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Arts & Culture

In the shadows, we dance with the light

By DU Beat November 17, 2024

Indian society holds one of the richest cultural heritage in the world. Its diverse cultures and traditions have often provided comfort and hope to people during challenging times, but visiting a temple is still a far-fetched dream for some marginalised groups. The queer community stands at the crossroads when tasked with defining their religion with the almighty. They either wander on the outskirts, hoping to get validated someday, or find peace through different channels by connecting themselves to a higher energy.

The word, ‘religion,’ has been defined by many great scholars and saints through different interpretations. Many have termed it a medium of connecting to a greater power while others have often termed it a ‘way of living.’ People attempt to define the word ‘religion’ to cater to their needs and wants. I had the privilege of growing up under the city lights of New Delhi. The state offers to mingle with a diverse crowd, coming from different sects and henceforth I got to learn a lot about different cultures and traditions, as New Delhi’s diversity helped me mould my thoughts and opinions. At the same time, I had the opportunity to explore and express my own emotional understanding of the word ‘religion.’ However, not everyone has the freedom to reflect on their feelings and beliefs about spirituality. One community that often faces significant barriers in this regard is the LGBTQIA+ community.

There are lakhs of people who go through this every day. These are not your conventional girls or boys, but rather people who did not fit into the society, as per the set standards by the society. The word, ‘Queer,’ technically means strange or odd, but the word has been taken too literally in the present era, and the orthodox mindset is to be blamed. Don’t worry, this is not your-friendly-neighbourhood-LGBTQIA-support-digest, rather today I want to talk about something else, queer people and their relationship with God. Almost all our religious scriptures come down to one conclusion, the path of spirituality, knowing your god and traditions helps oneself in obtaining self-actualization and relief from a world full of endless desires, but in a not-so-colorful world, it means something else for people, especially who didn’t fit into the right shapes and sizes of the Indian society.

Picture this, a queer man is considered an outcast in his class full of ideal masculine men and shy and tender women, so he sits near the college garden alone when the rest of the batch is busy playing sports games or going out to clubbing. For him, his college garden is his haven as it provides him with a safe space, something that all worshippers look for when they seek shelter under their god, which is their strong belief system. While he had always feared asking the question, What exactly is god? Who is a god? What does he do? He is afraid that other people may not end up liking him if he asks this, or does he even have a right to ask such questions considering he is supposed to be an ideal man, who should love his ideal wife but on the contrary, he doesn’t understand why god or this supernatural energy wired him up into liking men, which is something he did not see much growing up. But he has a firm belief that a higher, supernatural form of energy exists, which is omnipresent and is always there to protect him when he is in trouble.

We live in a society shaped by social conditioning, where, from the moment we are born, we are taught what is considered right and wrong. As we grow, this conditioning often prevents us from recognizing and accepting that differences can exist—and that they are valid. Festivals like Diwali, Eid, and Gurupurab provide opportunities for people to connect, celebrate, and find comfort in their beliefs and faith. However, members of the queer community are often excluded from these spaces of celebration and belonging. As a result, many queer individuals embark on a personal journey to define and connect with their own sense of spirituality and relationship with the divine.: –

I have been practicing a particular sect of Hinduism- the one that deals with Radha Krishna’s bhakti- for over twelve years of my life. The reason why I have always felt safe was because Vrindavan has been a very inviting place, especially for the queer folks. The beautiful thing about bhakti is that the binaries of the sexes get broken down because, at the end of the day, you’re just a maid-servant of Radharani: your sexed body, and your gendered self, both are reduced to a sort of femininity. We all need God, or some cosmic “thing” when we’re going through the most distressing times in our lives. I found my comfort in “Why am I like this” in this spiritual sense of being an eternal maid-servant, who has been assigned a particular body in this life.

Unfortunately, even after being at peace with myself and my identity, I always knew that even though a particular sect of Hinduism is welcoming to me, the religion in general still does consider homosexuality to be sinful. This stands true about all religions. A deeper introspection and critical analysis helped me to realize that if there was God, they would not be unfair to anyone, let alone queer people. Identities don’t exist in a vacuum.

– Anonymous (A student from Kirori Mal College)

These journeys may become tedious for many who come from conservating families, but the colours of explorations remain the same: –

I come from a conservative, Muslim family, where a bisexual man is viewed from a lens of sin and wrongfulness. People often find it surprising that I offer my namaz daily, even being a bisexual man, and not practicing atheism. I firmly believe that my sexuality and religion exist separately, and my god doesn’t judge me based on my sexuality.

– Anonymous (A student from Kirori Mal College)

I grew up in a Hindu-Sikh family, which was heavily involved in traditional practices like charity and idol worship. But my belief in this higher form of energy has evolved through ‘karma,’ that something good has happened to me because of my action

– Saanvi Manchanda (Maitreyi College for Women)

Religion is one of the mediums through which individuals find a pathway to connect with their god. What exactly is a ‘god,’ is something that should be subjectively answered by different believers. While there is no harm in idol worship or following a particular deity but many queer people out there, stem their courage through nature or epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, from which they can relate and learn stories about being righteous and courageous. Therefore, the answer to the question of how exactly ‘you’ identify your relationship with god, should solely rest upon ‘you.’

