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Bhavya Banerjee

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India is slowly inching its way into making its mark on the global and anarchical realm of international politics. But in the hustle, bustle, and glamour, has the Republic of India lost touch with what makes it a Republic?

A Republic is typically defined as a nation wherein the people are the key stakeholders in the governance of the
country; a nation where the citizens are empowered to rule themselves by choosing their elected representatives,
legitimised by the Constitution. It was on the establishment of the longest written Constitution of the world, the
first Republic Day was celebrated on 26th January 1950.

Talking about how much context matters, the Constitution of India is ever growing and ever evolving, despite being one of the most rigid and absolute texts to have come into acceptance. The authors of this book entailed in its pages, modern concepts that are still relevant to this day. This statement, thus, begs the question: Even after 69 years of India being a Republic, has the current political scenario backtracked the sovereign, and reduced it to mere power politics?

Sovereign state boundaries exist for a reason. It is the demarcation and the geographic separation of land that makes a country a nation-state. But the true meaning of a nation-state, seems to have been lost on the citizens of this country, who have forgotten what their duties and responsibilities are. Its essence is adrift on our political leaders,
who are bound to be the representatives of the grassroots, but in status quo, are sadly only illustrative of the few who
dominate the wealth and the banks.

The protection of the sovereignty and dignity has been one of the top most priorities, coming out of shackles of colonialism. Yet there is still a Kashmir in India, supposedly housing the fantasy of a heaven on Earth, where the honourability of each citizen is questioned everyday due to political games and disputes. Yet, there is still a North-East in India, where voices seem to never be heard.

To say that the State has failed its citizens, is a convenient scapegoat that can be applied to any prevalent
government in power. To say that the citizens have not been wise in choosing their representatives, is also essentially
conveying the same sentiment of shrugging off the blame. Alas, what choice are the people left with, when None
Of The Above (NOTA) has no legitimate effect in the political structure. In our electoral system, NOTA has no electoral value. Even if the situation emerges where NOTA gets more votes than any candidate in the elections, the candidate who has secured the highest number of votes after NOTA will still hold office. This expression of rejection through casting your vote guarantees no accountability,since it does not constitute a re-election or change in candidacy. The very fact that NOTA is emblematic is the dreadful reason why it cannot be successful in an illiterate and puerile democracy like ours, where charisma and ascendancy are given more significance than one’s ability to introduce and implement affirmative policies.Is India, truly a Republic? A Republic where the voters are robbed of the right to express their dissent? Are the citizens then, really empowered to choose?
Our democracy is scattered, lacking structure and the focus that is vital to rebuild this great nation’s glory.
Maybe the need of the hour, is the introduction of a Machiavellian Prince in status quo, a strong individual who cannot be reckoned with, to get us back into track. To a time when we were not broken, were not colonised. To a time when there was supposed peace. I wonder when that time will come. I wonder, when sisterhood among differences will prevail. I wonder.

Bhavya Banerjee

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Statistics may show LGBTQ people to be more prone to diseases and issues but who addresses them?

