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2019: The Year of Street Protestors

By DU Beat December 23, 2019

Millennials have come out on the streets to fight against the wrongs not just in India but all around the world. Read ahead to find out the reasons for the global protests.

All of us know about the protests going on against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in various cities across India. But it is not just the Indians fighting for what is right, but people all around the world are standing up against what they think is wrong, and are demanding change from those in power. This is the reason why Jackson Diehl has termed 2019 as ‘the year of the street protestors’.

It is the season of discontent and unrest in seemingly everywhere. Countries from Lebanon to Spain to Chile, Paris, and India amidst many others are burning with the rage of the protesters who have taken to streets to oppose what they think is wrong. While some are fighting against inequality and corruption, others are fighting for political freedom and climate change. The triggers are different everywhere, but the igniting fuel is similar. It includes stifled democracy, stagnating middle classes and the conviction that things could be different.

In Paris, protestors have been marching on the streets to show their opposition against the controversial pension reform introduced by the government. The country’s complex pension system has been shaken up by Emmanuel Macron, who promised to do so in his 2017 election campaign. The earlier attempts made at reforming the pension scheme were made in 1995 by president Jacques Chirac, but he failed to do so after continuous strikes which continued for three weeks. Paris has been witnessing transport strikes for two weeks and every day lakhs of protestors come out on the streets across France to show their opposition.

Massive waves of protest across Chile, Lebanon, and Egypt were ignited by government’s corruption. Starting in October 2019, the Lebanese asked for the government’s resignation and change of political establishment, after allegations of corruption against the government and its failure to provide basic economic and social rights. Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned on October 29, 2019, but anti-government demonstrations are still going on in the country.

The protests in Chile started after a hike in transport fare was announced by the government. It started in October 2019 and is still going on. The mass anti-government protests in Chile are organised to denounce the high costs of living, privatisation of water, rising electricity prices and other social issues. The politicians reached an agreement on November 15, to organize a referendum in April 2020 where Chileans will vote whether to replace the current charter of rights (Magna Carta) from Pinochet’s dictatorship and for a new legislative assembly.

In Guinea, opposition activists have been staging demonstrations since October 14, 2019. They allege that President Alpha Condé, who has been in power since 2010, is positioning himself to change the constitutionto then run for a third presidential term in late 2020. Condé has publicly called for a constitutional referendum on December 19.

In Hong Kong, protests began over a bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China in certain circumstances. The mass action in Hong Kong in the summer of 2019 led to the withdrawal of the controversial legislation, but the protests themselves continued. The demands of the protesters have now expanded to include complete universal suffrage, an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, and amnesty for demonstrators who have been arrested.

The widespread protests going on in India against the Citizenship Amendment Act have gained global attention. Students from various universities along with other people have been coming out to the streets each day to show their opposition to the act, which they consider to be unconstitutional and islamophobic since December 4, 2019. The protests began in the north-eastern states and spread to all the other regions. India currently is witnessing a period of turmoil, which might lead the world’s largest democracy into shambles, with the government using anti-democratic means to deal with the protestors throughout the country. Although, the imposition of Section 144 CrPC, curfew, lathi charges by police and internet ban in various places has not reduced the rage in the blood of protestors.

The use of tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets have been some of the common practices adopted by the authorities to suppress the protests in all the cities throughout the world. But, it is still not enough to suppress the voice of today’s youth, which is burning with rage.

Feature Image Credits: ANI

Priya Chauhan

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DUTA to continue strike, march to VC’s office on the 23rd.

By DU Beat December 22, 2019

The DUTA General Board met on 20th December 2019 to determine the association’s trajectory of actions as they move forward with the strike

The General Board Meeting (GBM) Resolution passed by Delhi University’s Teachers’ Association (DUTA) on 20th December, begins by congratulating the teachers for making the strike effective and encouraging them to continue the day-night dharna ta the Vice Chancellor’s Office. It further appeals to them to boycott their evaluation and other official duties, in view of the association’s demands remaining unaddressed. The General Body also decided to extend its indefinite strike as ad-hoc teachers across the university, in different colleges, continue to be removed. The judgment spells out an urgent need for protestors to proactively push for the absorption of ad-hoc teachers on the basis of the Department of Personnel and Training Roster and promotion of teachers with their ad-hoc experience also being taken into consideration.

