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Key Faculty Members Laid Off at LSR; the Ad-Hoc Crisis Strikes Again

By DU Beat July 22, 2024

The Delhi University Admin Cycle of ad-hoc replacement strikes at LSR, as reputed teachers from departments get replaced. What follows is absolute silence from the college administration.

After the ad-hoc replacements of Mr. Samarveer Singh at Hindu College, and Dr. Itisha Nagar at KNC, the unsettling trend continues, with Ms. Pushplata Kumar from LSR being the most recent case.

On 20th July, 2024, the esteemed Department of Journalism, at Lady Shri Ram College(LSR) suffered a crucial setback when the news of the non-retention of Ms. Pushplata was received. This comes as a part of the continual cycle of Delhi University, wherein the ad-hoc professors are being granted permanent status, while some ad-hoc professors are being replaced from their posts. However, the lack of transparency in the process, alleged political powerplay, and unjust temperament had sparked concern and discontentment amongst the students, at the loss of such qualified and cherished academicians. Protests by both DUTA and the students, have not resulted in any change in the opaque procedure undertaken by the University of Delhi.

Ms. Pushplata, who had been teaching under the aegis of the Journalism Department of LSR for 9 years as an ad-hoc professor, experienced a similar situation when her non-retention was notified. This comes as a shock to the students, most of whom credit her for their ignited interest in the subjects of Advertisement, Public Relations, Media Industry Management et al., and as a constant source of guidance in their career trajectories. Given the brevity of the situation, DU Beat reached out to students from the Department, and under the guise of Anonymity, they spoke about the unjust mannerism under which the department functions, the replacement of Pushplata Ma’am, being one of the many commented one of the Students, expanding upon the mismanagement within the Journalism Department. They further stated that most of the guest lectures and talks under their tenure were held by Ms. Pushplata, and through the exceptional network she had within the industry, she would also provide aid for students to obtain better career opportunities.

Since 2016, LSR has been the top college within DU for Journalism; for 5 consecutive years, and in 2020, the top four positions within Journalism were taken by LSR, so when the teacher(s) are giving such exemplary results, then their non-retention comes up as a greater dismay,

Another student from the department spoke about the zeal she developed within them for the subjects, sharing that,

She taught us the practicality of the subject, taught us how we can move beyond the scope of televised advertisements, and work for change. Ma’am made sure we attended film festivals, and introduced us to people from the industry, so that we could realize and work on the scope of our careers.

These testimonials from students become a vital point, in correlation to the fact that these decisions have a direct impact on the academic lives of the students, and thus, their consensus and feedback should be an important parameter before undertaking a drastic step like this.

The students took to social media to raise their opposition against this drastic step. This is a remarkable moment, given the “reduced sense of political temperament amongst the newcomers”, as alleged by an alumna of the college. In conversation with DU Beat, one of the students mentioned how this apoliticism of the students is a reflection of the improper supervision of the admin and the senior management of LSR,

Here at LSR, one can see the difference when a student enters here, and exits. They don’t bother talking about their concerns, for they know nothing would happen and a ‘Blame Chain’ would be formulated.

The incident at LSR further adds to the chain of questions about the opacity and unjust mechanisms used by the colleges and selection committees. And a perplexity about the lack of consensus from the students regarding a decision that not only has an impact on the reputation of the college, but also the academic (and otherwise) lives of the students.

Featured Image Credits: DU Beat

Shikhar Pathak

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Bangladesh’s student protests intensify: dissent and radio silence persist

By DU Beat July 20, 2024

Protests against the freedom fighter quota, having been sparked since the High Court judgement which declared the annulment of the 30 per cent quota illegal earlier this month, escalated on Sunday night. The government has declared a nation-wide curfew, the internet has been cut-off and the casualties stand at 105 currently. Professors at several universities across Bangladesh, mobilising the student protest groups, have called for fresh protests.

Up until 2018, the quotas maintained by the Bangladeshi government for its civil service jobs included the infamous freedom fighter quota, standing at 30 per cent. This quota reserved the seats of civil service posts for the children and grandchildren of the freedom fighters of the nation. Coupled with the other quotas, only 46 per cent of the jobs were left that could be contested on the basis of merit. In 2018, protests against the quotas rose and were subsequently quelled promptly by the government, which later decided to scrap all quotas, except the quota reserving seats for the freedom fighters’ posterity. A verdict regarding this was passed on July 7 by the High Court which declared the move as illegal.

In Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s address on July 14 to the protesting students, she has been recorded saying, “Why are the freedom fighters so resented by them? If the grandchildren of freedom fighters do not get jobs, do they encourage the razakars to get them? This is what I ask the nation.” The term razakar, a pejorative euphemism denoting conspirators against the nation during the Bangladeshi Liberation Movement of 1971, struck a grisly chord with the students who interpreted her address as an oblique comparison of the student protestors with razakars. They organised rallies, chanting “Tumi ke, ami ke, razakar, razakar” (Who are you, who am I, razakar, razakar), allegedly mocking the PM’s address.

The Bangladesh Chhatra League (Bangladesh Student League), the youth wing of the ruling party, alongside the police, attacked the protestors on July 5, leading to a bloodbath in public and private universities across the country. The government has announced its decision to deploy military forces, to curb the protests. No communication has been received from the ground on account of the nation-wide internet shut down. 105 people have died in midst of the protests and over 2500 have been injured so far. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the primary opposition party, has joined hands with the protestors and claims to support their cause. On Friday, the police launched tear gas on the BNP protesters and arrested the party leader, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi. The Indian Railways has cancelled trains to Bangladesh. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal claims that around 15,000 Indians including 8,500 students, are residing there. He further reports that they are all safe. Of the aforestated number, 450 students have been evacuated so far and returned via Agartala. Imtiaz Ahmed, former professor of Dhaka University’s political science department opines, “Hasina should have called for conference with the students instead of unleashing her trigger-happy police if she wanted to handle the situation better.”

