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12 DU Colleges Salary-Less for Over Two Months

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12 colleges of the University of Delhi haven’t paid their teaching and non-teaching staff salary for two months now.

12 colleges in the University of Delhi have withheld salary from their teaching and non-teaching staff for two months now. The colleges whose funds have been withheld are Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education & Sports Science, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Shaheed Raj GuruCollege, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Acharya Narendra Dev College, Bhagini Nivedita College, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Maharishi Balmiki College of Education, and Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Science. The funds have been withheld by Delhi Government because the colleges haven’t notified their governing bodies, approval for which, they claim, is awaited from the university.

The salaries of not just the faculty but also of sanitation workers, contractual labourers, and other non-teaching staff have also been held up. “It seems we will not be able to pay salaries even from 1st April.” Principal Hem Chand Jain of DDU college, told The Times of India. Another principal has said that theyare yet to get a concrete response from Delhi government on when and how the issue would be resolved but revealed that they had been told thatrepresentatives would be meeting Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi on 17th March regarding the matter. This information has been confirmed by a DU official. In response to the issue, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has said that the government-aided colleges had been doing a lot of “illegal work” because “without governing bodies in place the colleges can’t function”.

It has also been revealed that the University’s Executive Council approving the names at its sitting on 13th March. A DU official told Times of India that the AAP government flouted norms in selecting some of governing board nominees. The official alsoargued that in the pattern of assistance, there isnothing that states that the government is allowed to without funds from an institution that doesn’t have a governing body.

The staff of these 12 institutions steadfastly believe that the shortcomings of the DU administration in regards to solving this matter are highly political, and a fight between “two political parties”.

For now, it seems highly unlikely that the issue would be solved anytime soon.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Shreya Juyal

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Subjugating Productivity Guilt

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The unhealthy attitude of productivity guilt ensues from society’s conviction that a person must work hard at all times while overlooking one’s health and needs. Read on to know more. 

Productivity guilt is a mindset that encourages us to believe in the idea that relaxing is not an option and we must always be on our grind. This guilt surmounts as fear of failure pervades our minds. This fear constantly drives us to create, work hard and achieve something in order to be successful while depriving us of the ability to rest. This, however, comes at the cost of giving up on our hobbies and pushing ourselves beyond our limits, which is not always ideal.

Every capitalist society glorifies productivity in the sense that leisure time is looked down upon, and waking up any later than 5 AM is forbidden. You may be efficient in every task that you accomplish, but giving yourself enough credit for that accomplishment is not an option. Most people are in pursuit of success, but many of them go down the road taken by everyone else.  They also believe that success only comes to those who are busy to the extent that they have a line of tasks piled up.

Sitting down and devising a plan of action is much better than suffocating yourself with work with the hope it will someday pay off. Aditya Goyal, a student of Aryabhatta College said: “It is okay to not run around frantically all the time just to be busy. Formulating a schedule can help when we feel overwhelmed by this crazy competition that exists in our society, but the important thing is to not stop.”

Productivity guilt can be reduced if we indulge in introspection and reward ourselves for the little tasks we complete. A self-pat on the back is often necessary as we lose ourselves in this ambiguous race to the top.

Feature image credits- Productivity Land

Suhani Malhotra

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The Pedestal of European Football Culture

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Decoding the immense football following in India for Clubs which are hundreds of kilometres away and why we ardently support these Clubs.

Football, has been given the name of a global sport, but why is that so? Why do we sitting on the other side of the world follow European teams so fervently, staying awake till 2 A.M to watch a game of football, buying jerseys of teams that we have never seen live? The most basic reasoning behind it is that football itself is an extremely simple sport that just requires a ball and some people.

Talking about how friendships and bonds are made over the sport, Samaksh, a second-year student from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce said, “Rather than attending classes we take out a day or two in a week and then go play football and just hang out after and all of my friends come together and play. It can get very competitive and angry on the field but once the game ends, we are friends again.”

When asked about supporting European Clubs, he said that it came down to the quality, as you could see the best players take the field.” Once you see one player or club and start supporting them, you slowly get invested in it, it’s like being part of a global family where no one judges you and you are united by this one club you love.”

Does this mean that Indian football does not have the same drama as European Clubs? According to Babil, a third-year student at Jadavpur University, this is not the case. He said,  “When one comes from Kolkata, the idea that Indian football isn’t as compelling is immediately dispelled when you see the fierce rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal FC. While supporting European Clubs is a trend, we should not forget to support our teams, especially in Bengal which has a prevalent football culture.”