Statistics-based pieces are quite often headlined along the lines of LGBTQ people more prone to mental illness and HIV/AIDS than the rest of the population. While it may indeed be quantitatively true, yet no one ever bothers to address the situation at its core.
Allyship between the cisgenderheterosexuals of today resonates with the Kanye-Donald Trump duo. Clueless at best and narcissistic at worst. A series of “I Love Yous” and rainbow flags during the pride parade, followed by “But, I can’t be Queer-phobic, I have a gay friend” is the end-all for allies. Treated like the next Instagram trend, the community may be visible now, but the idea of affirmative action, and equal rights seem to be a far-farced dream.
Though the Victorian-era Section 377 was recently amended, several other problems still exist that require ally
accountability. Bullying, ignorance, discrimination, custodial violence, and lack of civil liberties continue to be a living reality for queer individuals of the country. Desperately waiting at closet doors, the community awaits their welcome to the living room and eventually, in a room of their own.
Simply put, it is not that being queer preposes the demise of their mental health, rather, it is their condition in the society that is nonconducive to an able mind. Living in ignorant, if not intolerant families and neighbourhoods, takes a toll on the community members mental health, after which statistics start forming and disorders start aggrevating.
Now that the cause and effect have been deconstructed, the course of remedy becomes easier to understand. Creating safe spaces, relieving trauma, enforcing equal rights, and changing societal notions can alone establish an acceptable social framework and throw a gauntlet down to neural irregularities. Yet, the idea of giving an effeminate man or a trans-woman space in society, and not punchlines, still doesn’t sit right amongst the homophobic population.
This narrow mindset may take years to break, legal action including same sex marriages and adoptive rights along with inclusion of community issues in medical syllabi need urgent attention. Even little things like gender neutral bathrooms can have a positive effect on one’s self-esteem and self-worth.
Within the student community, we must facilitate the acceptance of our queer classmates by increasing their presence in student unions followed by a deeper understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality can help shape a better opinion. Services of professional counsellors in the University space is highly needed. Queer collectives and support groups should be encouraged in colleges. Often, a consolidated student community in a college helps provides them the free space to explore their identity and individuality.
Though, it sounds too idealistic when compared to the decades of protest it took to strike down segments of Section 377, it is what it will take the LGBTQ community to finally greet their counterparts a congratulatory Mental Health Day every 10th October.

Feature Image Credits: Ayush Chauhan for DU Beat

Raabiya

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Across the world, 10th October is regarded as World Mental Health Day. This write-up is dedicated to those, who ideally should have been the loudest advocates of the institution of awareness about mental health, but are quietly complacent.

“Dear Professor,
I wasn’t feeling my best that week, when you were teaching us about anxiety and the numerous diagnosable disorders that surround it. The week before that, you taught us about depression, and how it affects the mental and physical well being of a human being. Next up, in the listing of the syllabus, was a unit on stress. I thought I could confide in you and speak openly about the hypocritical issues with the way we study. But then I came to the slow and painful realisation, that you too, are a contributor to this system, and through your complacence, encourage it and its toxic mode of operation. I realised, that you too, encourage and actively contribute to the venomous environment, which overburdens students to make them thrive. The same system, which so vehemently goes against the subject you preach and love to teach.”
The discussion around mental health is ambiguous because of the fact that its due importance is not explained to us from an early age. The same can be said for many other avenues in society that exercise significant influence on our lives, but are never explained to us. Subjects like sex education, caste issues, sexism, class issues, patriarchy, and many others that are outside the ambit of this letter, but equally important to discuss. The above mentioned letter is not meant to attack teachers or professors of psychology for committing a cardinal sin. It is to highlight the duplicity and pretence of the arrangement of schooling in status quo, to raise much needed questions about the lack of dissent from the stakeholders in this challenging circumstance, namely the academica—teachers and professors.

Matters that need to be highlighted and brought to the forefront are often hushed because talking about them is inconvenient. This deliberate silence brands these sensitive concerns negatively and discourages any discussion that surrounds them. Breaking the glass ceiling, in this scenario, seems impossible due to the very fact that it is the institution of education that holds the power to build generations, as it has been intended to do since the academic concept originated. In our country, the system of edification has innately transcended into a trap, rather than an open and liberal space which allows one to learn, grow, and facilitate the development of an individual. Well-to-do middle and upper-middle class families have access to resources using which they can attain access to an education that offers insight into global values and meets international standards.
These students are more or less enrolled into a “second school” where they gain knowledge about things that the existing structure fails to teach. But establishments in rural areas (where awareness about such issues is of utmost importance) lack the vocabulary and supplies required to materialise a fruitful teaching about mental health. If you go to a remote village or a small town in a corner of the state you live in, and ask locals to speak about mental health, they would probably deny even the existence of such a phenomenon.

