Mukhatib 2017, the annual streetplay festival organised by Shunya-the theatre society of Ramjas College on 31st March 2017 saw four plays being censored by the authorities to avoid any type of unrest in the campus. The organisers of the event were reportedly asked for the scripts of the plays which were to be performed in the festival just before the event. This was followed by the cancellation of four plays which had elements of nationalism in them. The students replied to this attempt of the administration by sealing their lips with black tapes and tying black bands around their arms.
There were seven plays scheduled to be performed in the event out of which only three were allowed. The plays of the colleges which were cancelled were SGTB Khalsa college’s play ‘Trump Card‘, Dyal Singh Evening college’s ‘Jokistaan’, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce’s ‘sawal to uthega’ and Gargi College’s ‘Main Kashmir, aur aap? Main Manipur’.
Out of the three teams that were allowed to perform, Lady Shri Ram College did not perform as a mark of protest while Miranda House and Kirori Mal College went ahead with their performances “Hadsa-e-Paidaish” and “The Accidental Death of an Anarchist” respectively.
However, the authorities refuted the claims of censorship and said that it was the students who themselves decided to scrap the plays. The acting Principal P.C. Tulsiyan said “The administration did not cancel the plays but Ramjas students who are members of the drama society did it themselves. We had just advised them to not include anything which may hamper the peaceful atmosphere at the college.”
However, speaking to DU Beat on the condition of anonymity, a student organiser said “We were made to sign an undertaking by the authorities who refused to give us permission otherwise. We have been organising Mukhatib for years but never before we have seen this type of censorship and silencing of voices on the pretext of safety.”
The college saw violent protests last month by ABVP against a seminar which featured ‘Umar Khalid’ and ‘Sheila Rashid’ as two of the speakers.
With growing demands against the grant of ‘autonomous’ status for colleges, Delhi University Teacher’s Association(DUTA) called had called for a joint protest of students, teachers and karamcharis on 29th March.
What drew along the course of the March? On 29 March 2017, the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) organised a march from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar in protest against the recent actions of the government in light of the demands for autonomy by certain colleges in the University. The government has supported these demands for autonomy without any exhaustive deliberation in the Parliament or even in any public domain. The march was a rally against the privatisation of education through the fragmentation of Delhi University. Teachers were quoted as saying that “education was not for sale” and that the government’s move would lead to quality education becoming unaffordable.
The teachers, students, and non-teaching staff, numbering more than three thousand, rallied against the proposal of the government to grant autonomous status to colleges on the basis of commercial ideas of accreditation and ranking. They stated that this would lead to self-financing and ergo the commercialisation of education. DUTA was also supported in their demand by the Delhi University and College Karamchari Union (DUCKU) as well as several student organisations such as the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the Students Federation of India (SFI), and the All India Students Association (AISA).
Protesters held banners asking the government to “Say No to the Fragmentation and Privatisation of DU through Autonomous Colleges
Why is ‘Autonomy’ not so good for DU Colleges? The march was conducted specifically against the granting of the autonomous status to certain colleges by the government. To understand why this move matters, it is imperative to look at the actions of the government with scrutiny.
A leaflet given out during the march stated that the Autonomous Colleges Scheme aims to privatise and commercialise higher education by reducing the gap between public and private institutions in terms of fee structure.
DUTA claims that the granting of autonomy will in actuality only give autonomy to the management instead of providing academic autonomy. It shifts the focus from the betterment of education to the generation of resources by granting autonomy, and thus power, to the governing bodies and trustees of these colleges. The aim then essentially becomes to improve infrastructure and indulge in greater physical maintenance as opposed to providing a platform for academic growth.
As these colleges, which currently receive 95% of their funds from the University Grants Commission (UGC), will no longer be able to rely on government subsidies, they will turn to other measures including raising students’ fees and cutting costs to raise revenue. This affects the students as well as the teachers and the non-teaching staff. Firstly, students from economically and socially vulnerable backgrounds will have fewer avenues for availing quality education. Moreover, when education becomes expensive, the historically deprived sections of society such as women and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are further adversely impacted. Secondly, the autonomy of the management may lead to a decline in the job security or career advancement of the working staff. Working conditions may deteriorate and the pay structure may be compromised in the face of a profit-minded management.