As the country continues to grapple with intense protests and student casualties keep mounting, a burgeoning consensus against Hasina’s government condemns her methods – for being “autocratic”. “The public, alongside the cumulative effect of Hasina’s four-term anti-incumbency, also resents her autocratic way of handling dissent,” remarks former Bangladeshi diplomat and president of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, Humayun Kabir.

Featured Image Credits : Cubangla Instagram Page

Aayudh Pramanik

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Shikhar Pathak

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The Edifice of a Gargantuan Ambition – Where Does the NEP Stand Today?

By DU Beat July 20, 2024

The policy-behemoth of 2020, the NEP, has begun to seep into the cogwheels of the state machinery, and an ugly picture now stands before us. Has the NEP oiled the machine or soiled it?

With its first major revision since 1986, the New Education Policy of India (NEP), cradling promises to remedy the fractured education system and its often dysfunctional multiplicity of boards, targeted skill-sets and examination protocols, has finally started to lose moss as it roars down the steep slope of universities and schools dotting the Indian landscape alike, and needless to say, it poses the threat to obliterate the status-quo hitherto observed. The question remains whether an overhaul of such prodigious proportions should be a welcome change. Do Indian institutions, and in fact, the institute that is India itself, possess the capacity to contain it and not crumble in the process? Perhaps a fortification is imperative. Have we given the political and academic structures adequate time to recalibrate and fortify themselves in order to welcome the change?

Indeed, having to model the Indian paradigm of education after the Americans presents appealing prospects to those who wish to pursue their higher education abroad. Statistically, we must determine how much of the student population that truly represents. One need not resort to the numbers, however, to infer that it must not constitute a generous portion of the Indian-student demographic. A disparate wealth distribution in the Indian economy continues to persist, consequently shutting a devastating majority of the population out from access to foreign lands. Education in the UK and the US for just one year is almost as expensive as an Indian’s kidney, if one were to pardon the conceit. Within India itself, private universities cost as much over the course of four years. We may safely say that the structure under the NEP, benefits only a microscopic percentage of Indian students. Simultaneously, it insinuates certain cultural and ideological conflicts.

Of course, change is daunting, abrasive at times. I desire to direct our attention to the realised change therefore; that is where the NEP stands, four years after its conception and more than a year after it having been implemented. Lying beyond the theoretical assent and dissent, how has the change shaped itself in practice?

The syllabi structured under the NEP have introduced subjects such as GE (Generic Elective), SEC (Skill Enhancement Course), VAC (Value Added Course), AEC (Ability Enhancement Course) with the respective departments offering choices from a pool of courses. Some of these courses such as “The Art of Being Happy” may be taught by professors of any and all departments! The obverse side of the coin parades this as ‘holistic development’ that should buttress an individual’s employability. The reverse, practical side of this coin reveals a diluted core syllabus and therein the concomitant and ironic risk of a half-baked education. Can subjects such as ‘Sports for Life’ or ‘Personality Development’ substantially better the depth of a student’s learning, especially at the University level, where courses are supposed to be rather rigorous and demanding?

Professor Debraj Mookerjee, Associate Professor of English at Ramjas College, reflecting on the Economics Honours syllabus for St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata, says,

Of the eight courses being taught, only one is in the Honours subject paper…are the students learning enough about the core subjects to make them optimally employable? Can the other subjects not be self-learnt in the age of the internet?

A 3rd Year English Honours Student at the University of Delhi, Pema Choekyi Thongdok, in conversation with DU Beat, echoes the same concern

Also, while one may argue that papers like yoga, sports, etc. do help in extra-curricular development, I still believe that this should be the choice of the student. A student should not be forced to study a whole new paper, simply in the name of “holistic development”, if it wouldn’t even be of any help to them in the future.

A critically upsetting point that Pema raises is that these subjects, with the exception of the GE courses, may not be repeated after one semester of having studied it. How does one fathom the idea of learning a subject well enough within the span of four months, with six other such courses to cater to, including 3 core papers, to find any practical or academic use for it later in life? If the practical use is eliminated entirely, an academic use is tenuously possible. Even in that scenario, additional rigorous research must be done to develop a scholarly understanding of the topic in the first place. This research shall only be the qualifying pre-requisite and no more.

Highlighting another pitfall of this system, Shivam Bhanushali, Assistant Professor of English, B.N.N College ventures,

The policy’s emphasis on student choice in subject selection is commendable. However, large class sizes and an uneven teacher-student ratio make it difficult to offer diverse options. This can lead to schools prioritising feasibility over student preferences, potentially hindering the policy’s objective.

The cause behind such a butchered syllabus coupled with an equally ignominious execution may be ascribed to the inadequate workforce in terms of, on one hand, administrative sections that must be reconditioned to accommodate the changes in the dealings with students and a largely under-equipped faculty.

Many of the universities are facing problems because they do not have the manpower required for proper implementation. This programme has many sub-sections like value-added and skill-based courses. If institutes want to offer these courses, they need to have proper departments in the university.

says Professor Imankalyan Lahiri, Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University.

Taking this argument further, Priyanka Mukherjee, third year journalism student at Delhi College of Arts and Commerce laments

NEP, while it boasts of introducing “practical aspects” into the syllabus, doesn’t take into account that several DU colleges lack the basic infrastructure to even accommodate a media lab in their premises.

In the recent fee hike at JNU and DU postgraduate and doctorate programmes, one of the contentions seemed to be a constantly failing infrastructure that did not reflect or justify the increased fees. If colleges were not being able to handle infrastructural demands even before the NEP was implemented, it is only natural for a massive bottleneck to have been birthed in the wake of NEP’s structural reform demands. For instance, one of the AEC papers offered under the NEP syllabus is “Environmental Science – Theory Into Practice”. As an unfortunate victim of the NEP myself, I may assuredly proclaim that there was nothing generally practical about the course structure exempting the practical waste of my precious time as an honours student. The “practicals” prescribed in the syllabus decreed the making of a practical file, with an arbitrary number of experiments left to the discretion of the teacher responsible for teaching it and a viva-voce at the end of the semester. I trust you have understood that there were no opportunities created for us that warranted leaving the four-walls of the classroom or our living accommodations. Unless I am practically delirious, it bothers me that there are no realised practical, or hands-on aspects to courses that purport to be largely practical.