 

Bhavya Banerjee

[email protected] 

 

Some people use their appearance to reflect their true selves, while others use it as a blank canvas to expresses their art.

School protocol requires for every student to wear the same uniform all day, every day. The length of skirts, elasticity of sock bands, shiny-ness of black shoes, etc. is all specified, and meticulously laid down under “Uniform Guidelines,” in our diaries. While the intention behind the creation of a uniform is noble, it hampers creative expression. Almost all Indian schools have uniforms, in a bid to erase socio-economic inequalities, and promote a sense of unified identity amongst its students.

College acts as the hot knife of freedom, cutting through the (sometimes) suffocating butter of unoriginality that schools forces upon us for all these years. It acts as the saviour of whatever little imaginative abilities most of us have left. Hair usually ends up being the first victim of expression. The possibilities are limitless, bold, blunt, bob, or balayage. Cut, colour, and style, marks the exit of a school child, and the entry of a strong free, independent individual, whose hair exuberates confidence and fierceness.

The way of dressing too undergoes a drastic transformation. Most follow their own good sense and dress as they will, while others may buy into the University of Delhi culture of kurtas and jhola. The khadi way of life, is an indicator of successful integration into one’s own culture, as well as an ode to Gandhiji. After years of buying into the colonisers capitalism, returning to one’s own roots, is never a bad idea.

Clothes and hair manage to scratch the surface, but the real transformation is best observed in body language. Our way of speaking, posture, hand and facial gestures go through a radical change, over the three years. You may find yourself subconsciously aping your professors’ mannerisms, which usually is a result of your admiration for that person. The way you carry yourself in public and private spaces becomes more distinct, as a result of maturity and exposure.

The first-year identity crisis finds its resolution in the third-year of college. You may find yourself not caring about physical appearance at all, or perhaps, the complete opposite. The art of not caring about what others say is mastered, and you find a version of yourself which is completely authentic. No matter the clothes and hair, by the end of your college journey, you reach a stage in life where beauty lies in diversity and acceptance, and the art of giving and receiving love.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Meher Gill
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“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go, they merely determine where you start”

-Nido Qubein

The constant pressure to succeed can cause turmoil in the heads and hearts of even the best. Stepping into the ‘real world’ after school is a stressful, scary experience, leaving most quaking in their boots. For the most part, individuals are certain of their capabilities till they remain sheltered by parents, teachers, friends, and the comfort of a hometown. The insecurity sets in once all this is taken away, and replaced with a completely foreign environment and alien people. Everybody has their own coping mechanisms to deal with various adversities. For many people social settings or situations, or a change in them, are triggers for anxiety, which in turn may lead to serious mental health concerns. Apart from anxiety, the foreign environment and University culture, may give rise to other stress-induced mental health concerns as well.

What follows are examples of stress-inducing scenarios that many encounters over the three years of college, and how to actively cope with them.

Year one is stressful mainly due to the new environment, foreign people, different methods of teaching, and (for outstation students) the alien city. You may feel overwhelmed by the fast moving busy life of a metropolitan if you’re from a small town. People may not be as kind, and the diversity in people may scare you. The pressure to get into college societies, at the same time, coming to terms with the fact that there are people smarter or more talented than you, can be hard. The best way to maintain some peace of mind in between all this chaos would be to have no expectations. Expectations most often if not always, lead to disappointment. Having a clear head and ‘going with the flow’ can really help in terms of relieving stress-inducing thoughts to ‘be the best’. Understanding that there will always be someone better, and that you have to learn to accept yourself for who you are, are key to staying sane.

Year two is known for one of the most important stressors, namely internships. For most people this is the first time they are interning, inducing anxiety about the work environment, bosses, and mainly, securing an internship. Understanding a work environment and how things are done can take years if not months. Not worrying about ‘fitting in’ or impressing your boss, are solid steps one can take to relieve anxiety. People may even experience disappointment upon not getting substantial work whilst interning. Instead of focusing one’s energy on what is not happening, looking at the job as a learning experience is a step in the right direction.

