we request you to revise the UG syllabi in a statutory and democratic manner and withdraw all the communications concerned,” states the letter.

The schedule orders the departments to constitute their respective committees and prepare the first draft of the new syllabus by 29th March. A minimum of four drafts have to be sent before deciding on the final one, which is to be submitted to the respective Heads of Departments (HoD).

The Undergraduate Curriculum Revision Committee also asked the HoDs to make public the draft, and to invite suggestions from all the stakeholders.

The flipside to the current air of resistance from the faculty, and a reform in the current syllabus is not just appreciated, but needed. “Being a premier university, the revised curriculum is not only going to help our prospective students but would also set a trend for many other universities,” the committee’s statement said. However, it is the untimely and unconstitutional method of doing things that the student and the faculty communities collectively have a problem with.

Even in 2016, the History elective paper was entirely changed two months into the semester, marring the efforts of the students and teachers alike, and was met with opposition because a substantial investment went to waste. To avoid these confusions, a democratic process in a central university like DU must be adhered to.

Feature Image Credits: Niharika Dabral for DU Beat

Maumil Mehraj

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As a step towards spreading awareness about abusive drug consumption by students, Mirror Now, a National News television channel hosted a debate at Indraprastha College for Women, to have a one-on-one conversation with the students.

 

Ms. Faye D’Souza, the Executive Editor at Mirror News, along with five panelists, hosted a debate in the campus of Indraprastha College for Women on Thursday, August 31, 2017, in the college’s auditorium. The panel included a practicing advocate and member of the Bharatiya Yuva Janata Morcha, a pediatrician with significant contribution in the field, the DCP of Delhi police, a script writer hailing from the Bollywood industry, and a student of the college.

With the aim of initiating a dialogue between the general consumers of drugs and those opposing the consumption, D’Souza started by discussing its easy accessibility around educational institutes by taking the Hyderabad drug bust case as an example. Inviting opinions from one of the panelists, Nandini Suri, who is also a student of the college, the panelists discussed about the urgent need of enabling a communication about the issue at a national level, between the country’s leaders and the general masses. One of the panelists who is a practicing advocate at the Supreme Court and a member of the Bhartiya Yuva Janata Morcha, the student wing of Bharatiya Janata Part (BJP), talked about the provisions in the Indian Constitution that prevent the illegal circulation and consumption of drugs, which widened the debate’s horizon to the connection between drug consumption and the law’s role in curbing it.

Further opening the debate to the audience which primarily comprised of students from the college, various concerns and angles about the issue came to the fore. The primary issue discussed was the vulnerability of an average teenager, and the corruptibility of the Police Force which has enabled a manifold increase in such rackets across the country. The debate included the aftermaths of abusive drug consumption, however casual or occasional it may be. One of the panelists, the DCP of Delhi Police added, how even casual or occasional consumption of drugs facilitates other rackets including human trafficking etc. The students also raised questions about the validation provided to drugs’ or alcohol consumption, majorly by Bollywood and/or the entertainment industry, and its subsequent influence on teenagers.

 

Faye D’Souza, in her concluding note, welcomed solutions to fight the problem, where one of the panelists put forward “flipping the peer pressure” as one of the solutions that might prevent many teenagers from being consumed by this culture of abuse.

With the debate, Mirror Now took their responsible step towards preventing an entire generation which is at stake.

 

Feature Image Credits: Priyal Mahtta for DU Beat

 

Priyal Mahtta

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Many students studying Journalism Honours and Psychology Honours under CBCS guidelines received information about the Skill Enhancement Course’s external and internal assessments’ final marks distribution from their college’s faculty members close to the date of their final examination. With the dates of receiving this information varying in different colleges, students from Journalism Honours in Kamala Nehru College (KNC) learnt about the same from their teachers hours before their examination. Interestingly, the confusion of the Psychology Honours’ batch of Daulat Ram College (DRC) was clarified only upon receiving the question paper.

The discrepancy was found out in various colleges upon receiving the admit card. Students of Journalism Honours in KNC and Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) found a 50-50 marks distribution for external and practical assessment for SEC in their admit cards. While KNC students had been studying the course keeping the 50-50 distribution in mind, LSR students were uncertain as they had been following the 75-25 marks distribution, with 25 being allotted for internal assessment. Students from other colleges also underwent similar confusion. “Our admit cards said that the SEC paper that was documentary production would be of 50 marks. But the paper actually was for 75 marks.”, said Aditya, a Journalism Honours student from DCAC.

The situation varied across different colleges and different departments. In certain colleges, the final distribution came to the students’ knowledge quite late, while in certain colleges like Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW), there had been no discrepancy about the same neither in the admit cards, nor with the faculty.

The entire situation around the distribution of marks created confusion and hustle among students. “We were pretty confused since we didn’t know how the marks would be divided and how we are supposed to answer had it been for 50 marks.”, said Utkarsha, a Psychology Honours student from Daulat Ram College, where no clarification from the faculty had been received regarding the SEC Emotional Intelligence paper.

DU Beat reached out to faculty members, but received no comments from their end. There is still uncertainty whether the discrepancy had been for the Journalism Honours and Psychology Honours courses only.

Such action by the college administration as well as the faculty members makes us question whether the students’ best interests are really at heart. After all the formalities and unnecessary steps the students are forced to go through to receive their admit cards, such a massive error with regards to the marks distribution is a careless mistake by the authorities. Students who prepared accordingly, having faith in the college administration and the teachers, were shocked on the day of the examination. With all the buzz around exams and the pressure on students, why was this matter handled so inadequately by the authorities?

 

Priyal Mahtta
[email protected]

The English Literary Society of Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW) organized its Annual English Literary Festival- Signs 2017 on 21st and 22nd March, 2017. The event being divided over two days included many events including competitions, talks, poetry reading etc. With celebrated guest speakers, the Literary Event was attended by students and teachers from across the University.

“Windows and Frames”, the annual theme for the English Literary Society, the first day included a paper presentation competition, where undergraduate students from across the University presented diverse perspectives on the given theme. With discussions varying from voyeurism to Chiaroscuro, the event saw a sea of ideas flowing in. From among the various papers presented, Muskan Nagpal and Ishan Mahendru from Hansraj College bagged the first and second prize respectively, while the third prize was won by Sumedha Anand from IPCW. The day proceeded by boosting the spirits of all the Potter Heads, through the Harry Potter Quiz where the all the fans of the series competed to prove their fandom.

The second day commenced with the release of the English Literary Society’s Annual Journal – Inkspill by the college’s Principal, Dr. Babli Moitra Saraf. Congratulating the Society and the English Department of the College on the release of the Journal, the Principal addressed the audience and threw light upon all the events organized by the society throughout the year. The address was followed by a heart warming poetry reading session by the famous Poet, Teacher and Lover, Hoshang Merchant. The poet being the author of numerous poetry books and the first gay anthology – Yaraana: Gay Writings from India captivated the audience by his poetry. Next was a talk by Ms. Sheela Reddy, the author of the book, Mr and Mrs Jinnah- The Marriage That Shook India. The author, being an active Journalist shared with audience her experience of writing the novel while peeping into the old and forgotten history of Jinnah. The event closed by a slam poetry competition organized in the College’s beautiful lawns. The event wrapped up with a vote of thanks.

Priyal Mahtta

 [email protected]

 Image Credits: Tamanna Rafique from IPCW