Under the NEP, one may skip completely their Master’s and appear for the UGC-NET provided they can meet the criteria of a “minimum of 75% marks or equivalent grades in their four-year undergraduate course”. Additionally, the UGC has already scrapped the M.Phil degree entirely. Commenting on this, Professor Saswata Bhattacharya, Associate Professor of English at Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi, in conversation with Times of India, says,

The 4th year requires a student to acquaint themselves with research methodology and research work. The papers that they have, were previously a part of M.Phil courses, let alone M.A. Speaking of their M.A. courses, which they may now skip, they have a one year programme with not more than 8-10 papers. We had a minimum of 12-16. The length of their M.A courses have been effectively halved. I can vouch for the paramount importance of a two-year course for their M.A. Students who have been introduced to a specialised discipline only recently, and have been studying it for not more than 3-4 years, will find themselves severely ill-suited for serious research. In fact, a 2 year M.Phil course after their master’s helps bridge the large gap in the nature and workload between a Master’s and PhD course.

The hoped expedite is not so much an expedition as it is a hindrance; the process leaves students insufficiently armed and unable to ease into the succeeding steps of their lives. Professor Biswajit Mohanty exposes a dangerous area of quicksand in the exit policy of the NEP undergraduate programmes.

The exit policy is clearly disadvantageous for the underclass category students because it is easy to exit and difficult to gain re-entry into the system, considering the fact that the poor students would find it burdensome to expend energy and financial resources for four years to get the desired degree. Earlier three years seemed achievable but it seems a distant goal for them. This has manifested in the form of one of my students from Rajasthan now contemplating a move to SOL as he cannot afford to study in Delhi because of his family’s financial situation. This will also be disadvantageous for girls, as they would be the first to be taken out of school.

Certainly, given the India now, in an attempt to dig new pathways, the NEP has run the drills under whole residential areas without relocating the inhabitants. It has done so under the influence of a flimsy vision and a threadbare execution. The damage control has been pitiful because it lacks the work-force and the resources to acquire said workforce. In simple words, India is not ready to so radicalise its educational wireframe. It is not simply the universities that have failed, but the government responsible for funding them. “It is, however, not a big surprise that the present government has implemented yet another ambitious policy without taking into account the ground-reality of our academic institutions.” concludes Priyanka. While the students suffer from not having been eased into degrees in a rush to acquire them, the academic institutions suffer from not having been eased into the NEP. One cannot deny the NEP’s transformative capacity. However, a ceramic bowl cannot contain oversized bricks. There is hope for the NEP, but the damage done to the first batches in its inchoate stages seems irremediable.

Featured Image Credits : The Times Of India Website

Aayudh Pramanik

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DUB News

Drunk and Urinating on “Roll of Honour” Nameplate – NSUI Suspected in Shocking Vandalism Case

By DU Beat July 17, 2024

Video and audio clips of a vandalised DUSU office surfaced on the 14th of July. ABVP members claimed NSUI involvement and took to social media to condemn the alleged heinous act. The University of Delhi has set up a 4-member board to investigate the vandalism at DUSU office and an FIR has been registered.

As political tensions further burgeon between the incumbent DUSU President, Tushar Dedha from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Abhi Dahiya, DUSU Vice President, representative of NSUI, a case of ruthless vandalism at the DUSU office has left the DUSU members smarting and has invited a grim prognosis for the suspected vandals. The office of the President, Tushar Dedha; Secretary, Aparajita; Joint Secretary, Sachin Baisla and the visitor’s room have been ransacked by whom ABVP members alleged were NSUI goons, possibly led by Mr. Abhi Dahiya.

DU Proctor Rajni Abbi has revealed in conversation with Indian Express on Sunday that ongoing investigations have discovered several liquor bottles in Mr. Dahiya’s office. The ABVP has also alleged that the violent act had been carried out under the influence of alcohol, at around 3AM the same morning. The ABVP has taken to social media to expose the extent of damage caused to the public eye, wherein claims of NSUI goons having urinated on the “Roll of Honour” Nameplate, thrown out statues of religious icon Ram and the framed portrait of leader Swami Vivekananda have been documented. RSS-affiliated ABVP in a statement floated on Sunday condemned the Congress’s student wing –

“Between 3-4 AM this morning, NSUI goons broke into the Delhi University Students’ Union office, causing chaos. They broke the doors of the offices of President Tushar Dedha and Secretary Aparajita, vandalised the office, and threw out statues of Lord Ram and pictures of great leaders like Swami Vivekananda.”

In an interview with Press Trust of India (PTI), secretary Aparajita confessed

“As the only female student representative working at this level, I feel unsafe in my own office.”

DUSU Vice-President Abhi Dahiya has released a statement on his Instagram on Monday, following the allegations, accusing ABVP goons to have likewise vandalised his office “first” in retaliation for his attempt last week to uncover the “fraudulent means” used by the Mr. Dedha to gain admission in DU, and the “false affidavit” submitted by him in order to contest elections. He claimed that the incident was orchestrated as an act of diversion from the critical issue of the fabricated documents, urging that there be a thorough investigation into the matter and entreating students to not get carried away by the propaganda fuelled by ABVP. “This act of vandalism and fear mongering not only damages DUSU property but also threatens the safety and integrity of our student community” he wrote on social media.

