February 2017

College is a great time to explore and discover one’s passions. The experiences, adventures, and occasional escapades enjoyed are perfect shapers and nurturers of one’s innate talent. While most are exposed to the opportunity of taking on something new, only a few actually have the dogged determination to pursue their interests and persist in only getting better along the way. Siddharth Singh and Prakhar Maheshwari from Wannabe Anonymous are perfect examples of how a passion identified and shared in college by two like-minded people can be transformed into a rewarding side-career:

Q: Let’s hear about you from you. Take us to the beginning.

Siddharth: Prakhar and I are from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce. We studied Economics, and met in our second year of college. We both had an interest in comedy. We used to follow and share videos of Kenny Sebastian and Vir Das. Inspired, we decided to actively venture into the niche comedy scene. Initially, we wanted to convey our comedy through the medium of nukkad natak, but then we decided on stand-up comedy instead.
Prakhar: Yes, because sense prevailed! (laughs) We figured that the latter form would be more apt, especially in the initial stage, because we weren’t very sure about our content. The reception and response to a stand-up gig is more encouraging as it helps you gauge the demands of the audience and learn what works and what doesn’t. We decided to combine our humour and thus, Wannabe Anonymous was born.

Q: You’ve put yourself in an extremely competitive field, which is only growing by the day. At any point in your journey till now did you find yourself questioning your instincts and giving up?

Siddharth: After conceiving ‘Wannabe Anonymous’, we applied to perform at Rendezvous 2015. The video we sent to them got rejected. But we didn’t let that bog us down. We performed our first show at a café in Hauz Khas Village.
Prakhar: Towards the beginning of our show, the crowd was thin. But after a while, the café started filling up. That really encouraged us. We were really happy with the way we performed that day.
Siddharth: But then when we had to upload the video of our show online, we realised that we were capable of much better. We had second thoughts and didn’t want to put the video up.
Prakhar: However, we decided to learn from our experience. That video made us want to do better and strive to achieve the level of comedy that we knew we could create. We faced some lows. We do so even now. Instead of letting that pull us down, we like to let that motivate us to do better.
Q- Tell us about your most successful and special show?

Siddharth- I remember Indraprastha College for Women as a fantastic show. We had prepared a script for 25 minutes and the show went on for 45 minutes. It was the kind of show we live for.

Prakhar- It was all impromptu. The audience was very engaged and responsive, it was the kind of connect that we always aspire for.

Siddharth- I think it had to do with something that I like to call induction. It’s like when the first five minutes of the show go well, then automatically the chances of the whole show going great goes up. That’s why before starting we try to the get the audience riled up and get their attention.

Q- How do you do that? Are there any tricks?

Siddharth- I do this stupid thing – and Prakhar hates me for this – where I just ask the assemblage to show us how to clap, how to whistle etc. Basically we just make them look at us, ensure their attentiveness, and get them energised. It works.

Prakhar- Once you have the audience hooked, your lamest jokes will work. I find this phenomenon worked with Kenny Sebastian often. Once during his gig, Kenny simply said that “I’m going to shave.” and the people went berserk. He just said “I’m going to shave”. It wasn’t a joke, but it was still funny. That’s the kind of charm we want to own.

Question- In recent times, we have seen that controversies and comedians have had many run ins. Kiku Sharda was booked under section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code (outraging religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious belief) and recently the Tanmay Bhatt and Lata Mangeshkar fiasco happened. What are your views on this? Do you think comedians should be more responsible?

Prakhar- I think people should just have a sense of humour. In case of Tanmay Bhatt and Lata Mangeshkar controversy, I find people to be unnecessarily touchy. Why it was even made into a big deal? It’s beyond me.

Q- But, do think this applies to the sexist jokes too? Someone might say that “yes, it’s sexist. If you don’t like it then ignore me.”

Siddharth- We personally do not crack sexist jokes. We make Punjabi jokes, we make jokes on colleges about certain DU colleges, and chances are someone will always be offended at something. We know we can’t always prevent that from happening. However, we know where to draw the line. It’s about one’s own discretion. About the ethical aspect of jokes, should they be offensive or not, I don’t know honestly. I haven’t formed an opinion on this.

Prakhar– Last year we performed at IIT Delhi. Some of our jokes were sexist in nature and they were being received very well by the crowd, which was was male dominated. There were two girls there and in the middle of the show they left. We don’t know if they left because they were offended or because they just wanted to leave for other reasons. Now when we think about IIT Delhi, it does make us uncomfortable. After that show we made a point not to crack such jokes, even if they are in demand.

Siddharth- Another time, during the show at Indraprastha College for Women, I made a joke on how women are bad drivers and the crowd started screaming “Offensive”, “Not funny” and “Sexist”. Thankfully, my senses prevailed quickly and I moulded it into something else. Anyway, we are not proud of these jokes of ours. That is something we realise now.