While there is nothing wrong with loving a foreign club and being fervent supporters as the quality and accessibility are much better. We should not forget to support Football in our domestic level through the ISL and the I league as it is only with the support that we can hope to bring up Indian footballing standards and talent to those that we watch and adore in the west.

 

Featured Image Credits: New Indian Express

 

Prabhanu Kumar Das

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Arts & Culture

Harassment in Holi: Kyun Na Bura Maanu?

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How often have we all heard the phrase “Bura na maano, Holi hai”? But to what extent are we not allowed to feel offended?

Holi is one of the most exhilarating festivals in the Hindu tradition which has grown in popularity all across the world. From colours and water to even gujia (sweet) and lassi, it’s a game of soiling everyone with everything. Kids run across streets splashing water on friends and strangers alike, greeting them with the standard statement – Bura na maano, Holi hai!(Don’t get offended, it’s Holi). This beautiful phrase also gives men the license to harass women and shout out foul names at them. But of course, we must not get offended, because it’s Holi after all. So what if I was thrown a water balloon at while riding a bike? So what if I could have fallen off that bike and injured myself? So what if I was abused for merely existing? It’s Holi and I…must… not…get…offended.

As children, many of us must have hung out at our balconies, throwing water balloons at pedestrians using this standard line. It’s not until we grow up when we realise how problematic this is. When the season of Holi arrives, consent becomes a joke, the streets become men’s playground and women, their toys. Those unwilling to play are tagged as “chickens” and then smeared with colour anyway.

Holi becomes an excuse to grope women publicly or to throw water balloons at their private parts. It is easy for men to get away with their actions because, well, they did say Bura na maano, Holi hai! The traditional consumption of bhang, liquid form of cannabis, on Holi, further contaminates the atmosphere with intoxicated men walking stray on the streets; predators in hunt for their prey.

Holi harassment took one of its ugliest forms in 2018 when two students from Lady Shri Ram College were attacked with semen-filled balloons in the middle of a street near campus in broad daylight. I guess I should be “thankful” that the balloons I was attacked by had only water. The campuses’ response to these attacks was merely reducing the curfew time in the girls hostels. Obviously, when the perpetrators are let loose, hiding inside our houses is the only way to stay safe.

Stop telling women to not go out on streets during Holi because “aisa toh hota hai” (these things happen). That is no better than telling us not to go out at night; not to wear revealing clothes; not to act too friendly; not to wear lipstick. Putting restrictions on women will not reduce crime. Stop the offenders, not the victims. I’m sorry, but I AM OFFENDED.

Feature Image Credits: Parag Soni Photography

Aditi Gutgutia

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Arts & Culture

Two Decades of Umpteen Portrayals

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We have successfully completed two decades of the 21st century. These were indeed the decades of diverse on-screen representations of women. Read on for a quick recap.

Apart from the freshest-in-mind historic defeat of a long running political party and longer queues as a result of demonetisation and varied forms and issues of resistance, what these 20 years have also seen is a distinguished portrayal of women in Bollywood films. While most of these films continue to be driven by stereotypical characters and plots, off-centre sides of the feminine gender in particular have surfaced in their representations, much unfamiliar to the latter decades. One could possibly recap only some of the unconventional portrayals.

Earlier in the century, Preity Zinta’s character in Salam Namaste (2005) is shown to be in a live-in relationship, much to the surprise of Nargis or Nirupa Roy hungover audience. Boomers only. Her character was however based out of India, in Melbourne probably because a desi setting could have been too outrageous. Years later we see Kriti Sanon’s character in Luka Chuppi (2019) taking the live-in concept in the very desi Gwalior city. She is a headstrong reporting intern who later falls into a guilt trip. 

salam namaste aishwaryaa women and films

Men and women, both have been portrayed in stereotypical ways in the past. Men as strong headed, hyper masculine patriarchs, protagonists or babuji’s and women as moral anchors to them or damsels in distress. The audience’s fantasy with the ideal woman – sanskari ladki, was carried forward by films like Vivah and reinforced by the youth popular Cocktail (2012). Our eye-candy Saif Ali Khan chooses the super sanskaari Meera after gallivanting with free spirited Veronica. Things got worse when Veronica tries to woo him one last time in her modest salwar kameez. 

english vinglish aishwaryaa women and films

Films like English Vinglish (2012) talked about the Indian woman making space for herself in the modern world by ‘secretly’ learning English as a tool of empowerment. The director remarkably covered themes like emotional violence within a family, lack of acknowledgment to home-makers and ignorance towards women entrepreneurs through the legend Sridevi. 

