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August 2013

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Our country has been independent of foreign rule for 67 years now. We’ve been fortunate enough to grow up in an India whose laws and policies are made by its own people. We’re even more fortunate to be a part of a small section in India that can read and write. And while we’re counting your blessings, maybe we should also consider ourselves lucky to be part of a miniscule population of young people in India who are able to manage a decent University level education. Now that we are thinking along these lines, lets think about what it’s like to be part of the ‘best’ University in India. Think about what we really know about the University of Delhi. How ‘free’ is this University we go to? How ‘free’ are we?

Are we free enough to choose not to study a particular language to match up to a certain standard of ‘Indian-ness’? Are we free enough to walk up to our Vice Chancellor, tell him we don’t agree with him? Or even our Principal? Are we free to decide what papers are ‘foundational’ to our Undergraduate education? Are we consulted every time there is a fee hike? How many protests have made a difference? How many of us actually care enough to participate in the Student’s Union elections – possibly our first experience of active democracy?

What is freedom to this University if something as essential as a new syllabus is made without consulting a body of teachers who have been teaching the subject for half their lives? What does technology mean to students who don’t even have enough chairs and tables in their classrooms? We’ve celebrated Independence Day in most colleges of the University, we’ve garlanded statues, remembered martyrs, but we’re not even slightly aware of what this freedom is meant for.  We – the future of this country; we – the torchbearers of the best university in the country; we, belonging to a University famous for producing the greatest contemporary thinkers this country has seen.

Freedom obviously comes at great cost. Its funny how being from a privileged, educated and well read India, many of us still haven’t been able to experience what it really means to be free. Many of us may never know.  The very establishment of Delhi University in 1922 took place as an attempt to free young minds of the country. 67 years after achieving formal freedom, it’s only upsetting this Grand University is being colonized by its own officials. From the Four Year Undergraduate Programme to the DUSU Elections, from hunger strikes to petitions and memorandums – teachers, students and administrative staff have no reason to celebrate freedom, no reason to feel free in a space ‘’where the mind is meant to be without fear, and the head is supposed to be held high.’’

The DU Beat team is extremely glad to present a new interface for our readers! Welcome to the new DU Beat – one that is more mobile, interactive and surely more focused towards the news that you want to read.

Mobile

Is it the metro travel and the bus rides when you wish to read DU Beat? Well, DU Beat is faster and slicker on mobile now. Pages are lighter and at the same time more interactive. High five on being the smartphone and tablet addicts!

Sociallike

We love Facebook and Twitter and we know for a fact that so do you. That is why social media integration on DU Beat is stronger than before. Discover the total number of likes and tweets on every post and if you appreciate the content, participate and add one to the number! The next time you are reading an article, take a look at the number of shares on the left. If you like the post, make it count.

Visual

Delhi University is a place full of visuals – those of people, events and activity all around. The new DU Beat focuses on the same. Through the introduction of galleries, now get a glimpse of activity around the campus simply by glancing through a couple of photos. Look out for latest galleries on our homepage!

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Digital Footprint of the Newspaper

The newspaper that you pick up every Wednesday has a different experience attached to it. Now, find the e-issue of the weekly newsletter easily in the website sidebar, conveniently placed for our readers to explore.

Interactive Reviews

DU Beat has always been enthusiastic about reviews. The idea behind the same is to share our explorations and observations with the rest of the student community. However, if reading a review on DU Beat seemed boring up till now, the new version is surely built to change that. Scroll at the bottom of every review and see a box with our rating and a summary of the analysis.

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Adding to all these, we have several more features that will be added within the next few days. Until then, we hope that you like the change and would now love reading DUB a little more than earlier. We are exploring domains that are of interest for our readers and we surely love feedback.

If there is a suggestion that you want to make, do write to us as [email protected], mention @du_beat in a tweet or send us a Facebook message. We want to hear from you, no matter what the medium is!