Q- Judging from this instance that you talked about, what do you do when a joke falls flat? No one laughs and it’s just gone.

Prakhar- See, the fact that it’s two of us to take the fall helps a-lot. Sometimes when we are fortunate, we improvise something on the spot and it works, sometimes we simply move ahead. Initially we used to explain our jokes expecting that the audience will laugh. We would assume that no one got it, instead of accepting that it was lame. This was a horrible thing to do. Now we know (chuckles)

Q- You guys have a regular job, so how sincerely are you guys thinking about stand-up comedy?

Siddharth- I know this lexicon is clichéd but I’ll use it anyway. We both belong to a typical middle class family, which means we have a fair share of duties and moral dilemma. Papa CJ is one of my favourite comedians and one thing he says is that financial independence is the best gift you can give to yourself and your parents. I agree with this 100%. I can’t allow myself to depend on my dad’s money because I’m aware of the responsibility I have towards my family. Stand-up comes with certain risks and I can’t afford those risks right now. However, that doesn’t mean I’ll use this as an excuse for not working on Wannabe Anonymous. I love Wannabe Anonymous.

Prakhar- A nine to five job that ensures that we get paid every month acts as a safety net that we need. It’s like what Biswapati Sarkar categorises as: area of interest and area of knowledge. Our jobs are our area of knowledge and Stand-up is our area of interest. Right now we are in our early 20s and we feel believe that we are able to balance job and passion very well.

Q- Recently you did your fist ticketed show which was a success. How do you see this transition from free shows to ticketed shows?

Prakhar- It was great! I can’t explain how awesome it felt to be on stage and to see that these many people have bothered to pay for us.

Siddharth- When I was preparing the script for the show my brother asked me, “How is it going?” and I casually replied, “It’s okay, let’s see.” To that, my brother said, “Listen, please be serious because people have paid for this. You must do justice to their money.” Some extra responsibility is always there when it’s a paid performance.

Prakhar- Though it’s not like we are not sincere otherwise. We are very serious comedians. (winks)

Q- If you were given a chance to relive your college lives, then which college would you choose, except Delhi College of Arts and Commerce?

Siddharth- Shri Ram College of Commerce

Prakhar- St. Stephens College.

Siddharth- But then who will be your friend? Stephenians won’t befriend you, right?

Prakhar- But dude, if you stay in the same collage from the starting then one or two nice people will be kind enough to be my friends.

Q- Last question: where do you see yourselves 5 years from now?

Siddharth- Ideally, I see myself doing stand-up full time.

Prakhar- When you start from the bottom it only goes up. Five years from now, I think we’ll still be doing stand-up.

Feature Image by Alex Arthur for DU Beat

Interview by Kriti Sharma ([email protected]) and Niharika Dabral ([email protected])

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JNU Sedition Row: A timeline and analysis

By Niharika Dabral February 11, 2017

For most people, February 9th will be just another day in the calendar. But, in the history of student movements, this day will be known for the beginning of a remarkable battle between the sedition-professing state and the students, who advocated absolute freedom of expression. This row erupted after a public event organized by a few students corroborating the judicial killing of Afzal Guru and demanding the right to self-determination of Kashmir dominated the public discourse for months and in the process raised many plausible questions pertaining to nationalism, dissent, activism, politics, and policies. Yes, we’re talking about the famous (or infamous) JNU Sedition Row.

Here is a look at the sequence of events:

• A program organized by a few students, including Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya ,against the execution of Afzal Guru and for Kashmir’s right to ‘self-determination’ takes place on the evening of 9th February, 2016. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) protests against this event and a scuffle takes place. Meanwhile, a few media channels (mainly Zee News) that were present at the ground report that anti-India slogans such as “Bharat ki barbara di tak jung rahegi” and “Bharat tere turkey hongay” were raised and contested videos of the same are widely circulated.

• On February 12th, Kanhyaiya Kumar, then JNU Students Union(JNUSU) president is arrested by Delhi Police for sedition and criminal conspiracy. Many JNU students are booked for the same; five of them go into hiding. Protests in support of Kanhiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, and Anirban Bhattacharya erupt.

• On February 15th and 16th, there is mob violence outside Patiala House Court during the hearing of Kanhiya Kumar. Journalist, JNU teachers, Kanhaiya Kumar himself, and activists are assaulted by a group of lawyers.

• On February 17th, JNU faculty members start open lecture series on Nationalism and 133 eminent professors from prestigious universities, including Noam Chomsky, writes a letter condemning the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar, and expresses solidarity with the students and faculty.

• On February 18t,h three office-bearers of JNU unit of ABVP resigned by stating disagreement over the Centre’s crass handling of the matter.

• On February 21st, all the absconding students return to the campus and offer themselves for surrender.