One Land Grab at a Time: The Philanthropic Tata Legacy

By DU Beat November 14, 2024

Ratan Tata’s legacy, while celebrated as a philanthropist, is tainted by the exploitation and violence against indigenous communities. Despite a public image of philanthropy, the capitalist corporations and their practices reveal a deeper commitment to profit, often at the expense of local populations, reinforcing systemic inequalities.

The billionaire philanthropy, as claimed by most of the elites, is meant to change the world, but a close look at the philanthropic institutions that are growing at a faster pace in the current century showcases the disguise meant to maintain the world as it is. After the death of Ratan Naval Tata, the former chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Sons, on 9th October 2024, condolences flooded the internet, mourning the loss of the philanthropic industrial giant of India. Tributes from the corporate industry, business partners, and international associates were on the horizon; however, the massive outpouring of respect and a sense of personal loss from the working class of the country demonstrates the “naive optimism” of the public and their misled trust in the generosity of the elites.

Tata’s passing gives a good reason to explore the legacy that Ratan Tata inherited and advanced. The legacy of the Tata Group was built on the colonial exploitation of the masses. Nusserwanji Tata, father to Jamsetji Tata, a small merchant, started trading opium to China. Opium was India’s largest export for much of the 1800s—and the “backbone of the British imperial economy.” The opium trade heaped misery on China by shoving the addiction down their throats and forcing the farmers in Bihar to grow the profitless poppies. Millions died in the Bengal famine of 1770, as once productive agricultural land was forcibly converted to poppy production. While the Tatas did engage in the opium trade, they were not dominant players in this industry. They built their wealth by contracting with the British Army to supply troops during wars, notably the Anglo-Persian War of 1856–57. These contracts, linked to colonial military efforts, were profitable and positioned the Tatas within the imperial power structure. The Tata Iron and Steel Company was set up with the main job to supply the British military during World War I. As reward, the Tatas also received the land—which today is called Jamshedpur in honor of Jamsetji, which led to the displacement of Adivasi communities, who were often forcibly evicted from their lands.

The Land Acquisition Act of 1894 facilitated compulsory dispossession in favor of private companies if they served a ‘public purpose’. Over the years, Tisco was a landowner, landlord, and municipal authority in Jamshedpur, buying up entire villages, charging rents at a profit, and providing patchy services.”

Thus the local capitalists, the Tatas, profited by provisioning British campaigns as it expanded its exploitation and ransacked places like modern-day Ethiopia.

When Tatas were handed over the land for its mining operations in Noamundi and for the Jamshedpur township in 1907, the company removed Kusumgaj trees, vital to the Adivasi communities for livelihood and sustenance as they initially refused to work in the mines. Thus, in a desperate attempt for livelihood, Adivasis started working in the mines for Tatas. The forced employment generation that continues to be applauded poses a threat to the tribals and their financial security. Furthermore, in 2000, Tata Steel allegedly destroyed a crucial water spring in Agaria Tola, near its coal mines, the only water source for a local tribal community. This act disrupted the local community’s access to essential resources, worsening their displacement and undermining their way of life.

The Gua Massacre of September 1980 or the Kalinganagar Massacre of January 2006 are the glaring realities of state-sanctioned violence against tribals to protect and further the interests of the profiteering capitalist. The tribal villagers in Noamundi protested against the use of their lands for a Tata aerodrome. Tatas urged the state to take stringent actions against the tribal activism. The next day, state forces opened fire on unarmed tribals in Gua, killing eight, including those seeking medical treatment, to quell the growing tribal movement in Jharkhand.

In Kalinganagar, police opened fire on Adivasi villagers protesting Tata Steel’s construction on their ancestral lands. This crackdown occurred soon after the discussion between Tata Steel and Odisha’s Chief Minister, signaling an aim to secure land for a steel plant despite local opposition. The violence led to killing, and the dead bodies returned after the post-mortem were mutilated. Tata Steel called the incident unfortunate and still continued its plans for the plant at Kalinganagar, intensifying tensions over land rights and corporate expansion. In 2006, Tata Motors acquired 900 acres of land for their car manufacturing project in Singur, West Bengal, by forcibly taking the land from local farmers. The state, backed by Tata, deployed armed police to secure the project site, turning the area into a heavily policed zone to suppress the opposition.

Tata and the deep-seated desire to exploit the tribals do not limit to India only. In 1997, while many companies exited Myanmar to protest its military regime’s human rights abuses, Tata Motors continued business with the Myanmar Military Junta, supplying hardware and vehicles. Despite allegations of severe human rights violations, including forced labor and violence against tribal groups, Tata maintained ties with the regime. The Land Rover Defender, owned by Tata Motors, is the most operational patrol vehicle in the Israeli military, which, with its oppressive onslaught, has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The Tata Group also has a history of strong anti-labor policies and developed a reputation for union-busting, often through violent means. Since liberalization, Tata Steel’s workforce has sharply declined from 78,000 in 1994 to 38,000 by 2006. It’s alleged that the company’s voluntary retirement scheme pressured employees into leaving, with many reporting they were placed under emotional strain to accept the offer. Since Ratan Tata’s leadership began in 1991, aggressive downsizing has led to tragic incidents, including two contract workers who self-immolated in 2003 in protest of their illegal termination. Tata is also accused of violating the Contract Labor and Regulation Act by assigning contract workers the work of permanent staff as a tactic to reduce costs.

