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Stories of Love, Acceptance, and Triumph

By DU Beat February 22, 2024

Beyond the heteronormative confines, let’s celebrate love that is real, joyful, innocent, and proud!

A student from Delhi University shares their love story—something that started off as a childhood crush, a relationship ended on unfinished terms, and a friendship that’s mature and understanding.

“So, as a kid, our family moved around a lot, so I was always the new kid that could never really make good friends as I wasn’t a conventional “girl.” I used to cut out pictures of Deepika Padukone from magazines, but obviously I was straight! The first boyfriend I ever had also turned out to be queer, so that was great. When I was in the 8th grade, our family moved to Orissa, and we lived in a corporate township. There was this girl with curly hair who soon became my benchmate. Since we lived pretty close to each other, bicycle rides, study sessions, and long conversations soon became the norm and blossomed into friendship. I started penning poems for her in my diary: “Her hair glistened in the sun,” reminding myself of the fact that “I’m definitely straight.”.

Soon I realised that “kuch toh hai.” I don’t want to be just friends with her. I started justifying my identity too. The pandemic sort of gave me a sense of stability as well. I assured myself that “being a lesbian is valid.” After the lockdown, we started hanging out again. I used to call her up at night, asking her “homework samjhado.” She knew I had done the homework, yet she explained everything. One day I just called her (it was the 14th of July), and a cyclone was about to hit, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to meet up with her for some time. We met up, and I told her, “Oh, I think I’m gay,” and she said, “I think I’m gay too,” and we just cycled back to our homes. We met up again on the day of our SST exam. She said, “I’m not into girls,” and again, we cycled away. A couple of days later, she tells me, “I like you,” and again, we just cycle together. There is just a lot of delusion going on. Time passed by, and she was about to move out to go for JEE coaching. I knew I couldn’t beat around the bush anymore. So I just told her, “I like their pronouns.” We just cycled together again. We were having a 6th standard type of love story in the 11th standard. She finally moved away.”

(Trigger warning: s**cide.)

“We started flirting over Whatsapp. She came back from the hostel, and we held hands and walked around; she was stable. My mom thinks, “She’s a very good friend.” Yes, a friend, with whom I used to spend hours in my room studying (making out). Thanks to my sister for always being there for me. Letting me “hang out” with my “friend” in my bedroom. My sister has always been my biggest support system. She used to always ask the barber to cut my hair just a little more. She bought me binders and fought for me to have even the little bit of freedom I could in my house. When I came out to her, she said, “I knew since the time you were simping over Deepika Padukone.” ! The second standard made me extremely s**cidal. Our parents started to question our sexuality. Her parents thought I was a bad influence on her. We were constantly pitted against each other. Family and academic pressure were extremely high. We broke up without even speaking to each other. I didn’t want to see her anymore. And we left on unfinished terms.”

“During our CUET exams, she came back. I saw her on the day of my first slot. Our eyes just locked together across the exam centre. My mom asked me to go say hi to her. I was extremely shocked, and I just stared at her. And I ran away; it seems like we were just always running away. On the second day of CUET, we met again. This time, we hugged each other and just bawled our eyes out. Then, we left things on unfinished terms again. After our CUET results, we were both getting into the same college, but her parents didn’t want her to go near me. They didn’t allow her to come to DU. We then called each other up. I guess we were much more mature then. We spoke to each other for hours and decided to end our relationship. She said how I should have always known she liked me back in school. “You were giving me gay panic back when we were bench-mates, and you used to run your fingers through my hair’, she said. We are still extremely good friends. I did love her first, and I guess I’ll always love her, but this is not a love story. We left things on unfinished terms so many times that we didn’t realise when our relationship became toxic. I guess I was always the red flag. But I just want to say that I’m much more confident, mature, and just a better human being now. We just grew up. We still sometimes flirt with each other. By the way, she’s in a relationship with someone now, and she constantly reminds me to stop flirting with her, but I guess old habits die young. She sends me origami swans, and I like to bind books, and I always do it for her. I once gifted her a hand-bound copy of “The Blue Umbrella,” her favourite book, and that’s just our love language. I still love her. I always will. We sometimes joke about how, when we’re 50 and neither of us have wives, we will just marry each other. But again, just to reiterate, this is not a love story. I think it’s a story of friendship and support. Her, my sister, my friends in college now, my people—they are all my love.”

A student from Hindu College shares their journey of self-love, self-acceptance, and being loved.

“I went through a lot of internal strife before even considering sharing this. You’ll realise why when I tell you who I am—a gray-romantic bisexual AFAB (she/they) dating a straight cis man.

Throughout my life, when I was aware of things like my romantic and sexual orientation, I’ve always been at odds with my feelings. It took me so much effort to come to terms with who I am—the constant question of, Am I straight? Am I gay? Or am I just seeking attention? coupled with the feeling that something’s wrong because, as much as I find men and women and envy people hot, I did not cry desperately like my friends did for love. I had no clue why I had to be bi when I didn’t feel the need for love only?! I sought validation in queer media and online queer spaces, where again I could relate to the struggles of being bi, the biphobia, etc., but my other half of the struggle was left unseen.