• On February 24th, Delhi Police arrests Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya.

• On March 24th Kanhyaiya Kumar returns to JNU amidst much media attention.

• On March 19, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya are released on bail and subsequently address the huge gathering at JNU’s administrative block.

• On April 26th, varsity’s inquiry committee found 21 students guilty of breaking disciplinary norms, the Student’s Union and Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) rejects the punishments.

• On 10th and 12th May, rusticated students move to the Delhi High Court against their rustication.

• On May 13th, High Court stays the disciplinary action against the students.

A slew of confrontations and protests between students, teachers, and administration regarding multiple issues continued throughout the year.

The best and worst of media coverage
The reason why a seemingly small public meeting, which is typical of a politically charged campus like JNU, became a subject of prime time after prime time was not because the media was interested in discussing the controversial trial of Afzal Guru, the Kashmir problem or student politics, but because an incident was blown of out proportion to suit another agenda altogether. The narratives that many sections of media weaved reduced many complex issues into simplistic binaries and the dangerous Bush discourse of “you’re either with us, or against us” was created. The media trial that was run against students and against JNU as an institution itself incited violence towards the accused and jeopardized their safety. Multiple false claims such as: Umar Khalid visited Pakistan (except that he doesn’t hold a passport) and that he made 800 calls to Gulf countries in 4 days (which means 8.9 calls per hour) were callously thrown around. Mainstream media houses like News X quoted an unverified Intelligence Bureau document and announced Umar Khalid a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist, but conveniently forgot to add a correction disclaimer when Intelligence Bureau denied any such findings. Even Home Minister Rajnath Singh made an unsusceptible statement saying that “The incident at JNU has received support from Hafiz Saeed“. With an enthusiastic circulation of morphed videos and jingoistic shooting matches, JNU row could be seen as a perfect example where certain section of media lost its credibility to some vested interests.

However, while it was the worst of times, it was also the best of times. Independent and alternative portals like Newslaundy, The Wire, ScoopWhoop, Catch News, National Dastak and India Resists provided the much needed unbiased coverage of the whole fiasco. Taking a stand against Zee News’s propaganda laced documentation of JNU issue journalist Vishwa Deepak openly resigned from Zee Media. Somewhere in the media frenzy, we also saw journalist Ravish Kumar’s Black Screen prime time episode which was an epitome of fair reportage.

Current status of cases
The sedition cases which were to be investigated by Delhi Police’s anti-terrorism unit, the Special Cell, are presently at halt. No charge sheet has been filed. Delhi Police has seen two police commissioners in the past year and it appears that except for BS Bassi (commissioner during February 2016 who filed suo moto cases against the students) no one is interested in further pursuing the cases. This indifference is understandable since the grounds on which the charges were filed are fragile.

What changed for the anti-nationals?
Kanhaiya Kumar reached instant fame after his arrest and the much broadcasted ‘Azaadi’ speech. He bagged a book deal with publishing house Juggernaut Books and subsequently released ‘Bihar to Tihar: My Political Journey’ on 1st July 2016. Kanhaiya Kumar has addressed multiple rallies across the country in past one year.

Umar Khalid is currently working on final semester of his Ph.D which is centered on the tribals of Singhbhum district in Jharkhand. Because his face was continuously splashed across the television screen for weeks, Umar became a familiar face and unfortunately still has a fair share of haters (both online and offline). Even though the Umar is a popular activist and has been invited as a speaker to several conferences and demonstrations, he still faces security issues as a result of the vilification.

Shehla Rashid Shora, Vice President of JNUSU 2015-16 spearheaded the stand with JNU movement and represented the university in all major forums. She has signed a book deal with Penguin Random House. Her book titled ‘I, Student’ is expected to hit the stands this year.

A year on, five of those six students at the heart of the controversy are still studying at the university except for Anirban Bhattacharya, who left after submitting his Ph.D. thesis. Currently, he works as a researcher with a Delhi-based think tank.

Questions that remain unanswered
It’s been one year since the arrests were made and an esteemed institution was equated as ‘the den of terrorists’. However, unlike last year, T.V studios are now busy covering the Uttar Pradesh elections, those self-righteous anchor-students who were baying for the blood of so-called ‘anti-nationals’ are today silent on the police and state inaction. The question arises: Should the media be held accountable for the victimization of students? Should Delhi Police, which actively raided hostels and made arrests be asked about the developments of the case? It is still unclear who were the people who raised the anti-India slogans or if at all there was any sloganeering.

However, what is clear is that Jawaharlal Nehru University students are stronger than ever: They are still dissenting despite the grills that are installed at the administrative block. Yes, their protests are not being televised but they sure are alive.