Be it student initiatives, changed academic  systems, social work, protests, international trips, inviting celebrities or launching awareness campaigns, Delhi University has witnessed them all. Quite recently, i.e. on 7th August ,2013, ‘Pink Chain’, a month-long campaign to create awareness about breast cancer among the students of Delhi University,  was launched in the national capital. The programme which is disseminating information about breast cancer will end on the 4th of September.

Being an initiative of Punarjeevan Bihar, an NGO, along with eminent doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in association with the Department of Bio-Technology (DBT) Science Centre, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur (SGTB) Khalsa College, it has some serious messages to give to the students regarding breast cancer. It is meant to create awareness regarding the feeling of caring for oneself, for the protection of women’s feminism and self worth, and maintenance of their healthy or disease-free journey of life. The students from Miranda House, Daulat Ram and Khalsa College were present at the launch.

Screening of the documentary-drama- ‘Pink Chain’, power-point presentations and experiences of people who have seen the disease closely will act as tools to create awareness about breast cancer. Interactive sessions will be held and presentations will be made by the AIIMS doctors. Several colleges will be grouped together to give information about breast cancer.  It can be regarded as a campaign dedicated solely  to the nation’s  women.

While the past week saw sessions in colleges such as Hindu, SRCC and SGTB Khalsa, several other colleges would witness similar sessions in the coming weeks. Here is the schedule of the same:

[tabgroup][tab title=”Forth-coming events”]

16th August: Hans Raj College/Ramjas College

19th August: Sri Venkateswara/Motilal Nehru/RLA College

21st August: Gargi/Kamala Nehru/LSR

23rd August: Lady Irwin College

26th August: Satyawati College

3rd September: ARSD College

4th September: Jesus and Mary College [/tab][/tabgroup]

Getting admission in Delhi University is but half a battle won. The subsequent problem looming large is that of lodging. That there is shortage of hostel seats and that the prices of Paying Guest accommodations and private hostels can burn a huge hole in one’s pocket is hardly a hidden fact. In fact, lodging seems to be a perpetual crisis for outstation students especially if one has not been lucky enough to get that precious hostel seat.

In such dire circumstances when the colleges should be accommodating as many students as possible in their hostels, St. Stephen’s College seems to be doing the exact opposite. The college has apparently allocated single rooms to students of second and third years, rooms which are actually supposed to accommodate two students. While the college had this policy for third year students, this year it has also been extended to second years. Quite paradoxically, this has led to a further decrease in the number of students who can avail the residential facilities on the college campus.

We, at DU Beat, spoke to a number of students from the college but apparently none of them consented to be quoted. On the condition of anonymity, a student said, “Living in the Residence is so convenient as opposed to putting up privately in areas around North Campus. My parents can’t afford to shell out too much money and therefore, I am living in a really bad place as I have no alternative. The college has given single rooms to second years also which goes against the demands of the day where the prime focus should be building the additional infrastructure and exploiting the full potential of the existing one.”

Another student on the same condition said, “The hostel issue is the need of the hour in Delhi University. We students are suffering a lot because of this. And then something like this comes up where instead of increasing the number of seats in the Residence, you are actually reducing them. Moreover, with the introduction of the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme, there will be more number of students after three years, and then the condition will be extremely chaotic.”

Vatsal Verma
[email protected]

Kai Chicken, a very oriental name that boasts of a wide ranging menu, but does it live up to the standards of us DU students?

Location: Kai Chicken is located about 10 steps down the lane from Chowrangee, right next to Bubble Tea Shop (which has shifted) this makes it very accessible. Even though their board is quite in everyone’s face, the clutter of Satya Niketan may force you to overlook this place.

Ambience: As soon as you enter this eatery, be rest assured you’ll forget that you are in Satya. The place is neat and clean, quite spacious- which comes as a surprise and we could not miss the powerful AC that gives much needed respite.

