March 2017

DUB Speak

Why Social Reform should take precedence?

By DU Beat March 21, 2017

No country, nation or for that matter society is a perfect one. It has its inherent flaws that need to be worked on. Be it social, political or the economic sphere, the need of reform is always felt when stagnation is witnessed. The human society across the world is affected by various problems such as the class system, caste system, racial discrimination etc.

When we talk about the Indian society, one of the biggest problems that has existed since ages is the ‘Caste System’. It categorizes people on the basis of their occupation and simultaneously compels people from a particular caste to adopt a certain occupation irrespective of their will and acumen. Over the period of time, this stratification has degenerated into a tool of subordination of the classes ranking in the lower parts of this strata by those on the top of it.

One of the great thinkers and a reformer, Dr. B.R Ambedkar, who himself was a victim of caste-based discrimination argued as to how social reform should take precedence in the Indian society. Karl Marx, in his works, described as to how the problem of the class divide can be solved by economic reforms with the Proletariats seizing the means of productions which in turn would bring a social change.

Babasaheb, however, argued that the same doesn’t hold well within the Indian society infested by the Caste system. He argued that unlike in other societies, ownership of economic resources doesn’t necessarily translate into social power in the Indian context. He explained this by giving the example of how Brahmin priests and Sadhus, who are supposed to live on ‘Dakshana’, indicating a lack of ownership of resources. Despite this, however, they are epicenters of social power according to our social system.

The same is the case with political reform. Any political reform without the appropriate social changes preceding them would only perpetuate the social differences. A bureaucrat or a Judge who himself/herself stigmatizes against the oppressed is going to do no good irrespective of whatever political reforms may take place.

Therefore it is imperative for Social reform to precede Political or Economic reform in order to proceed towards a better society. Unless we put an end to the oppression and integrate even the most left out and stigmatized sections, the ideal society which we want to build would remain to be a distant dream.

Image Credits: www.publishyourarticle.com

Aditya Narang

5 Reasons for every college student to get YUP card

By DU Beat March 20, 2017

If you haven’t been saving for a while and you don’t care, you probably don’t know what YUP Card is about. But for those who are broke, and wish to have just a little more money, its time you found out the ultimate way to save regularly.
That being said, lets take a closer look at what YUP Card has in store for all the college peeps in Delhi NCR, and Kolkata too.

YUP Card is a loyalty card, exclusive to college students, tailor-made for all their needs. This card is the ticket to flat discounts and steal deals across everything – from restaurants to salons. If there is something missing, worry not, they’re working to get you those too.

Here are five reasons which not only make YUP Card the tip of the iceberg but at the same time this is arguably the most lucrative deal college students, who are basically living on pocket allowances, can avail.

Flat out deals at the best of brands

A major chunk of the deals and offers present in the market nowadays rely on the over-usage of “conditions applied” YUP doesn’t function in the same way. YUP gives flat discounts on your total bill. This way, you don’t have to end up sacrificing on what you really enjoy.

View all their deals here.
http://www.yupcard.com/offers/all

No Minimum Billing

It happens quite frequently that you can’t avail a certain benefit or discount simply because you have to spend a particular amount to claim the offer.
YUP Card on the other hand, literally makes this trouble go away. Take what you want, pay for what you take, and save on what you need. Your discount will stand good for both a bill of Rs 20 or Rs 2000.

365 Day Validity and 24×7 Claims

Do you often wish if the desirable offer was valid beyond happy hours and on weekends too?
With a YUP Card, you don’t have to worry about any of it. The benefits of your YUP Card is all for yours to take, throughout the year and at all times the outlet is open!

Easy to use

It’s alright to get offers, but what you have to do to claim them is a pain. With YUP Card, all you have to do is go to the outlet, show your YUP Card and receive your offer. And voila! The work is done.

