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Deshbandhu College Chairperson accused of tampering in college Principal appointment process

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An Executive Member of DUTA, Dr. Yogendra Singh Mathur has accused the Chairperson of Deshbandhu College of tampering with the list of shortlisted candidates for the post of principal.

Executive Member of the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), Dr Yogender Singh Mathur, in a letter written to the Vice Chancellor (VC) has demanded the removal of the Chairman of the Governing Body of Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi. Dr Mathur has also demanded a detailed enquiry into the administrative and financial irregularities that he believes were carried out by consent of the Chairperson which intend to have a structure worth 30 Lakh Rupees be built outside the college canteen.

Alleging gross violations committed in the screening of the applications for the post of Principal, Mathur noted in his letter that the Chairman ignored the screening done by the Screening Committee formed by the Varsity and tampered with the list of shortlisted candidates for the Principal’s post.  In the letter, Mathur also alleged that the names of three candidates, namely Dr Ashutosh Kumar, Dr Vinod Kumar Paliwal, and Dr Charanjeet Singh were wrongfully removed from the list of shortlisted candidates.

Dr. Mathur told DU Beat, “The University had released applications for the post of Principal. A Screening Committee was formed to declare the list of eligible candidates. The Committee had finalized 20 names. But out of those 20 names, the Chairman, without the permission of the Screening Committee, removed 3 names. Then he added 2 names from his own side, one being that of Ajay Arora and the other being Dr. Hem Chand Jain.”

Informing the DU Beat correspondent that Ajay Arora was the officiating Principal of the college for 6 years, he further alleged, “The selection committee had earlier deemed Ajay Arora not suitable for the post of Principal. And now, this gentleman has included his name. The reason behind this being, the Chairman belongs to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and so does Ajay Arora.”

Notably, in his letter to the VC, Dr. Mathur had clearly stated 3 demands. One, the Chairman be removed immediately for the violations committed in the screening of candidates. Two, an acting Principal is appointed immediately as recommended by the Governing Body. And three, a comprehensive enquiry be instituted into the complicit acts of the officiating Principal, Dr. Arora and the Chairman.

Significantly, the letter also conveys Dr. Mathur’s distaste for the alleged tampering of applications, as he condemns the Chairman’s involvement in the “corrupt acts” of the officiating Principal. He alleges the retention of Dr. Arora “illegally by not appointing an Acting principal” a tactic guided by “considerations to serve each other’s interests”.

Dr. Mathur made multiple other allegations against Dr. Arora, claiming a relative of his, Mr. Shyam Arora was given all major work advertised on the college website but its payment was made to a firm where Mr. Shyam’s wife worked as a proprietor.

In a phone call conversation, the DU Beat correspondent asked Dewesh Kumar Tiwary, President of Deshbandhu College, whether he knew anything about the Chairman tampering with the list of candidates for the Principal’s post. Answering the same, he remarked, “Sorry. We haven’t been informed about any such tampering. I am only aware that the candidates’ list has been finalized. And now, only the interview is yet to take place.”

On a telephonic conversation in response to being asked about the chairperson being accused of tampering with the list of shortlisted candidates, Dr. Arora told DU Beat that “There are set University guidelines and as per those guidelines, the screening committee is bound to follow those in every college. The chairman alone is not the screening committee; the committee consists of other members also”.

DU Beat attempted to get the contact details of the Chairperson from multiple channels in order to incorporate their viewpoint but was unable to do so. It has reached out to the college on its official email id and will update the story once the email is reverted back to.

Feature Image Credits – Deshbandhu College

Kinjal Pandey

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Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

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Arts & Culture

Classics to Read This Summer

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Classics are a great way to do go back in time for an escape and introspection. Take yourself on a great getaway this summer with our ultimate list of must-read classics.

 As the summer is dawning upon us, most of us have already made our post-exam plans. To help pass time in the long vacation, we present a list of time-honoured novels:

  1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847):

Powerful and passionate, this novel explores two generations of characters in the windy moors of 18th and 19th century England. The gothic elements of the novel brings alive the disturbing and haunting melody of the moors through its vibrant characters like Catherine and Heathcliffe.

  1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813):

Probably one of the most famous English novels ever, Austen’s brilliant satire and irony exudes through her characters. A strong-willed Elizabeth Bennet, and the broody, gentlemanly Edward Darcy. As Elizabeth discovers and confronts her faults and her vanity, she unravels what is probably one of the greatest love stories of our time.

  1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955):

This disturbingly thought-provoking novel is bound to shake you to the core. The story follows the raw, bloody desire of the middle-aged professor Humbert Humbert, for the 12-year old Dolores Haze (whom he nicknames Lolita). Nabokov’s controversial work remains one of the most vibrant explorations into the dark side of human nature.

  1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847):

A must-read for all feminists, this novel follows the blossoming of Jane Eyre into spiritual and emotional maturity. Brontë’s magnum opus is often considered revolutionary as it highlights themes of sexuality, religion, classism, and religion through the fiercely independent and perceptive nature of its protagonist.

  1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1873-77):

What is considered to be Tolstoy’s most autobiographical work, the novel follows the web of lives of Anna Karenina, Count Vronsky, Oblonksky, and Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin, in a period of turmoil in Russian history. However, it is the brutal realism of Tolstoy’s words that is the most redeeming quality of the novel.

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Inc.

Sara Sohail

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News

AISA Burns Effigy of Modi Government in Support of Bharat Bandh

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On 20th March 2018, the Supreme Court through a ruling had allegedly diluted the Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989, which protects the marginalised communities against discrimination and atrocities.

