“La Politique”, the Political Science department of Kirori Mal College, in association with the Centre for Advanced Research on Development and Change, organized a seminar on 16th October, titled “Ragging, Rape and Reform.”
The event began with power-point presentations made by second year students, dealing with the alarming issue of ragging. Aimed at highlighting the ongoing menace, despite the sensitization of society and implementation of stringent laws, a student – made video was shared, pin-pointing the psychological trauma inflicted upon a fresher due to ragging. Shocking statistics showed that India and Sri Lanka remain the only two nations where the issue remains prevalent even today. The students also covered a rather little known aspect of ragging, the harassment of teachers by students. Though a small-scale phenomenon, it highlights the deteriorating teacher-student relationship, especially at the college level.
The second issue covered by the students was another burning topic- juvenile delinquency, i.e. offences committed by minors. Firstly, the students tried to understand the issue not in vacuum, but as a product of several factors such as poverty, domestic violence, illiteracy, child labor and peer pressure. The question of trial of juveniles as adults, in heinous crimes such as rapes, was hotly debated. This was followed by an analysis of the implementation of the recently amended Juvenile Justice Act and the state of rehabilitation centres in India. A strong appeal was made for the creation of a children’s court, to handle such matters with sensitivity and not push juveniles further into the world of crimes.
Next, it was the turn of the guest speaker for the day, Prof Rajinder Kachroo, founder and trustee of the Aman Satya Kachroo Foundation, to present his views on the matter. He labeled the ongoing issue of ragging as a manifestation of the “seniority syndrome” and “unconditional obedience” prevalent in India. Sharing experiences from his lectures in various institutions in and around Delhi, he focused on the need to sensitize not only the victims and perpetrators, but also the bystanders. He even put up an open question- whether any form of punishment really proved to be a deterrent for the committers of crimes? This was followed by an impassionate appeal for dissing the “chalta hai” attitude and making a stride towards change by Ms. Naeem Akhtar. With the end of the two-hour long seminar, students walked out of the hall, with refreshments in their hand and a buzz of ideas in their head.
Delhi University is in the habit of going beyond the cliché, bringing out exclusiveness in everything it does. With people’s houses being festooned with illuminations one by one and the market flooding with myriad diyas and candles, DU colleges celebrated the festival of lights in their own distinctive way. Jesus and Mary College, Gargi College, Lady Shri Ram College for Women and Indraprastha College for Women saw its students dressing up the Indian way and celebrating the festivities with beats of music and shopping their hearts away at the NSS Diwali Melas. Here’s a peek into the exuberance of festivities celebrated by these colleges.
Kamala Nerhu College
Every year, the NSS unit and the Students Union organize an NGO cum Diwali Mela where they invite about 20-25 NGOs to provide them with a platform to not only generate awareness about the various works that they have been doing but also to showcase the talent of the people associated or being helped through these NGOs. On the auspicious occasion of Diwali the mela is organized keeping in mind with the festivities. Adrith’14 was graced with the presence of about 22 NGOs like Save the Quest, Umeed, Rhythm of Life and Can Support.
Jesus and Mary College
15th October, 2014- merely a week away from the most widely celebrated festival of India, JMC organised its annual Sparsh Diwali Mela. The college’s amphitheatre was decorated with brightly coloured dupattas and attractive stalls. Apart from the usual Chaat and Pao Bhaaji stalls, the Mela had stalls selling quirky pajamas, customized t-shirts, Kurtis, bangles and other accessories.
Gargi College
The much-talked about college for Diwali Melas organised Zistatva, its annual NSS Diwali Mela on 17th October. The engrossing games, the diverse stalls offering multitude of varieties for multitude of choices along with the musical beats added a lot more charisma to the atmosphere. The photo-booth was a major attraction where all you needed was to dress up the way you like and let the funky accessories colour your life.
Indraprastha College
IP College organised its Diwali Mela on 18th October. Among the highlights of the Mela was the Enactus Society fundraiser stall. Conventional food and games stalls attracted huge crowd too. Keeping the Indian festive spirit alive, all stalls made offerings to the kids of the non-teaching staff of the college that served as a perfect culmination of the event.
Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Diwali Mela at LSR was a roaring success. 18th October saw LSR getting together to celebrate the beauty of Diwali. From Kurtis to T-Shirts, Pao Bhaaji to Cakes; it was a perfect setting to celebrate the diversity of this festival. The Mela was a shopper’s paradise and met the expectations of spectators and visitors alike.
ABVP’s protest on Friday, the 17th of October, Delhi University had promised to restart the system of revaluation in the University. The dharna outside Arts’ Faculty had demanded reintroduction of re-evaluation, special chance and supplementary exams. The option of evaluation of answer sheets had been done away with during the October-November exams in 2013. The official notification had declared that since examination sheets were jointly corrected by a number of examiners, revaluation would not be continued. The notice issued by Delhi University today, on the 20th of October, starts off by declaring that these changes have been brought after various representatives (DUSU, in particular), had appealed to the University for the same. Here are some of the main points from the notice:
Revaluation of examination sheets will be reintroduced. Further, the sheets will now be checked by a single examiner. The details of the procedure for revaluation will be disclosed soon.
Those students who failed in their 1st year under the FYUP and could not take admission for whatever reason, will be allowed to apply for readmission to 1st year till the 29th of October, 2014.
The attendance of such students will be counted from the day of their admission and Internal Assessment shall be conducted as per the college’s rules. However, the students must cover the curriculum on their own and not claim any loss of teaching.
When asked about this change, here’s what Saket Bahuguna, Delhi State Secretary, ABVP had to say, “This was the first time that DUSU office bearers were called by the Delhi University officials. So, we feel that it is a very positive step and the coming in of the notification symbolizes victory of students. This is because DU administration has now realized that it cannot function if it does not take decisions favouring the students. ABVP is committed to fight for all such issues that a student faces in the University.”
You can read the full notice here.]]>
On Friday, 10th October 2014, 450 young minds came together for Indian Youth to Business Forum at the Indian School of Business, Mohali. Themed ‘Next. Big. Leap’, the event was crafted to sequentially take the audience through futuristic, audacious and actionable stories and ideas from a pot-pourri of achievers. While Viral Oza, the Marketing Head of Microsoft Mobile Devices and Shireesh Joshi, ?COO, Strategic Marketing Group at Godrej had stimulating insights into the world of business and marketing, Saachi Soni, the youngest Indian girl to have scaled the Mt.Everest, stole the show with her story of passion, simplicity and excellence.
A story that certainly seemed to have made a mark was that of young, globally acclaimed photographer, Vicky Roy. The crowd was moved by his humbling journey towards greatness from the streets and his remarkable take on life. The agenda was well packed with several interesting workshops that were conducted by big brands like Microsoft, Young India Fellowship, Teach for India and KPMG and compelling conversations with people like Vimal Sumbly, Managing Director of Triumph Motorcycles, India and the dynamic Vivek Atray, IAS Officer and novelist.
What set this event apart was its closing. Pradeep Singh, the Deputy Dean of ISB delivered a heartening talk on some of the indispensable essentials for the youth and marked the commenecement of a unique, never-before activity. Th 450 students sat under one roof to sketch a consequential output, knitting together the problems faced by the youth and concrete solutions to deal with the same. AIESEC will be releasing this output to the general public soon.
“The moment I empower a woman, I empower a family”
-Dr. Kiran Bedi
Law graduate from Faculty of Law (Delhi University), Dr. Kiran Bedi was the first woman IPS officer to join the police force. In conversation with our correspondent, the former national tennis champion talks about her journey from being a student to a lecturer and then serving the police force before finally taking on to the social sector. Anchor of the famous Indian television show, Aap Ki Kachehri, Dr Kiran also expresses her distaste for politics and strives to serve the poor and underprivileged throughout her life.