Only a One Time Payment of Rs. 499

You don’t have to go through ridiculous processes to get a YUP Card. Pay up for your YUP Card once, right at the beginning and enjoy the benefits for an entire year!
Awesome right. In case you’re wondering where to get one à www.yupcard.com/registration

P.S: They also have additional benefits for their members, like the #MidWeekMadness event at Café 27, Kailash Colony. Head over there with your YUP Card on 22^nd March 2017 and enjoy an exclusive acoustic night and food on the house. No entry fee.
View event details here: http://www.yupcard.com/pages/mwm-acousticnight

The Battle of State Thrones: The case of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and others

By DU Beat March 20, 2017

On 11th March, the results of the state assemblies in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur were declared. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be forming a government in 4 out 5 states, as they celebrated a massive ride to victory in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand.

The BJP rode a Modi super-wave to a massive victory in Uttar Pradesh, winning 312 of the state’s 403 seats, whereas its allies have won 13 seats for a grand total of 325. The Samajwadi Party and Indian National Congress’ great loss was a shock to the whole nation as the Samajwadi Party, under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav maintained a strong foothold over the masses in UP. Most people have remarked that the UP elections is an indication towards the death of electoral politics in the state, however it may also be seen as a resurgence wherein the electorate has finally moved away from casteist party politics.

In Manipur, amid the BJP claiming support of 32 MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly, outgoing Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam on Sunday said: the Congress, being the single largest party, must be allowed first to form the government. Flanked by NPP and LJP leaders and their winning candidates, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav told a press conference in Imphal, “We have been able to come to an understanding with the NPP and the Lok Janshakti Party in our bid to form the government in Manipur.”

The Congress has its big win in Punjab, as they won 77 of 117 seats. This win is a breath of fresh air for Congress which has been coping with a drop in their credibility, as they have performed rather poorly in other state elections.

The Goa election results that were declared threw up a hung assembly in the state with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 13 seats and the Congress 17 in the 40-member assembly. The BJP however pulled off a coup by enlisting the support of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), Maharastrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and two Independents, to reach the figure of 21 in the 40-member house. A government led by Manohar Parrikar, former Defense Minister, is now leading Goa.

Featured image Credits: NDTV

Joyee Bhattacharya

([email protected])

DUB News

Delhi University Professor sentenced to life imprisonment

By Niharika Dabral March 20, 2017

Professor G.N. Saibaba, former English professor at Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by sessions court in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on 7th March, 2017. The court has found him of “hatching criminal conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India and collecting people with the intention of waging war against the Government of India”.

Professor G.N. Saibaba’s activism.

Before his arrest in 2014, wheelchair-bound and 90% disabled Professor Saibaba use to be an outspoken critic of the human rights abuses by the Salwa Judum and Operation Greenhunt, launched by the government against Maoists. He also played an active role in mobilizing public intellectuals under a group named Forum Against War on People. Owing to his open activism several academics, teachers and students have described his arrest as a deliberate attempt to stifle dissent.

Abduction or arrest?

On the afternoon of May 9, 2014, he was heading back home from the university when a group of policemen in plainclothes arrested him. The next morning after his arrest from Delhi, Professor Saibaba was immediately flown to Nagpur, where the District Magistrate heard his case and sent him to prison. His family was not informed about his arrest and this prompted his wife to file a missing person’s report. The question of this abrupt, almost haphazard arrest raised questions that- why did the Maharashtra police abduct Professor Saibaba in this way when they could have arrested him formally?

The charges against him.

He has been charged under the notorious and dangerously vague Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for advocating unlawful activities, conspiring to commit a terrorist act and inviting support for a terrorist organization. Simply put, Prof. Saibaba was arrested for his alleged Maoist links and being a ‘Naxal ideologue’.

Another offence listed against him is that he is the joint secretary of the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF), an organization that is banned in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. However, it is not banned in Delhi. So how does his association with Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) matter?

The validity of evidence.

The charges against him rest on of letters, pamphlets, books and videos seized during raids that were conducted in his house. During the raids, his laptop, hardisks and pendrives were taken from which the evidence was gathered. Talking to The Hindu in a 2015 interview Prof. G.N Saibaba claimed that “Police claims to have recovered a letter that I had written to some top Maoist leader. To this day, the police never showed me that letter.”