The General Body goes on to condemn the Vice-Chancellor of the University for his blatant disregard of the association’s persistent demands and refusal to revoke the highly contested 28th August 2019 letter, in the judgment. On account of the VC’s inaction, the General Body laid down various mass action programs, for the coming week; On Monday, 23rd December, a march on campus is scheduled to be held against the VC to demand the immediate implementation of Record of Discussion of 5th December 2019. The following day on Tuesday, 24th December, DUTA will hold a press conference on the issue of Absorption and other issues that stand before them. While, at colleges, where ad-hoc teachers have been terminated, DUTA Office Bearers are to correspondingly decide on an action programme if concerned principals do not immediately act upon the University Letter of 12th December 2019.

The resolution appeals staff associations to further their support for and participation in the agitation and urges them send in suggestions before the next Extended Executive on 27th December 2019 which is to be immediately followed by the next DUTA GBM on 27th December 2019 when a review of the past week will be held and another plan of action will be accordingly formulated.

Prisha Saxena

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Image Credits: DU Beat Archive

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The Hero with 300 Heroines of Bhuj 1971

By DU Beat December 22, 2019

The third day of 1971 India Pakistan War marked some extraordinary efforts by the jawans & mahilas of our nation, this story of Bhuj airport often slips below the pages of history and today it’s recapitulation gets extremely essential.

Ever since the great political upheaval of the division of erstwhile British India in 1947 resulted into the creation of Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the two nations have endured a great sense of acrimony that has garnered international recognition and massive surveillance of the two on each other’s activities. The two nations have an age-long history of skirmishes and the second edition of this tussle was witnessed in 1971 amidst the Bangladesh Liberation War.

The 1971 Indo Pakistan War was significant in many ways, be it as the largest military surrender after World War II; as one of the shortest wars of history or the first of a kind that resulted in a nation-state on the basis of language. The 1971 war was perhaps the first time when all three Indian forces fought together and once again provided testimony for the greatness of our defense administration.

With the leadership of someone like Army Chief Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw, the Indian Defense has a long list of valiant heroes whose stories have become an inevitable part of our lives. The 1971 war was no different and gave us some great war heroes that we can cherish all the more (seemingly ignoring the horrors and bloodshed that war endures, the cataclysmic effects are not to be discussed here). One such hero was Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik & the women of the Village of Bhuj.

It’s 8th December, two days since the war has found the bugle; both the belligerents have employed their best to retaliate one another, when fourteen Napalm Bombs were dropped from a squadron of Sabre Jets at the Indian Air Force Strip at Bhuj, Gujarat. The attack stripped the runway in bits and hence useless for the air force commandment.

The Border Security Force who is normally entrusted with the responsibility in such cases was already engaged on the field, squadron leader Vijay Karnik with 50 IAF and 60 Defense Security Corps personnel were amidst an unpleasant state when local villagers from the village of Madhapur, Bhuj took the responsibility of repairing the airstrip and within the next 72 hours completed the assigned task.

What is significant about this event apart from the short duration in which it was achieved, is the will and dedication of 300 amateur villagers who are clouded with the state of war and most of them were women. Yes, the mahila shakti was the force behind the army’s successful campaign. After the sarpanch, Jadhavjibhai Hirani asked the villagers for support, the village women wholeheartedly volunteered for the almost impossible task and did it within 72 hours, without thinking much about their lives they did their job continually someday without food and water away from their homes and family. The officers also had to take care of their security and ensure that the operation is carried without any casualty, this was ultimately achieved and was celebrated on 11th August at 4 pm when the first combat aircraft took from the airstrip successfully.

Three years later the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi did offer gifts to these women, they humbly turned it down saying, “What we did was for our country.”

A war memorial called Virangana Smarak made under the aegis of the Central government was dedicated at Madhapur village of Bhuj in 2018 to commemorate the brave deed that the residents did for the sake of their country. This story will also be told again on the celluloid with Ajay Devgn in the lead role in ‘Bhuj: The Pride of India’

This anniversary of the 1971 war we salute the heroes and the heroines of the war and thank them for their service.

Faizan Salik

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Image Credits: thebetterindia.com

Image Caption: The Women of Bhuj 1971 at Virangana Smarak

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Arts & Culture

What threatens the Indian Culture today?

