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The Resource Surge: COVID-19 and Pointing Fingers?

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The new 2021 COVID-19 surge has engulfed the Indian masses, with people losing their loved ones and the country’s healthcare system being pushed to its breaking point; the trends seem a gaslighting and blaming figure rather than mature accountability.

Trigger Warning: Covid Trauma

The situation in India has simmered down to a point of the NetherRealm, with a new double mutant of the Coronavirus having hit the country hard. Hospitals are running out of beds, oxygen stocks are hard to hunt for and mortuaries are being brighter and brighter day after day. And then, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal got into a minor fracas during the Union government’s video conference with Chief Ministers of States on 23rd April 2021. With a high COVID-19 strain in the NCR, Kejriwal live streamed his interjection at the meeting, desperately calling for help from the Centre, regarding the increasing requirements from the NCR healthcare system. As a stimulus Modi objected to what was happening, mottling it went against the protocol of such closed-door meetings.

At the meeting, Kejriwal informed PM Modi that a big tragedy could happen because of the oxygen shortage in Delhi hospitals and sought the Prime Minister’s intervention; Please sir, we need your guidance. On Thursday, 29th April 2021, the city had logged a positivity rate of 36.24%, the highest since the pandemic reached. Delhi on Saturday, 1st May 2021 added 357 deaths due to COVID-19, the highest ever single-day spike while 24,103 new cases of COVID-19 took the caseload to 1,004,782, according to the health department’s bulletin. Though the number of COVID-19 cases in the NCR has dropped gradually from the last week’s figure of 28,000+ to a figure of 24,000 a day, there is tremendous pressure on the healthcare infrastructure of the National Capital, with the hospitals at their breaking points, shortages of beds, medications and oxygen. The Chief Minister during the lockdown extension announcement on 25th April 2021, furthered, “While have failed to deliver oxygen at some places, in other places we have succeeded… the situation should be under control in the coming few days. Currently, though the Centre has increased Delhi’s oxygen quota again from 480 to 490 metric tons, the access problems remain. The requirement is 700 metric tons and what’s reaching us is 330 to 335 metric tons only.”

https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/1385891353842708480?s=20

After the virtual debate with the PM, the social media started boiling up, with tweets and post alleging Kejriwal’s interjections as aimed schedules at politicizing the meeting to give the impression that the Centre was being heavy-handed with the States. Ironically leaders started to take a stance against the so-called mismanagement of the Delhi Government. Not surprisingly the media went on crossing the line of conscience, ultimately ending up fibbing the Delhi government on simple rhetoric around the PSA oxygen plants, and how Kejriwal deliberately impeded their set up? The Union alleges that the Delhi government played an active role in delaying the site readiness for installing eight PSA Oxygen plants.

The Government sources stated to the ANI that to enlarge the medical oxygen capacity of the NCR to treat COVID-19, eight PSA oxygen generation plants are being installed with the support of the PM Cares Fund. Adding the sources also said, “These plants will enhance the capacity of medical oxygen by 14.4 metric tons. Of the eight PSA plants to be installed in Delhi, one was already installed at Burari Hospital, Kaushik Enclave on March 17. Four plants, one each at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Lok Nayak Hospital, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Rohini and Deepa Chand Bandhu Hospital, Ashok Vihar are expected to be completed by April 30.”

The centre asserts that the government of Delhi deliberately delayed the site readiness despite the weekly reviews since November 2020, alleging that for Ambedkar Nagar Hospital, Dakshinpuri, the site has been readied as late as 19th April, 2021 by the Arvind Kejriwal-led government. Also, the Government alleges that the site readiness certificate of Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra Hospital, Narela has not been submitted by the Delhi government yet.

A snippet of the live streamed meeting
A snippet of the live streamed meeting

Image Captions: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during the COVID-review conference on Friday.

Image Credits: ANI

Kejriwal in response to this allegation on Sunday, 25th April 2021, stated in a media address that the Central government decided to set up 162 PSA plants all over India and issued tenders for the same in October 2020. Adding to this he said,

“The plants were to be set up by Union Health Ministry through PM Cares fund, and not a single rupee was given to state governments. All these plants were supposed to have been installed by December 2020 and handed over to state governments. However, the Central government gave the contract for 140 of these plants to a single vendor, who ran away. As a result, across India, not even 10 of these 162 plants have been made operational till date.”

“After multiple follow-ups with the Central government, plants for five hospitals were delivered in early March 2021. Typically, these plants take three to four days for installation. However, once again, the vendor was non-responsive and after multiple follow-ups with the Centre, only one of the five plants has been made operational to date,” added Kejriwal during his address.

The Delhi government alleged that for the remaining two hospital locations, the plants have not even been received on site. In response to the site readiness allegation by the Center, the government of Delhi stated in an address, “We are shocked to learn that Central government is now making the excuse of site certificate not being available from the Delhi government as a reason for the delay in plants. This has never been brought to Delhi government’s notice and is an outright lie.”

Kejriwal also added that 7 out of 8 plants in the National Capital Region were set up at the Delhi government Hospitals and one at the Central government hospital in Safdarjung, stating that the PSA plant has not been made operational at even Centre’s own Safdarjung hospital, claiming that the Centre is caught in the web of its lies.

The essence of Democracy, as explained by our PM during the Bengal rallies, is that the governments are expected to take responsibility when actions go wrong. Well, the logic here lies in the fact that you can never equate the atmanirbhar justification in the mass death and chaos of the citizens, you promise to work for, and setting a precedence by brushing away the questions with the pyre ashes. For the people, the God-figure is silent to their prayers, far away from the time of coming out of the shadows of denial and taking responsibility for the chaos, acknowledging the failure.

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Feature Image Credits: Anadolu Agency

Nirmanyu Chouhan

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Features

For the ‘Could Haves’ and the ‘Should Haves’: Dealing with Lost Time and its Many Dilemmas

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There is a looming sense of regret that sits right in the middle of my chest. It pokes my arms every day, pestering me to get out of my room, meet my friends, and “live” in a way that would make me seem more interesting. We have stepped into 2021, and yet it feels like our life has been put on one of those repeat telecasts, much like we are just living in 2020 2.0

College has been a very numbing experience. I find myself operating on auto-pilot, hardly making sense, processing what I am feeling each day, let alone acknowledging how far I’ve come. When you start functioning in a certain way, start putting up with deadlines, attending classes, submitting assignments, it all becomes part of a fixed routine that starts to attach itself to your identity. To find yourself at the end of two extremes, either jostling with a stringent routine or vehemently searching for it, navigating and placing your life and all its social interactions have been an indescribable and numbing experience. Every day is about grappling with the thought of losing out on the days you were meant to live out the freedom you were promised throughout your school years. Going out on spontaneous drives, spending hours aimlessly wandering markets all over the city, impromptu night-outs, all were meant to be the small pleasures of your DU experience. 