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Menu and Food: The most crucial aspect of an eating joint, its food. Sadly Kai Chicken does not fare too well here. We found the burgers to be bite sized, compared to the hogger’s delight the menu displayed. The wrap we ordered was mostly cold and seemed half heartedly done up. They do take into account a wide variety of non vegetarian food- mainly chicken and can prove to be a refreshing change for chicken lovers.

Service: It took more than a reasonable amount of time for our food to find its way to our table. This seemed even more unreasonable as there weren’t any other customers at the time. However, service at the counter is prompt and we have no qualms whatsoever. The option of home delivery is also there, so you can order Kai right to your PG.

Value for money: Here is where the hoardings get really misleading. They boast of a very student friendly price tag, but it isn’t all that friendly. The average cost for 2 for a meal can touch Rs. 400/- if drinks, main course and dessert were to be taken into account.

Unmissables: You can certainly not miss the ceramic- burger shaped jar- that houses ketchup sachets- very eye catching. In terms of food the Chicken bucket and Chicken fingers with the variety of dips are worth a try.

People say getting published is a long frustrating dream. Maybe it was once, but in today’s world, with all the new technologies and innovations, it isn’t as scary as it used to be. If one goes step by step and climbs the ladder gradually, it is actually very simple. The foremost point is of course, writing a best seller.

One can start with a simple blog or keep a journal. That way, writing prose or poetry becomes a habit which eventually leads up to the desire of getting published. Bloggers have an edge over the diary writers for they can get opinions from others too. Now days, microblogging on social media sites like Twitter has become a trend too.

Moving on from free expression and no bars, getting published is quite a different scene. Impressing a certain publisher seems quite a task. Freelancing for various online magazines like 21 Fools or Campus Diaries can help one earn some decent amount of money and also get an idea of what the audience today likes to read. These sites are different from news sites or content writing sites which do not give any freedom of expression to the writer.

Apart from these today-written-tomorrow-published techniques, actual writers dream of making it big in the world. They dream of the Man Booker Prize or the like. Even for well-written manuscripts there is a world of struggle out there. One can again start from smaller avenues like approaching magazines like Readers’ Digest or Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Short stories generally find  place here.

Certain publishers like Power or Zorba present packages as low as Rs 8000 for self-publishing. They print 20 copies of your book but without any editing. Editing and more sophisticated layouts require more investment by the writer. It may be a risk but then 50 Shades was a self-publication. And it turned out to be a best seller so the investment does pay off at times. Or if one likes the feel of having his or her name on a book cover in the bookstore nearby, it’s a good idea to go for such deals.

Other budding publishers like Rupa or Srishti publish selected works and sell your book for as low as Rs 100. Many Indian authors have established their names through these previously unknown publishers. Ravinder Singh, author of I Too Had a Love Story is one such example. Even though it is difficult to make a living out of self-publishing, there is no limit to the marketing creativity. One can ask bloggers to review the book or set up YouTube or Facebook pages.

“Usually when authors approach us with their books, we want to read a synopsis and a few chapters. Every publishing house has a few pet subjects on which they publish books.”

One of the world’s leading publishers is Penguin and they accept sample chapters by mail. If they like your work, they talk business. They respond within their concerted three months limit. Pothi.com prints even one book at a reasonable cost thus reducing or eliminating the need to invest in bulk printing and storage of copies.

So just sit down, get that pen and paper (laptop) ready and begin writing! Once the manuscript seems good to you, it can easily find a place in the wide world of books out there.

Email your work to:

Penguin: [email protected]

Srishti: [email protected]

Grapevine: [email protected]

Power: [email protected]

Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net

The department freshers’ party of Sri Venkateshwara College‘s English department was a fun affair with imitations of teachers and a ‘Book’ dumb charades. These were followed by an interactive session between freshers and seniors where every fresher was made to introduce themselves not by giving the main information such as their school or hobbies rather an introduction based on random facts.