An official intimation conveyed the decision of the varsity’s administration to set up a 4-member panel comprising Delhi University Proctor Rajni Abbi, Dean of Students’ Welfare Ranjan Kumar Tripathi, Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) staff advisor Surender Kumar, and Joint Proctor Geeta Sahare, to probe into the matter. The panel endeavours to submit its report within seven days.

Featured Image Credits : ABVP Delhi Instagram Page

Aayudh Pramanik

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DUB Speak

Rahul Gandhi’s Tryst with Destiny: The Revival of the Last Gandhi

By DU Beat July 16, 2024

Sorry, the old RaGa cannot come to the PressCon right now. Why? Oh, cause he’s dead. Let’s explore his journey from the Prince of Political Dynasty, to Pappu, and then Beyond.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about the General Elections of 2024 was the escalated and expeditious participation from Generation Z, a large strata of whom finally got a direct vote in the election of the Government. This participation was also rooted in the Twitteratis and their constant political pundit-esque commentary that remained persistent throughout this apparent festival of democracy. From the viral “Dimple Bhabhi Hatiye…” tweet to the pookie-fication of Narendra Modi, nobody escaped the brunt of the internet folks. A leading player in the battle for the seat of prime minister was Rahul Gandhi, who displayed a staggering transformation. From him being posted to the edits of ‘Daddy’s Home‘, his subsequent babygirlification and portrayal as the Batman of Indian political scenario et.al., RaGa seemed to be a Twitter favorite; pre, midst, and post the election season. And this, comes as a surprise for someone who has long been ridiculed by both, the politicians and the masses, as ‘Pappu’.

When the National Democratic Alliance, on its third subsequent win, boasts about a new era of Modi 3.0, it is notable that this also embarks the beginning of RaGa 3.0. Something that is even more remarkable is how every epoch of his political career draws a direct parallel to the state of the current opposition in the country. In retrospect it might appear to be a vague statement, however, this opinion piece attempts to substantiate the same, and for that, the political trajectory of Rahul Gandhi needs to be analyzed in a trifactorial manner.

In a political climate that was being conditioned for Priyanka Gandhi to be the new face of the Indian National Congress, with the re-emphasization of her parallels to Indira Gandhi, the launch of Rahul Gandhi as the face of INC was a rather unanticipated change for the politicians and the masses alike. In a direct parallel to Rajneeti (the 2010 Prakash Jha Directiorial’s) Samar Pratap, played by Ranbir Kapoor, ‘a foreign returned relatively less-known to-and-of the political scenario‘ heir was placed into the position of a party supremo. However, that is where the parallels end, while Samar goes on to become a force to reckon with, RaGa displayed a relatively inconsistent political profile. His political prowess at that time focused largely upon as the ‘uniter’ of the nation, working on reducing the caste and religion-based divisiveness in the country. Subsequently, he won from the ancestral seat of Amethi and was popularised as the Yuva Neta, and harbinger of justice, by the media. However, despite this popularised imagery that he had cultivated around himself, he refused to hold positions of power within the INC and rather struck to the youth wings. The launch of RaGa drew a parallel into the INC as it witnessed a rejuvenation of the Gandhi Parivaar within the leadership positions, after 14 years of absence, albeit in an indirect mannerism with Manmohan Singh being the Prime Minister then.

Post the smooth and apparent surged political prowess, the era of Rahul Gandhi 2.0 comes into play with the elections of 2014 and beyond; the General Election of 2014, posed a drastic change in the climate of the Indian Political Scenario, wherein the 10-year streak of the INC was fiercely shattered by the National Democratic Alliance and its figurehead, present Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The dramatic downfall of the INC marked the beginning of RaGa as the undisputed King of Bloopers and the face of Indian Political Memes, the person who was hailed as the Prince of the Politically Dynastic Gandhi Parivar was now ridiculed as ‘Pappu’, and worse. The lack of a proper redressal mechanism from the INC upon the same, and RaGa’s subsequent infamous statements like the ‘potato-gold‘ alchemy theory, the hug in the parliament, misgendering of the Speaker, et.al., cemented the NDA alliances claim of the ‘Shehzada’, in attempts to mock his lack of proper developmental work despite the privilege he was equipped with. A subsequent political debacle also surrounded the Indian National Congress, as it witnessed the lowest-ever tally of 44 seats post the 206-seat mark they achieved in 2009.

Post the 2019 stint of the National Democratic Alliance, and its subsequent chants of Abki Baar, 400 Paar; the public expectation from the erstwhile political bigwig declined, and an absolute majority of the present ruling party was largely accepted and anticipated. Despite the anti-heroic downfall that the INC witnessed, he kept walking (quite literally) and conducted two Nyay Yatras, which is speculated to have become a source of connection between the common man and the INC, and the reason for its subsequent victory in certain places. His newfound oratory skills and social media tactics labeled RaGa as the herald of the change of the apparent de-Modicisation and Democratization of the country. The connection that he attempted to build at a grassroots level, and better redressal skills, led to a surge in the INDIA vote bank, and a subsequent declination in the expected votes for the NDA.

However, RaGa’s relatively newer 3.0 trajectory did not stop there, the 1st July speech in the parliament, ended the era of his silence and negligence regarding the political climate and the flaws of the NDA, as he delivered a speech outlining the very same. The Speech won him further accolades over social media, as the netizens proclaimed that the tectonics of the Indian Political Scenario witnessed a shift that day, the void of an improper Leader of Opposition seemed to be filling. This is followed by his recent visits to places that have been impacted by violence and improper governance like Manipur, Assam, site of Hathras Stampede, loco pilots of Delhi, et.al. This is a clear indication of a political consistency, which he is infamously unknown of. The transition from Pappu to the Leader of Opposition, depicts a shift in the political ball game of the country, a probable subdued indication of the resurgence of the INC, and a new arena into his political trajectory. However, it remains long to be seen whether this political conundrum turns out to be a sham, or has Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally found an able competitor.