A Day at a Time

I lie on my bed, witnessing days after days becoming miserable: my anxiety meter has broken all records, my interest seems to have wandered off to far off lands which only exists in surrealist visions and getaways, and my mother watches me as I hang in there. There is this constant need to go out and ‘live’ my life, and yet on some days, I barely find myself “living” at all. 

This pandemic has given us a lot of things including exclusion and lone. I find myself detached from everyone and everything, and yet glued to this screen of my laptop or my phone. People ask me “when does your college reopen?” and I look the other way, too numb now to grapple with that question.

With third years not getting the graduation they were supposed to have and not having been able to make the best out of their college experience, I wonder if I will suffer the same fate, and so will my batchmates who came to the University with varied hopes, ambitions, and dreams: who only now sit and watch as all of that withers by.

Far Away From Reality

And then there are first-years, who haven’t even experienced college yet and no one knows when they will get to. I see potential and I see all of that fade away into the thin virus-prone air while they sit in front of their laptops (if they are privileged enough) trying to make sense of what the administration refers to as an “online education”. One of the biggest challenges one may have faced as a fresher attending the University online is the pressure to prove their likeability to other people. This aspect manifests itself quite differently offline as conversations and plans have a way of flowing naturally, leaving little to no space for any kind of pretence or forcefulness. Who you are, what you should be, and how you’re expected to be the gap between these three personas seems to become wider and wider as we spend more time away from real existence. Now, both the external and internal worlds have mixed to leave no balance and no actual place to go to when in need of some respite. Life at home is inextricably tied to visualizing your life outside. While opening up things is still not viable, I somehow wish people would remind themselves of the larger lessons these years were meant to teach us. That of slowing down and easing up. Not having to do too many things in too little time and feeling like you’re losing out on all of it. Not much has changed in terms of measuring levels of productivity. These years seem to have hit everyone differently yet it’s as if we are moving far away from all sorts of individuality. 

Seizing a Sliver of Hope 

While I sit at home, I’ve formed my own set of simple pleasures and little yet significant sources of joy. For homebodies and introverts, it is comparatively easier to find hope and inspiration to continue, especially if you add some romanticization and a stable home environment into the mix. But, things start to become blurred. The hope that you so strongly rely on gets hidden amidst the uncertainty of the future. You’ve imagined a stage of your life pan out in a specific way and suddenly you have to deal with the destruction of that imagination. It is this living in your head, imagining what could have been and what should be that takes an eventual toll. This toll and turmoil persist especially if you see things and people around you progress and live in ways that somehow resemble how you imagined life to be. It is a persistent struggle between privilege and tip-toeing around how morals come into effect in an ongoing global pandemic. 

For Lost Time and Growth

We all have had to deal with the loss of a substantial amount of time which somehow keeps piling up. Earlier, I didn’t pay enough attention to lost time as it was often made up for. But, now there is grieving not only for all those days and endless memories that could have been but also for ourselves. It is known for a fact that you can’t possibly get to experience and hold everything in life. Things are bound to come to you at their own pace and when you least expect them. This once again starts to seem too simplistic especially when you operate within a limited time frame to make the best of your formative years. 

There is this other thing, though. My creativity helps me breathe, and so I write with all that I have and lay bare all my emotions. I have learnt to cherish every moment and every conversation that I get, even if it’s just in the form of a text or a call because I have realised that that’s all I’m going to get for a while, so might as well hold on to it. And so I dare you, I dare you to hold on to everything that makes your day just a little bit more liveable: scrolling through that relatable meme page or watering that plant or waking up and feeling the sun on your skin, or talking to that one person who stayed by you throughout all of this, and so much more in the form of stardust and pixie rainbows. Anything and everything that can still manage to bring a smile on that face too weary to go on any further and rejuvenate that mind exhausted from deadlines and a failed chance at a “college experience” and everything in between.

And as much as I despise even accepting this, all this time and space with myself has allowed me to grow and sustain myself in a manner that no other space or degree could have. Yes, had I been in college, my experiences and my confrontations would have looked differently but am I willing to trade off finding my voice during the pandemic with the hope of something better? No. I let go of my time and energy, wondering the possibilities and plausibilities, and yet it has only made me more miserable. You don’t satiate your hunger by staying hungry, you do it by the act of going and getting food. And so, if you are an introvert or an extrovert or just a person still in the excavation of finding themselves, find your tether. It can be your family, your friends, or just the hope of meeting your favorite person or having cheese chilly Maggi in your college Nescafe for the first time or just being amid Delhi University’s red walls: surrounded by brilliant minds and a vision to aspire more, dream more, and act more. Hold on, so that when you really get the chance to be out there in the world, you are your most vulnerable unapologetic self, in the most YOU way possible.

Featured Image Credits: Vyamin

Annanya Chaturvedi
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A Rundown of DU’s Indifference to our Plight

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The University of Delhi (DU) has outdone itself in willfully failing to acknowledge the grievances of its students and teachers by deciding to conduct OBEs amidst the collective trauma that the country is going through. This article is an exploration of the gravity of the issue, the opinions of those whose well-being is the most at stake and the secondary considerations that cannot be overlooked.

“ In extraordinary times like these however, it’s so integral to give yourself the benefit of the doubt. This is not the time to feel guilt or regret over days spent taking care of your physical and mental health rather than being conventionally productive”.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused an upheaval in the functioning of the country as palpable fear and anxiety to loom around its people, exacerbated by the ever-proliferating number of cases and deaths. Today, the insanely overburdened and under-equipped health infrastructure of the country is nearing its collapse as it faces shortages of hospital beds, medical equipment, treatment drugs, and healthcare workforce. Despite the best efforts of the healthcare workers and those who’re religiously following all precautionary measures against the virus, innumerable families are currently grieving the loss of their loved ones, some of whom couldn’t even get the resources they needed to recover. The government has barely taken any concrete measures besides willfully failing to provide any sort of relief to those who are suffering. This blatant disregard for the plight of the common people has prompted students all over the country, who themselves might be suffering physically or mentally or might be taking care of their family members who are COVID-19 positive, to take up the task of verifying and amplifying pandemic- related resources, regardless of whether they have time to spare or not.

Numerous college societies and student-run NGOs have started their COVID-19 relief helplines to increase the accessibility of these extremely limited resources. The upsetting reality is that millions of people today are relying heavily on the mental effort, energy, and hours invested by these students in helping others, while the government continues to be indifferent. To add to the mayhem, the University of Delhi (DU) has decided to hold the final examinations of second and final year students, thereby adding to the distress and emotional anguish of lakhs of students who are already anxious about and preoccupied with taking care of themselves, their families and others in need. This has resulted in widespread criticism from the affected students, their teachers, and unions like the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) as the consensus among all is that the University’s resolution to conduct examinations in such emotionally and physically challenging times reflects its lack of empathy for those it claims to serve.