DUTA claims that these harms outweigh the benefits that the government claims will occur. The autonomous status may allow colleges to start new academic courses and change their style of teaching, but they will not be free from the semester system or the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS). Additionally, colleges will still need to affiliate with DU in order to give degrees. This results in a mere “ceremonial connection with DU”, as stated by Abha Dev Habib, an active member of DUTA. Thus, as a direct consequence of the cutting down of funding for higher education, the granting of autonomy will only privatise and commercialise education.
Members speak out at the rally against autonomy
What were the consequences of the march? Students and teachers who took part in the march are confident that the government will be forced to take notice of the citizens’ demands.
Ms. Abha Dev Habib, a member of DUTA acknowledged that the response from teachers was “tremendous” and that “the mobilisation for the programme was very successful”. She talked about Arun Jaitley’s inclusion of autonomous colleges in his budget speech with the establishment of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). Speaking of the current situation in autonomous institutions in our country she said, “IITs are a clear example of the rising fee structure in public institutions and the government’s plan of closing the gap between private and public educational institutions.”
Ms. Nandita Narain, the president of DUTA called upon all stakeholders of the institutions to join them in coming days. Giving a wake up call to the govt. she said, “Privatisation is not going to be accepted by the community and the people at large. We are going to fight all out.”
In the recent pasts universities have seen a lot of disturbances. Happenings around the campus like forcing the autonomous status on St. Stephens College, the fiasco at Ramjas College, attack on free speech and the massive seat cut in JNU admissions makes it eminent that the incumbent government is not so happy about the environments in campuses, and is determined to change it by hook or …!
Over the weekend of 25-26 March 2017, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), through its intellectual body Prajna Pravah conducted a seminar at Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology and Management. This “Gyan Sangam”, an invitation-only event, was attended by over 700 scholars and over 50 of the top executives of government universities across the country. Yogesh Tyagi, Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi, was also present at the seminar. The two-day event was a closed-door workshop and was apparently triggered by a contemporary need to “Indianise” the educational system by providing a nationalist narrative.
J Nanda Kumar, the National Convenor of the Prajna Pravah, talked about the dilution of the Indian culture as a result of the “culture of protests” and the practice of “cultural evenings” on campus. He said, “This is a time of revival of nationalism throughout the world. All intellectuals here should also come together to nationalise our education system.” This cry for change is apparently an attempt to free the students’ minds from colonial values and replace them with national values. He stated, “We have to develop a social an intellectual point of view that will be able to solve the problems of our current generation. We have to free our youth from the colonial values.” RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said during the proceedings, “This seminar is not organised to raise an alternative narrative but to raise the true nationalist narrative in our education system.”
The seminar had three sections – session-wise discussion with regard to academic subjects such as history and political science, expert sessions on topics such as cultural onslaught, and an interactive session with Mohan Bhagwat. None of these sessions provided any specific policy details as to how the education system will, in reality, be “Indianised” or how university syllabi will include a “Bhartiya” perspective. The only answers received were the crafting of a non-governmental and autonomous academic system. How this will automatically lead to the removal of the “culture of protests” and the Indianising of education is yet to be clarified. When J Nanda Kumar claims that the current atmosphere in Indian universities “badly affects young minds and poisons the environment of our educational institutes”, the least these young minds deserve is a reasonable alternative that will lead to holistic growth and awareness among students – not merely the furthering of a self-serving agenda by an increasingly authoritarian ruling party.
Want to go to a place that will keep your stomach, tongue and ears happy? Check out these 5 restaurants in DelhiNCR that boast about featuring the best, brightest and the most upcoming artists in town.
Located in 1-A/1, HauzKhas Village, Imperfectois the best place to chill with your chums over beer. While they offer a variety of Mediterranean, Spanish, North Indian, Continental and Italian food, Imperfectoactually brings in the crowd with their richly flavored pastas and pizzas that go great with their peppy themed live acts that give the place its USP.