Niharika Dabral
[email protected]

Image Credits: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters

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Mental health and the stigma around it

By Anagha Rakta February 11, 2017

Depression is more than just feeling sad and anxiety is more than just being stressed – it is the 21st century and some people still don’t understand the difference…

“It’s so depressing!” is a phrase that many people use when they see grey clouds wash over a sunny sky. Most people say it to express a feeling of sadness and it isn’t surprising that depression has become synonymous with feeling low over something like the weather. This is just one of the many myths that surround mental health and all of them create a stigma that prevents people to seek help.

Mental illness is an umbrella term used for a variety of disorders that hamper a person’s well being.Every disorder has different symptoms and each such disorder has to be treated separately. Labels like ‘crazy’, ‘attention-seeker’ and ‘suicidal’ contribute to not just social stigma, but also self-stigma, keeping victims from accepting their condition. Most people who suffer from depression and anxiety don’t realise their condition because friends, family, and teachers ask them to “Cheer up!” or “Take it easy”.

Why does this stigma matter? It matters because if mental illness goes untreated, people turn to alcohol, drugs and self-harm. The stigma also hinders effective recovery from these illnesses and awareness is important for social inclusion and effective treatment. One of the major reasons it is difficult for people with mental illnesses to confront medical help is the negative attitudes of society.

Mental illness can fall upon anyone.But it can be easily and effectively treated with the eradication of these stigmas and hence it is important to encourage mental health awareness. And awareness is necessary to tell people that mental illness is as real as physical illness.

Anagha Rakta
[email protected]

Image credits: MedicalDaily

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Bigotry at show on third day at ‘Musha’irah’

By Srivedant Kar February 11, 2017

Ideas often grow in spaces which celebrate freedom. These ideas, both radical and revolutionary are double edged swords. While ideas that led to the birth of Facebook and WhatsApp have the ability to change the world for the better, others like the holocaust, can leave a stain on humanity forever. Academic spaces are the best incubators for the growth of ideas. Hindu College’s annual literary fest Musha’irah is one such platform, where students come to celebrate literature and ideas. The fest is known to provide a conducive bed for the generation and propagation of liberal ideas, like that of Freedom, Inclusivity, Love and Compassion. But this time, one more idea made an appearance- Hate.

I have been a regular audience to events and programmes at Hindu College. Being a proponent of the democratic ethos that Hindu College has inspired since ages, through its elected Hindu college Parliament, I ensure that I don’t miss any popular events that happen around the college. But unlike other times, this time Hindu College had a speaker who is highly controversial. Tarek Fatah, known to host a show called ‘Fatah ka Fatwa’ on Zee News was the speaker of the session on day three of the fest. He is under police protection and this turned the college into a virtual fortress, with platoons of police all around. Nonetheless, he ensured that the 45 minute session during which he addressed the audience, albeit with police officials ambushing the area, was enough to incite the feelings of hatred amongst the students.

He started with denouncing the whole culture of a mushairah, a way to celebrate language. According to him the language Urdu, which caused millions of death during the partition and amputated the country, has no place to be celebrated in our country. Doing so, he said, was equivalent to confirming to the two nation theory, as propagated by Pakistan, and imposing the divisive lines on languages across India.

He went ahead and spoke about the politics of names, censuring the fact that Delhi had its famous gardens named after Lodi, who was an invader. While praising the recent order of the government to change the name of Dalhousie Road to Dara Shikoh, he went on to target Saif Ali Khan for naming his new born Taimur. He also took a dig at Ghulam Nabi Azad of Congress, for naming his son ‘Saddam’, almost in the same breath.
Even after having written four books on different topics, Fatah choose to portray a name through the lens of history, rather than its conventional meaning in Language.

He also discouraged students from preparing for Civil Services Examinations (CSE), saying that in our country people spend so much energy and time to become a ‘servant’ at the end. In his entire speech, he made several responses to demonize Pakistan, claiming that it is a country which is dying to destroy India. His speech was filled more with political bashing than any inspiration.

When college unions aim to gain some goodwill from the establishment by allowing academic spaces to be used for bigotry, it is high time students realise that saffronization is not limited to ballots only. Now, it is coming for our books too. We, as students, should be aware of where to draw the red lines for ideas, to uphold the liberal ethos of our academic spaces.

In his entire session, the only point that I liked was when he asked students to be rebellious and embrace non-conformity with an iron will. As I Googled the meanings of names that he condemned in his session,I learnt that Saddam means ‘someone who confronts everything’ while Timur means ‘iron’. Such an irony.

