Foreign Policy formation of a country which is filled with infinite diversities is not a child’s play. The recent book by Shivshankar Menon, the former National Security Advisor and foreign secretary of India throws light on how complex and difficult it is for diplomats to form foreign policies for countries.
The book which is his personal account as a bureaucrat who had a part in major decisions of foreign policy of our country. Menon throws light on how conflicts and interests are negotiated for greater good and mutual benefits in diplomacy.
In the book he analyses the border peace agreement with China by the Narsimha Rao Government, the civil nuclear deal with United States and the decision of not going on a military offensive on Pakistan after 26/11 attacks by the Manmohan Singh Government. He also writes on how Sri Lanka eliminated LTTE, why India pledges no first use of Nuclear weapons and his final words on how the foreign policy has shaped and its future. The book analyses each of these events in details focusing on the background, history, politics, economical and international scenarios in those points of time.
His accounts show how political leaders at the helm have a great influence in the decision making and how sometimes political parties disregard the long term benefitting foreign policy goals in order to secure their own political interests. His accounts of how using statecraft to counter terrorism by non-state actors is largely a less yielding sword especially when the terrorist are supported by another state, and his detailed narratives into the five most pivotal decisions in the recent history of India is a surely suggested reading for anyone who aspires to take up a career in foreign services in his future.
Amongst many other books like ‘Walking with Lions’, ‘Making of a Diplomat’ which are a must read for aspiring diplomats, this book draws a definite space in their bookshelves.
The second day of Nexus ’17, the Annual Cultural Festival of Sri Venkateswara College, began with a host of musical events. ‘Battle of the Bands’, organised by Crescendo, the Western Music Society of the host college, was won by ‘Thread Makers’ of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College. They performed their own composition, Metamorphosis. The Indian Classical Choir event ‘Goonj’, organised by Alaap, the Indian Music Society, was won by Samranjini of Gargi College and Alankaar, of Hindu College bagging the second prize.
Samranjini – Indian music society of Gargi College, celebrates their win at #Nexus17 at Sri Venkateswara College!
Picture by Prateek Singh pic.twitter.com/sZRbBtNVNs
This musical affair was followed by a series of Western Dance Competitions. Western Dance Solo competition, organised by Nritya, the choreography society, witnessed participation from around 22 participants. Vipin Lactrix from IGNOU and Ashmita Tomar from Mata Sundari College bagged the first and second prize respectively, in this event. The main stage turned into a magnetic field when the much-awaited Western Dance Group competition, ‘Razzmatazz’ began. It was won by Zeal, of Maitreyi College, followed by V-Defyn of IIT-Delhi.
Etcetera of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur College won the first prize in Madari, the Nukkad-Natak competition organised by Anubhuti, the Street Play society of Sri Venkateswara College. The second and third prize was awarded to Ibtida of Hindu College and Natuve of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College respectively.
Drawing the second day to a close, The Raghu Dixit Project performed at the Rock Night at Nexus ‘17. Charming the crowd with his mellifluous voice and quick wit, Raghu Dixit and his band members induced energy and exuberance to the evening. As the crowd cheered with verve and zest, the eventful second day concluded with a musical delight, setting the mood for the last day’s performance!
Sri Venkateswara College’s 3-day annual fest ‘Nexus’ began today. This year, the extravaganza is centred around the theme of ‘Bollywood’, something that reflected in the inventive and breathtaking decorations, events and general atmosphere.
Based on the theme of ‘Bollywood, Nexus’s ambience definitely did the theme justice
The event began with an inauguration ceremony, which began with invoking Goddess Saraswati, followed by the lamp lighting by Dr. Pawan Sharma, an alumna of the college, along with the principal. The dignitaries were joined by the members of the student advisory board and student union.
The first competition of the day was held by the Western Choir Society and was an A- Cappella competition. The event saw participation from eleven colleges and was a huge success. The first prize was won by Echo, the Western Music Society of Jesus and Mary College. Swaranjali- Music Society of Hans Raj College and Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College secured the second and third positions respectively.
This was followed by the Folk Dance Competition. High on energy and vibrant to the core, the event saw huge participation. Gargi College, which presented Badhai, a dance form from Madhya Pradesh secured the first position, followed by SGTB Khalsa. Maitreyi College earned a special mention.
Mudra, the solo classical dance competition saw Unni Vishwanathan from Hansraj College securing the first position, followed by Reetuparna Vishwanath from Lady Sri Ram College.