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Shikhar Pathak

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Campus Central

Delhi University Rejects Proposal to Add Manusmriti in the LLB Syllabus Post Severe Backlash

By DU Beat July 12, 2024

The Faculty of Law, DU had proposed to introduce two books on the ancient Hindu text as suggested reading under Unit V – Analytical Positivism of the subject Jurisprudence for first and third year students in the undergraduate course paper in LLB, inviting criticism from the Social Democratic Teachers Front (SDTF) and students. The proposal has been rejected by the V-C after he issued a clarification on Thursday i.e. 11 July, 2024.

The Faculty of Law, DU had proposed to introduce two books on the ancient Hindu text as suggested reading under Unit V – Analytical Positivism of the subject Jurisprudence for first and third year students in the undergraduate course paper in LLB. The said proposal was rejected earlier today, prior to the academic council’s meeting by the Vice – chancellor Yogesh Singh after a controversy erupted over the matter.

Today a proposal by the Faculty of Law was submitted to Delhi University. In the proposal, they had suggested changes in the paper titled Jurisprudence. One of the changes was to include readings on Manusmriti. We have rejected both the suggested readings and the amendments proposed by the Faculty. Nothing of this sort will be taught to students,

stated the V-C in a video message shared by the university.

Medhatithi’s concept of State and Law, the oldest and most popular commentaries on the Manusmriti, had been proposed as a suggested reading under Unit V – Analytical Positivism of the subject Jurisprudence, being taught in the first semester of the three and five-year undergraduate law courses, specifically Manusmriti with the ‘Manubhasya’ of Medhatithi, by GN Jha, and Commentary of Manu Smriti – Smritichandrika, by T Krishnaswami Iyer as the suggested readings.

The proposed integration was subjected to major criticism as the Manusmriti infamously endorses the caste system, gender inequality, outdated social norms and social ostracisation. The move is being criticised on the grounds that it would promote and perpetuate discrimination against marginalised communities, especially when it is integrated in the legal education system at a central university.

In an interview with The Indian Express Professor Anju Vali Tikoo, Dean, aculty of Law, had stated,

The Manusmriti has been introduced in line with the NEP 2020 to introduce Indian perspectives into learning. The unit under which it has been introduced in itself is an analytical unit. It has got nothing to do with Hindus, Hindutva or Hinduism. Hence, in order to bring in more perspective for the student to compare and understand analytical positivism, this step has been taken.

While teachers and students believed that a comparative understanding of the same is not the problem, its integration as a standalone paper is irrelevant and outdated.

Many students and teacher’s bodies had expressed their distaste towards the move. Objecting to the development, the Social Democratic Teachers Front (SDTF), a collective of teachers, wrote to DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on Wednesday, stating that the text Manusmriti propagates a “regressive” outlook towards the rights of women and the marginalised communities and that it is against a “progressive education system”. They demanded that the proposal should be immediately withdrawn and not approved in the academic council’s meeting.

In the letter to the VC, SDTF general secretary S S Barwal and chairperson S K Sagar had stated

Introduction of any section or part of Manusmriti is against the basic structure of our Constitution and principles of Indian Constitution.

Samvardhan Tiwary, a first year student at ILC, Faculty of Law, spoke to DU Beat regarding the development.

DU’s decision to introduce Manusmriti as a part of its law undergrad syllabus, has its own pros and cons. The text can act as a source of origination of law in India, but should not be included as a standalone curriculum in the UG framework. It’s important for the administration to take cognizance of the fact that now the Indian Legal has reached a certain pedestal where the relevance of Manu won’t benefit the students, rather it defeats the purpose of modern jurisprudence. It’s not news that the text has had prejudiced connotations against women in ancient India; it doesn’t serve the purpose of teaching equity and justice in the modern day.

The Delhi University Academic Council was set to hold a meeting today, i.e. Friday, 12 July, 2024 on the proposal to introduce the ancient Indian text as part of its undergraduate law courses, however, a University official said that although the amendments were to be discussed on Friday, the Act of the University “empowers the V-C to take any decision regarding the larger interest of the University, students, and staff”. The matter was discussed with the Dean, Faculty of Law and decided on accordingly.

Feature Image Credits: Himanshu for DU Beat

Gauri Garg

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Controversy Erupts Over Tushar Dedha’s Presidential Candidature as DUSU VP Files Complaint

By DU Beat July 9, 2024

DUSU Vice President, Abhi Dahiya, filed a complaint with the Delhi University Vice-chancellor on Friday, 5 July 2024, against the DUSU President Tushar Dedha alleging that, “he produced a false affidavit to contest elections.” However, Tushar Dedha has denied such allegations.

On Friday, 5 July 2024, DUSU (Delhi University Student Union) Vice President – Abhi Dahiya, filed a complaint against the DUSU President Tushar Dedha, with the Delhi University Vice-chancellor, alleging that the latter used “illegal means” to get admission to the University and produced a false affidavit to contest elections.

(Image Source: Abhi Dahiya via Instagram)

Incidentally, this is not the first time a DUSU President has been (allegedly) “exposed” for using illegal means to secure admission into the University. In 2018, the former ABVP-led DUSU President Ankiv Baisoya was involved in a similar incident. Following the NSUI presidential candidate Sunny Chillar’s challenge to Baisoya’s elections on the same grounds, the then-DUSU President resigned from his position and has been sacked by the ABVP. This occurred when his bachelor’s degree from Thiruvalluvar University in Tamil Nadu was found to be fraudulent.

Abhi Dahiya, in conversation with DU Beat, spoke out about the issue:

“The current DUSU President, Tushar Dedha has used ‘illegal means’ to gain admission within Delhi University. As per the records, the DUSU President holds two examination marksheets of intermediate class (Standard 12)- one from CBSE in Arts examination and the other from Madyamik Siksha Parishad Uttar Pradesh in Science Stream. How is it possible for one person to pass from two boards at two different places with two different streams? We urge the University to take stringent action against him as he does not deserve to remain the President for another minute, let alone an entire year.”