Year three could easily be deemed as the most stressful of all three years. Important decisions regarding working, studying, or taking a gap year, are inevitable. Watching your peers get their desired jobs/Universities may add to the already mounting pressure. Taking things at one’s own pace and understanding your own capabilities come first and foremost. Instead of comparing yourself to others, focus on what interests you and match that with your aptitude for best results.

College is a rollercoaster ride, with many ups and downs. Going with the twists and turns, and learning from every up and down, will make you more self-aware as a person and help you cope better with the pressures of life.

 

 Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Meher Gill

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There is an amusing profundity in desolation – something delicate and yet powerful, something that brings time to its greatest form of destruction.

In ‘Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments,’ Shakespeare muses on an all-empowering force of time and much more. It is truly awakening; the realisation of how time is most supreme. It is argued that material objects do not weather well against the tests of time. Indeed, it requires to be asked, what truly stands these tremulous tests? Art remains a symbol, a story, an emotion; something that is passed down to generations, the authenticity of which remains to an extent, even after decades of discourse. Tughlaqabad Fort is a place that is more a narrative. Even in its ruins, it speaks.

Built on a hillock in the southern portion of Delhi, surprisingly, the expansive fort was built in merely 4 years, from 1321-1325. The construction of the fort is the tale of classic karma. Ghazi Malik (later self-styled as Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq) was mocked for his suggestion to built a fort in southern parts of Delhi, by his predecessor, a Khalji king. Overthrowing the same king in 1321, Tughlaq Dynasty was established by Ghazi Malik. This fort was more of a declaration of Tughlaq’s overtaking the power. In all his glory, Ghazi Malik summoned all labourers in Delhi to work on his fort. Now, this incensed another labour-demanding saint, Nizamuddin Auliya because of the simple reason that the construction of his own baoli (well) had to be put on hold. Nizamuddin cursed the fort – Ya rahey ujjar, ya basey Gujjar – which translates to “either remain uninhabited or housing Gujjars.” Unsurprisingly, after the fall of the Sultanate, Gujjars of the area captured the Qila and till date Tughlaqabad Village is situated in it.

 

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The perimeter of the entire complex including the palace and citadel would be more than 6 kilometres, enclosing an area of about 130 hectares – making it a sizable medieval city.

The moment you enter the place, a sudden vibe of ancient royalty envelopes you. The passage is hard stone and on both sides with greens and a lake choking with weeds and plants. The high stone walls and parapets are exuberant to witness. Almost everywhere you will witness eloquent architecture, now in ruins. The decapitated walls and crippled archways seem to talk of the ruinous nature of time. But the stone is hard nonetheless. Despite being a preserved historic site, it is somehow aching to see the desolation. Labourers are always working under the government’s scheme, but the area is too big to replicate the structures completely. Hence, some parts of the fortress have become inaccessible, overgrown with vegetation.

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As for the resilient structures that remain true and standing, some will have you asking for more. One particular example of such a place is a secluded path, leading to an unimaginably surreal place – stone steps leading up to a huge arch. Entering this arch, you witness a green heaven. It is a huge forest of shrubs and trees here and there. Far across this forestry, the vision traces the primal evidences of civilisation that soon begins to develop into high rise buildings and busy roads. A seclusion inhabits this place, a beautiful peace.

Coming down to lower grounds, there is a well that has an immensely green tree that stands alone in the darkness. Going on and around, the topmost peak from the northern gate again takes you back to you a scintillating view of the life around this desolation, within and without.

Ghias-ud-Din Tughlaq’s Mausoleum is the highlight of this place. The actual mausoleum is made up of a single-domed square tomb (8 m x8 m) with sloping walls crowned by parapets. The edifice is topped by an elegant dome resting on an octagonal drum that is covered with white slabs of marble and slate. As beautiful as it is on the outside, the serene sadness of it hits you too. Under the dome, inside the mausoleum are three graves – The central one belongs to Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq and the other two are believed to be those of his wife and his son and successor Muhammad bin Tughlaq.