Since the onset of the pandemic, DU has conducted online semester examinations thrice. Each time, its decision to hold OBEs was based on the unfounded assumption that all its students, backed by varying family incomes, had the necessary facilities to attend classes and sit for their exams smoothly. If there’s one thing that’s stayed constant throughout last year, it’s the University’s disinterest in considering the specific privileges of a proportion of its students, or lack thereof. Except for this time, the frightful state of the country and its toll on the mental and physical health of the students has further added to their adversity. A common sentiment shared by most students and professors is that it is out rightly brutal on the University’s part to subject
them to such mental pressure at a time when the majority of them are grieving the loss of a relative or are down high fever, severe body ache and other ghastly symptoms of COVID-19.

Image caption: DU students to DU Beat

“We’ve already lost some of our colleagues, so many are suffering and there’s no record of the number of students who are currently COVID-19 positive. The exams scheduled for May end must be postponed immediately,” said Mr. Rajib Ray, the President of DUTA, who expressed these concerns in a letter to the acting Vice-Chancellor and appealed for the extension of deadlines of Internal Assessments as well.

(Read more: DUTA’s letter to the acting Vice-Chancellor )

Even more than the University’s lack of consideration and understanding, what’s agitating the concerned students and teachers the most is the dearth of response from the University’s end for their queries, appeals, and grievances. Time and again DU has reinforced its inability to take a proper stance to back its students and its teachers. It is only after a series of requests, mass protests, strikes, and other forms of demonstration that the University feels compelled to take some sort of action. The current situation however has thrown several issues out into the open, one of them being whether the University is politically hindered and is unable to support its students and teachers and help them. It feels as if the modus operandi of the institutional structure disallows it to consider all viewpoints and perspectives, even if they go against the establishment. There are a lot of confusing elements at play and it’s normal for any student to get utterly perplexed and dejected by the overwhelming amount of things happening around. Firstly, as mentioned, the youth is significantly and virtually running the health infrastructure. It’s not as if students have an enormous amount of free time but the kind of helplessness that has pervaded and persisted has inevitably forced us to take the reins of the situation into our hands. While some colleges have ensured and implemented some amount of leniency, the experience across the University has been extremely varied. Moreover, while Universities like Ambedkar, NIFT, Delhi Technological University all have suspended regular classes, the situation isn’t as smooth and comfortable for the country at large. The recent incident at IIT Kharagpur is a testament to that.

Secondly, when it comes to the conduction of OBE examinations for the second and third-year students there’s a lot of conversation and an overall explosion of opinions from all sides which have to be heard and considered before the University takes any decision. Postponing exams could be a probable cause for added pressure later on, as it will not only hinder further academic prospects for the final year students but also rests on an idealistic
assumption that things will improve fast. The students studying at Delhi University come from all over the country and with such a diverse demographic, going ahead with the exams at a time when the country is burning is downright inhuman. “Firstly it’s not an easy yes or no when it comes to cancelling exams altogether. We need to realize how we are dealing with a lot of different people and individual differences. We need to consider the problem of the third-year students fulfilling their academic timeline which is integral for pursuing their Master’s and can reflect in their employment as well.” says Karthika Sajeev, President of the LSR Student Union.

There must be a realization that the consequences of the second wave of the pandemic are way more drastic and sudden as opposed to the first wave, making this year a substantially difficult year to keep a track of all your commitments. Sajeev further points out how for most students it is physically and mentally impossible to sit for exams let alone attend classes. According to her, even the faculty members are not in the right mind space to properly devote themselves. Attendance has gone down significantly, with most classes not even seeing fifty percent of students turning up. “Last year the situation was better but we need to realise how the situation plays out in multiple ways. We have yet to receive our results from the last semester and if the university goes on ahead with the examinations, who is going to evaluate them?” Sajeev remarks on the lack of clarity and communication from the University’s end. Indian Universities indefinitely have a habit of valuing hustle culture over normal, human concepts such as taking breaks, work-life balance, etc. With that being said, if the university goes ahead with the examination it will be a highly discriminatory move against those who are COVID-19 positive and have lost their family members. Some might argue that online classes are relatively easier to navigate. We understand that disrupting the entire academic calendar of an institute as significant as the University of Delhi isn’t an easy decision. However, providing students and teachers with absolutely no relief after a tsunami of tragedies in the country is heartless, to say the least.

“The University has made no attempt to provide relief to the families of the teachers we’ve lost, the teachers who have to teach despite not having the mental bandwidth for it, the students who are suffering or the ad hoc teachers who lack essential job privileges. Moreover, the propagation of fake news by the government to divert people’s attention from genuine concerns of the aggrieved and its inconsiderable and inconsistent contribution to dealing with the pandemic crisis have shown its utter disregard for the well-being of its citizens,” said Miss Abha Dev Habib from DUTA. The idea isn’t about flexibility as much as a heartless approach being employed to deal with the situation. Citizens are left, alienated, and disowned to look out for themselves. There’s no idea of a welfare state looking after the necessities. No scope of communication with any regard or empathy for those who’ve been potentially traumatized for the rest of their lives.

“Exams or no exams, classes suspended or not, we must reach a larger and conscious acknowledgement of the fact that we all need to slow down”.

Image caption: “Exams or no exams, classes suspended or not, we must reach a larger and conscious acknowledgement of the fact that we all need to slow down”.
Image credits: Elzeline Kooy

At one instance, teachers and students are struggling to find Oxygen and Remdevisir leads, and the very next moment you’re struggling to finish assignments, attend lectures, take notes and juggle internships side by side. This is to assume you’ve not been affected directly by the pandemic. When you’re running pillar to post, struggling to find basic resources that should otherwise be easily accessible, completely ruptured by the whirlpool of uncertainty around, you can’t possibly think of grueling yourself further with the complicated OBE exams. “Our session will get over on the 30th of April, most Internal Assessments are already there with the respective professors. At this point it’s all about how the University responds. We’ve sent emails to the Vice Chancellor, the Dean and we just hope that the University makes a quick decision in the favor of the student and faculty body.” Sajeev points out with a hint of optimism.