Presenting to you, Dr. Kiran Bedi in conversation with our correspondent Iresh Gupta (Photographed by Kashish Madan)
Iresh: Hello Dr. Kiran! As the first woman IPS officer, tell us about what galvanized you or inspired you to take up policing?
Dr. Kiran: Hi Iresh! I guess the force that attracted me towards policing was my sensitivity to injustice and related issues. Also, I was a very patriotic person, a person who would get goose-pimples and cry while singing the national anthem. Moreover, I was a cop at the age of 14 as an NCC cadet. Till the age of 18, I wore a uniform everyday for my NCC parade. I was already into the system of uniform, a life that is very difficult and organized, yet enjoyable. I became a police officer to experience this joy every day.
Iresh: But the era of 50s-60s was not an era for girls. So were your parents also keen to see you in that uniform?
Dr. Kiran: I am a product of my parents. I was not like an isolated rose. I was part of the garden where my parents were the gardeners. In those days of 50s and 60s, my three sisters and me had carved a niche for ourselves because our parents were continuously nutritioning us.
Iresh: Were you not scared of the risks involved? You also then planned to pursue law after taking charge as the police officer. How did this come up?
Kiran Bedi speaks about her old days as a young police officer | Image Credits: Kashish Madan
Dr. Kiran: My parents brought me up to take risks. They did not make ship for the harbour; they made ship for the sea (smiles).
Law was something I wanted to do because it was strengthening my own way of serving. I could not join morning classes so I joined evening classes in Delhi University and combined my subject with my profession. In addition, studying law being a police officer was so interesting because I knew the application of law, all I had to understand is section of law.
Iresh: You pursued law from Faculty of Law, Delhi University. Would you like to share with us your memories as a student?
Dr. Kiran: The fact is that I am still a student. You cannot be anything but a student all your life. I read a lot, I write regularly and I constantly research. Education leaves hunger for knowledge. I will be a student for rest of my life. As far as Delhi University is concerned, I have great fond memories. I am still associated with the place as I often go back to talk in colleges and share my experiences.
Iresh: A few days back you visited LSR for a session by NSS. Tell us about your experience there.
Dr. Kiran: It was a very detailed session. I had a good time answering the questions. The best part was that they asked great questions on the topic “Women Safety and Security”. We discussed matters like dressing, different treatment of brothers and sisters at home and everyday issues like the ones faced in metros. I am glad that I was there. I was an experience for life.
At the Lady Siri Ram College ( LSR ) event of National Service Scheme (NSS).Very brilliant Questions asked.. pic.twitter.com/SEvypa7SNH
Iresh: Relative to your session yesterday, tell us why do you think girls still are ambivalent about coming to Delhi for studies or jobs?
Dr. Kiran: Parents I feel hold back girls, wherein they should hold back boys. Girls have all the right to do everything. They feel unsafe because it is in their minds as well. There has to be reorientation of their own mind, attitude and belief. They need to speak and tell everyone that they are not weak; it is someone else who is immature and doing all this. At the same time, they need to take proper precautions and they need to understand that if parents are stopping them to wear certain kind of clothes, it is not because they want to restrict them or because of their gender, it is because they want to protect them.
Internships
Kiran Bedi invites summer and winter internships for both her foundations – Navjyoti India Foundation and India Vision Foundation for community work, rural and social work, prison assignments, journalism, IT and education. To connect and apply click here.
Iresh: Would you like to tell us about your current projects and activities?
Dr. Kiran: Iresh, I have lots of things going but what takes away the chunk of my time are my two foundations called Navjyoti India Foundation and India Vision Foundation which are some 26 and 20 years old respectively. We have trained and qualified social workers, teachers and councillors who have been running these schools for the poor training them to do entrepreneurship, business development, career orientation and skills development.
We have thousands tenth and twelfth class students whom we do not let drop out of studies. Instead, we go by their skills and enable them. So I been mentoring these two young adults for long now and we also work with villages, prisons, slums, women and children for community development and social empowerment.
Iresh: In the end, tell us on how do you look back at your journey today?