With the profound history of exploitation and oppression, Tata Group continues to maintain the spectacle of an altruistic corporation in India and globally. Apparently, Tata Trusts contribute 66% of the earnings made by the Tata firms under the holding company Tata Sons towards charitable causes. However, people tend to forget that these charitable acts serve as a path for tax deduction, as stated under Section 80G of the Indian Income Tax Act. It also acts as a public relations tool to obscure the fact that the capitalists are hoarding an unregulated amount of wealth. Interestingly, we as taxpayers also subsidize these donations in the form of lost tax revenue. Reduced tax revenue could mean that the government has less to allocate to public spending. In theory, this shortfall might be compensated by public funds through other forms of taxation or adjustments in budget allocations to maintain services and infrastructure.

“In reality, the amount [billionaires] donate is a fraction of what they would pay if their tax rates were in line with the working class. I think billionaires donate for various reasons, but it’s clear that giving away the equivalent of what’s in their couch cushions helps them avoid having to face steeper bills that would actually make a difference in solving systemic problems.”

Says Gravity Payments CEO, Dan Price

“If the rich do not take on this responsibility, they risk provoking the public into a political backlash against the economic system that allowed them to become so wealthy,”

says Matthew Bishop in his work Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World.

The “benevolent” corporations and their executives, regardless of the personal “moral virtues” they may hold, act with minimal ethical consideration for the public by deploying enough resources that shape the public perception in their favor and sustain their class interest. It’s also astounding to note that in the meantime, their wealth grows by more than what they give. The philanthropic institutions present an altruistic image of the corporations while simultaneously manufacturing the public consent so as to shield the elites from public scrutiny and criticism. These institutions play as a public relations strategy to guise the hyper-profit-driven practices and maintain a deception of capitalist generosity. This helps the capitalist to thrive in their class, exploiting agendas, manipulating the social narratives, and obscure the broader reality behind the social welfare pursuits.

Featured Image Credits: Reuters

Reeba Khan

Features

Looking back on the CJI’s Legacy

By DU Beat November 13, 2024

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, who retired on November 10, 2024, recently reflected on his legacy and the impact of his tenure; the tenure which has been irrevocably sad and painfully disappointing as one sees him lead with a weak stature.

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s tenure has been a free fall coupled with multiple comebacks. However, the more radically the CJI tries to be a liberally impactful judge with his put-on image of constitutionalism, it only lands him the titular trope of being a classic big mouthed MUN kid—all talks, no show.

The Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud was appointed and has been serving since November 2022. It is to be recognized here that his appraisal came at a very astute timing. The nation was convalescing with the aftermath of COVID pandemic, the Agnipath scheme had divided the youth’s job security, rampant political arrests had been ensuing with most political prisoners languishing in jails without proper trials and pending verdicts, right-wing extremism and communal clashes had grown manifold, minority rights were under scrutiny, state governments continued being unstable with the arrests of ministers and fall of coalition governments, the UCC, Article 370, and the Citizenship Amendment Act faced an undecided legal fate. The CJI, however, leaves office with a new unblinded saree-clad lady justice and folded hands that ask for forgiveness in case he hurt anyone.

Any criticism of D.Y. Chandrachud comes mostly from the fact of his identifying with morally high, progressive ideas but failing to deliver on any affirmative action that would strengthen them further. It has become a pattern of deceit. Famously, during the Marriage Equality proceedings, the Chief Justice earned his bytes of fame across social media when he corrected the Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, saying, “There is no absolute concept of a man or an absolute concept of a woman at all. Biological definition is not what your genitals are. It’s far more complex; that’s the point.” What came from the hearing was a judgment against the legalisation of same-sex marriages under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

The bench also unanimously decided that the right to marriage is not a fundamental right; this sounds contradictory to other guaranteed rights such as the rights to equality, dignity, and liberty. A review petition was later filed as the court’s decision has been criticized for violating fundamental rights, ignoring lived realities, undermining constitutional morality, and contradicting international human rights standards.

Interestingly, the more the CJI edges towards his retirement, the more he finds it imperative to testify for a clean character certificate from the public. He recently said, “I have always granted bail from A to Z, from Arnab to Zubair.” The statement sadly comes at a time when the movement and agitation towards Professor G.N. Saibaba’s institutional death is at its peak. The ignorance extended towards political prisoners’ plight is apparent. D.Y. Chandrachud’s judgment on the Bhima Koregaon Arrests under the UAPA is reflective of the larger judicial sentiment harbored towards those wrongly persecuted by the state. The court, in its judgment, ruled over the arrests of five human rights activists under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the Maharashtra Police and allowed the investigation to continue. The police had accused the activists of involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence and sedition. There are several human rights activists and student leaders who continue to be politically incarcerated and framed while legal and political freedom withers.

Delhi University Professor Nandini Sundar, while addressing a crowd gathered for the memorial meet of Dr. G.N. Saibaba, said,

For a judge to say that he has given bail to some and not the others, sounds akin to a teacher saying I have failed some students but passed the others.”

There had also been large public concern and criticism of the CJI when he openly hosted the Prime Minister for a Ganesh Chaturthi event at his residence. The opposition and citizens raised concern in the matters of division of powers, arguing that it was a display of negation of judicial independence, propriety, and protocol. The CJI, however, dismissed the backlash as he considers there being “absolutely nothing wrong.”