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As is with every other fortress of ignored historical importance, this fortress has its humanly imposed downsides. It is saddening to see how people have found their voices and expressions on the walls of Tughlaqabad Fort. But that is just the way we go about our historical architecture; it is felt that it must have the people’s impressions too.

 

But some might find these engravings worthy for the love that they symbolise. The locals around have the liberty to find breaches in the anyway languid security, so many places are filled with domestic and bovine wastes.

A little remote, but worth a visit, Tughlaqabad Fort is a place that will capture you with its ever-present calmness. A place for the unconventional adventurers, this fortress is a delight in desolation.

 

Image Credits: Kartik Chauhan for DU Beat.

Kartik Chauhan
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“I used to think about it this way: Like a continent, Schenley High School is divided into nations. Jock Nation. Kingdom of Stoners. The People’s Republic of Theatre Dorks. In the typical high school life, you belong to one nation, which can never guarantee you total security.”

Humans live, survive, laugh, cry in their self-constructed social environment. That is how it is in spheres of public life in general and in high schools and colleges in particular. You might belong to a group of perfect individuals or you might be a lost boy in a gang of misfits. Over the years, many teen dramas and comedies have explored various cliques in such teen societies. Here, we count down a few such memorable groups of fictional freaks and geeks.

  • The Geeks (Paper Towns)

Paper Towns might seem like a teen romance especially after knowing that it is based on a John Green book. But in its truest essence, it is a movie on friendship. Q (the protagonist), Ben, and Marcus stick together, be it while singing the Pokemon theme song or while going on a road trip to find Q’s crush. They aren’t the most popular students in school, but the ones who need to search hard to find their prom dates and the ones whose names one hardly remembers. But you won’t feel sorry for them as they are hardly low regarding their status in the high school cliques, liking that “wallflower” status. They are the type who will stay happy playing a video game at home and talking about a random fandom.

Image Credits: HuffPost
Image Credits: HuffPost

 

  • The Lost “Velle” Souls (Udaan)

In Udaan, we see a realistic portrayal of Rohan and his testosterone pumping teen friends sneaking out at night watching a B-grade film in a shanty looking theatre, and then getting caught by a teacher, which leads to their suspension. They display a sense of angst and confusion which is normal for their age. The key is to not get lost along this way. Rohan eventually discovers his purpose when he indulges in his gift of writing poetry.

Image Credits- MoiFightClub
Image Credits- MoiFightClub
  • Changing Friends (21 and 22 Jump Street)

Both these classic comedies star Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as undercover cops trying to infiltrate a drug ring in a high school, and in a college in the sequel. That means they pose as school and college students and end up in hilarious bromance moments. However, apart from their bonding, you also see how their relationship changes when they have different interests and different cliques to hang out with. Ironically in the first movie, Tatum who is clearly a jock, gets busy giving science presentations while Jonah Hill, the fat boy who usually gets picked on, roams around with hipster freaks and is a star in the theatre society. That shows how with time, people’s nature towards each other changes. Teen cliques are very transient. However, if you have a real bond with a friend, then you’re bound to get back together despite all the differences, just like the boys of Jump Street.

Image Credits- The Iris
Image Credits- The Iris
  • Attention Seekers (Mean Girls)

Mean Girls is a gem in the pantheon of teen movies and it highlights all sections of the teen high school society in a very vivid, hilarious, and real manner. The most accurate portrayal in the movie is that of the fake cliques, attention seekers, the so called “Mean Girls.” Cady, the lead, played by Lindsay Lohan, initially finds it hard to fit in with the “cool folks” and for the meantime, rolls with a few “dorks.” However, towards the second half she herself turns into an egoistic mean girl ignoring her old friends. Even though the end is optimistic, Mean Girls is a ready reckoner reminding us to be our true selves rather than a fake soul. No wonder the movie was based on a self-help book!