Once again the question that arises is of the complete breakdown of all mechanisms to seek redressal. As brought forth by Sajeev, a lot of DU colleges do not have an active student body that will actively communicate the students’ grievances while also keeping in contact with the faculty members. The situation has lapsed beyond control and one is left to realise that often students have to face crises disproportionately. It’s imperative to remember that the principal reason for the existence of the University is to bring value to its students and professors. The institute was built to serve us and not the other way round. And no matter how strenuous it gets to navigate the right path to collective betterment, it is still vitally important that the University places the well-being of the students and teachers over all secondary considerations, at every step of the way, including this very moment. And the need of the hour is to let the affected parties decide for themselves what the best approach to soothe their afflictions would be. What holds paramount importance right now is that the grievances and opinions of the students and professors, the ones who are the most
affected by the University’s decision, are heard and entertained, despite what the University may consider to be the better judgment. It is quite certain that the mental and psychological consequences of the impact will be deep- rooted. At present, there are no clear-cut solutions to the problems that we as students and as citizens of this exhausted country are facing. Exams or no exams, classes suspended or not, we must reach a larger and conscious acknowledgement of the fact that we all need to slow down. We all need to give each other the space to grieve, process our emotions, collect our thoughts or simply take a break. There is no certainty of the fact that things will get relatively better. In extraordinary times like these however, it’s so integral to give yourself the benefit of the doubt. This is not the time to feel guilt or regret over days spent taking care of your physical and mental health rather than being conventionally productive. Our only hope is that things will get better. People will look out and support each other. empathy will replace apathy, The government will be held accountable for the grave terror they’ve carelessly caused. And, most importantly the voice of the youth will be heard.

Read Also:
https://dubeat.com/2021/04/the-circus-of-du-apathy/
https://dubeat.com/2021/04/calls-for-covid-care-centres-for-du-teachers-and-students-intensifies/

Featured Image Credits: LA Johnson, National Public Radio

Tara Kalra
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Shirley Khurana
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Farewell Season

In the Hope of Relief from the Hellish cycle

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As I said, there is no escape from this cycle, but there is relief for sure. Relief you will find in trying, be it these matters of national importance or your personal calling. There is calm for sure in giving it another go. College tests you in all ways possible, it is after all our first step into the real world. 

Passing and leaping over many deadlines, I have come to this, my last article for DU Beat. In the past few months, the horrors of the blank page have devoured me, the blinking cursor, and the lying pencil have become devils waiting for me. It’s hard to write but it’s a lot harder to write daily. As I prepare myself to leave college and the excellent organisation of DUB (the source of my entire identity in college), the fear of blank pages is still on my back, chasing me every now and then. 

 

Though, I entered college with a different set of fears altogether, this blank page didn’t even exist then. There were lists of things to be done and places to be visited, all huddled in a diary that has preserved tears from my school days. So in my college of just about one year or maybe some months more than that, I am happy to say, I never got the time to even visit back that diary. Lists were made daily and were lost in scours of pages in my wallet or got mixed up with bank receipts or pink tickets from DTC. 

 

I still remember my first article written about DU titled “Entering DU via Whatsapp”. The 2021 student in me wrote, actually posed the question- “So will we, the first batch to join DU virtually, be able to foster friendships that will go beyond similar watch and playlists?” Hardly knowing that I was about to lose almost every friend, I had at that moment. The problem then was to meet those friends in person, the problem today is we haven’t even talked since last year. The best thing about DU or in fact any college is the dynamic and the huge spectrum of problems that it throws at you. From not giving physical degrees to students, suspending them for screening a documentary, and not allowing elections of student unions for more than three years, to heartbreaks, broken friendships, loneliness, and inferiority complex, it gives us all. 

 

There is actually no escape from this hellish cycle, I could have painted this article with beautiful nostalgia for red-bricked walls, mustered up some beautiful imagery about the campus, a short anecdote from Khan market and a quick motivational line at the end asking you all to strive towards change. (Would have made a cute article though.) But that’s the sad part, change here has been going backwards and there seems to be no anchor strong enough to stop this ship from sailing towards the wrong side. So the challenge for you, all upcoming ones, is not to drive towards change but rather to try and stop it from happening. Be it censorship of our syllabuses (please read Bama, Sukirtharani and Mahasweta Devi’s work) or rather a complete refurbishing of them, turning our colleges into the sanctum of their ideological frameworks, using our hostel lands as gaushalas, organising dubious and extremely biased literature festivals, not paying our karamcharis and teachers their salaries or allowing men who call for genocide as guests of honor in our fests. The tide of ideological supremacy is gulping the entire nation into it, and so are going down our universities deep into it. More than anything the change and push towards privatisation of education needs to be stopped. More than change and more than an urge to become something else, what is of urgent importance is for us to be students – learners and practitioners. 

 

As I said, there is no escape from this cycle, but there is relief for sure. Relief you will find in trying, be it these matters of national importance or your personal calling. There is calm for sure in giving it another go. College tests you in all ways possible, it is after all our first step into the real world. 

 

But there is more that our time and circumstances demand, to be students aware of the changes being induced towards them, those who know the power of asking questions and use it correctly. It’s not a call to fight or to resist on streets, this is a call to be conscious of things going around, to question while you sit in your class and the teacher sushes down an argument by other student on the pretext of fear, to join in and understand the problems of karlamcharis and teachers, to point out language imposition and discrimination of any sort when you see it. This is a call to ask for your college to be a part of DUSU, for if this university still remains a democratic space, every college student must get the right to vote for their union representatives. There is no escape but the relief will be in democracy only, both at the national, college and personal level. 

 

Luckily, I found my relief in DU Beat and the people who work here, for which I will remain grateful forever. Be it my personal woes or the university ones, I got the platform to address them all. But yes, the fear of blank pages and the fear of not being a student anymore devours me, but I will try to keep refreshing my set of fears and to keep the student in me alive, always. 

In hope of relief. 

 

Kashish Shivani

[email protected]

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The Complexities of Nature as a Muse for Art

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Nature has inspired art in a myriad of ways, be it music, literature, movies or paintings. This has acted as a tool to not only connect with the world around one but also rediscover it through aesthetic eyes.

Our art is an extension of a never-ending quest for soul searching, a gaze into the depths of our being- into the depths of what lies around us. We find inspiration in the complexities of the world around us, in the bustling streets of the city and the quaint hills of the countryside. The world around us in all of its natural glory is but our greatest muse- nature brings out feelings and emotions and beautiful art from within the depths of our mental limitations.

Nature is our greatest artistic muse, and it has inspired many great works in the past- both overtly and covertly. It has manifested as a backdrop for startling drama and chaos as well as symbolised inner meanings of what artists try to bring out, it often takes a centre stage as the overarching theme and umbrella under which everything unfolds, be it literature, movies and paintings. Our subtle and romantic relationship with the beauty of nature- be it snowy peaked mountains or pinky sandy beaches, the leafy green of a luscious hillside or the sensual golden of dunes in the desert inspires both performative and literary art in inexplicable ways.

In both movies and music, nature is infused with emotion and the sounds of nature are used to complement the dialogue and artistry of the medium. A lot of music is derived from the sound and essence of nature, like Chopin’s raindrops, inspired by the soft mellow sound of raindrops falling. In many movies, nature is used strategically not only to contribute to magnificent sets but also woven into subtle aspects of the plot, like the movie October, and the Shiuli flower, after which the lead female character is named.