Even if Prof. G.N Saibaba is found to be a member of a banned organization, it won’t be sufficient enough to prosecute him as according to the previous judgments by the Supreme Court ( the Kedar Nath Vs State of Bihar 1962) “mere membership of a banned organization would not make a person criminally liable unless he resorts to violence or incites people to violence or creates public disorder by violence or incitement to violence”.

Not an isolated case.

The case against Prof. Saibaba should not be seen in isolation, since the use of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act id not unprecedented. Earlier cartoonist Arun Ferreira, public health specialist Binayak Sen and many members of Kabir Kala Manch were imprisoned on similar charges. The apparent similarity in all these cases is that they all have been accused of being Naxalites since they talked about issues of lesser known state oppression. Arun Ferreira was eventually released as innocent after spending five years in prison, and Binayak Sen is out on bail since 2011 while the case against him is still pending since 2007. The acquittal rate in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is 72%, despite this the law is used very frequently.

What can we do?

With corporate driven media, there is hardly any news from remote conflict ridden territories. Those few individuals and organizations that attempt to highlight these problems are harassed in with help of laws such as Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. 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. To not ignore, but to acknowledge what the dissenters are trying to say is the least and often most what one can do.

Image Credits- Shalendra Panday/Tehelka

Niharika Dabral

Shaheed Bhagat Singh College hosts Uddayam 2017 .

By DU Beat March 19, 2017

The Commerce Association of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College hosted its annual commerce fest Uddayam on 9^th March 2017. The two-day fest was attended by more than 800 students from colleges all across Delhi University and from other universities in NCR as well. The term Uddayam means ‘entrepreneurship’ as the association strongly believes “ A true entrepreneur is one who is a doer and not just a dreamer” and all the events were hosted in synchronisation with the theme to motivate the budding entrepreneurs.

Wok in the clouds – a trendy restaurant , reminiscent of the contemporary expression of traditional design and flavourful aromatic food was the associate sponsor of the event.

The event started with the inauguration ceremony by Dr.P.K Khurana , Principal, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College . The other senior faculty members included Dr.Anil Sardana, Teacher-in-charge, Department of Commerce and Dr.Ruchi Gupta, Convenor, Commerce Association. This was followed by a marvelous performance by Sourav Dey and Danish Alam , core members of college band – Common Thread who cherished everyone’s souls with their singing. The principal gave the inaugural address and congratulated the members of Commerce Association for always putting up a great show. The president, Ojas Wadhwa , apprised about the association and talked about the future projects of Commerce Association. The ceremony concluded with Dr.Ruchi Gupta proposing a formal vote of thanks followed by the group photograph of faculty members and students to capture the beautiful moment for the years to come.

Following the inaugural ceremony, the much-awaited events started. An array of events was hosted this year.

This year new addition in the list of events was Social Syndicate, it proved to be a benchmark event by bringing the best ideas and young social entrepreneurs under one roof. The contestants presented a plethora of social issues like woman empowerment, poverty, waste management etc. Mr.Ankit Kawatra ( founder, feeding India), Mr.Arindham Kalra ( Delhi Head, Feeding India ) and Ms. Himanshi Gupta ( Hr manager, Indialends.com) were the esteemed judges.

However, the star event of Uddayam was Adwitya – Hunar aur Jazbe ka sangam. An event recognizing the talent of specially-abled students as we believe everyone is special. The event had a huge participation from Delhi University and other colleges of NCR. The performances ranged from melodious songs to enthusiastic dance performances to insightful poetry. The event gathered accolades and appreciation from the judges as well as college faculty. The Commerce Association plans to take Adwitya forward as an annual event in the coming years.

Other events on Day 1 included In-Quiz-Tive –the business quiz which saw undergraduates and postgraduates together congregate to battle. A mixed bag of trivia, identification and FAQ’s based on the incessant business world awaited the participants in the preliminary round. The quiz tested their business acumen, identification skills and in the end, the participants went on to put their points at stake in the bet to connect round on each question answered.