While this place has an in-house DJ, HauzKhas Socialhas people coming back for more because of its uniquely pleasant live music performances. With an unparalleled outdoor seating view that can be enjoyed over an artfully arranged mezze platter of kebabs and veggies alike, HauzKhas Social offers the city’s best burgers and desserts that are meant to be enjoyed with friends and family. Located in 9-A & 12, HauzKhas Village, HauzKhas Social is best enjoyed during a Sunday afternoon.
If you’re looking for the perfect place to enjoy some soulful music with a glass of beautifully aged wine in your hand, The Wine Companyis the place to be. Known for their European and Indian gastronomical delights, The Wine Company,located in DLF Cyber City, in Gurgaon, features regular acts that are central in forming your opinion of the place. With their peppy performances and unique ambience, The Wine Company recommends their Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip to truly get their best.
While this is not in Delhi, it is worth mentioning. Located in the Sector 15 market of Gurgaon, this hard to spot place takes inspiration from prohibition era of the United States, when alcohol was illegal and secret pubs had sprung up. Known primarily for its cocktails, this Speakeasy carves a place for itself in your heart. The ambience is perfect for having memorable conversations with friends, and the live music is top notch.
An interesting twist to the already wide variety of themed restaurants inDelhi and Gurgaon, Pirates of Grill is the regular haunt for college buddies who want to have a good time. With their cozy ambience, delicious food – especially their barbecue chicken, and fun live music performances in the evening, Pirates of Grill promises to keep your spirits up while you’re under their roof.
ABOUT US:
Magicpinis a platform where users and outlets in a locality discover, interact and transact. For users, we are the one-stop destination for finding the best restaurants, fashion stores, spas, and salons in their localities. For every visit you make to an outlet, you get free cashback in magicpin points, which can then be redeemedat Amazon, Book My Show, for mobile recharges, and a lot more.
Best Cashback App of the Year 2016
Backed by Google (Google Launchpad Accelerator Program)
Backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners (Other investments include OYO, Snapchat, Limeroad)
Spoon University Delhi Chapter has initiated a campaign called Of The Scars That Don’t Show: Tame the Stigma, not the Human with the intention of spreading awareness about mental health and acknowledgement of related issues.
The idea behind the campaign as pointed out by Niharika Maggo, the Editorial Director at Spoon DU, came up about because the issue was a personal belief. “Mental Health awareness is a cause very close to the heart of the Spoon UDelhi team and despite great strides in our understanding of mental illnesses and improvements in the efforts surrounding it, too many still suffer in silence.
That’s why we wanted to build an open dialogue that not only lets people share their experiences and thoughts but also encourages support and respect for those struggling with mental illnesses.” she mentions
They recruited ambassadors for the cause, whom they call Mental Health Heroes
These MHHs have been instrumental in spreading a word about the campaign and bringing more people to commence a dialogue.
Kritika Narula, Founder of the chapter, explains how the idea evolved.
“We began with the idea that we will serve as a platform where to use our reach to eliminate the stigma around mental health. The idea was to bring as much attention to the invisible Scars as to the physical ones.
From where we started almost a month back, we have now become a platform for vent and expression, what with the numerous stories of healing and ‘being there for loved ones through mental illnesses’ pouring in from all directions.
It has truly been a privilege to have started this campaign and get the opportunity to act as an outlet for expression. Healing through expression became our motto in no time.”
The same belief is held by Manya Sinha, a Mental Health Advocate from DCAC who says,”Browsing through people’s account and details of the same mental illness that I had gave me a sense of relief. Relief, because it assured me that I am not alone. Relief because I could always reach out to them and find comfort in the understanding. This is why I believe that this initiative is important because we never know who we are helping with our stories and our experiences. It is important to heal together.”
They have also received wishes from The Artidote founder Jova, who appreciated their efforts in a personal communication, who stated he is glad they’re also working towards raising mental health to have the same societal importance as our physical health.
They are also launching a e-magazine called An Ode To Semi Colon, which has received entries from professionals and students alike.
They have been regularly posting stories and poetic pieces that reek of vulnerability and expression of mental illnesses.
Maggo adds, “The response we received was heartwarming. With entries giving us a varied perspective, be it a patient’s point of view or a psychologist/ psychology teacher’s. We hope this campaign triggers a change, even if it’s not effected immediately. We hope that people recognise the scars that don’t show and also firmly believe that it’s not the end.