Srivedant Kar
[email protected]

Image Credits: www.TedX.com

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Let’s talk about Bela Bhatia and Bastar

By Niharika Dabral February 10, 2017

To isolate the enemy, to cut off all sources of information and resources and to discredit and defame the dissenters, is a tried and tested strategy of an authoritarian state. A very apparent example and implementation of this can be seen in Chattisgarh where routine intimidation of lawyers, activist and journalists is a norm. To bring forth the ground reality of state-sponsored harassment of civil society and tribals and persecution that she herself was subjected to, renowned researcher Bela Bhatia addressed the students of the University of Delhi in a public talk at Delhi School of Economics organized by People’s Union for Democratic Rights and Bastar Solidarity Network, Delhi chapter on 31st January.

While 2016 wasn’t a pleasant year for liberal-democratic ethos, with hounding of renowned researcher Bela Bhatia out of Bastar in January this year 2017 doesn’t seem any promising.

On 23rd of January, a bunch of 30 odd people belonging to vigilante group AGNI (Action Group of National Integration) barged in Bela Bhatia’s residence in Parpa village and threatened arson if she did not leave Bastar immediately. The mob also forced the landlady and Bhatia to sign a declaration saying that she would leave the house within 24 hours. Though she managed to call the police, it did little to control the mob. In the face of such intimidation and for the concern of her landlady’s safety, Bhatia agreed to leave the house in 24 hours. However, due to an uproar from the civil society members, Chief Minister Raman Singh has given assurance of Bela Bhatia’s safety. Bela Bhatia, with a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, is an ex-faculty member at Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). She has served on the panel of the Planning Commission with government officials to look at challenges in Maoist-infected areas and since 2007 she has been researching in Bastar on counter-insurgency.

Activism followed by attacks.

This isn’t the first time that she has become the target of such threats. In November 2015, her then landlord, had asked her to vacate the house in Jagdalpur after he was coerced by police and vigilante groups to do so. This was promptly after Bela Bhatia helped the women of Peddagelur and Bellamnendra village to file first information reports on charges of sexual assaulted by security personnel. in January 2016, Naxal Peedit Sangharsh Samiti engaged in sloganeering against her: “Bastar chhodo, Bastar chhodo, Bela Bhatia Bastar chhodo.”

Again on March 2016, close to 100 people belonging to another vigilante group, Samajik Ekta Manch arrived at Parpa village (where Bela Bhatia lives) in jeeps and pick-up trucks and started sloganeering “Naxal samarthak Bastar chhodo.” Mahila Ekta Manch, the women wing of Samajik Ekta Manch distributed leaflets that identified her as a Naxalite, and also termed her companion and noted economist Jean Dreze as a “foreigner dalal”.

The most recent attack on her in January this year also came just three days after she accompanied a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team to record the statements of rape and sexual assault survivors who had filed FIRs against police personnel following which The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Chhattisgarh government over the alleged rape, sexual and physical assault of 16 tribal women by the state police in 2015.

Repression is not unprecedented.

Last February, under conditions similar to Bhatia’s, lawyers of the Jagdalpur Aid Group, who provide legal aid to poor tribals implicated in capricious laws such as Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act,(CSPSA) were also forced to leave Bastar. Tribal activist and the Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Soni Sori also sustained chemical burns at the hands of some unknown assailants in Dantewada last February. Award winning Journalist Malini Subramaniam, too had to leave after her residence was stoned and slogans were shouted outside her house in a similar fashion. BBC Hindi journalist, Alok Prakash Putul, also had to leave his assignment in Bastar, Chhattisgarh midway after he received threats. Dantewada-based journalist Prabhat Singh was arrested for allegedly posting an “obscene message” against a senior police officer on WhatsApp group in June and before that freelance journalist, Santosh Yadav was arrested in September 2015 by the state police under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act. This was immediately after he helped secure bail of a juvenile prisoner who was mistaken as a Maoist. Nandini Sundar, a Delhi University professor who has been working with Adivasi population in Chattisgarh for years now was booked for the murder of a tribal man in November 2016, the case was later struck off after the wife of the deceased, said that she had given no names to the police.

Suo-motto of silencing the questions.

With so many instances, of harassment of activists, journalists and lawyers who come in the way of impunity of police and security forces it is easy to tell that intimidation is being used as a tool to discourage and discredit the dissenters. Many similarities in the pattern of oppression can be observed in these cases such as protests by so-called “people’s group’s” and eviction by landlords and branding of activists as Naxal sympathizers.

Even though Chattisgarh police freely uses arbitrary laws like Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act UAPA to incarcerate people, they have devised many state-sponsored vigilante groups which act against opposition on their behalf. It’s a part of a devious strategy where vigilante groups are used when the police can’t take direct against the well-connected activists.

Case in point is Action Group for National Integrity (AGNI)-a vigilante group, which has been at the forefront of such attacks. This group organised Lalkar’ rally (an anti- Maoist rally) in September last year which was attended by Bastar police Inspector General SRP Kalluri, as well as Superintendent of Police RN Das. It may be noted that AGNI was formed after a similar vigilante group called Samajik Ekta Manch (SEM) was disbanded by the state government in April, 2016 after the Chhattisgarh police officials were caught in a sting operation where they admitted facilitating the group.