In literature, some of the most famous work has been inspired by or symbolised through nature. William Shakespeare’s iconic “Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s Day” is a sonnet written comparing his lover to a summer’s day, using it as an allegory to bring out both beauty and immortality. This has been used as a poem of love for time immemorial- a testament to the endless beauty of nature and natural allegories. Many of Wordsworth’s poetry, like “Daffodils” and “I wander lonely as a cloud”, are inspired by the humaneness of aspects of nature, speaking to the emotions of loneliness and happiness subjectively. In these poems, the artist has a simplistic yet profound relationship both with his art as well as the nature that inspired it- a versatile canvas as well as a theme for art across time and space. Other poetry and great works of literature, like the Tempest, refer to deeper symbolic themes like a psychological storm and experiences of confusion, of conflict both inward and between characters, as well as a backdrop for action and drama.

Often, art depicts nature in its most explicit form, as we see in the breathtaking painting Starry Night by Van Gogh, Water Lilies by Monet or Sunlight and Shadow by Heade. These are not only vivid portrayals of nature but also expressive of the implicit emotions and feelings behind these portrayals, the angst or the wander, the light and the shadow.

Nature has a complicated relationship with the different kinds of art as well as the artist, and sometimes this journey of emulating nature in one’s art can be a spiritual experience of connecting with something bigger than oneself.

 

 

Read also:

https://dubeat.com/2015/03/teri-collaboration-tetra-pak-launches-network-nature/

https://dubeat.com/2012/10/signature-campaign-by-tibetan-youth-congress/

https://dubeat.com/2020/04/the-call-for-earths-voice-to-be-heard/

https://dubeat.com/2015/11/peaking-into-the-real-heaven-on-earth-kashmir-du-beat/

 

 

Featured Image Credits: Starry Nights

 

Riddhi Mukherjee

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Earth Day: DU’s Goblet of Green Smiles

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This Earth Day – 22nd April, 2021 – is a day for celebration. 2020 has been very merciful, in terms of environmental pollution of Earth, thanks to the lockdown. But in the long run, what are the contributions of DU to environmentalism?

The prolonged lockdown that was put in place also bought human-origin pollutants to an all-time low and has greatly benefitted Earth to remediate its badly injured environment – gave some time for the self-care of Earth. Even though last year has granted some brief respite from pollution, the vigil of environmentalists isn’t – for there is a long way to go in this ‘domain’ before we could take any rest (Thank you for such beautiful lines, Frost!). And in this ongoing ‘war’, it must imperative that each and every one of us contributes to it in every possible way we can. And when contribution at an individual level is that imperative, the need for the same from organizations can’t be underscored enough. So, how is our DU doing in this regard?

First off, Environmental Studies (EVS) is one of the compulsory courses that students of Delhi University have to study for a semester under Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses (AECC). This has been implemented under the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) to make the students aware of the environment they reside in. From covering the basics of the environment to raising issues about the tortures done on the same by human actions; the course covers it all.  Considering the fact that zero empathy is shown by most individuals from our generation towards nature, the above course is needed – very much. Not even the invisible creator of this universe can undermine the importance embodied to our beloved Earth. Earth can be personified as a loving mother, desperately longing for her son (humans in this context) to return back only to be ignored by the latter. The course acts as a connecting bridge between the students and nature; within whose pallu we used to hide while playing hide and seek in our childhood. Moments as such are only just a figment of the tangled webs of our memories.

However, ask any student about their likeness towards and most of them will react with a disgusted look. “EVS kisko pasand hai, yaar?” is the most common statement that can be heard over almost all the tongues. Be it the syllabus or the subject itself, you’ll hardly find a student interested in the same. The dislike towards the subject is so much that an interested student would be no less than an alien for many (but no less than a god for notes before exams).

“I am interested in knowing about the environment but the syllabus rendered to the subject is an ultimate thumbs down for me. I mostly sleep in all of the classes.” – Anonymous

The syllabus needs to be changed, no arguments on the same. The entire syllabus excluding a topic or two is a mere repetition of what has already been taught to us in school days. From ecosystems to the various kinds of pollution, students already have an idea about these. Learning about already known things is a bit of a turn-off, isn’t it? At least for me, it is. Including topics such as the philosophy of nature, sociology of nature, energy science etc. is the need of the hour. Experiments are being carried out in nature with the passing of each day. Young environmentalists are emerging one after another with ideas that deserve truck-loads of praise. We are tired of learning the same things again and again. Change in the syllabus is the only action that can save students from the boredom attributed to the same.

“We have an excellent teacher for environmental studies. However, the I-don’t-care attitude portrayed by my fellow classmates is discouraging. They need to learn to be more respectful.” – Anonymous

Students are to be brought in a negative light as well for some reasons. The boredom attributed to the same is understandable. However, one shouldn’t completely neglect a subject in its entirety. Till the time the current syllabus is being taught, one should at least give an effort to know the contents of the same. Knowledge never goes to waste. Only if we respect a subject, the subject will respect us back. The same goes for the environment as well. Respect is a two-way virtue.

But not stopping with that, the colleges have also engaged in many short-term measures to curb environmental pollution immediately. Many colleges have taken concrete steps to make their campuses more environment-friendly – the details of which are available on their websites. Many colleges like Hindu College, Mata Sundri College, Sri Aurobindo College have implemented various measures to minimize the adverse impact they have on the environment. It is noteworthy that Hindu College has ‘acoustically enclosed’ its generator – in an attempt to address noise pollution, something that is often overlooked by many. Some DU colleges have set up Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) as per the mandate of the Union Grants Commission (UGC) in a bid to incentivize colleges to be more active in the remediation of environmental pollution. Though colleges have set up bio-gas plants, solar plants, rainwater harvesting, plastic-free campuses, efficient electrical appliances, encouraged use of public transport and bicycles, promoted paperless documentation, and planted many trees as part of Van Mahotsav, the problem inherent here is that the shoddy implementation of these measures. Though there are various measures on paper, there are only very few which have been implemented satisfactorily; many haven’t been implemented yet or are stagnant halfway. But it is at least encouraging that DU has some environmental remediation measures on paper and we can only hope and voice that their implementation must be fast-tracked and made more efficient.

However, despite this, the Eco Clubs set up by the students of various colleges offer a ray of hope that even if the colleges slack, there are students who don’t. Even during the pandemic, the Clubs have been active – recruiting members and conducting various webinars and other activities online. For example, the Eco Club of Sri Venkateswara College have conducted a webinar on ‘Know your Wetlands’ and competitions associated with it. Taking their work very seriously, the members of the club have even travelled to the college to check on the vermicomposting pit they had set up – during the pandemic. This shows how dedicated these students are to the welfare of Earth, contributing in every way they can – creating vermicompost to manage waste, planting trees, clearing waste off public places. The dedication of these students to this cause shows light to humanity on how just important the environment is. And it also promises a better and brighter future in which youngsters take care of Earth consciously.