By DU Beat December 22, 2019

We all have heard or seen the so-called stakeholders of our culture, according to whom the Indian Culture is threatened by even trivial things like the relationship between two individuals or even a dress worn by someone but is this really the case?

The Indian culture today as I think of it is not harmed by what people do or follow of it but its harmed mostly by what people think of the Indian Culture. When we say that same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights were not and are not a part of the Indian culture, we are believing fallacious teachings. When we say that eating pork or eating beef is prohibited by Indian Culture then again we are mistaken. When I say Indian culture, I refer to Hinduism, as it is not just only a religion but it’s more of a culture, which has been shaping the lives of Indians irrespective of their religion for a very long time. Most people have misunderstood the Indian culture and thought of Hinduism as contemporary culture, whereas it is an ancient yet modern culture that has bettered over the years. Like, in Indian Culture we have the idea of polytheism but as none of the modern religions have that, many people try to mold the Indian Culture into a monotheistic ideas, as a result of which we have emergence of supreme godly figures like Rama, Krishna, Ganesha, etc., whereas according to our scriptures a Hindu isn’t obliged to worship anyone deity or power. Instead one can worship whatever helps them to live a better life. This is the exact reason why Hindus also pray mountains like Mt.Govardhan. The modern world is not able to easily understand Hinduism, which not only includes foreigners but also us Indians. India or Aryavrat as it was called earlier was often referred to as the land of seekers by Greeks and Romans, the reason for this is that Indians were known to have the freedom to question their faiths and beliefs. In the western world, the church often barred and even punished scientists. As a result of this, most of the researchers in the western world were atheists. They thus, advocated that science and religion can never grow or prosper together. Whereas when we come to India and even other ancient eastern civilizations like China, we see that most of the scientists here were in fact saints and sages. Moreover, they believed in religion as much as others did and maybe even more. Examples such as Sushruta, Charaka, Aryabhatta, etc. are proof of this theory. We do not have only one scripture which is important to us but we have many, we have Vedas, we have the Puranas, we have the Upanishads, etc. on the other hand, we have various examples such as Maa Lakshmi, Maa Durga, Shakti, etc. as women whom we worship today as Devis or goddesses, which tells us how much the Indian culture respected the woman. Coming on the LGBTQ front, Brihanala, the great warrior of the epic Mahabharata was also part of the LGBTQ community and she never was discriminated upon by anyone instead she was a ‘Maharathi’ which is equivalent to a military general today and yet after millennia women today have to even prove that they are eligible for protecting their own motherland. The Indian culture was also very welcoming to foreign relations and foreign people and we as a culture have never sent out even one missionary to convert people forcefully into our religion and our culture as we thought that religion is something which is based on choice and not compulsion. These achievements of Indian society itself is the very answer to why Indian Culture is threatened. Today we have changed ourselves from a free society to one where questioning our own faith is perceived as sin. The so-called stakeholders of our culture have made us believe that God is supreme and questioning him would be iniquitous. We have been made to believe that if we eat a certain type of food then we world become sinners. We have been taught that in order to be content we have to follow someone blindly and that we can’t do that alone.

So, according to me the greatest threat that the Indian culture today faces is the molding of the Indian culture into a so-called contemporary culture which cannot understand the idea of welcoming everyone, thinking the world as a family, promoting LGBTQ and women equality rights, seeking for knowledge outside of scriptures and most importantly the freedom of being able to ask the one’s God questions and interpreting the God in one’s own way, as the Rig Veda says and I quote

“The supreme power is always one and his various qualities are what we worship as devtas.”

This tells us the Indian Culture promotes singularity and plurality together. Thus, to save our culture we have to make sure that we do not hesitate to ask questions on each and every aspect of our culture, we have to make sure that we never blindly follow any person or superstition and above all, we respect the personal faith of each individual around us. Our culture isn’t vulnerable to the clothes we wear or the food we eat but it is very much vulnerable to our own narrow mind-set.

Feature Image Credits: Navya Jindal for DU Beat

Aniket Singh Chauhan

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Delhi protests at Jantar Mantar as Citizenship Amendment Bill becomes a law

By DU Beat December 15, 2019

Protesters come out in large numbers to express dissent over the CAA on the 14th of December amidst heavy police barricading and fears of violence.