Furthermore, adding to the populist religious sentiment around the Ram Janmabhoomi case, the CJI is said to have prayed to the “lords” to guide him through the judgment. Such statements disintegrate the secular core of public institutions. The judiciary does not in any capacity have a religion, but what one sees during the tenure of CJI Chandrachud is various judges openly endorsing religion and politics, as we see former Justices Rohit Arya and Abhijit Gangopadhyay joining the BJP.

There have also been judgments from the now former CJI that have effectively been pro-citizens and have sought to ensure and maintain the rule of law, but in a broader observation of phenomena, the CJI has delivered less of the more expected from him. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s legacy is a curious case of accepting the unexpected.

Featured image credit: The Hindu

Bhavana Bhaskar

DUB News

Students demanding concessional metro passes led by SFI-Delhi detained by Delhi Police

By DU Beat November 13, 2024

Despite receiving 60,000 signatures, SFI-Delhi’s campaign calling for concessional metro passes for students seems to have been ignored by central authorities. When the students took to the streets of Nirman Bhavan, peacefully protesting to showcase their demands, they were allegedly manhandled by the police and detained.

On Tuesday, November 12th, the Students Federation of India (SFI)—Delhi led a demonstration demanding concessional metro passes for students, which the Delhi Police cut short. The Delhi Police detained over 30 students, “manhandled” several others, and stopped them from continuing the demonstration. Moreover, SFI was denied the ability to address what they claimed to be basic demands through a delegation. Sooraj, President of SFI-Delhi stated:

It’s clear how threatened the authorities are by students, as they are even blocking our demand for something as basic as a metro pass.

The Delhi Police, on the other hand, refuted these allegations. A senior police officer told the Times of India that the students were told not to march in the area since it was reserved for VIPs:

We also told them to march in the Jantar Mantar area, but they did not listen.

Anamika, Joint Secretary Candidate at SFI, DUSU remarked,

It is a shame that while the Delhi Metro has been classified as the second-most expensive metro in the world, the government refuses to hear students, who are entitled to the city, just as much as all citizens.

The campaign started in 2022 with the DMRC slotting their demands for the fare fixation committee. The Delhi Transport Minister also met a delegation of SFI-Delhi in 2023 to further address this issue. Even now, despite having 60,000 signatures to their campaign, which eventually culminated in the protest, their demands were ignored.

Avijit, Vice President, JNUSU commented on this issue:

We are always willing to cooperate within reasonable limits. But this does not mean that the government cannot even allow us to send a delegation. Are they telling us that the voices of 60,000+ students mean nothing?

The allegedly “draconian” handling of these peaceful demonstrators is another strategy commonly employed by authoritarian, fascist regimes to stifle dissenting voices and deflect criticism, creating an illusion of a perfect governance system, the students further claimed.

Image Credits: SFI CEC via Instagram

Sakshi Singh

Arts & Culture

An Ode to Sharda Sinha

By DU Beat November 12, 2024

Reckoning with Sharda Sinha’s demise is accepting the loss of a cultural icon. We remember her as a tune to our memories and the soul of Bihari folk music.

The “Kokila of Bihar” (Nightingale of Bihar) has rested, she passed away on November 5th at age 72 after succumbing to multiple myeloma. Sharda Sinha is synonymous with Chhath songs that extend beyond the geographical region of Bihar to states like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and the diaspora communities.

While an introduction to Sinha might begin with her mandatory Chhath songs, one eventually discovers the vast repertoire that her ripe, melodious voice covers. From covering genres of wedding songs, work songs, lullabies, Bollywood folk fusion, and devotional songs, to keeping intact the essence of dialects and languages of Maithili, Bhojpuri and Magahi, Sharda Sinha kept a commitment to maintaining the sanctity of culture and folk songs.

Regional identities often get neglected in the larger trend of fashionable pop music, and Bihar’s reputation for such an occurrence is infamously known. Degrading, double-meaning songs disallow any other representations to come to the fore. However, defying this trend, Sharda Sinha crafted a niche for herself and also allowed listeners to indulge in songs closer to home and hearts.

Arpita Tiwari, a student living in Delhi shared,

“My playlists are full of Sharda Sinha’s collections. Being part of a later generation, I did not naturally connect to the language or the culture. But the celebration of Chhath introduced me to Sharda Sinha and it overwhelmed me; her voice is different—it feels familiar and closer. You say Chhath or Vivah (marriage) songs, I hear Sharda Sinha.”

The image of Sharda forms in a quintessential way which is very important to memory. She is a big-eyed saree connoisseur, with a fierce red lip, paan-tainted teeth, and a big bold red bindi, all of which compliment her hoarse and mellow voice. This image fits perfectly the imagination of who you would think sings these songs that evoke deep emotions. She is the grandmother who contributes as an icon fashionably. Sinha drapes traditional Indian sarees that reflect the heritage and culture of Bihar. She often wore Tussar or Bhagalpuri silk along with Madhubani-printed sarees. Through these saree choices, Sharda Sinha honours the traditional textiles and artistry of Bihar, often combining them with regional jewellery for a complete, authentic look; she lived as an artist true to the culture and state embodying it to the extent of her personhood.

