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Anoushka Sharma

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A day before Ankiv Baisoya was suspended from ABVP, DU cancelled his admission.

On 14th November 2018, University of Delhi(DU) cancelled the admission of Ankiv Baisoya, former Delhi University Students Union President. The admission was cancelled by the Department of Buddhist Studies where Ankiv was pursuing his master’s degree. The cancellation came a day before Baisoya stepped down from his post and Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) suspended him until further enquiry.

The cancellation of Ankiv’s admission proceeded after the University administration received a notification from Thiruvulluvar University, Vellore confirming that Ankiv’s graduate degree was not genuine. It was fake.

A press conference was organised by National Students Union of India(NSUI) and All India Students Association(AISA) on 16th November 2018 in Indian Youth Congress Hall. The conference was attended by former DUSU Presidents along with members of both NSUI and AISA. Akash Chaudhary, Secretary of DUSU along with former NSUI DUSU office bearers and NSUI State President submitted a memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor regarding the same. The memorandum states that NSUI demands fresh elections, and the two month period as mentioned in the Lyndogh Committee guidelines would be counted from the day Ankiv’s fake degree was brought in light by NSUI. It also states that the two month period is indicative and not binding on DU.

On talking to Sunny Chillar, who was the NSUI candidate for the post of President in DUSU elections, said, “Everything was pre-planned by ABVP. The admission was cancelled on 14th November in the evening itself. ABVP got to know about this and they wanted to save whatever little they could. So, they asked Ankiv to step down, and also suspended him. ABVP already knew about his fake degree, they still took two months to verify the same. Since the graduation degree is fake, he cannot be admitted for post graduation degree and definitely cannot stand for DUSU elections. This also means that his post stands void now.”

Sunny also mentioned that NSUI is pressing the second in line for the post of President in DUSU elections to be made the new DUSU President. The semester exams are over the head and elections take a lot of time. It is also to be kept in mind that the University spends a lot of money in conducting the elections. The court has already issued a no objection and has said that re-election process doesn’t matter because of the delay. NSUI is waiting for the final order of the High Court to be declared on 20th November 2018.

DU Beat spoke to IN Singh, Professor of Department of Buddhist Studies. He said, “The matter has not been discussed with the Course Committee. There wasn’t any committee set up. It is mandatory for the Head of the Department to discuss the matter with the whole department. He is the representative of the Department. The cancellation of admission was discussed with the Admission Committee who cannot take action in this matter. Only the University can cancel the admission of any candidate.”

KTS Sarao, HOD of the Department of Buddhist Studies informed DU Beat that there is a certain procedure followed for cancellation of admission. There is an Admission Committee which consists of five teachers of the department. The HOD is the chairperson of the committee. Sarao further added that,” Akshay Kumar’s( National Secretary of NSUI) fake degree case was discovered in February this year. It has been nine months, the case is still pending. This is because there has to be a meeting to discuss the matter. However, there are a few teachers who are sympathetic to NSUI and keep holding the meeting.” On talking about the cancellation of Ankiv Baisoya’s admission, Sarao informed, “In the case of MA studies, a Department Admission Committee looks after the admission and cancellation of admission to the department. When I discovered Ankiv’s fake degree issue, I immediately sent the relevant documents with relevant photocopies to the Registrar of Thiruvulluvar University to verify the fake degree. However, despite repeated reminders, I got no reply. The website was also not updated. When the media contacted the University directly, they updated the website with proper contact details. I went many e-mails and in fact I messaged the Controller of Examination personally to look into the matter. Later on, I was asked to pay INR 500 to get his degree verified. I found it strange since it was an official process from one government university to another government university. However, I transferred the amount to the University on 25th October 2018 with the covering letter and proper documents. There was still no reply from their side. Whenever I would call, they would not pick my calls or would speak in their regional language. After three weeks, I received the report from Thiruvalluvar University late in the evening on 13th November 2018 stating that Baisoya’s degree was fake. I called for an immediate meeting of the department on 14th November 2018, and Baisoya’s admission was cancelled. His degree was declared fake and not genuine.”

KTS Sarao has also sent the copies of the documents to the Registrar of the University of Delhi and the SHO of Delhi Police.

Monika Chaudhary, National Media Convenor of ABVP also commented on the issue. She said, “Ankiv is no more a member of the party and ABVP has no power to take any legal action in the matter. We do believe that a fraud has been committed and he should be held accountable for that.” On asking why Baisoya’s documents were not verified when he stood for the post of President in the elections, she added, “ABVP follows a verification system. We verified Ankiv’s present documents. He was admitted to the Department of Buddhist Studies at that time. We could not foresee that such a mistake of not verifying his graduation degree could be done by the DU administration.”

Monika also mentioned that according to the DUSU Constitution and the Lyndogh Committee guidelines, if the seat of the President falls vacant, then the Vice President officiates. She said, “Most probably Shakti Singh will officiate the processes now. Re-election is not possible, and in electoral politics, no runner-up is promoted to the post of President.”

DU Beat tried contacting Ankiv Baisoya but he was unavailable to comment.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Print

Anoushka Sharma
[email protected]

 

NSUI claims that ABVP is trying to save face before the high court order comes on 20th November 2018.