The major fun event was Futbol-de-Fantasia – football manager competition. It was introduced for the first time and focused on how a manager should use his abilities off the pitch to get the best out of the players. The Round 1 was quiz followed by the press conference in round 2 and then it finished with the football auction in round 3.

Pirates Ahoy – treasure hunt in its fourth season was no less, the participants were given mind boggling maths riddles, confusing picture puzzles and other encrypted data to unveil the real treasure.

The second day was equally interesting. Colossal Clash 2.0 – The best manager competition was one of the intellectual events this year. The event comprised of an online preliminary round followed by two on campus rounds. The semi-final round ‘ National Companies Executive Meet’ where participation represented CFOs of companies like BHEL, Bharti Airtel, Jet Airways etc. and discussed the corporate plight post demonetization. This was followed by the final round which was stress interview based on ethical case studies.

Stock-a-thon – battle of bulls and bears. What made this event stand out from other mock stock events was that the participants had a chance to try a hand at investing from the prelims round itself. Participants had an option to diversify their portfolio by investing in shares forex and mutual funds and decipher their analysis based on news and rumours. Marketing Superhero – the Admad competition in it’s third edition was successfully concluded. Each year, the team innovates with the second round and this time they had marketing taboo, which required an understanding amongst the team members to guess the word written on chit. The teams were given innovative products such as dancing shoes, musical jacket, flying car etc. The judges had a tough time in judging the rounds as all the contestants were equally entertaining and creative. Another fun event of Uddayam was Torrents and Trials – TV show quiz where participants were judged on the basis of their knowledge of shows like Game of Thrones and Friends. It receive a huge positive response and the participants had a great time playing this entertaining event.

The road to success comes through hard work and determination and finally , the hard work of the members of Commerce Association paid off. The Commerce Association congratulates all the winners of Uddayam’ 17 and a big thank you to all the people who were part of this journey.

Schmooze with Strangers

By Niharika Dabral March 19, 2017

Project FUEL (Forward the Understanding of Every Life Lesson), founded in 2009 by Deepak Ramola, collects life lessons from people all over the world and turns them into interactive session with performance activities, to pass on the learning. The passing on happens by way of workshops, seminars, and sometimes even over coffee. To facilitate more such exchanges Project FUEL initiated Pop–Up cafe, a place where people can pass on and receive all the wisdom from each other.

On 18th March, Saturday, Project FUEL organised the first ever Delhi version of Pop-Up Cafe at Cafe 121, Satya Niketan from 4pm- 7pm. DU Beat had a wonderful opportunity to be part of the meet up.

A diverse crowd of 35-40 people gathered at Cafe 121 and soon after a brief introduction session by the volunteers everyone was randomly allotted a seat at different tables. It was made sure that on each table everyone is a stranger.

To start off, everyone was asked to give an introduction and then, was asked to assign three adjectives and talk about the first impression of everyone at their table. To make sure that the conversations keep flowing and things stay interesting, small games and appetising snacks were infused. For instance, people were given a placard each with various questions on it which resulted in a fun question and answer session. These placards were later given out as souvenirs. At the end, everyone was told to give one advice, tip, or any life lesson that they thought would add value in one’s life.

Later in the day after two hours of surprisingly unreserved chats the session was called to an end, but it wasn’t all. Before leaving, the oldest member of project fuel Miss. Sharaddha taught us the “Happiness Song” which was followed by an impromptu open-mic session where people recited poems, shayaris and songs.

Acceptance is the first step in overcoming bad memories and moving beyond the unjust happenings of past. It takes a great deal of courage to acknowledge the troubling aspects of one’s life, but with support and impartial understanding speaking out become easy. Keeping this in mind the last activity of the day was conducted. Based on the principles of Sociometry it encouraged people to speak out. Many individuals came forward and shared their life experiences with others, and with the uplifting display of solidarity and catharsis the meet-up was concluded.