Dr. Kiran: If I look at my journey, I would say that I have not wasted a day. It has been a life of huge personal achievements. It is without having lost a day and getting progressive with time. Every day has been a preparation for the next day. There has never been a pressure of winning or losing, it is just about doing it the right way. It has been a journey for a better tomorrow (smiles).
Iresh: Thank you Dr. Kiran. It was great talking to you. DU Beat wishes you all the best for both your foundations and all the projects in the near future.
Dr. Kiran: Thank you Iresh. It was nice talking to you as well.
The student body in power at Delhi University proclaimed something substantial for the students after organizing protests against live-in-relationships and love jihad earlier this month. On 17th October 2014, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarathi Parishad (ABVP) and Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) held a dharna outside Arts’ Faculty demanding reintroduction of re-evaluation, special chance and supplementary exams.
According to ABVP’s press statement, Delhi University’s administration invited party leaders for a meeting post the protest, where the officials agreed to restart re-evaluation. The student party has been promised by DU administration to receive an official notification this Monday, i.e, 20th October 2014 whereas matters of special chance and supplementary exams garnered no response as of now.
“The rights of those studying in University will now be restored. After the introduction of semester system, the plight of students has never been addressed. Final year students end up wasting one year due to one exams. For them, re-evaluation is imperative.”
-Parvesh Malik, Vice President, DUSU
ABVP raised these matters earlier as well throughout the fight for Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) and the limelight followed during the election period. Saket Bahuguna, Delhi State Secretary for ABVP says, “University is not VC’s kingdom, it is just for the students. The way we forced the administration to bend for student welfare at the time of FYUP, we will fight for student rights now as well.”
Dharna was addressed by the leaders of ABVP and few senior representatives.
The decision of Delhi University administration was welcomed by the student body and demand for special chance and supplementary exams is again proffered.
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The event began from Hindu College with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Volunteers acted as guides and ensured safety as participants walked across North Campus. Ganga and her partner Rajeev, who is visually impaired were one of the early teams to finish the walk-a-thon. For Ganga the experience as she states was ‘extremely frightening in the beginning. “It was made easier by Rajeev who constantly guided me on how to use my cane and depend more on my other senses of sound and touch,” she says. Rajeev, for whom this was a first teaching experience, wishes every person to try and walk around blindfolded at least once a week to reduce the idea of ‘miserability’ in their minds.
People who are visually impaired do not require something very different. They just need the basic services which does not make them feel disabled
Diwakar’s performance at the end of the conclusion of the walk was thoroughly enjoyed by the crowd as they indulged in games which required to be blindfolded set up by Save the Quest. On associating with such a cause he says, “ We all should be a part of their lives and appreciate what they have achieved. We should change ourselves for them and they should not have to change for us.” As for the performance he states “It was worth it.” Save the Quest has plans to conduct more such event and at a larger scale in future. “We are planning to organize an Olympic next. In India, it is almost a distant concept. The focus is always on education but for holistic development we need to expand our focus.” adds Saif.
Follow Save the Quest on Facebook: Save the Quest]]>
Dear Amma, I am in a long distance relationship and the guy is European. We’ve never met, but we do sext (sex-chat) a LOT. The sext is only textual, though. Could you suggest some really interesting ways to spice up our virtual sex life till we meet next year?
Ahh, little idli, I understand your dilemma! Sexting has now become an integral part of relationships, especially long distance ones! Not only are there plenty of ways for textual sexting what with all those free apps and chat platforms, one can even use an app like Snapchat (I believe that’s what the kids are using these days) which self destructs images you click and send to people after a couple of seconds. I think such apps can make your virtual sexting more exciting! Let me tell you more about the art of sexting, macchi.
The excitement is in the build up. As soon as both of you get comfortable with it, peel off the orange slowly and remember, the slower you go, the more things get heated up! And the more things get heated up; the better will be the end. You could even try cyber sex- after all what is Skype for, right? (Well, some people do hold interviews too, but Amma thinks its best used for sexting!)