In his official complaint filed to the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, the Vice President of Delhi University’s Student Union cites that:

“As per the record received, he (Tushar Dedha) has two examination certificate/marksheets of intermediate class (12th), one from CBSE in Arts stream having roll number 9130384 and the other from Madyamik Siksha Parishad Uttar Pradesh in Science stream having roll number 0322496 District/School code 06/1328 both passed in year 2016 as a regular student.That as per the rules of both CBSE and Uttar Pradesh Board. It is mandatory for the regular student to have 75% attendance to appear in the 12th board examination and also, he has not passed equivalent Examination from any other Board. However, in case of Mr. Tushar Dedha, he holds two marksheets from two different Boards, both passed in year 2016 which is in total of Examination by-laws of CBSE and Madyamik Siksha Parishad Uttar Pradesh Board and therefore, both the mark-sheets are void.”

While speaking to DU Beat, Abhi Dahiya also notes that:

“Such illegal means have fooled the students of the University who put a lot of faith in their elected candidates while voting and we are looking forward to the University administration to take appropriate measures post the complaint by NSUI.”

Image Credits: Abhi Dahiya on X

The DU Beat team was unable to reach Tushar Dedha, but he took to his Instagram on 6 July, 2024, in response to the allegations:

“NSUI cannot digest the fact that a student hailing from a village, hailing from a backward class, not only contested elections for the post of DUSU President, but also won. My admission to the UG and PG programs at the university is fair, authentic and legal. They can approach any organisation for verification, and all their allegations would prove to be baseless. On the contrary, there are many student leaders of NSUI, against whom there have been allegations and ongoing investigation of fraudulent admissions and paper leaks. The fact that NSUI has remained silent on cases of 19 paper leaks in Congress-ruled Rajasthan, goes on to show their hypocrisy.”

Besides NSUI, several student political-parties of the left-bloc have taken their stance related to the issue.SFI Kamla Nagar Joint Secretary Aditi, spoke to DU Beat, reiterating SFI’s stance on the matter:

“The fact that this fraudulent action ‘escaped’ the eyes of the DU administration that is otherwise so strict about the document verification process, to the point that it puts the futures of so many common students at risk over issues in documents, does not seem like a mere coincidence. This issue also brings into question the authenticity of the educational qualifications of other DUSU office bearers and candidates. Students do not want frauds as their leaders. The DU administration should stop supporting the fraud of ABVP-led DUSU and penalise the goons who take admission using illegal measures to contest elections”

In a consolidatory stance, AISA (All India Students Association) took to its social media pages to question the ‘DU Admin and ABVP Nexus’ and alleged that:

“While DU Admin goes ahead with implementation of NEP through fee hikes, FYUP, SEC, VAC, seat cuts, fund cuts, graded autonomy and bulldozes social justice and gender justice, it lets its stooge ‘Akhil Bharatiya Violence Parishad loose on students resisting their exclusion and marginalization.”

Tushar Dedha graduated in BA Programme from Satyawati College in 2019 and is currently pursuing his post-graduation in MA (Buddhism) from Delhi University. Adding to the uproar of student political leaders on social media, NSUI National President, Varun Choudhary shared a copy of the complaint and Tushar Dedha’s marksheet on X and alleged:

“DUSU President Tushar Dedha made a fake 12th mark sheet from UP Board and CBSE Board in 2016 and ABVP gave him a student union ticket in 2023. ABVP and SCAM party leaders are relying on fake mark sheets. The DU administration should immediately take strict action.”

While the debacle brews on, DU Registrar Vikas Gupta cited to The Indian Express that:

“The issue has reached us and we will take a look into it on Monday.”

As per recent updates, the complaint demands that the results of DUSU Presidential elections be declared null and void and Dedha be sacked from his position. However, Dedha denied any wrongdoing and said he will file a defamation case.

Featured Image Credits: Arush Gautam for DU Beat

Gauri Garg

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Priyanka Mukherjee

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DU’s Faculty of Law Postpones End-Term LLB Exams Hours Before the Scheduled Date

By DU Beat July 5, 2024

Hours before the LLB examinations were scheduled to start on Thursday, 4 July, 2024, the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, released a notice informing the students about their postponement.

The Delhi University’s Faculty of Law postponed the LLB end-term exams scheduled to begin on July 4, 2024, in an official notification released a night before the planned date. “Under the orders of the Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, the examinations of LLB II, IV, and VI term scheduled from 4th July are postponed,” it said, without citing any reasons. “Fresh dates would be notified in due course of time,” it added. The exams were scheduled to start on July 4 and end on July 26.

As per the PTI reports, Vice Chancellor, Yogesh Singh, explained that the exams were postponed due to a significant number of students being unable to attend, citing low attendance. He stated,

Students will need to attend two weeks of classes to make up for the shortfall in attendance. After this period, new dates for the end-term examinations will be announced.

Raunaq Bali, a final semester student, expresses their anguish on X, about the potential delays in the academic and professional journey of students.

Hundreds of us in the final semester have been stranded now and won’t be able to join our law offices and LLM programs on time.

Sonakshi Gaur, another user on X criticized the institution for delayed teacher appointments and highlighting that students suffer due to these management failures.

The appointment of teachers is inexplicably delayed by 1-2 months, exacerbating the problem. How can the Faculty of Law, which prides itself on being a premier institution, lag so far behind in these critical areas? Students are bearing the brunt of these management failures.

Students also voiced their concerns about the unfairness towards those who attended classes regularly, as the decision seems to be driven by some students failing to meet the attendance requirements. Speaking to DU Beat, a student from the Faculty of Law, who wished to remain anonymous, said,

This is not a new issue. Students are detained almost every semester, but it is unfair to make others sacrifice and disrupt their future plans.