The afternoon session began with the Western Solo Competition. The event saw a string of soulful performances. Among the eighteen participants from across the university and the city, Mayank for his cover of the Eagles’ Despererado’ was adjudged the winner. Kishore, with Felix on keyboard from Amity University ended up as the runner-up for his cover of‘Over the rainbow’ by Judy Garland. Taeysha Kohli from Jesus and Mary College and Rohan from St. Stephen’s College received a special mention for their outstanding performances.
In ‘Saarang’, the solo instrumental competition, Aditya from Kirori Mal College and Megha from Miranda House stole the show, bagging the gold and silver respectively.
The crowd turned up in huge numbers at the choreography event, which saw some engaging performances follow one after another. At the end of the event, Terpsi Chorean, the western dance society of the Hans Raj College and Sensation, the western dance society of Kirori Mal College were adjudged first and second for their superior performances.
But the highlight of the day was the much-awaited ‘Sufi Night’. Returning to Nexus for the second time in a row were the fabled Nizami Brothers. Their music mesmerised the crowd. Their performance resonated with the large numbers that flocked Venky’s grounds to get a taste and sense of Sufi in its pristine form. The concert set the tone for a great start and one can anticipate more action to follow in the next two days of Nexus ’17.
Ankur, the theatre society of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, have postponed their street play competition, Pratyaksh, which was being organised in the Nukkad on the second day of the college’s annual cultural festival, Lashkara.
Day 1 of Lashkara on February 22 saw myriad competitive events by a plethora of societies, metres away the violence and chaos that erupted in the north campus mid-day onwards. Disrupting a peaceful march by students and teachers to protest against the intervention by the ABVP of an academic conference at Ramjas College, the student political party blocked the entrance of Ramjas College. Violence erupted in front of the college campus with students also stuck inside the college premises for hours.
Following reports and warnings advising students against entering the college campus after the events of February 22, the cultural festival observed a low turnout on February 23. The theatre society’s street play event, organised for the second day, was set to witness participation from majority of colleges around the campus. The street play events during Delhi University festivals are known for raising pertinent issues about the prevailing social and cultural issues, often on taboo and lesser-discussed themes.
“The DUSU president asked us to call off the competition as elements from different plays might be construed negatively in the current political environment. The police also appealed to us to call off the event in the interest of restoring peace and normalcy in the campus. The administration had to take the call of cancelling the event to ensure safety of students,” said Saikat Ghosh, staff advisor of the theatre society. He also pointed out that theatre in Delhi University has always been a tool of speaking up against what was felt unfair, and the medium of raising voices and taking a stand whenever words have been discouraged.
After deliberations between the society, the students’ union, and the college principal, with recommendations from the police authorities to ensure the safety of the students, the event was postponed to a later date to prevent escalation of chaos on campus. Members of the society were unavailable for comments.
Ankur, the theatre society of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, have postponed their street play competition, Pratyaksh, which was being organised in the Nukkad on the second day of the college’s annual cultural fest, Lashkara.
Day 1 of Lashkara on February 22 saw myriad competitive events by a plethora of societies, metres away the violence and chaos that erupted in the north campus mid-day onwards. Disrupting a peaceful march by students and teachers to protest against the intervention by the ABVP of an academic conference at Ramjas College, the student political party blocked the entrance of Ramjas College. Violence erupted in front of the college campus with students also stuck inside the college premises for hours.
Following reports and warnings advising students against entering the college campus after the events of February 22, the cultural festival observed a low turnout on February 23. The theatre society’s street play event, organised for the second day, was set to witness participation from majority of colleges around the campus. The street play events during Delhi University festivals are known for raising pertinent issues about the prevailing social and cultural issues, often on taboo and lesser-discussed themes.
“The DUSU president asked us to call off the competition as elements from different plays might be construed negatively in the current political environment. The police also appealed to us to call off the event in the interest of restoring peace and normalcy in the campus. The administration had to take the call of cancelling the event to ensure safety of students,” said Saikat Ghosh, staff advisor of the theatre society. He also pointed out that theatre in Delhi University has always been a tool of speaking up against what was felt unfair, and the medium of raising voices and taking a stand whenever words have been discouraged.
After deliberations between the society, the students’ union, and the college principal, with recommendations from the police authorities to ensure the safety of the students, the event was postponed to a later date to prevent escalation of chaos on campus.