What can we do?

There is hardly any news from conflict-ridden Chattisgargh that makes it to the national news- not the resistance, not the repression, not the atrocities of the state. Attempts to highlight some issues are made by dedicated members of civil society and we can tell it is increasingly becoming a hard task. In this situation, it is up to us to either live in complicity or listen carefully to what the state machinery does not want us to hear.

While talking to DU Beat, Bela Bhatia said that “Youngsters living in privileged urban settings should be aware of the happenings in conflict zones and they must tell other people about these stories against the backdrop of massive government censorship. To not ignore, but to acknowledge is the least and often the most what one can do.”
Image Credits- newslaundry.com

Niharika Dabral
[email protected]

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Bazinga

Bazinga: Delhi University to Celebrate Valentine’s Day This Year

By Srivedant Kar February 9, 2017

In a shock to the moral policing groups who often spread hooliganism in the name of protecting the culture and religion of the country, the University of Delhi has decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day in North Campus this year. Surprisingly, the various departments of the University were accommodative of the planning for the celebration. “It is a day for young people, we don’t have any business in there”, said one Professor, who was a member of the committee which gave the final go-ahead for the event.

The celebrations which will be held at the Vice Chancellor lawns, a popular hangout spot for young couples will include heart-shaped balloons and rose petal showers in half hour intervals from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Since the event is not related to any academic work, the officials in the finance department are working on how to arrange funds for the event. “We have approached a couple of companies. They have been positive”, said one official on conditions of anonymity. Another official said that “Archies has even agreed to sponsor the entire event so it won’t be a problem.”

As an elaborate plan to celebrate this occasion, the University has planned to ask its constituent colleges to celebrate the occasion in their respective campuses. A notification will be issued to them asking them to mark a tree in their campus and hold functions around it, like the popular ‘V Tree Puja’ held in Hindu College. “We are ready to help in every way possible if DU wants to spread this culture to other colleges” said one of the members of the Hindu hostel team which plans on celebrating ‘V Tree Puja’ this year too.

“The main motive of the event is to waive the rumors that saffronization has spread in our academic spaces” said another faculty member who was a member of a Left party during his student days. Throwing a barb on the ruling party, he said that “universities were progressive and free spaces, and they shall remain so irrespective of the party in power.”

However, the event has not gone down well with the National Saffron Vidyarthi Association, which represents the right-wing government in university politics. “We will organise a day-long protest to oppose such spread of western ideas which harm our national culture”, said a member of the association.

(Disclaimer: Bazinga is a column of believably fake news that you should enjoy, strictly not to be believed!)

Image Credits: DU Beat

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

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Kamala Nehru College

The Underwear Debacle: Kamla Nehru College Disqualified For “Vulgarity”

By Vineeta Rana February 9, 2017

Lakshya, the theatre society of Kamala Nehru College, was recently disqualified in the Mahavidyalaya Natya Samaroh organised by the Sahitya Kala Parishad. Lakshya’s annual theatre production, “Shahira Ke Naam”, is a play that revolves around college girls who live their life to the fullest. Naturally, the play involved a few simple words to describe women’s underwear. At the end of their performance, an announcement was made to inform the participants that morality must be maintained in the plays. It was after this that the society was informed that they were disqualified.

The students wondered if the disqualification was because they had used a few swear words. However, other teams had used many more vulgar words. Eventually, they were told that it was because of their use of words such as “bra” and “panty” that they had been disqualified. The Sahitya Kala Parishad stated that such words were acceptable in a girls’ college, but not for a public performance viewed by families. The problem with this is that there were a few other plays which also used questionable language, which was arguably more offensive – misogynistic and casteist.

Such backlash for merely mentioning women’s underwear was called out by the students of the society as well as their convenor. Soon, the news began to spread and theatre societies of other colleges, as well as the general student community shared their own views in support of the Kamala Nehru students. For instance, Rangayan, the dramatics society of Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College said that “creating havoc out of the usage of these terms and their portrayal is archaic and abnormal”. Dilgrace Kaur, Vice President of Lakshya stated that the Sahitya Kala Parishad had come under fire before for similar reasons.

When the news reached the organisers, they claimed that the society was not disqualified, but would only lose marks for offensive language. Monami Basu, the teacher convener of the society said she received a call from Kapil Mishra, the Minister of Water, Tourism, Art, Culture and Gurudwara Election. He said he would ask the Sahitya Kala Parishad to neither disqualify nor deduct marks for the performance.

On 31 January, members of Pinjra Tod protested against the misogynistic decision off the Sahitya Kala Parishad. They hung bras in the Shri Ram Centre, where the performance had taken place. Somaya Gupta, one of the protesters, said that “it’s high time that people start normalising things such as women’s undergarments” and that the protest was not “just about the disqualification, but about prohibiting conversation even in a cultural space”.