Then I met a friend who suggested the term “aromantic.” She identified me as Aro-ace, and yet again, I was torn—it seemed like I was an anomaly. My two halves would never be reconciled. I dehumanized myself and saw myself as some heartless monster who could never enjoy the beauty within people. I had come to terms with the fact that I would just not be able to relate to love; everybody is hot, and it is okay. I would get myself a cat, and I would be the single crazy cat lady forever.

That was until I met my partner. I am that extroverted person who can talk people’s ears off and yet not open up a single thing about herself. I had trauma growing up, and it created giant walls around myself, and because of my nature, very few people notice it and try to get past the walls.

It is safe to say that the people I let in just created more trauma for me. They saw me, but I never felt seen. And here comes this shy but playful boy, who saw me at one of my worst times, holding my hand and telling me, “It’s okay. You’re not a monster. You’re just another human who was let down by people who should’ve never done that in the first place. I promise that I’ll try my best not to join them.” For the first time in my life, I felt seen. I had not known what it’s like to feel love, but for me, that was it—to be seen. To be understood. To be supported.

Now I smile whenever his text pops up on my screen. I love him with all my heart; he’s been nothing short of wonderful, caring, and supportive. I am happy and content with everything I have in my life. Then what’s the strife? Again, I’m a gray-ro-bi AFAB dating a straight cis man. Every word of that sentence is a plot twist. There aren’t days when I don’t feel like maybe I’ve just been lying to myself and everyone all along—that maybe I’m just a straight woman who might not have “found the right guy yet.” I thought I had defeated my internalised aro-phobia and biphobia long ago, but now I realise it’s never as simple as that. Queerness is never a static thing; it flows and does so in beautiful ways. I might feel like I’m a walking and talking contradiction and that I’m not queer enough to be in queer spaces. But those are just that—just feelings. I’m still gray-romantic, still bi. Still queer, and a loved one at that too.”

Dear reader, let’s not let “love” be restricted to an idea, romance, or mainstream holiday. I believe it’s a celebration, something we experience every day, and there’s love in our joys, our sorrows, our laughter, and our tears. Your love story is valid; it’s real, and it’s yours. Let there be love, and let there be light!

Featured Image Credits: Sukriti for DU Beat

Gauri Garg

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Campus Central

St. Stephen’s Rolls Back Suspension of Students over Skipping Morning Assembly, Calls It “Miss-Communication”

By DU Beat February 21, 2024

St. Stephen’s College had allegedly suspended around 100 first-year students last week “for not attending the morning assembly” and debarred them from sitting in the upcoming examinations. On Tuesday, the college withdrew its order, citing miscommunication on the part of the administration.

More than 100 students of St. Stephen’s College had been suspended for not attending the morning assembly after they failed to bring their parents and guardians with them to meet the college principal. The students had also been notified that they would not be allowed to sit for the upcoming semester-end examinations. However, the principal informed the students on Tuesday that this was all a clerical error and that the email was “wrongly worded” as per The Hindu.

Students of St. Stephen’s College received an email on February 4 asking them to set up an appointment along with their parents and guardians with the college principal to discuss the matter of low attendance. As many students failed to comply with this request on short notice, they were sent another email on February 17, informing them that they had been suspended.

The email from Principal John Varghese stated, “This is to bring to your kind notice that there was a prior request for you to meet with the principal regarding low attendance in the morning assembly. Unfortunately, we noted that you were unable to report to the principal’s office as requested. Regrettably, due to non-compliance with this request, I inform you that the students will not be permitted to sit for the upcoming examinations as a consequence of suspension.”

Many teachers from the college had raised concerns about the unexpected suspension and had come forth in saying that the grounds for suspension are not legitimate as the morning assembly is a convention specific to St. Stephen’s College and is not recognised by the university (not to talk of it being a requirement for appearing in the examinations).

The notices had also caused distress among students as many of them do not belong to the Delhi-NCR region and live alone without a guardian; hence, their families couldn’t travel all the way to Delhi “at short notice due to prior commitments, scheduling issues, and financial issues.

The order by the principal was met with a lot of discontent, and as students sat in protest, the college was informed on Tuesday through an email from Principal John Varghese that “it was a miscommunication, incorrectly worded, and my sincere apologies for that. I was also not copied on that email.

“The morning assembly is an old tradition of the college. It is not a religious event, even though small portions of several religious texts are read out. The college encourages all junior members to participate in the morning assembly,” it added.

Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Saanvi Manchanda

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Events

Commemorating the Golden Jubilee of the Zoology Department: A Health Check-up Camp at SVC

By DU Beat February 18, 2024

The Department of Zoology at Sri Venkateswara College celebrated its 50th anniversary on February 9th, 2024, with a special event aimed at promoting health and well-being. Organised by Evolvere, the Zoological Society, the event featured a free health check-up camp open to all.