The north campus of the University of Delhi was tense on February 22 with violence breaking out inside the Ramjas College campus, outside the college, and later in the evening in front of the Maurice Nagar police station. After the violent intervention by the ABVP of an academic conference in Ramjas College on February 21, a common students and teachers protest was set to take place the next day, on February 22, against the intervention. ABVP’s reason for obstructing the conference was the presence of Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid, JNU students, who were amongst the speakers at the conference. Umar Khalid was arrested on sedition charges in 2016, however no charge sheet has been filed in the case yet.
February 22, 2017:
The common students teachers march was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. but was blocked by he ABVP. Before the march, as an extra security measure, guards at Ramjas College checked ID cards to ensure that only students of the college were allowed to enter. What was supposed to be a peaceful march around the campus was cut off by the ABVP as they began shouting slogans like “Bharat Maata ki jai” and ” Vande Mataram” in the sutta lane within the Ramjas College campus. In response, the student and teacher protestors sat down and began their own chants of “Hum honge kaamyaab ek din” on a lawn adjacent to the ABVP gathering. Within a few minutes of this standoff, members of ABVP were seen entering into the lawn space where the students were gathered. There are eyewitness accounts and videos floating on social media of the ABVP activists beating, shoving, and grabbing the students gathered. The police intervened immediately and the students shifted towards the canteen premises.
The protest march being blocked by ABVP activists and supporters
A large gathering of students sat down in front of the canteen and under the conference hall. Reports came in of a large number of protesters consisting of students, teachers and activists gathered outside the college gates. Students and teachers who were inside the college sat down in silent protest. The police tried to form a barrier between the two groups. The ABVP activists repeatedly tried to break the barrier and attack the students. Fearing escalating violence, the police escorted the students out through the back gate where they were transported to the metro station in Civil Lines.
Meanwhile, outside the college, students and teachers who had congregated for the protest march, and journalists covering the issue, encountered ABVP activists. There are videos and evidence of students and faculty members being injured during this encounter. Around this time, roads leading to the Maurice Nagar police station were blocked by the police and shopkeepers around Patel Chest area were asked to bring down their shutters. The protest reached the Maurice Nagar police station area after 3 p.m., where police had been deployed to keep the violence from escalating and forming a barrier between the two sides. The protesters placed themselves outside the police station, demanding that an FIR be lodged against the violence committed by the ABVP. Slogans like “Aar ho ya paar ho, aaj FIR ho” were heard from the protesters’ sides.
Protestors in front of Maurice Nagar police station on February 22
At around 6.30 p.m., just after protesters were speaking to the police about their demands, a commotion broke out as the police surrounding the protesters started absconding them, in some cases with unnecessary force. The protesters were rounded up in police buses and taken to different corners of the city in an attempt to break up the protest on campus. They were dropped off later in the evening. There were reports and rumours of a potential ‘witch-hunt’ by ABVP members around the campus in search of people at the protests. No such incidents were confirmed.
February 23, 2017:
Another peaceful protest was organised today by the students and teachers at the Delhi Police Headquarters in ITO with heavy police presence around the area. Hundreds of students attended the protest, where sloganeering was heard and protest signs could be seen condemning the police brutality against student protesters yesterday. An exit gate at the ITO metro station was closed around noon. The protesters pushed for an FIR to be lodged and for a meeting with the police officials. After meeting with the students, who wanted separate FIRs to be lodged against the ABVP members who engaged in violence, the police informed them that separate FIRs cannot be lodged and they would need to be clubbed under one FIR. The student protesters then took the decision to have affected students write down testimonies of violence committed against them, with which they’ll approach other authorities given the contention between their demands and the police’s stance.
The police has admitted to the use of excessive force against students on February 22nd. The case related to the entire incident has been transferred to the Crime Branch. They also invited students to submit their complaints to the police which can then be clubbed together.
The student protesters are reportedly upset about the incident being branded an ABVP-AISA clash and the protesters being clubbed together as AISA members. They have called these protests movements by the students and teachers of Delhi University, and not a political party. The protesters comprised of students from across Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and other institutions across Delhi, with supporters of various movements and parties, and many with no political affiliations.
There were other protests in North Campus as well, with NSUI carrying out their peace march from the Arts Faculty to the Maurice Nagar police station, and the ABVP continuing their stance of protesting against ‘anti-national’ activities and elements. There were reports of considerable police presence around the campus.
“Words of wisdom and experience of ages are the two things that mankind passes on to its future generation.”
The Finance and Investment Cell, Hans Raj College had organised its flagship event ‘Empresa’ with this vision on February 21, 2017.
The event started off with the lighting of the lamp ceremony by Dr. Rama, Principal; Dr. Bharat Bhushan, Convenor of FIC and Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of The Planning Commission. It was followed by the session of Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The scholar gave the gathering, an insight into the recent economic developments and state of the Indian economy, addressing the queries of those who were eager to be enlightened by his knowledge.