It remains to be seen what the Sahitya Kala Parishad and other conservative organisations will take from the students’ attempts to fight this misogyny. As Monami Basu said, “If it titillates you, it is your problem. We reject your pretentious hypocritical propriety.”

Image Credits: The Hindu

Vineeta Rana

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Is Hollywood’s Response to Sexual Assault Coloured?

By DU Beat February 8, 2017

We’re all with familiar with the phrase ‘OscarsSoWhite”, however this year the Oscar diversity drought came to a temporary halt with a sizeable number of black nominations. However, is this just a farce? The tussle between Casey Affleck and Nate Parker makes us think so.

At the Sundance Film Festival last year, Nate Parker’s directorial debut The Birth of a Nation about a 1831 Virginia slave rebellion and Casey Affleck starrer Manchester By The Sea about a Boston janitor promised to make the Oscar rounds. With the coming of 2017, there seems to be no trace or mention of Parker while Affleck has picked up a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the heart broken janitor. So what changed? When Parker’s film released in October, it was overshadowed by the news that back in 1999, nineteen year old Parker and the film’s co-writer Jean Celestin had been accused of raping a fellow student in college. Parker was acquitted on grounds that he had consensual sex with the victim prior to the incident. Amidst the uproar, sexual harassment charges against Affleck resurfaced which allegedly took place on the set of his 2010 mockumentary, I’m Still Here. According to the Guardian, “original allegations included claims that Affleck hired transvestite prostitutes ‘for his personal gratification’ and during filming, referred to women as cows, manhandled her when she rejected his sexual advances and instructed a camera operator to flash his genitals at her.”

The one thing that has particularly galled a number of observers is the profiles of Affleck that make only a mere passing mention of his indiscretions. In stark contrast, when the news of Parker broke out, The Daily Beast says Academy voters said that they won’t even watch the movie while the American Film Institute cancelled a screening. Rev Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, told the Root , an online magazine of African American culture, “Is the standard now that you can take an almost two-decade acquittal and deny him the Oscars, but it’s all right for others who’ve done crazy stuff to be Oscar material? I just want to know, what’s the standard?”

There is no escaping Affleck’s privilege as Ben Affleck’s younger brother who has one of Hollywood’s most enduring friendships with the influential Matt Damon. There is definitely no escaping the race factor as The Daily Wire rightly puts, “Black man acquitted of a single incident involving one woman 17 years ago, has his entire career destroyed. White man who settled two sexual harassment suits from two separate accusers that involve alleged behavior on a film set just six years ago, is well on his way to Oscar glory.”

This is reminiscent of Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird” where a black man is accused of rape simply because he is black and such violence is attributed to his race. Thus, ladies and gentlemen we observe that Nate Parker has disappeared of the Oscar radar while Ben’s little brother is on an award winning roll.

Image Credits: www.newyorker.com

Anahita Sahu

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The Showdown to Trump

By DU Beat February 8, 2017

Politicians are a species which is said to possess a pivotal incongruity between what is spoken and what is done. The governance of nations is criticised when the leaders fail to deliver their share of promises when the battle of votes is won; to the extent, the very idea of following-up policies after election seems almost ludicrous. But, the newly elected Honourable President of the United States has defied the majority of precedents by sticking to and staying true to the stream of actions which would be undertaken by the Obama-successor. For, the unfurling of impregnable walls and population bans has set the ball in motion for the term of the newly elected leader of the US.

After the Inauguration Day, President Trump (sigh) signed a series of Executive Orders to begin his term (or rule.) The one order which managed to stun the world collectively was the ‘temporary block on immigrants from Seven-Muslim majority countries.’ However, as the Trump administration refutes, it is not a Muslim ban. The order merely constitutes imposing a 90-day ban for residents of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen along with the prevention of refugees from entering the country for 120 days. But, the terminology of ‘Muslim Ban’ doesn’t seem to be applicable here, especially when the order was signed on the Holocaust Remembrance Day, does it?

With the world collectively condemning the harsh step taken by one of the leading countries, gestures of opposition have been taken by different sects. Here’s how the strength of unity is endeavouring to make a difference!

United Nations

At a time, which calls for compassion and lending support, a time which has been torn by the ravages of war, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and International Organisation for Migration urged the administration to continue offering asylum to refugees and people affected by the goriness of war. A joint statement was issued by the two agencies, commenting that “The longstanding US policy of welcoming refugees has created a win-win situation: it has saved the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world who have in turn enriched and strengthened their new societies.” A reversal of such a move would result in the loss of lives of hundreds and thousands of people fleeing war.