The beauty of Sharda Sinha’s personal life is also immense. She passed away on the first day of the Chhath festival, nahai khai, which basically kickstarts the longer celebrations. In her final days, Sinha recorded a poignant rendition titled Dukhwa Mitayin Chhathi Maiya, which was released on November 4. This song touched many hearts, especially as she performed it from her hospital bed, symbolizing her enduring dedication to her art and her connection to the Chhath Puja. Additionally, her passing followed the recent loss of her husband, adding a layer of personal sorrow to her final days.

Sharda Sinha’s contribution to the Bihari folk music is profound and lasting. Her iconography as the ambassador of a culture would

Featured image credit: India Today

Bhavana Bhaskar

Features

Trump 2.0: Decoding the US Presidential Elections 2024

By DU Beat November 11, 2024

Trump, a man who has been indicted 91 times, convicted more than 30 times, impeached twice, has multiple allegations of sexual assault, and is accused of inciting insurrection, is effectively one of the most powerful men in the world. While the outcome is the same as in 2016, the man is different this time around. His supporters, more radicalised, are expecting hardcore changes, and he intends to deliver them.

With the world’s eyes on them, over 140 million Americans went to the polls on the 5th of November, 2024. In a high-stakes race to elect the 47th President of the United States, the Republican Party was represented by the infamous Donald Trump for President and JD Vance as Vice President, while the Democratic Party’s ticket was Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as President and Vice President, respectively.

The incumbent president, Joe Biden from the Democratic Party, initially ran for re-election, but widespread calls for a younger candidate, along with his poor performance at the June 2024 presidential debate, led to his withdrawal and Harris’ nomination a month later. Trump, the 45th President of the USA, who had lost to Biden in 2020, ran for re-election for a non-consecutive term along with his running mate Vance.

What was at stake?

This was a critical election for many reasons and the main electoral issues according to the polls were the economy, immigration, democracy, abortion rights, foreign policy (particularly concerning Israel), and climate change.

Perhaps one of the key concerns of this election was abortion rights. This was the first presidential election that was held after the American Supreme Court’s controversial decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. This saw widespread polarisation within American society, with the right-leaning population supporting a complete ban on abortions in all cases and the left-leaning population protesting the attack on women’s bodily autonomy.

Immigration and border control also were one of the most widely debated issues by the voters. While Trump’s administration and policy have always been anti-immigration, this campaign saw more overt and conspicuous rhetoric. While the Democrat narrative may have seemed comparatively subtle, at its core it was also opposed to immigration.

Voters cited the economy as their top issue across many polls. Harris proposed raising taxes on corporations and high-earners to fund services for the lower and middle classes and reduce the deficit, while Trump’s economic policies can be described as protectionist and Neo-mercantilist.

Another crucial issue this year was America’s foreign policy, particularly in regard to Israel and Russia. Following the Israeli offensive, a wave of protests rocked the United States, particularly on its college campuses, urging the administration to withdraw support from Israel. Thus, Palestine formed a central focus for a lot of voters.

Harris aligned herself with Biden’s foreign policy on supporting Ukraine and while she condemned Israel’s invasion of Rafah, she maintained Israel’s ‘right to defend itself.’ Trump also declared complete support for Israel while maintaining an isolationist ‘America First’ foreign policy, vowing to impose tariffs on even trade partners. He promises to cut military spending on foreign affairs.

Democratic and republican campaigning strategy

Harris framed her campaign as “a choice between freedom and chaos” and based it around the ideals of “freedom” and “the future”. She aligned many of her policies to Biden’s appearing as more moderate in a bid to appeal to the more moderate conservatives. Her campaign became tethered to Biden’s crumbling legacy.

Her campaign maintained a more optimistic and joyful approach while they failed to connect with the voters. While her candidacy was historic owing to her being a woman of colour running for President, it failed to translate into votes as her appeal seemed more abstract than grounded in the realities of voters’ everyday lives.

Trump, on the other hand, heavily focused on dark and apocalyptic rhetoric about the state of the country and predicting doom if he did not win, making numerous false and misleading statements, and harnessing the tactics of fear mongering, all in his attempt to “make America great again”.

In the online world, which has a huge impact on the voting patterns of younger voters, Trump was able to mobilise support, particularly from younger men. His appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast as well as frequent endorsements by Elon Musk, led to an increase in his already huge popularity within the ‘manosphere,’ or the side of the internet dominated by men, while democrats reveled in the brat summer and the ‘bratification’ of Kamala Harris.

However, one of the most striking elements of the republican strategy was their unprecedented precision in targeted digital advertising. They were able to successfully harness the power of data analytics, tailoring ads to specific voter demographics based on nuanced local issues and cultural divides, while the democratic campaign stuck with more traditional approaches. For instance, in Michigan the Jewish communities received ads raising doubts about Harris’s stance on Israel, while in Pennsylvania, Muslim voters were shown ads criticising Harris’s perceived reluctance to advocate for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict, allowing Republicans to pander directly to voter anxieties on a microscopic level.

Democrats, on the other hand, took the route of advertising to voters who they identified as moderate Republicans, spending as much as a billion dollars in digital ads. However, this strategy backfired as they did not see an increase in republican votes and failed to use that revenue to secure their democratic voter base.

Voting demographics

While the opinion polls showed a very close fight between both candidates, almost split to 50-50, the results showed a clear tilt toward the Republicans.