Image Credits- CNN
Image Credits- CNN

 

  • The Mixed Bag (The Breakfast Club)

A muscular jock, a classic bad boy with leather gloves on his hands, a geek, a teenage princess, an emo and edgy girl. All of them have been seen posing together on the poster of The Breakfast Club. Made by John Hughes, the 80s cult favourite still continues to be relevant today. It has the most unique clique of students from different backgrounds united by a detention class. How they meet one day in detention and start bonding towards the end seems so natural and pure and also tells us how sometimes the most unexpected situations can lead to the best relationships. Having a perfect balance of different shades of opinion like The Breakfast Club is a plain bliss in the world of teen cliques.

Image Credits- The Film Magazine
Image Credits- The Film Magazine

Feature Image Credits: CNN

Shaurya Singh Thapa

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Majority of the exams that are organised on a Pan-India level under the aegis of the Government eventually expose these lacunas. Be it tampering with the answer scripts, use of illegitimate means in the examination centres, name anything that is illegal and you’ll find it on the list.

The DU L.L.B Entrance Test, organised by the University of Delhi (DU), was done through the process of outsourcing firm “Aptech,” which was recently alleged to be responsible for the alleged faulty conduction of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) entrance exams. The firm was responsible to organise the Rajasthan Constable Recruitment exam, which had to be postponed because of the bust of an alleged paper-leak racket right before the exam. The alleged legal proceedings against the firm for these cases hadn’t even died down, when the firm was chosen to conduct the Law-course entrance examination of DU.

It was for the first time this year that the University administration made a switch from the pen-and-paper examination system to the online examination set-up. More than 15,000 students are alleged to be affected because of the faulty procedures, such as marksheet tampering, incorporated by the firm, because of which the students are said to have lost up to 100 marks, which became evident when the results were announced on 11th July. Due to this, 22 pupils filed a writ petition, requesting the quash of the exams and their subsequent results to nothing.

After the petition was filed, the first hearing was supposed to be carried out on 1st August 2018.  The University administration had been ordered to file in a response at the court on 7th September 2018. The failure on the University’s part to do this, has postponed the date for hearing to 26th September 2018.

The legal provisions of the tender, legibly quote that in the event of poor performance records on the part of the bidder, the Tender shall stand null-and-void. However, Aptech was allowed to conduct the exam even after a seemingly poor record.

It is alleged by the petitioners, that they were kept misinformed about the provision of the “Audit-Copy,” that records the exact time when the candidate marks or unmarks the answer to a question in the exam. Some students’ alleged activity through their accounts after the exam was over; others say that the date for the announcement of results was first postponed from 4th July to 11th July, 2018. Even on 11th July, the results were uploaded and taken down thrice before they were finally made accessible to the students.

According to the students who gave the exam, not only were they asked to sit wherever they felt like, the biometric verification was carried out after the examination was over.

DU Beat tried to contact the administration for a comment on this issue, but they were unavailable for the same.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Aashish Jain

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It’s almost synonymous with DU, chai. However, chai-wallas here are not limited to being mere service providers; they’re ingrained into students’ lives.

On 19th August, the iconic Tea Stall inside the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), endearingly referred to as ‘Irfan’s’ by students, accidentally burnt down. There was an approximate loss of assets worth INR 1,00,000, excluding the initial shock factor, and the low spirits that prevail around that area now.
The students and faculty members of the college sprung to action, with a collection drive (which is ongoing) led by faculty member Mr. Santosh Kumar. The sweet little shop is undergoing restoration, and is expected to start functioning again soon. The overwhelming response on behalf of the students, faculty and non-faculty members of the college stands proof of the value and importance of this dear tea-stall. DU Beat contacted Mr. Santosh Kumar but he was unavailable for a comment.