Alia Bhatt in Dear Zindagi (2016) attempted to normalise that women need not always be the emotionally equipped ones in a society. It points out how they are made to feel inadequate for not being ‘ideal’ in a society that indulges in slut shaming. Movies like Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016) or Shudhh Desi Romance (2013) have successfully validated female desire within the patriarchal institutions of society. Movies like Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Bajirao Mastani (2015), Padmavat (2018) and Manikarnika (2019) did try to talk about historical women as well but it was mostly through a pro male gaze narrative.

lipstick under my burkha aishwaryaa women and films

With great scripts and narration, film makers have time and again normalised the nuance shades of women as an individual, be it Fashion (2008) or Queen (2014). They have brought topics like sexuality and female experience into the forum of public discussion. Be it Alia’s character in Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya (2017) or Vidya Balan’s Tumhari Sulu (2017), women are shown taking up professional spaces against the set standards while also outrightly questioning traditions of dowry etc. Under the umbrella of ‘women centric’ films, biopics of women characters like in Dangal (2016), Neerja (2016) or Mary Kom (2014) have additionally found space and recognition. However, these are only stories of renowned sportspersons, politicians or inspired by landmark court cases like in No One Killed Jessica (2011) that have the capacity to fill in profits pertaining to their thriller or inspirational narratives. The stories of ordinary women and their slice of life are yet to be shared. Nil Battey Sannata (2016) is one such story. The coming decade sees high hopes for this. 

dangal aishwaryaa women and films

It took the star of the millennium, the angry young man, now old but ever so charming Amitabh Bachchan in Pink (2016) to come forward and talk about consent and that no means no, irrespective. This extremely well enacted courtroom drama talked about virginity, importance of a ‘moral character’, victim blaming and women’s rights and dignity amidst the time of Nirbhaya and other rape cases, simultaneously pricking the vulnerability of the diehard patriarchal and judgemental society. A marvel in itself. 

pink aishwaryaa women and films

These two decades have also seen women take up charge off screen as well as scriptwriters, camerapersons, directors and producers. While the entire country is in a severe state of unrest, one could consider this recap as some ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. It leaves us yearning for good stories and better representations that not only delves deep into the intricacies of gender but also can transform the mindsets of the audience into a more sensitive and considerate one. Bollywood films continue to be the most popular means of entertainment and incessant strong portrayals can most definitely help the need. TV soap operas being the next in line could also try and cover more realistic issues of human lives other than evil naagins and reincarnations. I’m sure for example long distance relationships can be a Kasautii Zindagi Ki (Test of Life) as well.

 

Feature Image Credits: Cristina Bombolla 

Image 1 Credits: Bollywood Bio

Image 2 Credits: Pinterest

Image 3 Credits: YouTube

Image 4 Credits: Wacom Gallery

Image 5 Credits: Amul India

Aishwaryaa Kunwar

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Embracing Body Hair: A Symbol of Power

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Women have internalised unrealistic beauty standards which are so deep-rooted that they fail to grasp the misogynistic reasoning behind them.

Girls, on reaching the age of adolescence, begin to follow beauty routines religiously. Beauty standards, which have been ingrained within young girls from the beginning, and they are made to believe that beauty is the ultimate goal for women. Maintaining a beautiful face, a body with minimal marks, and fair skin are the definitions of pretty women, people from all over the world believe in, completely disregarding the idea that beauty is subjective.

Girls, on reaching the age of adolescence, begin to follow beauty routines religiously. Beauty standards, which have been ingrained within young girls from the beginning, and they are made to believe that beauty is the ultimate goal for women. Maintaining a beautiful face, a body with minimal marks, and fair skin are the definitions of pretty women, people from all over the world believe in, completely disregarding the idea that beauty is subjective.

Most women claim to have started shaving or waxing their body hair because some boys in middle school called them ugly for having hair on their arms. Removing body hair is a personal choice, but many women despise the idea of spending so much money on razors and waxing. Also, women have to endure physical pain involved in the process of hair removal if we consider razor burns and ripping out the hair follicle.Having smooth skin feels great, but not at the cost of shouldering such pain. Hairless skin is associated with beauty, and so many women despise the natural elements of their bodiessuch as body hair.