There was an apparent increase of support towards Trump from the Black community with 16% of Black voters voting for him as compared to 8% in 2020, while 91% of black voters had supported Biden and 83% voted for Harris.

Democrats also lost ground among Latino voters, with 56 percent voting for Harris in 2024 compared to 63 percent for Biden in 2020. Trump’s support grew from 35 percent in 2020 to 42 percent in 2024. Interestingly, 24% of Black men and 9% of Black women voted for Trump, clearly hinting at a gender divide among voters. This was also reflected among white voters, with 60% of white men voting for Trump as compared to 53% of white women. Younger voters from 18-44 years preferred Harris while those above 45 preferred Trump. Thus, Trump emerged as the most popular among older white males.

Indian-Americans, too, broke away from Democrats this year. From 2020 to 2024, the percentage of Indian-Americans identifying as Democrats dropped from 56% to just 47%, while support for Trump surged from 22% to 31%. This shift is particularly pronounced among younger Indian-American men

Result

The preliminary result with about 95% of the votes counted shows a clear victory for Donald Trump. Trump also had a clear sweep in the seven swing states with Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin all flipping to Republican from Democratic.

Trump has gained 50.5% of the votes and 312 of the 538 electoral votes and Harris, 47.92% as per the latest counting. Republicans have won a bigger share of votes in every state in 2024 compared to 2020. They lead the popular vote by about 4 million.

What lies ahead

Following the declaration of Trump’s apparent victory, Black Americans across many states received a text message asking them to ‘report for slavery.’ On Twitter harassment towards women surged, with the phrase ‘your body, my choice’, referring to the ban on abortion, being used as a catchphrase by many men. People, not only in America but across the world, are concerned over what Trump’s victory could mean.

Experts believe that a federal abortion ban seems unlikely. Instead, the Trump administration may seek to reinstate the Comstock Act, which bans anything related to abortion from being sent by mail—effectively banning abortion nationwide.

Trump in his campaign has also promised the ‘largest deportation’ hinting at a shift in his focus from immigrants at the border to those within the country, ones who have lived in the States for years. Trump’s re-election is also concerning news on the Gaza front, for he has declared unequivocal support for Israel.

On the economic front, economists theorise a possible increase in prices for Americans as Trump may seek to import a 10% tariff on all foreign goods. This could also have ramifications for America’s trade partners, including India.

How votes are counted and how it benefited the Republican Party

The victor is declared not based on who has the most number of votes, instead, both candidates compete to win contests held across the 50 individual states. In the United States, each state has a certain number of electoral college votes, partly based on population. Thus, when people vote for the president, they’re not voting directly for the candidate. Instead, they’re choosing electors in their state who will then vote for the president. There are 538 total votes in the electoral votes and a candidate requires 270 of those to win.

Most states use a rule where the candidate who gets the most votes in that state wins all of its electoral votes. This means if Candidate A wins by just one vote in a big state like Florida, they get all of Florida’s electoral votes. Some states usually vote for the same party every time, so candidates don’t spend a lot of resources on campaigning there. They instead chose to focus on a few key states, the swing states, where either party could win.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this system is that a candidate can get more total votes from people across the whole country, the popular vote, but still lose the election if they don’t get enough electoral votes. This happened in 2016 when Hillary Clinton had more total votes from people but Donald Trump got more electoral votes and won the presidency. As of 11th November, 2024, Trump has long crossed the 270 mark, making him the undeclared winner, while the votes are still being counted.

Featured Image Credits: NPR

Disha Bharti

DUB News

Hindu College Queer Collective returns with a campus-wide Pride Parade after 2 years.

By DU Beat November 10, 2024

On the 9th of November, 2024, a North Campus-wide Pride Parade was organized by the Hindu College Queer Collective. The parade was joined by students and activists of various universities, queer collectives, gender cells, and other organizations. It also included several poetic, dance, theatrical, and music performances as a part of the event.

The Pride Parade of the Hindu College Queer Collective (HCQC) was, unlike several sponsored events organized in DU, a completely crowdfunded event that sought to keep the parade “community-funded” and to avoid rainbow capitalism. The event kicked off with several cultural performances in the Sanganeria Auditorium of the college by guest student performers as well as performances by societies and cells of Hindu College that included poems by students on the queer love, music performances by students of Alankaar: The Classical Music Society and Aria: The Western Music Society, dance performances by the members of the North East Cell, Adhrita: The Indian Dance Society, and a play titled “Dear Closet” by Masque: The English Theatre Society of Hindu College revolving around transphobia. The cultural programme also sought to reach out to queer students and allies beyond Hindu College and hence the HCQC pride parade, for the first time, also featured more than 15 guest performers.

The final ‘surprise performance’ was not revealed to the audience via the official schedule and was only revealed at the moment of the performance to be a dance by the members of HCQC. The energetic productions throughout the day reflected upon the audience, who also twirled to the beats from their respective seats

The Pride Parade event also featured several stalls set up outside the auditorium. These stalls ranged from Camera Commune, a film club’s stall on prints, books, and keffiyeh on queer movements and Palestinian struggle to raise funds for Trans Community Kitchen, to Bhagat Singh Study Circle’s stall of multilingual progressive books, The Azadi Project’s stall of crocheted and handmade items made by displaced women, a stall of jewelry, mehendi painting, candles by queer folk, and a stall of prints, live sketching, and face painting by college students. The stalls were allotted either to queer or queer-led organizations or to individuals and/or organizations that worked for marginalised communities.