Page 2- after damages
Ananya Jain, a second year student at SRCC expressed her concerns to a DU Beat correspondent, and said, “We can’t deny the fact that Irfan uncle’s Bhajiya Patti was a savior on one too many days. I can’t wait for his shop to become functional again.”
Another student from SRCC, Parikshit Batra, a first year hosteler, said, “My daily Anda-Bread-Chai fix will be missed, but this is not about my breakfast. I was touched by the organisation of a collection drive to help Irfan Uncle; it’s like a little family here that takes care of one another.”
This spirit prevails all over the University of Delhi and extends from Chai wallahs to Co-op book store owners providing crucial assignments and reading at subsidised rates and even letting students borrow books during desperate times. They hold immense importance in students’ lives, adding to the quality and comfort of campus life. Sadly, they often go unnoticed and under-appreciated, their presence is taken for granted, and the same way sound and lighting teams in Dramatics Societies often are. The drab nature of the past week at SRCC has proved how Irfan’s was an irreplaceable part of the college campus. Campus chai-wallahs have forever been a part of any DU student’s life, and their stalls are the very birthplace of the phenomenon called chai pe charcha. Their chai making is almost akin to artistry; tea, milk, and ginger at their best.
These places resemble the eye of the tornado in any college; offering an INR 10 cuppa and peace of mind
amidst the surrounding chaos. Be it the election time or protests, or a regular day, these places are always thronged by students. They stand witness to conversations about subjects ranging from politics to societies and academics to love life. It never happens that a development from the University or the Arts Faculty doesn’t reach them. Barring their timeless charm, these places also have a devoted fan following, just try to criticise Sudama Tea Stall in front of a Hinduite, or talk down Ganga Dhaba in front of JNU Students. Go on, we dare you.

 

Feature Image Credits: Ramkrishnan, Click- The Photography Society, SRCC.

Nikita Bhatia

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(Corrigendum: This is to correct wrongful accreditation to DU Beat for the feature image used in this article, in the fifth print issue, published on 29th August 2018. The rightful credits of this image belong to Ramakrishnan, who is a member of the photography society of SRCC, Click.)

Student union elections in the University can be an utterly tricky business. They’re characterised by a volatile aura, where, in a fraction of a second, you might stumble upon an unruly mob at a place that’s otherwise calm and quiet.
In a recent showcase of events staged at Lakshmibai College, things took an unprecedented turn. Earlier this week, news spread like wild-fire that Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) supporters had manhandled National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) supporters, and that had a detrimental effect on the college’s discipline and sanctity.

According to Saimon Farooqi, National Media Secretary, NSUI, “The nomination was supposed to be carried out on a certain day, and the next day was restricted only for their withdrawal and not for accepting any further nominations. However, we found out that the Principal was using her power to accept the nomination for a particular candidate belonging to ABVP on the next day, and hence we called for an agitation against this malefaction. As we did so, ABVP activists charged against us which exposed us to physical penuries. Our National General Secretary, Ms. Karishma, was attacked by a blade in the ruckus.”

The case had not even cooled down yet, when another staggering chain of events came into the lime-light. A recent production at Lakshmibai College led to a clash of ideas between the college management and the political front. In what can be termed as an attempt to maintain decorum inside the college premises, the college principal, Dr. Pratyush Vatsala, allegedly, did away with the practice of declaring the college student union results on the same day as the polling, and dictated that they shall be announced on some other day, for which she hasn’t given the tentative date yet.

When DU Beat contacted the Principal for her take on the matter, she said, “I don’t care what NSUI thinks. I’m not answerable to them. I’m doing the duty that has been assigned to me. The decision to declare the results on a different date has been taken, keeping in mind various other aspects and proceedings that are going on in the background. The results shall be declared as soon as the proceedings are over. I can’t give any tentative dates for this to happen.”

The NSUI, on the other hand, has very different opinion on the matter. The union alleges that there is something fishy in the tabulation process, since the votes are being counted without the absence of any University appointed polling representatives as well as the candidates. There is felt the absence of a legit polling booth. According to the union, this is a dent on the transparency of the student body elections, and hence hampers the spirit of a free-willed student democracy.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Aashish Jain

[email protected]