Niharika Dabral
([email protected])

Nikhil Kumar
([email protected])

Gerush Bahal
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DUB News

Opposition claims EVM rigging in recent state assembly polls

By DU Beat March 18, 2017

Mayawati from Bahujan Samaj Party and Arvind Kejriwal from Aam Aadmi Party claim that EVM’s have been rigged to tamper with state election results.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed on Wednesday that rigged voting machines transferred his party’s votes to the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine in Punjab, while BSP chief Mayawati said she would seek court help for a probe into “tampering” in Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati’s claims are also supported by Akhilesh Yadav, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and the leader of the Samajwadi Party, who fought the 2017 election in a coalition with the Indian National Congress.

The Aam Aadmi Party came second in the Punjab elections, 77 seats out of the 117 member assembly were secured by the Indian National Congress, making it the victorious party. Similarly, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party was decimated in Punjab, getting just 19 seats in the 403 strong assembly. Following the allegations, the Election Commission reaffirmed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) cannot be tampered with. Union Minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal remarked, “He (Kejriwal) has lost his mental balance so he is saying things like this. He did not say anything when AAP won 67 seats in Delhi”. Kejriwal demanded that the Election Commission count votes of verifiable paper trail-enabled EVMs to “restore credibility of the EVMs”.

In Lucknow, Mayawati repeated similar charges. The BJP’s victory smacked of “fraud”, she said, adding her party would observe 11th of every months as a black day against the “murder of democracy” by the saffron party. Within hours of the result being declared, Mayawati wrote to the EC demanding a fresh election. However, the EC dismissed Mayawati’s claims as they were not substantiated by any form of concrete proof.

Image Credits: Jansatta

Joyee Bhattacharya

Arts & Culture

Oiling the Machine: A different side to DU’s Fest Season

By DU Beat March 18, 2017

DU’s fest season is the envy of most universities across the country, and yet, it has a harsh economic aspect to it which gets obscured in all the ‘fun’ and excitement.

Can you think of college fests in the University of Delhi (DU) as mega PR strategies in themselves?

Each one of them determines the college’s reputation. And if this economic perspective is applied, every decision taken to make a fest ‘grand’— students running from pillar to post to acquire sponsors within restricted deadlines, coming up with unique stalls, competing to invite the most high-profile celebrities — all cater to marketing a college’s name. Students must become entrepreneurs and ‘sell’ their fest to add to their college’s repute. It’s akin to saying that Nexus, Tarang, Mecca and others are brand names in themselves, as much as Venky (Sri Venkateswara College), LSR (Lady Shri Ram College) and Hindu (Hindu College).

Being a part of departmental associations and societies are all excellent means of keeping the co-curricular ‘alive’, alongside the academic. Some students do feel, in fact, that college-life should be a free playground in terms of experiences. “We all come to learn different things from college. Learning to speak to the sponsors or organising a fest is a part and parcel of it,” says Shivangi Bhasin, a second year student. On the other side of the spectrum, however, are students and teachers who feel that the increasing pressure to ‘perform’ in fests is taking away from the aura of the University. As ‘temples of education’, to borrow the often used metaphor, colleges should focus on improving the standards of teaching and learning and their infrastructures as well. Instead, thousands are spent every year on trivial decorations, merely to outdo other colleges.

DU’s fest season is notorious for making students miss classes due to practice or their various societies’ or associations’ meetings. Under the rigorous semester system and the fragmented syllabi scheme of CBCS, even the teachers struggle to keep pace. And yet, the fests must be grander and better than before. Their mandate never changes. As a result, friction arises. The students can neither fully concentrate on their course nor on the fests within the limited time frame of semesters. Also, those who don’t wish to engage into the entrepreneurial aspect of gathering sponsors or promoting the fest are systematically left out in this space. Even within their association, they become involuntarily ‘inactive’ — sometimes it isn’t even their choice. Following a capitalist philosophy then, the University is fast becoming a space of ‘brand names’ and quantity over quality for many. And it is, indeed, a worrying trend.

Image Credits: Shiksha.com

Deepannita Misra