The Pride Parade formally began at 4:30 pm after all the cultural performances, and it started from Gate 4 of Hindu College. The parade covered almost the entire North Campus as it went from Hindu College, following the route through the Delhi School of Economics, Kirori Mal College, Chhatra Marg, Ramjas College, Daulat Ram College, and Shri Ram College of Commerce, and finally culminated at the Gate 4 of Arts Faculty, North Campus.

As the parade turned to Ramjas College and a huge crowd of students from the college stared at the crowd, a student from the parade stated:

“Sab hume aise dekh rahe hai par accha lag raha hai. Hum lad rahe hai apne liye. It feels good that everyone is looking at us. We are only fighting for ourselves.)”

Powerful slogans of resilience and support echoed through the course of the parade.

“Homophobia Down Down!

Transphobia Down Down!

Teri Mukti, Meri Mukti, Queer Mukti Zindabad (Your Freedom, My Freedom, Queer Freedom Long Live!)

Jai Bhim-Lal Salaam

Rape Culture Ka ek Jawab-Inquilab Zindabad

Hum Nafrat Hatane Nikle Hai, Aao Humare Saath Chalo (We have come out to remove hatred; come join us!)

Student Unity Long Live”

As the parade was being closely monitored by the Delhi Police, whose permission was sought and granted for the same, several slogans and chants raised during the parade were censored. The azadi chant, for instance, was censored by the police authorities, and they requested the organizers not to raise such chants.

Aishwarya, the president of the HCQC concluded the parade with a small address to the crowd and remarked:

We give a lot of importance to ensure that the pride parade is 100% crowdfunded and that it is preceded by a cultural event everytime because that’s our effort to tap into multiple forms of expression and portray how queer is in everything and everything can be queered. There is no specific space where queers can express queerness, such as, the pride parade. Queerness can be present in every form and expression, and is a way of life. The way academia operates in the current status quo and how it can be inaccessible for so many people is the reason why we preceded the pride parade with the cultural program.”

Aishwarya further added:

“We also believe in a politics of collaboration and tried to collaborate with different societies and cells that might not engage with issues or queerness otherwise. In several colleges, performance societies are given more importance than queer and gender based collectives so our idea of doing a pride parade in collaboration with these societies helps us reverse and restructure the hierarchy structure within the college space and reach out to larger audiences, including the ECA societies, that engage with and learn about queerness in the process. We feel that we have succeeded in creating a non-judgemental space with our pride parade event.”

Some students did mention that while organising the Pride Parade at a formal level by one of the very few formally recognised Queer Collectives in DU is in itself a huge achievement by the HCQC, they felt that several issues such as transphobia, gender dysphoria, and institutional deaths of queer students in our own campuses, did not get enough platform as much as they should have.

Featured Image Credits: Sharanya Dayal for DU Beat

Vedant Nagrani

DUB Speak

Selling in disguise: How brands sell what they ‘can’t’ sell

By DU Beat October 26, 2024

Growing up, we all sat through one of those liquor ads while waiting to watch our mother’s favourite TV dramas. The infamous “Men Will Be Men,” produced by Seagrams, became a cult classic while bordering on the illegal.

Advertising on television sets remains the most effective way to reach Indian households, with over 200 million people having access to it. The brand often turns to clever marketing tactics in order to stand out in an ever more competitive space. Some pay hefty money to popular stars, some subtly place their branding in popular imageries or product placement, and some deceit. Surrogate advertising often comes under heat for deceiving audiences through implicit promotion. Advertising is when a brand attempts to indirectly promote products that would otherwise be impossible by the letter of the law. Indian TV sets have been marred with this plague for decades now, be it through promoting substitute products or subtle product placement in films. Popular brands like Kingfisher and Seagrams resort to promoting their brand of mineral water on CDs to get around the legalities. In India, there’s a strict prohibition on advertising gambling, tobacco, and alcoholic beverages on television sets due to concerns about it undermining public health and risking exposure of harmful substances to a younger audience.

It is severely disappointing to see actors or sportsmen with a massive reach often helping these brands promote substances that are doing no good to the youth of the nation. Brands like Vimal, infamous for poaching stars like Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, and most recently Shah Rukh Khan in their ads, have them promote their “cardamom pods” with the intention of redirecting them to their parents brand’s pan masala. Similarly, sporting events in India are plagued with online betting ads, banned in the recently released guidelines by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).

The Indian Premier League remains a goldmine for many of these brands, considering the traffic it invites every year. The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw two of its biggest sponsors be an online betting service and a brand selling pan masala. These brands often end up hiding under the banner of a news broadcaster, an Elaichi brand, or music labels, amongst others, that we can ride home about all day long. Often what they do is create a substitute product with the same branding, as the laws permit that, and upon checking their socials, they end up looking no more than pawns to promote the parent company’s bread and butter.

Perhaps the biggest issue with surrogate advertising isn’t even the legalities but rather the ethics surrounding it. By promoting products that aren’t permissible by law due to health concerns or otherwise, they are exposing children who know no better to such products. This goes against the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which states that corporations or brands shall engage in practices ethically in consideration of their impact on society. In nations like India, where cricketers and movie stars are worshipped like deities by teenagers who know no better, the age group is all the more vulnerable.