A day after the protests against the unconstitutional nature of CAB turned excessively violent in Jamia Millia Islamia, a similar protest was scheduled to begin opposite Jantar Mantar at 3 PM. The presence of heavy police barricading, riot control police and other riot control measures at the site of the protest did little to dissuade these fears. The protest was eventually non-violent with the police nor resorting to brutality. Irtiza, one of the organisers of the protest believes that protesting against the fascist nature of the government is necessary now more than ever, before its too late. He says “ The fight against CAB and NRC is the fight for a united India and the Indian constitution. If this country has to survive then both these processes have to be stopped. If we don’t come out today and say that CAB and NRC are #NotInMyName. There may not be a tomorrow. It has to be now or never!”

The CAA proposes to offer Indian Citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist and Christian refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Muslims have been excluded. It is the Government’s argument that minorities of these three countries face persecution on the basis of religion. The protesters argue that this act is unconstitutional to the core, considering that India is a secular country. Protesters point to the very islamophobic and communal nature of the act which would lead to the destruction of what India stands for.

It was evident during the protest that even though everyone was against CAA, the reasons behind it were vastly different. People from the Northeast, an area that has been plunged into fire and turmoil due to the bill had a different reason to reject CAB. As a man from Arunachal Pradesh goes on to say “ we don’t want CAA to be implemented in the Northeast. It’s a different approach for mainland India but for the Northeastern part of the country, we do not want any illegal immigrants coming to our state. It’s not about being Hindu or being Muslim, it’s irrespective of that. This act totally violates our status that has been provided, it will totally affect our culture. In Tripura, the tribals are around 30%, we are joining rally because even though they have a different cause, the main goal is to resist this act.”

Some people like Bilal Saifi, a graduate from Delhi University were resisting CAB with a different agenda in mind. He says “ We are basically struggling and fighting for our existence. The first priority is roti, kapda, makan ( food, clothing, shelter), then comes liberty, freedom, and our existence. We are facing an existential crisis just because of this fascist regime. We want to show that they are not just targeting Muslims, they are also attacking the constitution, the very structure, belief, and value system of the constitution. This government is targeting our basic rights and the Constitution and that is why we are here protesting.”
Feature Image Credits: Aditi Gutgutia for DU Beat

Prabhanu Kumar Das

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DUTA Marches to Parliament Street; Writes to HRD Minister

By DU Beat December 13, 2019

On December 9th, as a part of the indefinite strike against the Ad-Hoc Crisis, more than 3000 teachers of the DUTA marched to Parliament Street to demand absorption of all ad-hoc teachers.

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA)’s movement for the absorption of ad-hoc and temporary teachers has intensified over the past week. More than three thousand teachers marched to Parliament Street on 9th of December, where many of them courted arrest with the DUTA leadership.

DUTA began protesting from 4th of December, the protest that initially began outside of VC office has seen some improvements. The protest continued day and night,. in many parts of the National Capital. It has seen many forms of protesting like Vice-Chancellor (VC) Office Gherao, candlelight marches, “We Are Our Families” and much more.

After much struggle, the Ministry of Health and Development (MHRD), agreed to some of the urgent demands of the DUTA, including the amendment to the 28th August DU Administration Circular and the counting of past services in all pending cases of promotions as per the 2018 Career Advancement Scheme. However, the demands for the absorption of ad-hoc teachers and the counting of total years of service for promotions have not been conceded to by the MHRD.

The ad-hoc teachers were let go all, overnight, by the decree of the 28th August Circular, the inhuman and exploitative conditions under which Adhoc teachers have been forced to work for many years, including the denial of minimum employee rights like maternity leave etc. can only be mitigated through absorption as believed by the DUTA.

In order to gain more momentum to the movement, The DUTA leadership has written a letter to the HRD Minister, urging the Ministry to initiate further dialogue on all the urgent and pending issues that have been ignored till now.

In a letter titled ‘Demand for a UGC Regulation for the One-Time Absorption of temporary and ad-hoc teachers and other crucial demands of teachers of Delhi University’, addressed to Sh. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Human Resources Development, the DUTA has welcomed the timely intervention of the MHRD and UGC in meeting the teachers’ representatives to find solutions and the acceptance of some of their key demands through the Ministry’s communication dated 5th December 2019.