Slated for number two was Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of Urban Development of India who gave a talk on the will to achieve goals, citing examples from his own past. He also explained the recent steps taken by the government, calling demonetisation a ‘ bitter pill to cure long term illness’. His one liners like “Go, Learn, Yearn and Come Back” left us all in admiration of his intelligence.
This invigorating talk was followed by the speaker session of Mr. Rahul Tyagi, one of India’s leading white hat hacker and Vice President of Lucideus Tech. The interactive cyber-celebrity shared his immensely valuable knowledge with the crowd as to how people should secure their devices from attacks in cyberspace. He also presented a hacking gimmick by hacking one of the student’s mobile phone in less than two minutes.
The icing on the cake was the fourth and final speaker for the day “Mr. Durjoy Datta.” This multi-talented personality narrated the series of events that led him to becoming a best selling author, screenwriter and entrepreneur, of how his passion for reading and writing made him give up a lucrative job at American Express and follow his dreams. Having finished his talk, Mr. Datta signed copies of his novels for the die hard fans that had flocked to the auditorium of Hans Raj College to listen to him and given got photos clicked with each one of them.
To conclude, the variety of speakers and the myriad topics on which they spoke catered to the hearts and minds of the many present. If there be a measuring rod for accomplishment, the success of Empresa’17 can be judged from the appreciation that the society garnered for organising a one -of -a- kind discussion like this.
A two day seminar on Cultures of Protest, organised by Wordcraft, the Ramjas literary society and the English department of Ramjas college, was disrupted when members of the ABVP protested against Umar Khalid speaking at the conference. Khalid is a PhD scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a student activist who was slapped with sedition charges last year. The two day seminar was set to explore the representations of dissent in literary productions, and Umar Khalid was invited to speak on the theme ‘The war in Adivasi areas’.
ABVP protested against Khalid’s presence inside the college campus. They went to the Principal’s office claiming that the majority of the students were against his speaking at the conference as well, and therefore the conference should be cancelled. “Majority of the students were against Umar Khalid speaking and they were calling us up, asking us to stop the event from taking place. Moreover, the organisers had no approval from the faculty. So we marched inside and managed to stop the conference from taking place,” said Priyanka Chawri, the Vice President of the Delhi University Student Union.
We spoke to one of the teachers-in-charge of the event, Vinita Chandra, who said, “We had approval of the principal and we had been planning this event for months now. We have official proof of the invitations as well. The Principal expressly said, ‘I believe in tolerance and I believe in freedom of speech’. I have always assured my students that when teachers are there, nothing is going to happen to the students. In my 30 years of teaching here, for the first time I feel no confidence at all in being a teacher.”
Apparently, the faculty was aware prior to the event that there could be some form of protests but the college union president assured that all protests would be peaceful in nature. Moreover, the police had said that they would not be able to provide protection to Khalid or the members of the organising team if any major disruption takes place. Apprehensive of any violent outbursts, members of the literary society decided to cancel Khalid’s talk and proceed with the conference. Before beginning, the teachers and students organised a short march around the campus, protesting against the disruption in the day’s events.
After the session was about to resume, the ABVP protesters turned violent and started throwing bricks and stones at the windows. Groups with lathis and rods were seen rioting around the area and the police had to resort to the necessary means to quell the violence. Students and teachers attending the conference inside the conference hall were locked in and the power was cut. The police had to barricade the entrance to the conference hall to stop the protestors from getting inside. After an hour of struggle, the police formed a human chain and helped the students trapped inside to exit safely through the backgate of the college. A student present in chaos said, “The protesters abused and threatened even the teachers of the college. Goondagardi hai yeh toh.’’
In the entire process, a few students were injured and one had to be taken to the hospital for immediate treatment. Umar Khalid in response to these events, posted on Facebook, “ Such open brazenness is only possible because of the institutional impunity ABVP goons enjoy in universities’’.
NSIT, known for its perfect amalgamation of cultural vibrancy and academical gimes, proved it’s USP once again with its entrepreneurial extravaganza held lately on February 11th and 12th,2017.
As the ballyhoo of entrepreneurship amongst the masses is eCell NSIT’s, entrepreneurship society of NSIT, raison dê etre, the dais hosted it’s second edition of the Entrepreneurship Summit a.k.a. the esummit 2017. With a mammoth footfall, the event turned out to be a big success, yet again, fulfilling it’s aim to provide budding entrepreneurs an opportunity to showcase their theoretical business knowledge and get an exposure to the practical world of competition.