The medical camp commenced at 10 a.m. on February 9th, offering a range of health services, including pulmonary function tests, bone mass density tests, blood pressure checks, and blood sugar monitoring. Dr. Ananya Dubey, a general physician, was present to address any health-related queries, alongside a team of six nurses and two doctors. Additionally, Dr. Rashmi Baliyan, a gynaecologist, provided specialised consultations.

The collaboration with Primus Hospital, Chanakyapuri, ensured the availability of state-of-the-art equipment for the various tests conducted. The camp attracted a significant turnout, with approximately 800 individuals availing themselves of the complimentary services offered.

Under the expert guidance of professor Anita Verma, convener of the Evolvere Society, along with Dr. Perumal Jayraj, Dr. Richa Mishra, and teachers from the Zoology Department, the event was meticulously organised.

The event, under the efficient leadership of Shivangi Gupta and Harshita Jha, the President and Vice President of Evolvere Society, respectively, was a huge success in promoting holistic well-being.

Participants were required to register upon arrival, after which they received a prescription pad outlining the recommended tests. Dedicated stations were set up for vital checks, including weight, BMI calculation, blood sugar, and blood pressure monitoring.

“There was an organised team where responsibilities were delegated. Society members were stationed at each camp to ensure smooth operations and prevent overcrowding.” shared Arth Ohlan, the Central Councillor of SVC.

In addition to the health check-up camp, a seminar titled “Artificial Intelligence-driven Early Warning Systems for Clinical and Public Health” was held from noon onwards. Dr. Tavpritesh Sethi, an Associate Professor of Computational Biology at the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi, delivered an enlightening presentation on the topic. Dr. Sethi’s expertise in the field of systems medicine added a valuable dimension to the event, shedding light on innovative approaches to healthcare.

The event extended its scope to include two engaging competitions aimed at fostering creativity. It included a reel-making competition, where participants were tasked with creating reels around themes related to ‘Zoology’. In addition to this, a CD painting competition on ‘Environmental Consciousness’ saw a unique blend of creativity and students’ concerns regarding environmental sustainability.

Through collaborative efforts and expert guidance, the event succeeded in providing valuable health insights and fostering a culture of preventive healthcare awareness within the college community.

Image credit: Nabeera Jamal for Dubeat

Kavya Vashisht

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News

Delhi University’s SOL launches Center for Innovative Skill-based Courses (CISBC)

By DU Beat February 17, 2024

Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (SOL) launches 30 short-term courses catering to various fields under the Open Learning Development Centre.

The School of Open Learning has launched the registration process for its Centre for Innovative Skill-Based Courses (CISBC). This initiative offers thirty short-term skill-based certificate courses ranging from 25 to 30 hours with a maximum duration of 6 months. These courses are designed to accommodate learners’ diverse schedules and preferences, with options available in offline, online, and hybrid formats.

Registration for the courses officially began on February 15th and will remain open until March 15th, 2024. The courses are set to commence on April 2nd, 2024, providing ample time for interested individuals to enroll. These courses welcome registrations from all, including University of Delhi students, with admission being granted on a first-come, first-served basis, depending on seat availability. As per the official website, for courses with fees exceeding Rs. 1000/-, upon reaching a batch size of 40–50 students, 10% of the supernumerary seats will be reserved for Economically Weaker Section candidates at subsidised rates, subject to screening.

Among the thirty courses available under the CISBC are English Proficiency, GST Executive, Cyber Security, Tax Assessment, Motor Driving, Medical Transcription, Wealth Management Programme, Medical Transcription, Radio Jockeying, Bakery and Confectionery, A/C and Refrigerator Repair, and Beauty and Hair Makeup, among others.

As per the reports from India Today, Professor Payal Mago, the Director of SOL, highlighted that these valuable skill-based certificate courses would offer students a chance to improve their opportunities for employment.

She emphasised that these courses are highly effective in preparing students for job opportunities by imparting practical skills aligned with current industry demands. The accessible programmes will provide a joint certification from Delhi University and esteemed national and international organisations, enhancing students’ credentials.

The portal was launched on January 31 under the chairmanship of the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, Professor Yogesh Singh. He saw this centre as a ‘life changer’, opening doors for students to access skill-based courses. A brochure detailing all the courses was also distributed on the same day.

For any queries, applicants can email [email protected] or call 9318354363, 9318354636.

Featured Image Source- India Today

Dhairya Chhabra

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Features

Class Divisions in Indian Education: Interim FY25 Budget Reflects Priorities Amidst Systemic Challenges

By DU Beat February 17, 2024

The interim FY25 budget shows decreased spending on higher education while school education allocation increases, reflecting governmental priorities amidst India’s class divisions. Highlighted by “12th Fail,” it underscores systemic challenges like corruption and caste barriers hindering equal access to quality education and exacerbating socioeconomic disparities.

“If the citizens were educated, it could be a real problem for the leaders.”