The campaign will culminate in an event called Spoon Summit 2.0 on 1st April 2017, at Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Center ND Tiwari Bhawan ITO from 12 noon. The line-up of speakers performers and panelists includes people who have themselves suffered from depression, anxiety etc. Those who use art as an outlet and specialists from the field.
On 17th and 18th of March, various newspapers and online news portals carried the report of University Grants Commission (UGC) having decided to cut funding for research centres at several universities across the country that study social discrimination. According to a report by the Telegraph, UGC has decided to cut funding for various research centers that were established under the 11th five-year plan (2007-2012) and then were later renewed in the 12th plan. While everyone was expecting a renewal of the same to take place in the 13th plan, various varsities that include such centres received circulars saying that their plan funding would end on March 31.
The Wire, reported “According to ministry and UGC sources who spoke to the Telegraph, this order has been sent to all those centres that have not been upgraded to a full-fledged department by the universities.” It also quoted N. Sukumar, Ambedkar scholar and teacher of political science at Delhi University who said “It’s ironic that these centres, which research Dalits, B.R. Ambedkar’s philosophy, social exclusion and inclusive policies like reservation, are being closed down when the University Grants Commission (the higher education regulator) is funding courses on Vedic studies,”
However on 19th of March, NDTV reported that the UGC has said that the letter is “blatantly false” and “based on a forged letter. In its press release, UGC said that it has established Centers for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy in various universities in the Xth Plan on plan-to-plan basis provided these Centres give a satisfactory progress in the areas of their focus. Keeping in view the same procedure the UGC would be extending these Centres from 1st April, 2017 onwards. Reiterating what NDTV said, the UGC claimed that the letter in the newspaper is a forged one and has not been issued by Ms. Sushma Rathore, the undersecretary of UGC. It also reaffirmed that no records of theirs show such a letter being sent and that legal action would be taken against the person behind this forgery.
The Placement Season for Shri Ram College of Commerce this year began in the month of August, open to a variety of job profiles like Investment Banking, Consultancy, Finance, Audit, Marketing, Sales, etc. The Placement Cell was successful in bringing the biggest names in the industry on campus. Be it the consulting giant McKinsey & Company or the highest paymasters Parthenon-EY and Barclays Capital, every company that has visited the college so far has been impressed by the caliber of the students.
This year turned out to be a success with a placement of 340 students, the highest package being 30 Lakhs per annum. Over 50 companies have visited the campus such as Deutsche Bank, Citi Bank, JP Morgan, Barclays Capital, McKinsey & Company, A.T. Kearney, etc. First-time recruiters included JP Morgan, Facebook, etc. The college saw the advent of many internship companies such as DSP BlackRock too.
Companies from the finance sector worked out to be 20% of the companies on campus whereas consulting and banking companies had a share of 29%and 10% respectively. The average package increased from Rs. 6 Lakhs per annum to Rs, 6.5 Lakhs per annum for the year 2016-17.
Figure 1: Diagram represents the sector-wise distribution of recruiters.
– The Placement Cell, Shri Ram College of Commerce.
In a world where there are 5 steps for everything, be it flying to the sun, we come up with three, even lesser than 5, infallible ways to win our elections.
Being the proud denizens of the great republic of India, we have had the unequal privilege of enjoying the unpredictability of the vibrant Indian democracy for almost 70 years. Our pious elections are won by the virtue of a candidate’s flawless track record, unquestionable honesty and knack for development and public welfare, a manifesto which caters aspirations of the people and numerous other paradigms of dharma; so were you told by the political science textbook of class 10th.
Now these are difficult boxes to tick and hence results generally used to be a surprise.
But not anymore. Here we come with 3 foolproof tricks which are 100% guaranteed to make a party rise above the rest and come up with flying (saffron, preferably) colours in a general election.
The Time Factor.