With its 8 flagship events and an exciting streak of informal events, the summit witnessed a participation of around 327 teams, from which 80 were selected for on campus round, from all the colleges across Delhi-NCR, competing to be the best.
The Summit kicked off with the enriching speaker’s session with speakers belonging to different arenas of entrepreneurship, whether it be the founder of Chaayos, Mr. Nitin Gupta, whose love for “chai” led him to start with his venture or be it the co-founder of Coding Ninjas, Mr. Ankush Singla who is the pioneer in the world of tech entrepreneurship and not to forget Mr. Ajitabha Bose, the national record holder for the shortest love story- The Bestseller. Each speaker gave an exquisite insight to the world of entrepreneurship in their own way rushing the entrepreneurial adrenaline in the veins of untrodden in the field. Followed by this, there was a panel discussion with personalities like, On the dais who gave their viewpoints on the topic “Can Entrepreneurship be taught?” and was very well moderated by Mr. Bhavya Bansal, General Secretary, eCell NSIT. The event was succeeded by the aforementioned flagship competitions namely, Instaseed: the 10 minute funding, wherein the participating startups were given 10 minutes to pitch their ideas and bag the seed funding of upto 2 crores along with incubation from the whole panel of investors across the country, startup wars, in which each and every participant team was given a problem statement and they had to find a viable startup idea in lieu to the former, Unravel: the case study competition, Bellwether: The best manager, Marketing Maestro, mockstock and Global Strategy, which was a true amalgamation of strategizing and MUN experience.
Along with this, 1.5 month long Delhi entrepreneurship Challenge came to an end with an engaging group discussion and presentation rounds. Moreover, the informal events added an unmatched grace to the event and the plus point of each of the informal events was the fact that each one had a tinge of assessment of entrepreneurial skills, whether it is “Be Like Bappi” or “Bazinga” or be it “Beg Borrow Steal”, each one had an unmatched level of intellect into application. No praise could be less than the fact that even the speakers were eager to attend each and every event to be a part of never experienced before extravaganza which makes it clearly evident of the magnificence of the event The organisation- Entrepreneurship Cell, NSIT, believes that the best way to promote entrepreneurship is to establish and run a club/society/team which connects and acts as a network to the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Making it successful requires immense passion, determination, innovation and knowledge, which happen to be the same stones one must skip to be successful in the start-up world. And it is quite impressive the way they just followed their vision and were successfully able to give a plug to the entrepreneurial skills amongst the masses.
The event gave a whole new level to the world of competition, which is not just about winning, but about learning and grooming as a whole. Hence, with all the zeal and zest, the event was ended on a good note which gave all the budding entrepreneurs an enriching experience and a whole new exposure to the practical world of competition.
The project identifies their areas of interest and helps in building a business model with them, alongside raising funds for the same.
Project Jazba, conceptualised by the Miranda House chapter of Enactus, works closely with victims of acid attacks. The project assists in their rehabilitation, besides raising funds for any entrepreneurial activities that they may want to engage in.
Initiated in May 2016, Project Jazba began in association with NGO Chaanv, which helped the students get in touch with survivors of acid attacks. Besides reaching out to survivors, the project helps with their rehabilitation, acknowledging their trauma and possible reluctance to speak. The project then identifies their areas of interests and proceeds to develop a business model for them, simultaneously assisting in the fundraising for such a business model.
Project Jazba is currently raising funds for a salon that acid attack survivor and trained beautician, Sonia Chaudhary, wishes to open. Once the others who are involved with this project have been rehabilitated, similar business models will be developed for them based on their specific interests. The project may assist survivors with similar interests in collaborating with each other. Recently, Enactus also conducted a seminar and discussion with Sonia Chaudhary.
Stuti Agarwalla, a student who is involved with Project Jazba, says that it was initiated keeping in mind the need to do away with the social stigma associated with beauty and appearance. Their aim was to target a community of people who are unfairly neglected and stigmatised. The members of the project are quite satisfied with the progress that has been made thus far. “We’re hoping to open Sonia’s salon by the end of March,” says Stuti. “In October, we had the opportunity to work with 10 acid attack survivors, through a 3-week training session for them, during the course of which they were trained to pick up personality development skills. The session boosted their morale and was a satisfying experience for us,” says Stuti.
Project Jazba has been actively involved in various ways to empower survivors of acid attacks. Awareness campaigns have been undertaken, along with sessions of origami and English classes.