Most recently, in the pursuit of environmental remediation, DU has announced that it would set up a School of Climate Change and Sustainability (DSCC&S) with Professor C R Babu – a renowned environmental scientist – under the Institute of Eminence scheme. As per the official statement, “DSCC&S will take up research in priority areas like how to make our cities climate resilient? How to achieve sustainability in the face of environmental challenges?” It will encourage and incentivize research and development in sustainable development pursuits – resource enhancement, energy, resource recycling, waste management amongst others. This could very well catapult India into a position to comfortably navigate economic development while cutting on carbon emissions as per the Paris Agreement. But this stands upon the assumption that the implementation is fast and efficient and DU must make sure it is – for Earth is above everything else: religions, linguistics, boundaries, countries, continents.

In a nutshell, on this Earth Day let’s promise ourselves to at least be a bit more attentive in our EVS classes and gather the unknown from them. Bringing a bit of Indian philosophy at the end, mother Earth can be everything. She can be sattvic i.e. calm and all the good things; however she can be tamasic as well. The COVID-19 pandemic is nothing but mother Earth making us realise the atrocities that she had faced because of us – evident from the fact that the environment has been much healthier in 2020 than it has been for a long, long time. The only planet kind enough to nurture life is Earth and let’s make sure it stays that way and doesn’t crumble into a barren wasteland.

Feature Image Credits : Sourav Sreshth

 

Himasweeta Sarma

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Harish Leela Ningam

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Ambedkar: The Preamble You Know, and the Stories You Don’t

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The Architect of the Indian Constitution, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar left us our Constitution as his legacy. We all know about his legacy, but do we know about the story of its making? Let’s talk more about Ambedkar and the Preamble.

The Constitution – the document that gave the coveted status of ‘Republic’ to India – is the result of years of hard work of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, who analyzed every other constitution that existed to make sure that India received the very best that it can. The Constituent Assembly worked together for a long time. During this time, all of its members debated each and every word that they wrote on the Constitution.

When we work on our college projects or society-work, however hard the work may be, we bond with our teammates and create memories – memories which we would recall as fond anecdotes in our later years. So, thinking about the magnitude of ‘Constitution-making’ in terms of a project, we can only imagine the number of stories behind each word of the Constitution.

Don’t worry, I am not going to talk about different articles like a smug lawyer; I am going to talk about the stories behind them, or rather, the stories between Ambedkar and the Preamble. Because, let’s face it, the Preamble is the only part of the Constitution that we actually know. (Even if it is because we poured over it in our good old NCERTs while bored in class.)

The Preamble is the Identity Card or the ‘horoscope’ of the Constitution. It is the soul and substance of our Constitution. Being the introduction or the preface of the Constitution, it is naturally at the very beginning of the Constitution. But did you know that the Preamble was written at the very end?

This was because the Constitution makers did not want the Preamble to be ‘misleading’ about the Constitution; they did not want it to say things that weren’t in the document. That’s why the Preamble by Ambedkar was taken up for discussion at the very end, on 17th October 1949 – just 39 days before its adoption.

But it doesn’t end here; the ‘Aims and Objectives Resolution’ is the source of the Preamble. It is after J.L. Nehru proposes it on 17th December 1946 that the Preamble comes into play on 22nd January 1947. Here, the resolution contained the ‘blueprint’ of the Constitution that the makers had to follow. So, it was one of the first things that the Assembly debated upon. First, they decided on the Resolution. Then, they wrote the Preamble. Well, there’s some food for thought!

Now, while reading the Preamble, the very first line we see is, “We, the People of India”. Now, what does this statement signify? It says to everyone that India is finally free – it is not a dependency or dominion, but a full-fledged independent Sovereign. But the real significance is that it talks about the power of the Constitution. The Constitution is the most powerful entity in India – but who it gave that power?

The answer is people – the people of India gave the Constitution its power. The principle of autochthony is of utmost significance.

But did anyone ever think of this – what gave the Constituent Assembly the right to use those words? The common people did not elect a single member of the Constituent Assembly. We had no elections! The Members of the erstwhile Provincial Legislative Councils elected them, and the 2nd Cabinet Mission to India, promulgated by the British government, sanctioned them! So, there is no real role of the people here.

Then what gave them the right to use ‘the people of India’?

The answer is this: the Constituent Assembly that the the British Cabinet Mission sanctions to India, a clause of the Government of India Act, 1947 – which was the reason of India’s partition while giving Independence to India and Pakistan – which stipulates that the Constitution drafted must be sent to the British before adoption. But India didn’t send it; or rather, Ambedkar didn’t. When asked about it, he said nonchalantly, “I forgot about it. It was a procedural error.”

And why is this mistake, a truly beautiful and wonderful ‘mistake’?

When Ambedkar ‘forgot’ about it, he prevented the Constitution from reaching the British, thus making our Constitution completely free from external influence. This is what gives them the right to use ‘We, the People of India’ (P.s. it is a verbatim copy from the Constitution of the USA).

Many people don’t know this, but the words ‘Socialist’ and ‘Secular’ are not in the original Preamble by Ambedkar. They come into addition later by the 42nd Constitution Amendment Act by the Indira Gandhi government during the Emergency.

Now rises the really troubling question? Why? Why would a person like B.R. Ambedkar leave out these two words which were so crucial to the nature of the Indian state?

The answer is that he didn’t. He had these principles in the Constitution, although in a different form. He just didn’t use the term “socialist”, as it directly referred to Marxist socialism during the 1950s. Under Marxism, the economic philosophy says that the infrastructure, properties and ultimately, the economy is under control of the state. There is no private property, and people receive an equal income.

However, Ambedkar didn’t want this kind of socialism for India. Rather, he wanted Democratic Socialism. It is a blend of Gandhian socialism and Marxism, and income is equal in division among people. Instead, people get equal opportunities to earn in a ‘mixed’ economy. Both the public and private sectors play. So, since Ambedkar didn’t want the world to misinterpret India as a Marxist state, he didn’t include the word ‘Socialist’ in the Preamble. So, how did he put it then? He wrote the concept in the Preamble as ‘Equality, of status and opportunity“.

As for ‘Secular’, Ambedkar didn’t include it because secularism referred to ‘Western Secularism’ in the 1950s, which Ambedkar didn’t want for India. Western secularism refers to the complete and absolute separation of powers between the Church and the State.
For example, if there is any discrimination in any religion, the state doesn’t interfere, even though the government might be aware of it.

Ambedkar didn’t want that for India– instead, he wanted a positive concept of secularism. Ambedkar wanted India to have no state religion, but if anyone commits anti-national activities or discrimination in the name of religion, he wanted the government to interfere and rectify the wrong. So, how did he put it in the Preamble (take a second, go through the text and see if you can find, lol)? He wrote what he wanted as ‘Liberty, of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship’. Beautifully brilliant, isn’t it? All credits to Dr. Ambedkar. But why did Indira Gandhi then put it in the amendment? After the Emergency, she made the amendment to put out a strong political statement.