-(12th Fail)

In the interim budget proposed for FY25, the government has decreased spending on higher education. From 1.27% of its budget to FY24, the allocated amount is 1% for FY25. Contrary to this, the allocation for the School Education Department increased from 68,804.85 crore to 72,473.80 crore. What does this tell us about the priorities of the government emerging on the grounds of the existing class division prevalent in India?

12th Fail, built upon the sentimental-driven idea of success in India, showcases the perpetual state of the caste system, the prevalent corruption, and attaining success by meritocratic means amidst disparities. Manoj Kumar Sharma, the protagonist of the story hailing from the infamous region of Chambal, is the middle child from a poverty-stricken household whose only earning member lost his job because of the existing corruption. Portraying the reality of the lowest-income class, the family struggles to arrange two square meals to feed the children and elderly.

The layers of stifling segregation in our society make it impossible for people of the lowest strata, in comparison with the elite and the middle class, to acquire the highly competitive job positions in the country. This population pyramid outlines the division of resources, where the top 10% holds 77 percent of the total national wealth. According to the available data, it would take 941 years for a minimum-wage worker in rural India to earn what the top-paid executive at a leading Indian company makes in a year. It is necessary to provide equal access to education for all to tackle the existing inequality. Even after the Right to Education Act of 2009, the increasing enrollments in the school are inversely related to the decrease in the quality of education. In government schools, absenteeism of teachers, unfair means of conducting exams, lack of basic study materials like proper pen and paper, and the motivation among students and authorities to improve are some of the challenges. According to a report by UNESCO’s International Institute of Education Planning, high rates of absenteeism (at 25%) show evident corruption and its negative influence on the vulnerable years of a student. The aspirations of the lower-income students are wiped out under these circumstances, forming a mass majority of the students in these public schools who cannot recite correct answers to basic questions. Painted through the movie ‘12th Fail’, Manoj exhibits to the interviewers the meek reality of his background when he says, “Our teachers helped us to cheat.”.

When compared with other South Asian developing countries, India is performing exceptionally well in terms of collective economic growth, whereas the human welfare indicators are struggling to meet the average measure. Turning into a melting pot and dealing with problems on multiple fronts, the government juggles to prioritise the spending of the limited available resources. In this year’s budget, we saw a sharp decline in funding for the Ministry of Education, which conflicts with the New Education Policy 2020, which seeks to spend 6 percent of the GDP on education. The allocation to education for FY 24–25 is 7 percent lower than the revised estimates for the current fiscal year. The University Grants Commission has received a cut as the centre reduced its grant by 60 percent. The funding to the IITs and IIMs faced a reduction of Rs 60 crore and Rs 119 crore. These narrowed avenues at the top-tier colleges increase the cutthroat competition to secure a seat. The budget for school education has received an increased amount of Rs 73,008 crore from Revised Estimates (RE), which is almost Rs 3,250 crore more than last year’s allocation and is the highest of all time. The government aims to use them to deliver quality teaching in a developed holistic environment for nurturing a future generation for the country’s future.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ‘12th Fail’, a biopic, very accurately showcases the ground reality of our education system. Manoj gives up on cheating, but the environment he belonged to remains the same, where the Mafia is protected by political patronage, not only putting the lives of the young students at stake for the sake of personal monetary gains and regional control but also breaking the spirit of the man residing in these regions, the rural areas that comprise 70 percent of the Indian population.

India ranks 93 in the corruption index: ‘Ye jo fine ke naam par tu maang raha hai na…yeh ghoos hai’. This ailment is so severe and ingrained in our society in the form of privately owned, corrupt education institutions making extraordinary money with their skyrocketing fee structures to help students crack highly competitive examinations like JEE, NEET, and our very own UPSC. Contributing to the misery as demonstrated in the movie “2 lakh Hindi medium vidhyarthiyo mein kewal 25-30 hi ban pate hain IAS IPS,” highlights the prevailing discrimination on the grounds of linguistic chauvinism, where the sophisticated Anglican tongue spoken by the elite draws a line that the people belonging to lower ethnic groups find difficult to cross to get to the respectable jobs.

This embedded segregation and socioeconomic inequalities are only widening due to the failure and lack of incentive to take up the righteous implementation of the policies. The drastic difference in access to education is a mole on the flags bearing the’socialist’, ‘justice’, and ‘equal’ society whose ecosystem aims to provide uniform opportunities to all. At this crucial phase, when the government wants us to aim high, it is also creating these loopholes that are only going to leave the nation-building roots hollow. Our Manoj made it to the top ‘without oxygen’ support, celebrating the UPSC struggle of an aspirate. The dehumanising reality of our times and the plight remain shrouded under ‘Ye hum sab ki ladai hai, ek ka jeet hoga toh karodon bhed-bakriyon ka jeet hoga.’, developing an ‘Indian Dream’ of millions of people aspiring to climb the social ladder.

Image Credits: The Week

Divya Malhotra

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DUB News

DUTA Demands Release of Salaries and other Dues

By DU Beat February 17, 2024

In a clarion call of distress and solidarity, DUTA on Friday gathered professors against the governmental lapses that they allege have been affecting the livelihood of many.