Recently, we interviewed the Secretary of Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) about the organisation, its views on the FYUP, the issue of ad hoc professors in the university, the Vice Chancellor’s Office and a lot more. Here is the entire interview for our audience to listen and to read. [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/103948776″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” auto_play=”true” /] DUB : Mr Siddiqui, to start off, can you tell us a little about DUTA as an organization – what are its main goals and principles? DUTA: The Objectives of DUTA are to ensure smooth academic functioning in the university and academic growth and to ensure security in the service conditions of teachers alongside maintaining academic standards of the university. DUB: While so many teachers, students even administrative staff have been protesting against FYUP, the programme is still coming in with the start of the new semester. Where does DUTA stand on the programme? What were the main reasons for DUTA to protest against the FYUP in the first place and what do you think can go wrong now that it is being implemented? DUTA: Actually, any institution of higher education, we have to understand, it is neither a mill nor a corporate office, and here the environment is entirely different, and whatever is done in the university is done with the active participation and cooperation of teachers, authorities, students and karamcharis. Unfortunately, off late what has been happening is that this culture of the university which has been obtained with great care and devotion has been given a go by and things are moving in a highly partisan, non participatory and dictatorial fashion. There are university bodies, so many agencies and levels of decision making like the departments, the faculties, the academic council, the executive council, the general body of concerned teachers of a particular department. But in the process of decision making, the participation of all these bodies and the teachers who are the people who teach when there are changed courses are not being consulted in a way they ought to be consulted. That is the problem. And therefore the courses are coming in a half baked and haphazard manner, in a manner that the goodness and the propriety of these courses is not ensured. DUB: So as an organisation, DUTA is against the FYUP completely? DUTA : Let us not say we are against something which we do not know, something about which there has been no participative consultation and discussion. How can we say we are against it? We are saying, whatever changes you bring, bring them in a democratic manner with the due processes of law. But that is not happening. And the various agencies are being taken for a ride. DUB: How is the new system is going to affect the students? DUTA: I feel the educational standard of Delhi University is being made a mockery of. I am not against reform, reforms are welcome, and nothing is as important as change. But change in what manner, I decide something and impose it upon you, and you are people directly concerned, and say we are not seeking your opinion, you have to study this and teach this from this year. From where are the courses coming? DUB: What about teacher workload and the student teacher ratio – how is that going to be affected by the FYUP? DUTA: Claims and counter claims are being bended out, where they say workload is going to increase, the workload is getting reduced, and where there is a fear that the workload is going to reduce, it remains the same. Under identical circumstances, in different colleges, the workload is getting upside down. DUB: But the student teacher ratio sir, is obviously going to increase with so many students studying the foundation courses, right. So how do you think that’s going to affect the student teacher ratio and the workload, because if you’re teaching 70 students instead of 50, its obviously going to make a difference. DUTA: That makes a difference in the quality of teaching also. When I was a student in the University, there used to be 12 or 16 students admitted. Now we teach a batch of 40. Last year, there were 70 in honours. And this time, we may face an honours class of 150. What kind of honours or distinction will they be getting? They will be studying the same course. And so many courses are the level of school. DUB: Coming from there, why do you think no new appointments were made to teach the new courses under FYUP? What is DUTA doing about the shortage of teachers in the university right now? DUTA: There has been an acute shortage of teachers for the past 4 years and about 4000 teachers have been teaching in adhoc and guest positions. And it is a mystery, officially speaking, if you ask me, as to why the appointments are not being made. I am incidentally the general secretary of Federation of Central University Teachers Association, what you call FECUTA, so in that capacity I took a delegation and met the UGC chairman more than once and we wanted to know why the appointments are not being made – whether there a confidential instruction from UGC for not making appointments as DU has been dilly dallying the matter. Then the UGC Chairman said very categorically that there is no delay from our side – infact, there is nothing confidential, infact, on the other hand we want the process of appointments to be expedited and to that effect, at our behest, the UGC wrote to the University