Wow, so much story in just 14 lines and this isn’t even the end yet. There is a long debate on whether the Preamble is a part of the Constitution or not (it has been established that it is). There is a debate on if you can amend it (you can be, save for the fundamental features), if you can derive power from it, if you can justify it, and so many more. This is all thanks to one man, the great Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

Read also: https://dubeat.com/2020/04/dr-b-r-ambedkar-and-caste-system/

Image Credits:

Harish Neela Lingam

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Farewell: Mourning our Lost Memories and Experiences

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With graduation right around the corner, third-years sit by as they lose all hope of getting a physical farewell, or any of the college experiences for that matter. DU Beat spoke to some of them in order to get an insight into their psyche and know the popular opinion that has been going around.

The pandemic has taken away a lot of things from us, but most of all, it has stolen away some of the most beautiful days of one’s life — a real chance at a college experience. With having completed a year, confined to the four walls of our room, we sit and wonder as our dreams, hopes, ambitions fade away into the lone. 

Anushree Joshi, a third-year student at LSR says, “The greatest loss of finishing college online is the ability to sit and look my peers in the eyes as they tell me about their days and I tell them about mine. The anxiety of things ending, in any normal year, would be wrapped up in the hullabaloo of celebration — multiple farewells, graduation dinners, and the lasts of meals and outings.”

But there’s a pang of ineffable sadness now, in knowing that some of the teachers who have changed the way I look at life have never even seen my face in real life, or might not remember it. It’s a loss much less significant than what this world is experiencing right now in different ways, but it’s a loss incredibly personal and irreparable,” she added.

Another, 3rd-year History major Aanya Wig elaborated on her wishlist for the New Year’s this year, “I wished to go back to campus, I wish I could sit in class and attend a lecture, I wished I could sit in the sun in the front lawns, I wished to get another vada pao, I wished I could hear the chirpy voices in the corridor, I wished to walk on campus again, and I wished to spend a little more time with the wonderful women at college.”

How does one then even begin to grapple with such questions, then? During the past year, people have lost people, their incomes, and even their interest in anything and everything around. The thought of bidding goodbye to such spaces of liberalism and inclusivity to be out there in the ‘real world’ is frightening enough that now, we even have to deal with not being able to go back to college for that one last time: sit in those lush green lawns, or juggle between classes as you order that cup of ice tea or chilly cheese Maggi from the Nescafé and sit at your favourite spot which makes you feel home with people who have stayed with you during the past three years, even when everyone else left. How does one even begin to get closure?

I don’t think the idea of online classes was bad in itself because yes, it was the need of the hour, but like million other things, this idea was also not executed well. Not only the students, but the teachers also faced a lot of issues to get adjusted to this new normal. Not to mention how it has adversely affected the process of learning in itself,” expressed Somya Jain, an Economics major at LSR.

Shivani Dadhwal, a KNC student elaborated on the losses we have all faced as a collective,

Having spent 50% of the time at online college is sad, there are so many unfinished Nescafé ice teas, college gang trips, classes, fests, outfits to wear to college, impromptu plans, whacky canteen food combinations, conversations and jokes. Abruptly, one was made to pack it all up and just walk away.”

It’s okay to mourn, it’s okay to get disheartened or even feel at loss here, but it’s not okay to not gift yourself the right to celebrate your own graduation. You deserve this farewell (even if it’s online) more than anyone else and hold on to your memories, learnings, and celebrations for your tomorrow will find you much farther than where you are today.

 

Featured Image Credits: DU Updates

 

Annanya Chaturvedi

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Delirium of Destruction: Memories of a Massacre

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DU Beat remembers the wave of desolation and indignity on the crest of which our struggle for independence intensified. In recovering the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre from the tomes of history, we highlight the helpless people, their screams petrified within the bounds of time.

The colonial cruelties that crushed the soul of our country, clipped its wings of wealth, and bled dry its cornucopia with whiplashes of indignity, are no secret. We remember – and we carry these wounds of history with our heads held high. But there is perhaps a dilution in modern thought conscious of the extent to which we were preyed upon.

Thus, we attempt to renew the memories of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, a turning point of the Nationalist Struggle. Let us no longer draw away from the blood that was shed before the shedding of our shackles. Let us revisit the susurrus tidings of blood that beckoned the Baisakhi of 1919, and appraise the persistence of the massacre in popular memory.

The greatest ordeal that befell our countrymen was perhaps that of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

In a cold, premeditated hand, General Dyers, completely aware about the numbers, walked into the Bagh with an intent to kill and dealt a grievous offence against India and humanity the world over.

He ordered fifty soldiers to open fire on a peaceful gathering of men, women, children and infants cooped up in the bagh, unrelenting till the ammo had run out. As shot after shot was fired, the people – who were not even given a chance to disperse – fell. But in their felling, they lifted India and its cry against imperialism. For this incident made the fire in the hearts of Indians to rage – rage into a roaring fire that would eventually burn the British Raj in India.

The bullet hole remnants of the unconscionable attack on humanity that happened on that fateful Baisakhi of 1919.

The Massacre – the news of the murder of a six-week old baby and countless others – was what made Indians stir. It was what made Indians understand that Britishers had to be shown the door. What made moderates realize that it was not okay for the British to rule us. What made Gandhiji – who was settling for partial autonomy – raise a call for Purna Swaraj. And when Gandhiji called, the masses took to it.

It is not wrong to say that Dyers had cost the British their golden egg-laying goose. For even though there was a simmering discontent against the British regime, there was no call for complete independence then. But the Massacre was the spark – the spark which set the fire of Purna Swaraj in the hearts and minds of Indians. Just like the Enfield rifle was to the First War of Independence, the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre was to the Freedom Struggle. It was the point of no return.

Recovering a massacre from the tomes of history, we turn to books, movies and art to glean off their meaning – their interpretation and their version – of the Massacre. And by consulting these ingredients of popular culture, we can get to see how the Massacre occupied the minds of its contemporaries and their successors. A short example of this can be seen in a scene of the acclaimed series Downton Abbey: At Lady Rose’s wedding (Season 5, Episode 8), when Lady Grantham asks about British India, Lord Flitshire replies that India is a “wonderful country” and “Bombay is a marvellous city” and Shrimpie adds that “Amritsar was a very unfortunate incident, ordered by a foolish man.”

But Lord Sinderby doesn’t agree with him and says that Dyers was doing his duty, saying that we can agree to disagree. But Lord Grantham cuts in “I hesitate to remind you that Shrimpie knows India and you don’t.” This conversation shows how deeply divided and opposed were people’s notion of the Massacre – how people viewed the incident and its implications.

Jallianwala Bagh massacre: How 1,650 bullets changed the course of India's freedom struggle - Times of India
This single event pivoted the entire course of Indian Freedom Struggle, for the better.