On the 16th of February, professors from all over Delhi University gathered at the Delhi Vidhan Sabha to protest against the administrative inconsistencies plaguing various colleges. Alongside a call to suspend classes, the Dharna was organised by the Delhi University Teachers’ Association. Their official demands include the release of salaries and other dues as well as the withdrawal of Delhi Higher Education Minister Atishi’s letters to the central government.

Atishi had earlier in December written to the Union Education Minister, pointing out the discrepancies in 12 colleges that are funded by the Delhi Government. The aforementioned colleges have been operating since the 1990s; reportedly, however, the issues at play today started emerging as a result of the advent of two different governments at the central and state levels around 5 years ago.

In a conversation with DuBeat, Dr. Abha Dev Habib underlines the structural origin and nature of the problem of the withholding of grants in a centre-state conflict. She alleges that this has been leading to interference in the traditional procedural approach of the governing bodies of these colleges, which was earlier adopted to reduce bureaucratic red-tapism.

“To punish salaried individuals for institutional lapses and to starve close to 2000 people is criminal,” she says. Of note, in addition, is the Vice-Chancellor’s response to the Minister’s letters, which makes no mention of addressing the state of the employees.

Earlier in 2022, DUTA President Professor Bhagi reported to ANI that the problem had persisted for quite some time and pointed to the existence of a deficit of 85 to 90 crores in the 12 colleges funded by the Delhi government. While ANI had already identified the potential of this snowballing into a confrontation between the AAP in the state and the BJP at the centre, Dr. Habib maintains that the brunt of such conflict cannot be taken out on employees.

The solution endorsed involves the University Grants Commission (UGC) completely taking over the 12 colleges.

Featured Image Credits : PTI

Deevya Deo

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DUB News

ABVP and Left Front Clash Ahead of JNUSU 2024 Elections

By DU Beat February 15, 2024

On Friday, February 9, 2024, ABVP members and left-wing student groups, including AISA, SFI, and DSF, got into a clash during the University General Body Meeting (UGBM). Videos of the clashes show both groups engaging in sloganeering and clashing at night. Both sides have claimed that their students have been injured and targeted by the other party. Videos of the incident show ABVP members obstructing the meeting by encroaching upon the dias and getting into a confrontation with the council members. The SFI has alleged that JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh has been attacked by ABVP members with water thrown at her. ABVP JNU has also alleged that Vikas Patel, the ABVP-JNU secretary, disabled student Divyaprakash, and other supporters of ABVP have been targeted by the United Left groups.

The JNUSU stated that they had earlier on the day established the necessary quorum, but the ABVP argues that the rule for quorum of one-tenth of the university strength was defied. ABVP alleged in a comment,

Disparaging casteist slurs were made against a worker handling a mic and speaker. We had agreed to initiate the UGBM even without the mic, but it wasn’t agreeable to the communists who silence others with loud noises of dafli.

They further claimed that:

The dafli, made from hard steel, was used by the anti-Democratic left to batter JNU students in order to stop UGBM.

The incident lies ahead of the JNUSU elections, which will take place after four years in the month of March. Currently, the office-bearers elected in 2019 are holding the office as agreed upon in an earlier UGBM held in September 2023. Anagha Pradeep, a JNU Councillor, has called out the administration and ABVP for together supporting the agenda that the JNUSU is illegal since, according to them, it is not a recognised body. The JNU administration had halted the elections in lieu of the pandemic and stated that they would follow the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations and must wait for PhD admissions to be completed. Representatives of all fronts had staged protests demanding a free and fair election for the Student Union at the earliest. The students had pointed out that if elections in other universities like DU have been running in parallel, then perhaps the administration is purposely dodging the election question. The JNUSU and the administration have been at loggerheads with each other since last year. Aishe Ghosh commented,

Recently, in interviews given to several media outlets, the JNU vice chancellor claimed that JNUSU elections cannot be held until the entire admission process, including that of Ph.D. admissions, has not been completed. These are patent lies and tactics at dilly-dallying, as the same vice chancellor and administration refused to hold elections in April 2023 even after the completion of the entire admission process.

She also added,

It is a deliberate strategy of the JNU Administration to curb the growth of the students’ social and political consciousness, which leads to the growth of the students as critical citizens capable of asking tough questions to those in power. The RSS-controlled administration, hell-bent on turning the campus into the breeding ground of the saffronization of education, is perennially afraid of students who are aware of and capable of seeing through their agenda.

On Febrary 10th, the ABVP staged a march owing to the incident and demanded “free and fair elections.” In response, the Left Front has also formed a human chain “of solidarity and resilience against the ABVP.” Aishe Ghosh has also raised the slogan, “Reject hooliganism!”

Featured Image Source: Shiksha

Sarah Nautiyal
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DUB Speak

Till the Allahabad HC Do Us Apart: Love, Law, and Love-Jihad

By DU Beat February 14, 2024

While we celebrate love today, let us take a moment to recognise how it is vilified every day in this country. The violins, the doves, and the flowing chiffon that we devour on screen are subject to a milieu of conditions when it comes to the grassroots. Faith being the primary.