If Amma had to offer an extra tip, she’d say, it’s best to use apps like Snapchat for all phones even have automatic memory back up these days! (Yes, Amma is old but also very tech savvy- at least where sexting is concerned.) Let’s just say sexting is the only art which needs to be destroyed once it has been cherished. Stay safe and have fun!
One of the most popular pastime for smartphone owners these days is watching YouTube videos. And why not? These pocket-sized PCs equipped with high-resolution displays, large screens and ultra fast performances no doubt provide a great video watching experience. With these portable devices you are no longer bound to sit in front of your computers, you can enjoy your videos on a couch, bed, balcony or bathroom! But, wouldn’t it be nice to have your favorite videos available to you at all times, even when you can’t access the internet?
On September 15th, in an event at New Delhi, Google revealed its intention to make YouTube videos available at your disposal without the need of connecting to the internet.
But how will it work? What about video piracy? What’s the catch? – Here’s all you need to know.
As of now, the feature will be available exclusively for India, courtesy – YouTube’s astronomical popularity in our country! In 2013 YouTube’s Indian audience grew by a whopping 70%. Also, the feature is accessible only through the company’s mobile app.
The users will be able to save videos and playlists by using the ‘Add to Device’ feature on the application. And here comes the catch- it can be saved for 48 hours only! After which, the video won’t work, until the device is reconnected to the Internet. Once reconnected, the user shall be able to watch the video again!. The clips will also incorporate ads and the views will get added to the total views of the video.
For the uploaders, you may disable offline access to your content during or post uploading. The existing videos will also be converted; you will have to select your preference from your dashboard, if and when notified. However, by default, the feature will be enabled for all videos.
The feature is not available for YouTube’s TV & movie rentals. Also, there’s no mention of music videos offered through subscriptions. Though no “release date” was announced, according to Google’s official mailers (being sent to the partners), the update is slated for November. Will it be available across all platforms or only restricted to Android, is something no one has a clue about.
Users are welcoming the move, as it would surely revolutionize the way we watch YouTube, for better. The company in its presentation focused specifically on easing long boring morning trips to workplace & colleges. The service shall be soon available in other countries as well.
So next time when you plan a journey, do take your favorite videos along! Happy Watching.
Hans Raj College witnessed a musical evening on 15th October, 2014 when Pt. Shubhendra Rao along with Sh.Shubh Maharaja performed at an event organized by SPIC MACAY. Under the name of ‘VIRASAT’, this series of events which is organized in the first half of the academic year is an annual series which comprises an eclectic mixture of performances by artists and workshops in classical music, classical art and folk.
The event began at 5:30 in the evening with both the artists lighting the lamp along with the principal of the college, Dr. V.K. Kawatra and Dr.MonikaKoul, convener of SPIC MACAY which was followed by a detailed introduction of the artists which helped in getting the audience familiar with them.The stage was set in an immaculate manner with floating candles, flowers, incense sticks and was lit up with dim lights which perfectly suited the evening that followed.
Pt. ShubhendraRao, a protégé of world renowned sitar maestro, Pt. Ravi Shankar shared the stage for the first time with Sh. Shubh Maharaja who was born in a musical family of table maestro, Pt. Kishan Maharaja as his grandson. The program was inaugurated with RaagMadhubanti, a raag played in the early evening, with Pt.Shubhendra Rao on the sitar accompanied by Sh.Shubh Maharaja on the tabla. This hour-long program was concluded with light classical dhun based on some folk melodies.
“Indian culture is fast losing its aura with the youth swaying towards the western lifestyle. SPIC MACAY is a national movement of the youth and for the youth. We welcome every student to join this movement of promoting Indian tradition and culture. It is our goal to reach every child of this nation by the year 2020 and make people realize how beautiful our heritage is. Since actions speak louder than words, it is performances like these which will create awareness for the youth”, said Arjun Adit, president of SPIC MACAY, Hans Raj College.
Feature Image Credits: Pixels, Photography Society, Hans Raj College.