Recently, women from all over the world voiced their opinions on social media and boycotted body hair removal products as part of a campaign called ‘Januhairy’. Many of these women claimed that body hair is empowering for them and embracing body hair made them feel liberated.Frida Kahlo, a widely celebrated artist, has been considered the epitome of beauty for decades, and she was an inspiration for young women all over the world. She chose to free herself from the clutches of patriarchy and went on to make her infamous self-portraits. Over the past few decades, Frida Kahlo has been put forth as an example for giving women’s body image a boost. She carried her facial hair with pride without considering what others had to say about her body.Most women comply with the ‘need’ to remove body hair because of the forces of the patriarchal system that we live in.

These beauty standards have been carved in our minds permanently, and we follow these faux ‘needs’ baselessly. Ayushi Attri, a student of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, opines: “The hair roots penetrating through my skin is not a problem, rather the roots clutching our minds shadowed by these patriarchal norms is. The hair, in fact, is not a problem, but perceiving them as a problem is.”Many women have faced criticism from other women for choosing to embrace their body hair. The act of defiance initself is a big step that women of this era aretaking.Inadditiontothis,mediahas played a considerably negative role in sending out wrong messages for young girls. Body hair on men and women are perceived differently. Men with relatively less facial hair are considered feminine.Bollywood had a way with choosing actors with more hair, so as to portray them as masculine and strong. On the other hand, if a woman carries body hair with such finesse, terms like ‘manly’ and ‘ugly’ areused for her.

Most women comply with the tradition of a hairless body just because they fear getting judged by society. There are several gender roles surrounding shaving, and women have been conditioned into thinking that shaving or waxing is a necessity.Body hair must be embraced with everyone, be it a man or a woman. It should bring forth any emotions of embarrassment or shame; rather it must be symbolic of our confidence.

Image Credits: Design TAXI

Suhani Malhotra
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The Cosmo of Cosmetics: India’s Beauty Standards

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At an all-time high, the Indian market has a specific adulation for cosmetic products, and with an ever-increasing consumer base, a significant population loves to devour these maquillages which marinate in their own means.

The era of the 90’s witnessed a new wave in India, with the country celebrating its colours in epic proportions, the new
vigour was fuelled by the liberalisation policies which were brought by P. V. Narsimha Rao and Dr. Manmohan Singh; India expanded with bigger aspirations and many anticipated what they called as a ‘bright future’ for India. But, with this celebration of colours, the decade also witnessed a market that sought to reimagine India’s beauty standards with a reiteration of the pigmentocratic demarcations. The global cosmetic industry couldn’t have asked for a better pedestal to showcase its capitalistic endeavours, especially at a time when India’s women were busy clinching international beauty pageants, and giving India and its millions of women, all the more reason to be proud of.

In a single decade, India won seven beauty pageants, beginning from Sushmita Sen who brought home the most coveted title of ‘Miss Universe’ and Aishwarya Rai being crowned with the title of ‘Miss World’ in the year 1994, three years later Diana Hayden clinched the Miss World title again in 1997, and Yukta Mookhey
repeated the world rule in 1999. The year 2000 registered itself on the onus of India’s modern goddesses, as Lara
Dutta brought the Miss Universe title back home, and Priyanka Chopra did the same by clinching the Miss World title. Dia Mirza completed the triad by becoming the second Miss Asia Pacific from India, setting a unique record for any nation by winning up all the beauty pageants in a single year. Subsequently, these women stepped into the film industry and the world of advertising that sought to entrust these women for mediating the dreams of Indian women through the products they endorsed, that majorly involved the cosmetic and cosmeceutical objects.

 India finds its reverence for adoration and beauty since the ages of Ayurveda with Kajal, and Vermillion as its forerunners, the British Colonialism that exacerbated colorism has driven the societal perceptions to an extent that cosmetic industries exploited heavily. The formula for a successful and empowered lady was apparently sold in tubes and compacts that promised unprecedented prosperity, hair colour sought to reflect the confidence of women, and facial features were ought to be highlighted. Companies justified every new product
as an irrefutable need catering to the requirements of the women and soon men.