Targeting a younger demographic through securing the naming rights of popular tournaments that they might resonate with or paying hefty sums to movie stars is doing nothing but endangering and exposing kids to banned substances. The prohibited nature of certain substances keeps the “harmful” perception of their consumption alive in the public consciousness, but constant advertising, whether intended or not, only pushes the vulnerable demography more towards such products, in a way normalising it.

Whether you agree with surrogate advertising or not, some may argue that a younger demographic would hardly figure out what’s being implied in such advertisements, but you are still putting them at risk. In a digital era where information has never been more accessible and promotion of these harmful products placed everywhere, be it TV, OTT platforms, or big LED screens out and about, the risk of one exposing themselves to something that the government, in considering with public welfare and health concerns, had previously put a restriction on is alarming. Brands should move away from such deceitful and unethical tactics and adopt transparency moving forward rather than making themselves all about treating the consumers like cash cows.

Featured Images credits: Kingfisher & Seagrams

Yash Raj
[email protected]

Arts & Culture

From Dissent to Decor: How Street Art Gentrifies Graffiti

By DU Beat October 26, 2024

From Paleolithic cave drawings to scribbles of names on Delhi’s monuments, humans have always left their mark on public spaces. Through this article, we explore the evolution of graffiti, its roots in rebellion and dissent, and the stark contrast with commissioned street art.

Roughly between 40,000 and 14,000 years ago, the Paleolithic man made the first cave drawing. Eons later, as we stroll by narrow alleyways in Delhi, we see colorful graffiti lining up old walls, peeling away slowly. Between these thousands of years, humans never once stopped leaving pieces of art in public squares, subway stations, public baths, school desks, etc. Ancient Romans and Greeks scribbled their names and slogans of resistance on buildings in 31 BC, so did Napoleon’s soldiers in 1803, and so do Modern Indians in 2024 on monuments such as Qutub Minar.

Graffiti is thus a cultural, historical fact. Graffiti, as we now understand it, saw its genesis in the 1970s, when people began spray painting their names, or simple pieces of art, on trains. It also has its roots in the gang culture of New York. ‘Taggers’ went about discreetly spraying the names of their ‘crew’ on buildings and alley walls to mark their territory. The term graffiti was first used by The New York Times to describe this phenomenon. Graffiti was particularly popular in the urban areas of the United States as well as Europe, commonly targeting subways, trains, billboards, and walls.

Graffiti also forms a huge part of student culture, where students often use it as an anonymous outlet to express their dissent with the system they are thrust into. In August of 2024, a student of Disha Students’ Organization was suspended for writing ‘Scrap NTA’ on a wall in Delhi University’s North Campus. Some thought of this as valid disciplinary action, while others saw it as a stifling of students’ voices.

Graffiti has thus historically been a tool of dissent, especially in conflict zones where open public protests can be dangerous. It has also been legally considered as vandalism and destruction of property. The two basic ideological views on graffiti are that it is a form of self-expression and an outlet for social and political unrest while others view it as a violation of property rights and defacement of public property.

This, however, raises the question of public/street art versus graffiti. What differentiates the two and what is it about street art that makes it acceptable and what is it about graffiti that makes it illegal?

The most glaring difference between the two is that street art is usually created with permission, generally from the local ruling dispensation. While both art forms are created for public spaces, the act of creating graffiti is symbolically and politically very different from murals or other forms of street art. It is associated with rebellion and involves high-risk and covert methods of painting. It thus does not simply remain a physical act of creating a painting, but there is the added risk of incarceration or punishment, and it comes to represent something more.

Local and even central governments often commission artists to create murals to ‘beautify’ the city. But one can argue whether such murals constitute real art like graffiti does. If art is commissioned by authority, can it ever truly reflect the feelings, problems, and thoughts of the masses? Or does it simply advance certain dominant ideological narratives?

Why is it that art approved by the bureaucratic, partisan apparatus is considered to add to the beauty of the city, while graffiti is thought to take away from it? It can be hypothesized that class dynamics have a role to play in the same. Graffiti does not require formal training or expensive resources. All you need is a few cans of spray paint. On the other hand, street art may require more skill, and training, and commissioned murals may be accessible to more privileged artists who have better access to such training and resources.

Thus, street art, which is supposed to be in the public domain, becomes gentrified, and the voices of the marginalized become overshadowed once again. For instance, in the famous Lodhi Art District, many murals speak of issues such as climate change, gender, etc., but since it is authorized, commissioned art, it speaks of these issues within a certain ideological box that it cannot breach, owing to its patron. While the colorful paintings at Lodhi Art District get posted all over social media and even promoted by the government as a tourist attraction, the graffiti in tunnels and alleys get painted over and hidden.

That is not to say that street art is a ‘lower’ form of public art. These murals are often very intricate and painstakingly curated by hardworking and talented artists. The point here is that street art is often conflated with graffiti when it is a gentrified, politically toned-down version of it. The art of graffiti deserves to be separately recognized for what is particularly represented—dissent and the ‘unsavory’ side of the city. It is not an irritant or an eyesore but an integral part of the story of the city. It is a bright, colorful reminder of the frustrations, hopes, and expressions of a section of the population that gets conveniently tucked away and hidden.

Featured Image Credits : Herzindagi.com

Disha Bharti