officials, but they something, and DU says something and then Delhi University says that as soon as the latest service conditions are finalized, the appointments will start, and the UGC says that there is no bar from our side. And there have been announcements atleast three four times in the press that shortly or sooner than late, appointments will begin. DUB: What is the composition of teachers in the university as of now? How many teachers are we short of? DUTA: At this moment, there is a strength of 9000 teachers in colleges and departments, out of which, about 4000 are temporary and adhoc and guest position and on contact basis. Moreover, there are about 4000 vacancies. DUB: What are the major differences in ad hoc and permanent appointments as far as work load and facilities are concerned? DUTA: In working conditions, there is no difference. But the nature of appointment is different. The permanent appointment is made through a properly constituted selection committee, and that is regular. Then you cannot be pushed out. And an ad hoc appointment is for 4 months technically. Then you can renew your appointment every 4 months. DUB: Tell us about the DUTA’s recent protests about the victimisation of ad hoc teachers? What exactly were you demanding? DUTA: We are demanding, very specifically, the filling up of these 4000 vacancies. DUB: By adhoc professors who have already been teaching? DUTA: Number one, actually, we cannot officially say that as that would be disregarding the judgment of the Permanent Selection Committee. So I would say, fill up these 4000 vacant positions with permanent positions and do away with adhocism. DUB: So you think there should be no ad hoc teachers all together? DUTA: Adhoc appointments are meant only for a very brief period, until you find a regular solution. But then you institutionalise the adhocism. You have made adhocism a permanent phenomenon, how can the university function? DUB: A lot has been said and written about the present Vice Chancellor. What is the DUTA’s stand on him? DUTA: This present VC unfortunately has not been functioning as a head of an institution of higher learning ought to function. DUB: How should a head function and how is he not fitting into that criteria? DUTA: Because an academic institution of higher learning is very different from a corporate office, a company or a mill. Because here you get an atmosphere where the university functions with the cooperation of the teachers, students and karamcharis. Unfortunately, here the environment has undergone a total change. And now the present VC, if you allow me to say this, has been functioning as the CEO of a company, issuing orders on his behalf, shooting letters through is assistant registrar, even though the assistant registrar has no authority to do so. . They are also very poor at drafting – they don’t know the protocol or propriety. DUB: While a substantial number of teachers, students and administrative staff have been protesting the VC’s major reforms and policies in the University, most of these have been implemented regardless of protests, dharnas, demonstrations, even the hunger strikes for that matter. Doesn’t that send across a message about the helplessness of organizations like yours? What are you doing to change that and make the VC’s office take DUTA more seriously? DUTA: It is being implemented but it is being imposed. But I think this is an interim period, and sooner than later, there will be some kind of reaction. The election of the next DUTA have been announced in August and now any major action programme will come in after the election of the next DUTA. But there is simmering discontent at all levels. Look, we cannot take law into our hands. We are law abiding people, we can protest, persuade, try to engage in persuasion and negotiation. We have undertaken various action programmes. DUB: So you think that someday, something as powerful as the VC’s office, will have to take into heed your demands? DUTA: Yes, very soon. These are not demands like those of mill workers. DUTA is a growing and evolving teacher movement, not a trade union screaming inquilaab zindabad. Because we take care of the health of the academics and we are worried and hurt that the academics is dying in the University. DUB: Finally, with a new batch of students coming in and a whole new system of education being brought about, what advice would you give both students and teachers to deal with these major changes? DUTA: The new students are coming in with their fingers crossed as they coming into the unknown. They are students and they are young and I know that with their dedication and hardwork, they will tide over any crisis. This is a period of crisis. When the semester system came, the students were made victims. And so many of them suffered. But the youngsters have to rise to the challenge, and have to work with determination, whatever the courses are. DUB: Any message for the teachers? DUTA: Teachers will teach whatever the new courses are. But they are feeling hurt, because their very eyes, the courses and their quality are being curtailed and stifled. But we know that the standard of education is being destroyed. You are flirting with the courses and making a mockery of them. We have seen a different kind of university. DUB: So you say bring back the university that it was? DUTA: Yes, we want the academic status and dignity of academic functioning must be restored, which is being crippled.]]>