The letter also mentions other unaddressed demands of the Association such as that the Second Tranche positions of the much delayed Other Backward Classes (OBCs) Expansion and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) Expansion be immediately utilized and added to the teaching roster following the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) guidelines. In this context, the DUTA also demands that the Kale Committee report be adopted and implemented in Delhi University and that the University Grants Commission (UGC) sanctions posts for self-financing courses and absorbs teachers working on these positions.

The DUTA has also been demanding an end to the constant threat to the service conditions of the teachers of Physical Education in the University.

DUTA, has also, allegedly said, “…if the MHRD continues to ignore the DUTA’s pending demands, it will face the collective ire of the teaching community.”

In light of these recent developments in the teachers’ resistance movement in the University, Rajib Ray, President DUTA, in conversation with DU Beat, encouraged the student-teacher collective step-up their involvement in the movement for teachers’ welfare and an efficient education system.

Featured Image Credits: DNA India

Chhavi Bahmba

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Bhavya Pandey

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DU Responds to DUTA protests, Urges Teachers to Cooperate

By DU Beat December 13, 2019

Senior Academicians and Deans of some faculties of the University of Delhi held a meeting on December 8th, 2019, following which, a Press Release was put up on the University Website.

Responding to the ongoing boycott of duties as well as protests being held by the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), the University of Delhi (DU) administration has released a statement on their official website.

The statement reads that in the meeting of Senior Academicians and Deans of some faculties of the University, the members were of the ‘view that the ongoing agitation by the DUTA is adversely affecting the students and damaging the reputation of the University.’

Thousands of teachers of Delhi University, who have been on an indefinite strike since last week, held a rally at North Campus on Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 demanding the absorption of ad-hoc teachers.

“The inhuman and exploitative conditions under which ad-hoc teachers have been forced to work for years, including the denial of minimum employee rights like maternity leave and others, can only be mitigated through absorption,” the DUTA said in a statement.

Although the teachers movement has resulted in some of their demands being met, and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) was quick to accede to the union’s immediate demands to withdraw a controversial circular calling for the appointment of guest teachers, the demand for one-time appointment and others such as counting of total years of service for promotions were not addressed, the union said, calling for the initiation of further dialogue by authorities.

Further, the letter issued by the University administration urges the DUTA and its members to ‘comply with the Code of Professional Ethics of Teachers under the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges 2018.”

Lastly, the Senior Academicians and Deans, unanimously and unequivocally, once again ‘urged the DUTA to call off its agitation immediately and work towards achieving academic excellence.”

Image Credits: News18

Bhavya Pandey

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Arts & Culture

Evolution of Eugenics or Vice Versa?

By DU Beat December 9, 2019

“A small price to pay for Salvation… Little One, it’s a simple Calculus. This universe is finite, its resources finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correction. I’m the only one who knows that. At least, I’m the only one with the will to act on it.” The idea of removing out a certain section of population was spurred by The Avengers antagonist Thanos, whose sole objective was to wipe out half of the universe’s population, based on the belief that our world was broken and needed corrections for cosmos. However, Thanos is not the first ‘Eugenicist’ for that matter.

Did Someone Say Eugenicist? Yes, With Avengers Endgame sprawling across as the highest blockbuster it promulgated back to the question of Eugenics and ethnic cleansing to a certain extent. The demarcations that are mostly talked about are through the lines of class consciousness and economic parameters but the racial superficiality that has been deep rooted into our minds, what about that?

Generally, referred to the Platonic idea of a modification of natural serving through selective breeding, eugenics aims at the improvement of humankind. Through the application of principles of selection to humans, this practice developed in 4th Century BCE in ancient Greek for the production of ‘Guardian Class’, those adjudged as unworthy by the Council of Gerousia were obliged to end their lives by drowning or other means. Modern Eugenics lends it’s foundations to Darwinian Theory of Evolution that was perceived accordingly by Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton who coined the term ‘eugenics’ in it’s first place. Early disciplinary discussions were more oriented with genetic determinism ‘the evolution of Eugenics’is controversial in itself.