You must have heard the saying that early bird catches the worm. So here is the trick- Hijack the social media and you have hijacked the minds. If you are ruling currently, start projecting your achievements, scarce they may be. If you are on the other side of the table, fret not. Start with bashing the ruling party. Next run to a poet and come up with some jumlas or some cool acronyms. The most important part, start selling dreams and other lures. Hesitate to nothing, even sky is not the limit anymore. (Need a hint- How about making petrol completely free? ). Fake data, false stats, or illegit allegations, all is fair.
The Mr. X. factor
Not having a very good candidate, worry not. Find a superstar campaigner. Or else hire one. Works magic if you have the prime minister campaigning for you.
Vote Management.
Now that you are done with campaigns and false claims, it’s time for the finishing move a.k.a polarisation. But you don’t have to do the dirty work, just make an air of it. Media will instantly go gaga. Your opponents will consequently voice minority, hence irate majority and lo! your mission is accomplished. To hell with social fabrics, only winning counts.
A student spends most of his/her day in the campus, but is it really a safe place? With recent incidents of sexual harassment at college fests, the dilemma has become even more prominent in the eyes of the youth.
Meghna Singh, a student from Miranda House, got masturbated on at SRCC’s annual fest, Crossroads. But she isn’t the only one who has gone through an assault like this – many students have recounted their horrific accounts where they have been sexually harassed on campus. When Meghna told the details of what happened with her at SRCC on social media, thousands of people didn’t believe her. Soon enough, she became the topic for jokes, memes and internet trolls where people labelled her as a liar.
Meghna’s story might be the first one to surface online, but it isn’t the first time a girl on campus has been assaulted like this. Sukhwinder Singh’s gig at Hindu College’s fest Mecca also saw a molestation incident where a girl got groped twice in public. One would think that being a student friendly area, the campus would be a safe place where one could walk freely, but is that really so?
Public gatherings like fests and concerts have witnessed many incidents like this take place and most of the time the victims don’t talk about it. And not just public gatherings; horrific incidents involving middle aged men on bikes stopping in front of girls’ PGs and masturbating to the ones standing in the balcony occur on campus on a daily basis.
Roads around colleges become almost abandoned after college gets over, because of the hostel/PG deadlines, and the empty streets have become a nightmare for anyone who is walking on them post 8 pm. Theft and assaults happen regularly and the police is doing the least about it.
As a resident of the campus and a student of the University, me and my friends have faced similar situations where the length of our skirts got men on bikes to slow down next to our rickshaws and call us out. Where simply walking on the roads of Kamla Nagar have gotten old men to masturbate to us. Where being part of protests got us groped and threatened with rape.
On a campus that is clearly not safe, it is appalling that people had problems believing Meghna’s story.
“They shouldn’t have done this. It was really hectic for us. Think, when you have to choose between SRCC and Hindu, it’s not easy” said my senior who was not so happy over the clash that happened within two of the big fests this season. He was confused whether he was angry at the organizers or sad because it was his last fest season. He did not seem so comfortable to discuss the fact now that the fest season was over, the next happening thing was his ‘Farewell’.
As fest season drew its curtains with lots of competitions, DJ Nights and celebrity performances, now students are busy with raking up their assignments, internals and course work, till this cycle is broken by the next big event hits the campus i.e- farewell. As the fool’s day gets over, juniors in department, societies will get busy with meetings and work towards giving a good farewell to their seniors. Admissions, elections, semester exams, fests, farewell and semester exams, these events have created a cycle in the cultural life of the university. Sadly, while the fest season is filled with joy, the farewell season which follows would see lot of swollen eyes filled with tears.
Sometimes with cards, sometimes with lighted photo frames- juniors use different ways to organise farewell so that their seniors have the best experience. Since the seniors have spent years in this same college, this is one of the memories that they are going to carry with them for life hence juniors don’t miss this opportunity to give their best in making the farewell function unique.
“I like these small lights around the frame. They are so adorable”, I remember these words said during a visit to Rajiv Chowk by the senior who seemed confused in the earlier part of this article. This makes me realise that I have to visit Rajiv Chowk to buy his farewell gift. As I make a note, and now that you have finished reading this article go ahead and tag your juniors who are going to give you a farewell or seniors whom you are going to give a farewell in the comments section. And don’t forget to share your farewell ideas and demands in the same.