The conversation we saw above was the impact of the Massacre on erstwhile European society, particularly in Britain – some supported Dyers while others didn’t. It must be noted that the House of Commons in English Parliament denounced Dyers and the other House of Lords heroized Dyers for his action. Though the commission of enquiry – Hunter Commission – criticised him, he was not put to a judicial trial and when he died – unrepentant – he was given both a military and civic funeral.

But on the other side of this coin are movies like Phillauri, Rang De Basanti, Legend of Bhagat Singh, Gandhi, Jallianwala Bagh who show a heart-rending account of the Massacre and its implication – how it became the turning point in the Freedom Struggle. Particularly Phillauri, which views the massacre under the lens of romance, adds a tinge of humaneness to the Massacre – that the murdered were not just numbers, but persons who had families, friends and partners waiting for them, persons to whom they never went back. Persons who wanted to avenge their deaths, as in the book written by Anita Anand – The Patient Assassin. In this book, which follows the journey of Udham Singh from Punjab to Germany, Russia, Mexico, California, and ultimately London – all with the single purpose of killing the man responsible for the Massacre, sheds out details on the Massacre in ways that have never been seen before – through the eyes of the kin of the victims, the survivors, the avengers.

But this is not the only one about the Massacre – there are many, each with a unique perspective. Jallianwala Bagh Mein Vasant, Midnight’s Children, City of Ghosts, Jallianwala Bagh, 1919: The Real Story, Khooni Vaisakhi are some of the books which have captured something or the other of the Massacre, immortalizing it in the annals of history and literature.

The Jallianwallah Bagh Massacre continues to influence our present!

But it is not that the Massacre had an impact only on its contemporaries – no, it is continuing its influence till date, impacting us even now. Evident from the Jallianwala Bagh: Repression and Retribution , a painting of the Massacre by the Singh twins, which in miniature Mogul style, uses extensive semiotics to convey the omnipotent impact of the incident – the feature image of this piece. And the lead sculpture of the Massacre by a trio of youngsters from Coimbatore only adds strength to the fact that the Jallianwala Bagh is not over – it is a continuing issue that impacts and guides the contemporary society.

It must be something to rejoice as the need for guidance is felt now more than ever – in the times when there are unconscionable assaults on democracy, times when oppression of minorities is on the rise, times when lawlessness reigns. Let the Jallianwala Bagh massacre guide us; let the hundreds of people who laid down their lives seeking a way out of the British Raj guide us. Guide us to reach an innate understanding that Liberty, Justice and Fraternity are pure principles which can’t afford to be scathed. Guide us to take it upon ourselves that the protection of these ideals lies on our shoulders – the society and not the government.

When India finally attained independence in 1947, many declared that the desolation of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre had been dignified. And I say no. No, it has not been dignified. It can never be dignified – as the dignity to the lives lost is not the result but the journey. The martyrs were not dignified by Independence, rather they were dignified by the non-violent show of national consolidation that won us the independence. It is still an ongoing process and the only way we can dignify the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre is by remaining true to the ideals, to safeguard which they lost their lives.

Read Also:

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre
  2. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jallianwala-bagh-massacre-how-1650-bullets-changed-the-course-of-indias-freedom-struggle/articleshow/68752809.cms

Feature Image Credits: Telegraph India

Harish Neela Lingam

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Open-Book Examinations : An Unwanted Surrogate

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With the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the pen and paper mode of examination has been replaced by open-book examinations via online mode. But, is this transition worth the time and tension attributed by the students towards it? 

One cannot deny the concatenations of changes that the world had to witness in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From sacrificing junk food from our favourite cafeterias and savouring our dried up taste buds with lost but not forgotten home cooked food to attending formal meetings over zoom with an ironed shirt above and wrinkled pajamas below. All aspects of life; be it economic or mental was affected by the pandemic and so was the field of education. The closing down of public institutions such as schools, colleges to stop the outspread of the COVID-19 virus meant a full stop to education.

OBEs are a trap. (Image Credits : Medium)

However, the full stop was erased and education continued with the aid of online classes over various platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom, etcetera. The inception of online classes paved the path for the teaching and student community to ponder upon the conduction of exams. How will the exams be held? If held, will the usual pen-paper mode be applicable? If no, then what other alternative can be used? Thus after much thought and colloquy, the alternative of open book exams through online mode was adopted by many universities across the country.

“My mama always said, life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. And then OBE happened…. and now I’m sitting here with my 8.5 CGPA looking at those 9 web page tabs where I looked for content (reference) and can’t recollect much. Trust me, shrimp was better, I miss you Bubba.” – Mikhil Wang, Hindu College, Delhi University with a ‘Forrest Gump’ reference.

My bitter relationship with Open-Book Examination started way back in Class 9 when we were supposed to solve 10 marks in the format of Open-Book Assessment. Thank the lords and CBSE for dismantling the above concept (maybe they read my mind and acknowledged how unfruitful the entire concept was) Fast forward to 2021, here I am impatiently and nervously anxious to appear for my first university level examination but unfortunately via open-book examination process and worse through online mode.

A tweet on OBE. (Image Credits : Pinterest)

First things first, open-book examinations hold no meaning to test a student’s understanding capabilities if the questions are not analytical in nature and being. Direct questions possessing the requirements of merely copy-pasting from the prescribed books does not lead to a holistic development of intellect and an individual at the end. Resources, time and patience; all for jotting down from the books without understanding the concepts. Is it worth it?

Is it fruitful to move forward in academic ventures without even knowing what was taught in the previous years? The fact that the pen and paper mode is what has resulted in the development of rot learning in the education system is accepted. But, at least an effort was made by the student community to know what the concepts are and what they behold. This is completely absent in the OBE mode or better say, Out of Brain Examinations.

Online OBE Exams, a sorcery. (Image Credits : The Quint)

Thirdly, what are the answer sheets marked for in this mode of examination? Only Edward Cullen can enlighten us whether the marks in such examinations are deducted for plagiarism or the required length of answers. On another perspective if no marks are deducted from anyone, does it mean everyone tops? I wish I had the points to answer such questions.

Last but not the least, the technical aspects required for appearing in an online OBEs is what worries every student the most. The academic progressions of a student lies in a privilege that is not accessible to all the students; internet connections. Unavailability and fluctuations in internet services while downloading question papers or uploading answer sheets is every student’s worst nightmare.

A stressful experience in being. (Image Credits : The Quint)

I am clueless about how to prepare and what to prepare. Online classes have been quite unfavorable for me with unstable internet connections most of the time. It seems we are appearing for the OBEs by giving our time and resources just as a formal procedure to get into the next semester and not to assess our growth. 

Shubhamitra Baruah, 1st year student

This is a personal rant. Differences in thought and agreements is what has led to growth of individuals, both literally and philosophically. Till then, let me still be confused and crib about the existence of OBEs.

Read Also : https://dubeat.com/2020/12/freshers-guide-to-online-examinations-obe-2-0/

Himasweeta Sarma

[email protected]

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