1907 marks the establishment of The British Eugenics Education Society & it’s American Counterpart in 1921, but these education societies allegedly received support from the clergy and religious authorities. But as my political science professor says, ‘The Americans are foolish people’ and someone also puts rightly ‘even the god can’t trust the English in the dark’, the American administrator Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and their pro-eugenics stance seems deplorable. Hitler’s Germany post the second World War took inspiration from the American Eugenics to devise what we today know as Nazi Eugenics.

Nazi Eugenics was certainly one of it’s kind and depicts the practice in its worst form with Gas Chambers, Concentration Camps, Clinics like that of Hadamar, Genetic Health Courts and Nuremberg Laws, Hitler’s regime and adulation for Eugenics is substantial enough to testify why eugenics shouldn’t have existed in the first place.

The Eugenics that was adopted promulgated an elimination of people who were feeble-minded, epileptic, schizophrenic, manic-depressive, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, deaf, blind, homosexual, idle, insane, and the weak, for elimination from the chain of heredity. More than 400,000 people were sterilized against their will in Germany alone. The practice isn’t something different from genocide and disavows the very existence of these people, ridiculing the idea of Global Multiculturalism that stresses for acknowledging equal rights and opportunities for all the groups that exists is bizarre altogether.

The modern vibrance and multilinearity that encompasses in the present context is as essential as the connectivity that these strands engender together. Demarcation of any community, group, race or ethnicity is as heretic as murder of any kind. With current detest for specific communities reiterating, chances of recrudesce are at an all time high and must be checked for in these authoritarian regimes.

Faizan Salik

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Feature Image Credits: Wall Street Journal

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Campus Central

Chronological Account of the DUTA Ad-Hoc Crisis

By DU Beat December 6, 2019

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) organised a massive protest on December 4 and December 5 in light of the ad-hoc crisis. The protest was in the form of ‘VC Gherao’ where more than 8000 teachers stormed into the VC (Vice Chancellor) Office. After the protest’s intensity, the circular issued on August 28, 2019 has been amended.

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association showed great distress against the circular issued on 28th August 2019 which led to dismissal of 4500 ad-hoc teachers from their teaching service in the University. On 3rd December, 2019, The DUTA office bearers held a meeting at 6 p.m. wherein they decided that due to lack of communication from Professor Yogesh Tyagi, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi (DU), they will give the administration extra 10 hours to resolve the on-going crisis and inform the DUTA about the same. Failure to do so, the DUTA will go on an indefinite strike, boycotting all invigilation, evaluation and any other official duties from 4th December onwards.

The DUTA collaborated with the staff association of various colleges to completely boycott the exam duties as families of 4500 teachers were at stake. However, DUTA requested the teachers not to stop students from taking exams. The administration along with Vice Chancellor remained silent on the entire issue and provided no relief to the teachers which led to the massive protest on 4th December.

On 4th December 2019, the DUTA began with its ‘indefinite strike’ outside the Vice Chancellor’s Office in the North Campus of the University at 11 a.m. Over 8000 teachers participated in the massive protest in the form of VC Gherao on DUTA’s call in response to ongoing crisis.

Image Caption:Teachers gathered in large number outside the VC Office on the first day of the protest

Image Credits: Anoushka Sharma for DU Beat

Teachers raised slogans such as “Inquilab Zindabaad” and “DU VC shame shame” throughout the day. Teachers also reached out to the masses through the social media to raise awareness about the issue and apprise the students of the cause beyond the exam boycott.

The teachers went through and occupied the Council Hall where Academic Council and Executive Council meetings are held.

“Thank you, VC, for not caring about 4500 Families”, “VC communicate” and “Lodge was stormed in 1984 and 2019” were written all over the walls of the Council Hall to show the dissent of the teachers.

Teachers scribble their dissent on the walls of the VC Office

Several student organisations such as the All India Students’ Union (AISA), Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) and Student Federation of India (SFI) extended their solidarity to the teachers and even joined the protest. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) led Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) also organised protests and condemned the actions of the Vice Chancellor.

At 6:45 P.M. , Many hours after the occupation of the lodge, the VC showed no sign of communication. The police tried to stop the food arrangements made by DUTA for the raging protesters. At 9 P.M., DUTA kept its coordination meeting and decided to keep the strike on with the use of candles and torches.