Between 10 and 16 January, 2024, the Allahabad High Court quashed petitions by eight Hindu-Muslim couples who were seeking protection for their lives. This was due to the fact that their marriages were not in compliance with the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, known popularly as ‘the Anti-Conversion Law’.

NDTV reported in the year 2020 that in a matter of two months, half of the cases that the police were investigating had collapsed, revealing simply consensual relationships. The Uttar Pradesh Police has registered 433 cases so far since the inception of the law in 2020. As one of the most discussed legislations falling in the category of ‘anti-conversion laws’, it lends credence to the bogey of ‘Love-Jihad’. The arbitrary clumsiness of the legislation includes a “prohibition of conversion by marriage,” disregarding the reality that no religion upholds ‘automatic conversion’ of a person by way of inter-faith marriage.

There may exist, however, a natural correlation between conversions and interfaith marriages. The complexities that lie behind this correlation carry us to the dreaded elephant in the room: the Special Marriage Act 1954. This “umbrella statute” for securing inter-faith marriages in the country has left couples weathering the brunt of hatred in the spaces of its grey areas. Asking couples to give a notice 30 days prior to the solemnization, which is to be displayed publicly, violates their Right to Privacy and actively exposes them to the violence of society and vigilantism. There are many such “procedural compliances.” For instance, the requirement for couples to submit an undertaking that there are no FIRs lodged against them simply displays the uncongenial nature of the legislation. Another section, implying severance from the family upon marriage under this Act, further exposes the admonishing attitude towards interfaith relationships. These factors, combined with the disinheritance of future generations, probably propel couples to seek conversion as an effort to solemnise the relationship. These fallacies have been noted in the 2018 Law Commission report as well.

Only 2.2% of unions in India were interfaith, as per the “India Human Development Survey 2005 (IHDS)”. These ‘Citizens for Justice and Peace’ reports can be chalked down to the ‘survival’ of such relationships. Only the unions that sustain and weather the odds that the social apparatus rains down upon them will be up for survey. Despite the minuscule statistical presence of these relationships, the ruling governmental apparatus seems to have showered the phenomenon with ample attention, drafting in states with BJP-led governments several such ‘Anti-Love Jihad laws’ despite the presence of laws already prohibiting forceful conversion.

By inserting vague, loosely articulated phrases, the criminality of which cannot be traced, such as “convincing,” into conversion, it succeeds in passing ideological paranoia into the societal fabric and erodes the freedom to love and live implicitly omnipresent in Article 21, Right to Life.

The law further extends the term of imprisonment if the victim in question is a woman. The justification for this added “safeguard” is something that the state has not been able to provide. It just goes on to show the perspective through which women’s autonomy over their own private affairs is viewed and appears as a penalty for reproductive pollution. Further, the reverse burden of proof is put on the shoulders of the accused rather than the accuser.

The light in which cases of violence against women are discussed also points to the degree to which this conspiracy has penetrated the Indian psyche. The Shraddha Walker case, for instance, triggered the Maharashtra government to set up a panel to look into interfaith relationships concerning state residents, thus increasing the already strenuous surveillance and scrutiny that couples undergo.

Daniel Oesch points to the existence of economic anxiety in tandem with cultural anxiety of a ‘newer culture’ replacing an older one as the reason behind why the working-class electorate finds cultural questions of identity to be more important and rewards the political framework that upholds the status quo, vilifying the “other”. If a democracy, however, concedes to penalising the held decisions of consenting adults instead of the urgency on the contrary to protect and safeguard their constitutional rights, it reflects a democracy that not only shows wear but blindspots in its empathy for those who merely have chosen to follow their hearts.

Read also: What It Takes to Love in India

Featured Image Credits: A Suitable Boy on Netflix

Deevya Deo
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Arts & Culture

A (Newly) Single’s Guide to Valentine’s Day

By DU Beat February 13, 2024

The day of love and romance can feel a little sad when you recently broke it off with your significant other. However hurtful that might be, this piece will remind you how fun it is not to have to share your favorite box of chocolates with anybody.

If you’re flying solo this Valentine’s Day, without a partner in crime to share those heart-shaped chocolates with, fear not. While Cupid may have missed the mark this year, there’s still plenty of love to go around and the most important kind has always been self-love.

First let’s talk about the breakup. Yes, it stings like a bee, but don’t forget that you’re free as a bird now! So, kicking off this Valentine’s Day right would involve some serious self-care vibes. Treat yourself to a spa day, binge-watch your favorite guilty pleasure TV show, or go wild with a pizza night. Because why should couples have all the fun, right?

Instead of drowning your sorrows in a tub of ice cream (although, let’s be real, that does sound tempting), why not turn Valentine’s Day into a celebration of all things fabulous? Start by pampering yourself with an amazing outfit – who says you can’t dress to impress, just for yourself? Throw on your favorite clothes, strut your stuff, and show the world that you don’t need a date to slay.