Over the years, the cosmetic industry has revamped tremendously, especially with the online market boom and diversification of products that has seeped into every bag holding. Major brands have shown interest in this field that is increasing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent and is all prepared to mark India among the top five global markets. This also saw the rise of new brands like Nikal, that planned to bridge the gap between efficient consumer requirements and the grand brand show. But, amidst this stiff competitive market, this industry tends to forget the colour prejudices that it injects in a multi-racial land, and materialistic representations that might not represent a Pan India scape or the child labor that is involved in mica extraction for beauty products especially in states like Odisha and Jharkhand where the extracted mica is sent to corporates for products like
eyeshadow, blush, and lipstick that add a reflective finish to them.

Many major brands still resort to the practice of animal testing for checking the safety and hypoallergenic properties that is often crude and immoral. The long-awaited Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is just a small step in this affair that could ban promotions of fairness or anti-ageing products. and the advocacy by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Humane Society
International (HSI) with regard to animal rights is gaining recognition continually, yet the future of this industry can turn
chaotic in the cosmos of cosmetics.

Image Credits: Deccan Chronicle

Faizan Salik 

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Cuss Words and Patriarchy

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Cuss words are somewhat an integral part of the language we use in our daily lives. However, this aspect of language often shows particular genders or sexual orientations in a negative light.

In 2016, the Oxford University Press (which also publishes the Oxford Dictionary, one of the world’s most preferred references with respect to English) was the topic of a heated row online. The row started because a Twitter user pointed out that certain words that have negative connotations, were explained using sentences that featured women. For example, the word ‘nagging’ was followed by a sentence that involved ‘nagging wife’, ‘housework’ (not necessarily a negative word but a stereotype) was used in a sentence ‘she still does the housework’ and ‘rabid’ was followed by a sentence that used ‘rabid feminism’. On the other hand, the word ‘research’ was followed by ‘He prefaces his study with a useful summary of his own researches.’

Responding to this, Oxford Dictionaries said that the sentences do not reflect the views of the publisher but instead are picked from ‘real world’ usage. While that may be an explanation, it begs the question, how often do we see our common usage of language represent women in a distasteful manner? And how does this misogynist language creep into the part of language that is generally frowned upon, that is, cuss words?

My mother tongue is Hindi, and when you’re a Hindi speaker, the worst thing you can possibly say to a man is possibly a remark involving some combination of his mother’s/sister’s/wife’s/daughter’s genitalia. Of course, if you think about it, the usage of body parts that relate to women’s sexuality goes in line with the narrative that the patriarchy has been trying to establish- that women are primarily sex objects and the idea of women indulging in sex is deplorable, to say the least.

Similarly, in English, several words that had a different meaning altogether when they were made, have been transformed to mean something else altogether, right now. ‘Pussy’ was originally a word for a woman with qualities similar to a cat, except it later became a term for a vagina and subsequently for a non-assertive male. Similarly, ‘mistress’ was the female equivalent of what we know as a ‘master’, that is, someone who’s in a position of authority. However, over time, it has been used for a woman other than a man’s wife who a man has sexual relations with. Same goes for words like ‘cunt’, ‘cuck’.

This linkage of women’s sexuality with words that are generally used to insult shows how deeply the patriarchal mindset has become a part of our daily lives and how we also often use words like these without realising it’s implications. That, however, is problematic because of two reasons.

Firstly, as we’ve already mentioned, it reinforces the patriarchal notion that women are merely sex objects. This is a huge disservice to what women, and people in general are. One could argue that sex isn’t a bad thing except in most cases people have been conditioned to think of it as something that’s immoral, and even in that case, it doesn’t cater to the fact that women can be so much more too. Reducing them to just one thing is antithetical to the idea of human dignity, which is intricately linked to the idea of a person’s capabilities.

Secondly, by creating a perception that women are merely sex objects, the usage of these words also normalises the idea of sexual oppression against women. Sexual assault happens not because of short clothes or women roaming around at night (as some politicians from India would like you to believe) but from the fact that the offender sees themselves as more powerful than the victim. When women are linked to an act that is in general considered immoral or inferior, the power dynamics that enable oppression are reinforced and thus it becomes easier to accept the idea of forcing oneself on someone.

To truly achieve equality, it is incredibly important to build a gender-neutral version lexicon of profanity. It’d be really unfair to say that our society is equal unless that’s reflected in the deepest layers of our language too.

Image Credits: Twitter/The Hindu

Khush Vardhan Dembla

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