On December 5, the strike continued outside the VC Lodge with all the teachers protesting relentlessly. Due to the earlier day’s protest, the Administration called the police forces for security. As per sources, the police performed a lathi march on the teachers to stop them from entering the building. Allegedly many of the teachers along with students got injured in the ruckus.

Image Caption: The second day of the protest saw immense barricading and police force deployment as the teachers continued with their demands

Image Credits:Yadu Ushanandani

A meeting was held at 4 p.m. and a circular was released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in light of the ad-hoc crisis.

The circular released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India

At 7 P.M. on the same day, DUTA was promised by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) that no teacher would lose their job because of the August 28 letter. Due to the meeting of DUTA executives with the MHRD, a circular was released that proposed immediate changes in criteria and appointment of the academic staff and promised to launch new additional teaching positions under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in no less than 30 days.

However, while DUTA celebrated a kind of victory, the DUTA Executive decided to keep a meeting on 6th December 2019 and kept the protest on with their continued demand for the absorption for all teachers.

On 6th December 2019, the extended DUTA Executive Meeting was held at 2 p.m. to review the next course of action. After the meeting ended, Seema Das, Member of the Academic Council quoted, “Friends, we think that we have not gained any substantive achievement on any issue, not even the issue of withdrawal of 28th August letter. Rather, it has now become more confusing and makes it subject to interpretation by the head of institution. Besides, nothing concrete is gained on promotion and other issues. Status quo is maintained. At least some concrete step towards Absorption was what we were looking for out of this unprecedented movement. In such situation, I am doing my best to carry on with this fight along with a few dedicated activists and ad-hoc colleagues. Need support from you all.”

Meanwhile, the strike at the VC Office and the exam duty boycott continues with the request for the absorption for all teachers.

Feature Image Credits: Yadu Ushanandani

Chhavi Bahmba

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Students of Sri Venkateswara College Protest for Admit Cards

By DU Beat November 30, 2019

In Sri Venkateswara College (SVC), University of Delhi(DU), Students’ Union protested along with students, outside administration office for admit cards even a day prior to end-semester exams.

On 26th November, students with attendance less than 66.67 per cent, protested and sat outside the admin office to get approval for their admit cards. The protest was led by the Students’ Union.

The protest continued till late evening after which the students were forced to leave the campus by police personnel called by the college authorities. The police has been allegedly accused of mishandling the students.

A student involved in the protest, under conditions of anonymity said, “Everybody was sitting outside of the admin office, the police came and with the use of lathis and force escorted all the students outside. Outside, the college gate, central councillor, Kapil Singh, was thrashed by the police and forcefully taken inside the college premises.”

As per sources, many students involved in this protest had an exam the next day, the AECC English Communication/EVS schedules for 27th November.

After much struggle by the students, the attendance screening committee allowed the students to appear for the exam using examination fees and college ID.

On the morning of 27th November, the student union called for a protest in the college premises. However, when the students arrived the college guards did not let them enter the college and said entry would only be permitted after 1 p.m.

Anand, Vice President, SVC Students’ Union, said, “The college administration along with the Principal are still adamant on their take. In morning hours the students’ entry was blocked and afterwards the Union staged a protest against the rogue behaviour of police last night after which the principal accepted for a meeting where still the demands were not met and we offered our resignation letter.”

On 28th November, the Union after meeting with the college authorities was able to bring the attendance criteria relaxed till 47%. The students who were below the 67% attendance criteria were rumoured to miss at least one core paper to sit for other examinations.

Rajat Sharma, President, SVC Students’ Union said, “The admin was firm on its decision to stop one core paper of students who fall short of 66.67% but the union stood against the fact on how it was 40% last semester, and the students need a steady imposition of this criteria to adjust. Union had literally 5-6 meetings before any kind of protest. Within a span of 5 days the union was successful in getting the criteria lowered along with the help of students and societies of our college.”

As per the college authorities, undertaking was made signed by all students who took admission that admit card will not be issued under 66.67% attendance.

Member of administration anonymously told DU Beat, “Every student of 1st semester has given a signed undertaking and had agreed at admission to maintain the criteria. The other students were made clearly notified of this criterion. Many of the students of even 3rd semester protesting have signed the undertaking.”

Currently, students above a certain percentage have been issued admit cards on the condition that they will fulfil the remaining attendance which they lacked in this semester in the next one. Others have not been issued an admit card yet.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

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