As per the The Indian Express reports, Megh Raj, an assistant professor at Faculty of Law, adds,

The postponement of examinations for even semesters in the Law Faculty by V-C will create difficulties for students. Some of the final-year students who already have taken provisional admission in LLM courses at different universities will not be able to submit their final degree within time. Also, there will be a delay in the completion of the LLB degree; and consequently, the registration before the Bar Council as an advocate. Moreover, this decision would disturb the next academic session as well.

Raj is also a DU academic council member.

This abrupt postponement is part of a series of recent disruptions, including the postponements of the University Grants Commission – National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test – Postgraduate (NEET-PG). It also comes on the heels of several reported irregularities in the NEET Undergraduate (UG) exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Featured Image Credits: Himanshu for DU Beat

Dhairya Chhabra

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Heavy Rainfall Exposes Infrastructure Failures in Premier Institutes

By DU Beat July 3, 2024

Recent heavy rainfall in the capital on June 28 has exposed severe infrastructural issues, particularly at the Arts Faculty, where the reading room experienced significant water leakages and short circuits. Additionally, other esteemed educational institutes like IIT Delhi and AIIMS Delhi are also witnessing an equally miserable fate.

As Delhi University continues its yearly ritual of exorbitant fee hikes—110% in PhD courses and 40% in annual postgraduate courses—it is important to note that the condition in which DU students have to study remains deplorable. These problems clearly reflect the university’s incompetence and disregard for student safety.

The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) DU’s Instagram page, @sfiduspeaks, posted a reel highlighting the miserable state of one of India’s premier institutions. Captioned “Save Public Education! Save Delhi University! Fee Must Fall!”, the post called for immediate action from the university to address these infrastructural issues. SFI Vijay Nagar has also demanded urgent measures to fix these problems and ensure student safety, noting that the lack of basic amenities like air conditioning in classrooms becomes unbearable when temperatures in Delhi soar to 48 degrees Celsius. The third building, made with makeshift materials like tin roofs and asbestos-lined walls, exacerbates the heat issue, creating an uninhabitable learning environment.

Simran, from SFI DU, in a conversation with DU Beat, said, “Since there is no maintenance in these reading rooms at Arts Faculty, due to heavy rain, the ceiling started to leak and then a short circuit happened, and soon fire also occurred out of nowhere. The main problem is that despite increasing fees they are not improving infrastructure and maintenance at all.”

Additionally, a press release by SFI Delhi University, dated June 27, 2024, highlighted student protests against the fee hikes in postgraduate courses. Students criticized the apathetic Delhi University administration and the ABVP-led Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) for their silence on the rising education costs. It showcased how fee hikes place a heavy financial burden on students, undermining the principles of publicly funded education and limiting opportunities. Despite the fee hikes in previous academic years, there has been no corresponding improvement in infrastructure. Students of the well-known Law Faculty often find their campus without even a single functioning water cooler, all while bearing Delhi’s scorching heat.

In addition to Delhi University, other premier institutes in Delhi have also been severely affected by the heavy rainfall. AIIMS Delhi experienced similar issues with severe water leakage on June 28, highlighting the widespread infrastructural problems across top educational institutions in the city.

At IIT Delhi, a viral video showed a pillar collapsing in the placement cell building following the heavy rainfall. This incident led to the disconnection of electricity in some areas for safety reasons. An official email from the Institute Engineer detailed the flooding on campus and stated that maintenance teams are working to restore services. The email requested cooperation from the campus community and apologized for the inconvenience.

These incidents at Delhi University, AIIMS Delhi, and IIT Delhi highlight the urgent need for infrastructural changes and better maintenance protocols, it’s indeed high time that these educational institutes make upgrades to ensure the safety and well-being of their student body, who have come from faraway places in the country to study in “premier institutes” in the capital. Despite significant fee hikes, these institutions have failed to invest adequately in their infrastructure, leading to dangerous and unacceptable learning conditions. As students and stakeholders wonder, “Where is our money going?”, they are now demanding accountability and immediate improvements to their educational environments.

Featured image credits: Devesh for DU Beat

Kavya Vashisht

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The Reformed Identity of Bengal: Tracing the History of an Exodus

By DU Beat July 3, 2024

The hands of the clock now beckon you home and you realise you are quite far away. As you step across the threshold of your motherland, you do not recognise it anymore. The universities are now debris, the art nowhere to be found and the citizens asleep immobile, in a deathly slumber.

On the asphalt streets of Bengal, there is God. Amidst the wet mud underneath newborn rice; in the dramatic torrents from precariously placed Dhunuchi on sundried hands; in the kitchen’s sweating, simmering air and the tear that sizzles in the onion sliced open on the cutting board, there is God. From the ancient, blistered pages of a chalky hardbound Thakumar jhuli, Thakuma’s thunderous and meek voice rings clear and God flashes her third eye. When you hear her, you hear the underbelly of a tidal wave roar with ripe and red age – her seasoned drawl trembles like the quaking earth. Sitting a few trees, a few cities and a few seas away from her, you find that all around you, the wet mud, the dhunuchi, the curry that stained your childhood nails have crumbled to stone.

You are not home. The air is no loner laden with the heady fragrance of dawn Shiuli, the paint no longer peels off walls as your eyes fall to the floor and the sunlight no longer burns with the force of a thousand furnaces in your face when you smile. You feel estranged from language for your tongue has remained in your mother’s heartland. There are no trams here, no yellow taxis, no cobblers spread out on street corners, no purple skies of the Kalboishakhi, and no roads choked with rice lights and kabiraji during pujo. There are no little gods in melting make-up darting about on the streets, touring the city on shoulders and veined, brown laps. There is no you.

Thus Modhushudon says,

“সাধিতে মনের সাধ,

ঘটে যদি পরমাদ,

মধুহীন করো না গো তব মনঃকোকনদে।

প্রবাসে দৈবের বশে,

জীব-তারা যদি খসে

এ দেহ-আকাশ হতে, – খেদ নাহি তাহে।”

This translates to:

“If disaster befalls,

My questing heart,

Do not banish me from the nectar of your memory.