Global Leaders

The wave of reprove over the immigration ban was reverberated by the political leaders all across the world, preaching the arguments of humanity and kindness. Nations have released various statements regarding the necessity of accepting refugees and propagating the values of unity and kindness. Former President Obama, issued a statement through his spokesperson, saying, “The President fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion.” The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, further highlighted the notions of the Geneva Conventions and the colossal importance of accepting refugees on humanitarian grounds. The political scales have been lifted comically with the release of country-specific videos, mockingly claiming their nations as the ‘second best’ in typical Trump vernacular!

Business-sector

A show of solidarity was poured by the business arena of the country, with leading companies like Apple, Mircrosoft, Google, Facebook, Uber writing a joint letter to oppose the travel ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. Moreover, the global coffee retailer, Starbucks’ announcement regarding the hiring of 10,000 refugees came as a bridge of harmony. They would focus on hiring immigrants “who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel,” thus, seeking to protect those who branched out to help them. The ideals of global integration and humanity endeavour to be restored in the midst of an order aiming to isolate a ravaged community.

Entertainment

The world of art and entertainment isn’t fair behind in demonstrating their despair. Producers like Joss Whedon, Dan Harmon, and Danny Zuker and other took part in a protest at LAX, along with a unified platform for speaking at the SAG Awards in January. With an outrage on social media platforms and members of Hollywood expressing their bafflement over the move, the cry is coming from far and wide. This was further reverberated by the brilliant Ellen DeGeneres, who on her show drew the compelling analogy between Dory’s world and that of today.

Image Credits: ABC

Saumya Kalia

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The Dalai Lama graces Jesus and Mary College

By DU Beat February 8, 2017

7th February marked a startling day as we witnessed an entire auditorium brimming with women all around, each of them more captivated than the next, completely engrossed in the sweet words of his holiness, the 14^th Dalai Lama, Lhamo Dondrub who with his tranquil saffron robe and delightful chuckle instantly put the audience at ease.

Before we set out to describe how this event was and always will be one for the serene and prestigious walls of Jesus and Mary College, it is important to reiterate why the Dalai Lama seems to bring metaphorical peace doves with him and fill a feeling of awe in everyone’s eyes. Tibetan Buddhists believe him to be the 14th reincarnation of the original Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader who was born in 1351 and who was said to be the reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara, Buddhism’s Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The Commerce Department organised this event almost effortlessly with security and sanity both intact despite the over imposing crowd of college students and faculty. The sole objective of this Talk was to enlighten the audience on Compassion, Mercy and Universal Responsibility in a way that opens up your mind and does not leave you feeling intimidated. All our eyes and senses were open as the Dalai Lama spoke about how everyone’s ultimate desire is happiness and our devotion to god and segregation based on religion has nothing to do with that ultimate goal. We live in such cushioned environments that the only grief that reflects in our eyes is from the Television channels. His holiness gave a befitting example of how proud Punjabis are and their need to display their beliefs which sent the audience in raves.

The Dalai Lama collaborated his energies to make us envision a world of ‘Oneness’ and ‘Compassion’ because human beings are social animals and their first instinct is to be compassionate and we need to train our minds to bring that out more. The only solution to mould our minds it to further educate ourselves and to remember that affection in turn brings affection back to you.

The World’s individual identities must be put aside to focus on global issues like global warming where someone’s faith or religion does not need to interfere with one’s notion to do good for themselves and for others. He spoke about how institutions like various colleges in Delhi University have blossoming potential to produce compassionate human beings because that is what you are remembered for, he then went on to express his undying adulation for Mother Teresa and her devotion to society. He was particularly peeved by how there are segregations and various excuses for violence even within religions like in Islam even though the religion is based on one Quran.

He believes that there are scientific approaches to meditation that facilitate you in moulding your minds to exude more compassion and prevent the overflow of emotions which is when people take imbalanced decisions.

“We must utilise logic and so we must investigate, we do not accept easily, why? And how?” said the Dalai Lama on his scientific approach to expanding your mind. Questioning is a part of the key pillars on the path to a sound mind.

There were without a doubt various questions raised by the audience including some by both keen students and members of the faculty. As a response to a question on militancy, his holiness asked us to tap into our intelligence and not rely on negative actions and bullying as a coping mechanism, he touched on relations between China and India and stated that they needed to trust each other and above all “De-militarize”. He urged the millennials present there to maintain their moral principles no matter what profession one might choose because each professions fills a vital place in the world.

He concluded by cementing a belief of responsibility in each of us through analytical meditation and quietness which is where we tend to open up to our realisations more. Teachers and students must have a cooperative and open relationship where there is a lot of room for dialogue and that is how students can be steered to the right path, through trust. If one’s mind is peaceful and smiling then physical ailments can go away because such is the power of the mind.

Feature Image: Mehak Dhawan, Jesus and Mary College

Baani Kashyap

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