If you find yourself craving a change of scenery, consider treating yourself to a solo adventure or a weekend getaway. Take a road trip to a vacation spot you’ve never explored, or hop on a train to a busy city. Sometimes, a change of scenery is all you need to lift your spirits.

Channeling your inner artist and finding a creative outlet is also a part of the “best solo date ideas list”. Sign up for a painting class, try your hand at pottery, or dust off that old guitar and teach yourself some tunes. Getting lost in a creative pursuit can be incredibly therapeutic and empowering, allowing you to express yourself in new and unexpected ways. Plus, you’ll have a tangible reminder of your patience and resilience, long after Valentine’s Day has come and gone.

Feeling a little lonely? Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to spread love in unexpected ways. Send a cheesy Valentine’s Day card to your bestie, surprise your mom with a bouquet of flowers, or treat yourself to a fancy dinner for one. After all, who needs a significant other when you’ve got an army of loved ones cheering you on?

And let’s not forget the most important part of surviving Valentine’s Day as a brand new singleton: laughter. Embrace the absurdity of the holiday by throwing an anti-Valentine’s Day bash for all your single friends. Deck out your house in black and red, serve up heart-shaped pizzas, and crank up your favorite tunes. Who needs romance when you’ve got good food, good friends, and a killer playlist?

So, here it is, your ultimate guide to surviving Valentine’s Day like a pro. Whether you’re happily single, recently uncoupled, or just looking for an excuse to party, remember this: love comes in many forms, and it’s all worth celebrating. Celebrate yourself, your friendships and the infinite possibilities that lie ahead in life.

Featured image credits: freepik

Lakshita Arora
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Arts & Culture

Imran Khan And the Long Gone Bollywood Love-Era

By DU Beat February 13, 2024

With Laut Aao Imran and Bollywood’s Green Flag making rounds on social media, let’s take a dive on this Valentine’s Day into Imran Khan’s genre of Bollywood romance and an era, millions crave to have back today!

The official poster-boy of Bollywood rom-coms, Imran Khan has been buzzing on social media recently. From fans cheering the star to make a comeback to the screens to Imran Khan himself making public appearances with his recent off-beat interview with Vogue India, have the stars finally aligned for Bollywood’s comeback era of soft-boy romance?

While Hindi cinema has witnessed its wave of actors impersonating the “chocolate-boy charm”- from Dino Morea, Fardeen Khan, Aftab Shivdasani, Vivek Oberoi, Zayed Khan, Neil Nitin Mukesh, who like Imran, soon disappeared from the screens, the fan-frenzy for Laut Aao Imran is incomparable!

In the 2000s, while Bollywood had made its paradigm shift from the Angry Young Man of the 1960s to the Ultimate Macho Saviour of the late 90s and early 2000s, Imran Khan’s debut of Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na brought in fresh perspectives of defining masculinity through cinema- male characters who were not subsumed by aggression but open to emotions and supportive of their female counterparts. Imran defined an era of Bollywood rom-coms where female protagonists received equal screen-time and centre-stage with their male counterparts during an era previously associated with women on cinema, being shunned to supportive roles- an entity without ambition, an entity to be ‘rescued’ by the male hero and an entity just there to fulfil the male-centred plotline of the film, examples being Salman Khan’s Biwi No. 1 or Big B’s Sholay. On the contrary, female protagonists in Imran Khan’s lives were not mere vehicles to propel the film but active drivers of the plotline, with Imran accompanying them with their roles on an equal footing. From Aditi in Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na to Aaliya in Break Ke Baad, female leads in Imran’s films have defined layered attributes of women characters- women introspecting their feelings through youth to women choosing career over love, multi-diverse traits that were only given to the male actor previously, while the woman flimsily floated in and out of the film, without much want of the audience’s attention or her role in the movie’s essential narrative.

While women characters made a headway through Imran’s romcoms, Imran himself portrayed masculine characters that were not intimidated by the aura of headstrong women but supported their endeavours. Unlike the preceding Bollywood era, women in Imran Khan’s movies got a happy-ending to their own personal stories rather than merely being muses through out the film, due to which Imran’s accompanying male counterpart is often labelled as the ‘guy that every girl wants.’ From Jai doing everything in his power and even orchestrating an entire song with the lines ‘Ye Aditi Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na Phool Phir Khil Jate Hain’ to cheer up his female best friend recuperating from the loss of her pet cat to Kush from ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’ being a fun-sidekick to Dimple’s wedding shopping, Imran Khan’s characters remind us of the simplicity and tenderness of romance and the hope that someday a guy like Abhay from Break Ke Baad will pack their bags to Australia to support your career dreams, without a moment’s hesitation.