On 15th November 2018,  Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) asked Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) President Ankiv Baisoya to step down from his post and also suspended him from all the responsibilities of the organisation till the enquiry is completed. Ankiv Baisoya was involved in a fake degree row since his election as the President.

On Monday, 12th November 2018, Justice C. Hari Shankar granted time till 20th November 2018 to University of Delhi (DU) to verify the authenticity of Ankiv’s degree from Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore. The court on 30th October 2018 had granted the University time till 12th November 2018 to authenticate the degree and inform it as the two-month period within which re-election could be held would expire on 13th November.

However, ABVP, in a press release stated that Ankiv’s resignation was necessary to maintain the genuineness of the student organisation. Bharat Khatana, State Secretary of ABVP said, “ABVP is an organisation which is always committed to student’s cause. This incident is continuously tarnishing the image of Delhi University Students’ Union and is also raising a question on student’s mandate. So we request DU administration to complete the verification process as soon as possible and produce the result in public domain. We also condemn the delay done by DU in the whole process as it led to false information. If Ankiv is found guilty then he must face all the legal actions which are expected in this case. ”

Ankiv Baisoya announced his resignation in a Facebook post.

NSUI accuses that the move by ABVP is clearly a decision under pressure and not principle given that the High Court order is likely to be announced on 20th November. “This is an attempt to save whatever ABVP can. They waited for two months in an attempt to keep the DUSU President seat with ABVP instead of asking Ankiv to step down when the matter came to light. ABVP also didn’t set up an enquiry committee of its own. So this decision, at this belated hour, is clearly cynical and cowardly. NSUI has already clarified that Lyngdoh Committee guidelines are advisory and the two month period is also only indicative and not binding on DU. It is also to be noted that legally two months period will be counted from when Ankiv’s fake degree first came into light by NSUI, and not when ABVP decided to remove him. NSUI demands fresh elections. If the University continues to show itself to be servile to the interests of ABVP, we will pursue this matter in Court. Finally, we are confident that Ankiv will have a long and successful career in the BJP given that he was only following in the footsteps of PM Modi and former HRD Minister Smriti Irani, whose degree is also under a cloud,” said NSUI in a press release. 

NSUI will be holding a Press Conference on 16th November which aims to uncover “how DU and ABVP fixed the whole scene”.

Feature Image Credits: Ankiv Baisoya, Facebook

Anoushka Sharma

[email protected]

“Education imparted by heart can bring revolution in the society.”-Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad

National Education Day of India is celebrated on 11 November every year. It is an annual observance in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of India, who served from 15 August 1947 until 2 February 1958. His real name was Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin and was known as a brilliant orator. He firmly believed in universal primary education, free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14, vocational training and technical education.

The celebration of the day started in 2008 by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development. On 11 September 2008, MHRD announced, “The Ministry has decided to commemorate the birthday of this great son of India by recalling his contribution to the cause of education in India. November 11 every year, from 2008 onwards, will be celebrated as the National Education Day, without declaring it a holiday.”

Maulana Azad was a poet, philosopher, writer, educationist, politician, architect of the Indian education system and a specialist on Indian culture too. He was an accomplished scholar in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, English, Hindi, Bengali and a prolific debater. On his assuming charge of the Ministry, the very first public assertion he made was naturally about transforming the system of education as inherited from the British to suit our national requirements. In his very first official statement at the press conference held on February 18, 1947, Azad, on tone hand, criticised the then prevailing system as one shaped by non-nationals in the non-national interests, and, on the other, paid a tribute to its service to Indian people in general. In his statement of policy as the Education Minister before the Constituent Assembly on March 11, 1948, Azad defined the situation in the country that the popular Government was faced with on the eve of independence in the following words,“It entered into a heritage which was burdened with many encumbrances. There was no clear state to write with but a palimpsest on which was scrawled the marks of generations of scribes who had each his own mode and style.”

One can decipher four important objectives that Azad promoted as the new goals of education in post-independence India. Firstly, the democratisation of education with a view to liquidate mass illiteracy. Secondly, maintenance of educational standards. The next objective was broadening of educational outlook by making education compulsory till a certain age, and, lastly promotion of mutual understanding.

Union Education Ministry, under the guidance of Maulana Azad, adopted thoughtful and visionary ideas and translated those into reality. Different Committees and Commissions were committed in respect of different levels of education, for example, primary, secondary, university, etc. These bodies inspected the different wings, drew up new plans and tried to bring uniformity in national plans. University Commission, All India Council for Secondary Education, Secondary Education Commission, All India Council for Technical Education, Adult Education, Rural Higher Education, National Organisation for Basic Education, are some of the organizations that were established during his tenure. He is also responsible for establishing most of the major cultural and literary academies including the SangeetNatak Academy, Lalit Kala Academy,andSahityaAcademy.The first Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Science, School of Planning and Architecture, and the University Grants Commission were established under his tenure. Maulana Azad drew up a few projects for the advancement of Hindi and its acknowledgment as the national dialect. He propelled a few plans for physical training, improvement of the youths, social administration, education for the disabled, and so forth.

Jawaharlal Nehru described Maulana Azad as, “A very brave and gallant gentleman, a finished product of the culture that, in these days, pertains to few,”. He was posthumously conferred the Bharat Ratna in 1922.

Feature Image Credits: Cultural India

Anoushka Sharma

[email protected]