If, by foreign banks,

My life cascades away from me,

I do not fear the death of my body.”

For the Bangla that has seeped through the fissures of Bengal and carried an exodus of the personality to the without and ushered them within, through the crests and troughs of an experience divorced from the comfort of a motherland, for the teeth watered with the acrid wind of a foreign song, Modhushudon lamented. Of course, along with departure, there must be an arrival. But we realise that the arrivals pale soon. That which arrives and has arrived, could not arrive again. In its incomplete arrival, an arrival is effervescent. There is another arrival and we lurch forth, perpetually, towards newer lands and tongueless elegies sung in deserted rooms. This sense of the ceaseless arrivals is only an abstract account of the idea of the present. Aristotle had reductively expounded it as an uneventful translocation between tactile distances. “Duration is the stuff of which conscious existence is made”, Bergson shall profoundly declare some two centuries and two score years later. But I digress. Why this lived time is important to understand is because it corresponds to the Bengali’s distorted lived identity.

This precipitates the workings of an abstract nation that is peripatetic and exists in the blank space wrought by a disturbed people’s diaspora. How did this come to be? Indeed, the political unconscious, as Jameson would observe, of the endless literature that Bengal could offer, reflects the change in the most confounding manner. It is not easy to say when the left front began to collapse; the artistically, academically, and pedagogically peerless British-fed empire of the paddy fields commenced a burgeoning descent to an industrial, infrastructural and economic impasse. Of course, the united Bengal, alongside the other, now prominent, port cities of colonial India’s Madras and Bombay, stood to be the entrance of the British into the Indian subcontinent. The colonial landslide was inevitably felt the strongest in these cities. The domain of English academia is still, to this date, dominated by either the present-day south-Indians or the Bengalis. It is no coincidence for such to have been the case. Bihar, which was an organ of united Bengal, produces the fiercest administrative officials.

It does not take the exceptionally precocious to piece together the facts. I must confess that I have also met that crude populace that has failed to tag this failing state machinery. It was only yesterday that I had the misfortune – now, let this not be extrapolated so as to deem their company unpleasant, indeed it was the converse – of acquaintance with a certain professor who was astonished at my decision to have chosen Delhi for my undergraduate destination. Being from Kolkata, why had I not chosen amongst the premier institutions of the city? Her question was not unfounded. Two decades back perhaps, or a little more, I would have considered it. In fact, it would not have been an easy task gaining admission into either Jadavpur University or Presidency. “No one knows what happens during the checking of Jadavpur entrances anymore”, sighs a Professor that I know. I would also have been assured that the evaluation of my entrance examination at the former would have been a fair one. Nevertheless, the unnamed was unaware, albeit, not blissfully so, of the cruel edifice of Bengal’s present truth. When I asked my friend who is currently a second year student of Mathematics at Presidency what has become of the education system in Bengal, what it is that has so dramatically altered its state machinery, and he said “Bengal has once churned out nobel laureates like the primed barrel of a gun; we have fallen far since then. The culture where Bengali households still push, sometimes excessively, their children towards unimaginable heights of success still exists. But the means for our generation to manifest that now-distant dream have been lost. We see them only reminisce, complacent and smug in their erstwhile glory and do nothing to reclaim it.” It might sound scandalous to say so, but it is my belief that any Bengali, with a morsel of ambition remaining in their blood, has left. The evil of the Naxalites, which had catalysed this transformed political sub-space in the first place, has been replaced by the evil of stagnancy that is borne of negligence and a ruthlessly debauched moral compass. This moral compass does not remain confined to the rulers of the state only, for we must remember the citizenship that has advocated for them, and handed to them this power. It would be folly to discount the sheer comprehension of the people’s pulse, of which the incumbent opposition ruler seems to be in dangerous possession. She knows what makes Bengal tick and she makes them tick well. I am afraid that if I indulge myself any further, I shall stand to lose my diplomatic tenor and therefore I shall not risk that venture.

Bengal has been outpaced, and superseded by time, for all great societies are fated to fall. This is not to occasion a trite exchange, only to ascribe the causality of a devastating truth to powers intangible. And yet, I must maintain that it is not, in fact, intangible. The democracy of the Indian subcontinent is now choked with choices that one could not make without the mortifying acceptance of their choosing the lesser evil. That is another complicated tangent of debate, which I could not take up frankly without gravely endangering myself. We can no longer jointly hail one as a scholar and a politician. That species seems now to be extinct. In any case, as I grapple with this undeniable prospect, it is quite clear to me, a state I hope I have been able to confer upon the readers of this article, why the exodus has been in such Herculean proportions. The issue of the brain drain is not atypically Bengali. In Bengal, the tremors have been felt deeply, and yet, to the perspicacious, that the drain is quite Pan-Indian. The established Indian scholars have all to sport in their resumes, a degree earned from abroad. This is not simply the result of a quest to expand one’s horizons, as seems most apparent. The outward-bound instinct, or Beauvoir’s masculine transcendence, is not a universal tendency. I would fail at this moment to furnish the reader with the statistics, but commonsensically, it would not be preposterous to infer from cases of those irrefutably successful, that ambition is not a rather ubiquitous quality if all the world’s sensibilities were to be accounted for. If the reason so posited, about expanding one’s horizon, were true, then how does one explain the negligible immigration that India has seen recently, in terms of students. Of course, it is a developing country, and yet, if one were to examine the history of Indian scholars who have flourished abroad, one must concede that the Indian education system was once robust and globally revered. It pains me that I cannot account for a solution that does not drastically alter the system, and perhaps I must not. Perhaps it is important that the system be so radically reformed, for if we continue along this path, we shall only gracefully expedite our world’s transmogrification into the dystopian world of Orwell, if not extinction.

Featured Image Credits : Ahmadzada for Freepik

Aayudh Pramanik

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