Imran’s portrayal of men changed the narrative of a Macho-Bollywood Hero to a common, ordinary male navigating through the grooves of life, finding love and accentuating it with cute dance-themes. From being a supportive son to his single mother in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, aiding in her everyday chores – “Baari apki hai but mood mera hai” – to the uptight Rahul Kapoor taking care to always provide sweet-company to his newfound friend Riana, distraught in her job and lonely in the States- exactly like him- Imran Khan could be credited for redefining gender roles in the Bollywood cinema paradigm.

Gender roles, in essence, function under the notion of being observed, culturally-learned and adapted into the mainstream, and popular culture like Bollywood cinema especially play a big role in defining the evolving landscape of gender-stereotypes and liberation in the society that we live in. While mainstream Bollywood portrayed docile, submissive women figures (who must be saved, rescued or avenged by men) to young girls as role models, young boys were taught to be ‘rough and tough’. Films ended up normalizing maltreatment of women, inculcating into them that misbehaviour from a male partner is what can be considered ‘normal’ and ‘acceptable’. In an era when dialogues like ‘akeli ladki ek khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ and ‘paise ke peeche bhagega toh ladki tere peeche bhaagegi’ rampaged the cinemas, Imran Khan’s ‘Aditi Has De Tu Zara’ trying to make his college best-friend smile while she was upset over her pet-cat provided a breath of fresh air amidst the claustrophobic hegemonic-masculinity within Hindi cinema.

“I believe Imran Khan was pretty eminent in shifting the Bollywood landscape from mainstream movies to a ‘young-adult world’ where everything was very new and fresh with people having fun jobs and simple, gullible dynamics with their partners. It makes one fantasise and long for such gentle times. More so, from a theatrical perspective Imran’s characters were very natural, comfortable and transparent, making the viewer outside the screen connect with the character inside which was quite refreshing!” – points out Rudrani Singh, who engaged with these movies in her late-teens.

While ‘mard ko dard nahi hota’ defined the hyper-macho era of Bollywood heroes, the current wave of toxic man-childs in Kabir Singh and Animal ring another alarm bell in the world of distorted representation of characters. While such alpha ideologies kick back into the industry sizzled with a side of pseudo-feminism and its consequent, glorification, one obviously longs for the cool, witty Abhay who will sit under a table and hug you while you try to make sense of the chaos or a Jay Dhingra to do ‘idhar udhar ki baatein vagera vagera’ with and comprehend the softness of life.

When Imran was not being the charming chocolate-boy, his acting range would take him to playing an amusing grey character like Tashi in one of Bollywood’s wittiest productions, Delhi Belly. Some may even point that Imran’s characters and movies provided a fresh, tender yet real grasp of the life around us, that really seeped the viewer into his films. While Imran set the tone for new types of heroes within Bollywood, the twenty-first century often labelled his characters as “simps” and his movies as “chick-flicks”for their wide popularity among women audience. However, the truth is quite far from that. Imran Khan set the stage for male-protagonists who were open to expressing emotions and being comfortable with their masculinity without being loud and violent (and what social media calls today, an ‘almost green flag’). This genre of character representation not only appeased women who were previously nourished by macho-saviours but also stood as an example of counter-hegemonic masculinity within the Indian diaspora. With films to woo the young audience, Imran’s movies stood out for showing young boys that in a world full of hunky, aggressive Sushants, you can always comfortably be a song-singing, airport-confessing Jai Singh Rathore, aka Rats.

Amidst a culture that lauds toxic masculinity through portrayals like Rahul from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Bunny from Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, the innocence of Imran Khan’s characters provided a personification of ‘Sukoon’ (peace) – comfort movies that you could watch on your blue days along with an accompaniment of vanilla ice-cream!

While we journeyed through Imran’s portrayal of soft-masculinity and the warmth of his films, it still makes one wonder why fans crave his return despite the ‘Badshah of Bollywood’ and the ‘King of Romance’, Shahrukh Khan still reigning through the industry today. Much of this could be the shift in the Bollywood genre of films currently. Audiences previously conditioned by saccharine romance from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge to Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, now has to make do with crime thriller, spy thrillers or action-adventures with romance taking a sideline. The once romance-churning mill of the subcontinent, Bollywood today has shifted its thematic landscape with even King Khan, once the ‘lover-boy of Bollywood’ now starring in mostly action movies like Jawan and Pathaan. One may say this does make the young audience crave even more for the era of toothy grins, witty banter and innocent love plot-lines of Imran Khan’s movies.

While Jay Dhingra may ‘Hate Luv Storys’ and go on to say, “Stupid hote hai ye love stories aur stupid hote hai woh log jo inhe banate hai,” before falling head over heels in love with Sonam Kapoor’s character, Simran, fans today will vouch for anything to have Imran Khan’s light-hearted romance stories back in Bollywood, reminiscing in the nostalgia and hoping that their Jai will one day come running through the box-office singing ‘Tera mujhse hai pehle ka nata koi, yuhi nahi dil lubhata koi…’ and all will be sweet and sunny in Bollywood’s love-town again!

Read Also: Jab DU Met Bollywood

Featured Image Credits: Where Was It Shot

Priyanka Mukherjee
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