It had issued a slew of guidelines banning automatic arrests and registration of criminal cases under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 without conducting a preliminary enquiry.

This means that the arrest of an accused under the aforementioned Act is not mandatory and action would take place only after preliminary inquiry and sanction by the competent authority has taken place.

This verdict of the highest court had triggered widespread criticism from the Dalit community which fears that this order will lead to more discrimination and atrocities against the backward communities. Dalit organisations called for a Bharat Bandh today to protest against the alleged dilution of the act.

In support of the ‘bandh’, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) burnt the effigy of the Modi Government in front of the Arts Faculty on Monday. President of AISA (DU unit) Kawalpreet Kaur remarked, “The Modi government is the biggest anti-Dalit government to come to power.”

Speaking to the crowd which had gathered to witness the effigy burning, she asserted, “We know that the Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 was in itself a weak act. Neither was it ever implemented properly. But the new ruling of the Apex Court which dilutes the already weak provisions of the 1989 Act would render the disadvantaged communities completely vulnerable to discrimination and atrocities.”

The protesters raised slogans such as, “Minority Pe Atyachaar Bandh Karo” (Stop atrocities against minorities), “SC-ST Kanoon Mein Badlav Nahi Chalega” (We will not allow changes in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act) and “Modi Sarkar Murdabad” (Down with the Modi government). Members of the AISA also burnt effigies of the government at Aurobindo College, Satyawati College, and Jamia Milia Islamia.

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Kawalpreet Kaur

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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News

NSUI Burns ABVP’s Effigy in a Protest Against CBSE Paper Leak

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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSC) came under condemnation after its Class X Mathematics and Class XII Economics papers were leaked last week. Four students of different schools and two directors of a private coaching center were apprehended in connection with the CBSE question paper leaks.

This had triggered protests from different quarters of the student community. On Saturday, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) staged a protest outside the ITO office of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). NSUI alleged that the office-bearers of the right-wing students’ organisation were caught leaking CBSE exam papers in Jharkhand.

Rocky Tuseed, President of Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), in conversation with DU Beat, remarked, “This is an instance of gross injustice meted out to the students. 28 lakh students had given the 12th standard Economics paper. Due to the negligence of the CBSE, why is the future of students staked at risk?”
When asked who is to be blamed for the paper leak, Tuseed observed, “This is not an isolated incident. The government is also involved in this.”

Pragya Tomar, the General Secretary of the NSUI (Delhi State), told DU Beat, “We demand that an inquiry into the CBSE paper leak should be conducted and that the government should ensure a leak-proof mechanism to prevent such anomalies in future.”

Fairoz Khan, the National President of the NSUI, who met Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Ministry of Human Resource Development, said that the Minister has assured that they would investigate the matter and take the strictest possible action against those responsible.

In the letter written to Prakash Javadekar, the DUSU President has noted, “We request you to roll back the examination of Economics (class XII) and Maths (class X) as no student is ready to give their re-examinations.”

Notably, the CBSE had announced a retest of the two papers, following reports of the leakage.

Responding to allegations that an office-bearer of the ABVP was involved in the paper leak, Saket Bahuguna, the National Media Convener of the ABVP said, “He (the accused) has no current association with ABVP.”  He further assured that the accused in the case was shown the door by the ABVP as soon as he joined a coaching institution as a co-owner. The ABVP termed the NSUI’s protests as an attempt to defame it. “Systemic reforms in the examination patterns and procedures are needed. How is it that papers get leaked, but no structural changes are undertaken to stop any future leaks?,” questioned Saket Bahuguna.

Feature Image Credits: National Students’ Union of India
Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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Bazinga

Bazinga: UGC Announces Increased Fee for Upcoming Semester

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The University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced fee hike concordant with its decision to implement autonomy and the motion for 30% self-attained funding by universities. Such a decision comes at the expense of lakhs of students studying at the University of Delhi (DU). This announcement has caused panic and chaos among the students and parents.

The revised fee structure has been released on the Delhi University website as of 31 March 2018.

tabl
A screengrab from the Univesity of Delhi’s official website.

The official page of the DU can be referred to for other course specific fees. Individual universities have been given the discretion to change independent course fees within a margin of 3% as per university guidelines. The deadline for new fee payment has been set as 25th July 2018, five days post the beginning of the new session.

This news has led to some serious repercussions. Professors in north campus colleges have refused to take classes and are sitting outside with their students in protest.

The teachers are extremely outraged with this decision. A distressed senior professor from Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College ARSD college was quoted as saying, “The government has failed in its responsibility to provide affordable and accessible education to all. Our education system is bringing shame to our country.”

An ad-hoc teacher from Lady Shri Ram College expressed her concerns to us, “Our jobs are in danger. We’d either be fired or never promoted. This brings us to a very difficult position and we are completely against the government’s decision.” A Sanskrit professor from Kamala Nehru College expressed her concerns to us saying, “Students will not be willing to pay such high amounts for courses like Sanskrit, Bengali, Music, B.A. Programme, etc. This would lead to a sad death for liberal arts and sciences.”

All classes in off-campus colleges like Zakir Hussain College have been canceled until further notice.The students are also enraged by this decision and they took to criticise the government on social media.  A distressed student from Motilal Nehru College MLNC said, “I came here to study from Orissa. My parents will not be able to afford my fee now., with this hike. I don’t know how to get this kind of money within the deadline that they’ve given us.”
Students were also seen talking about dropping out or transferring to other universities. A 2nd-year student from Sri Venkateswara College told us that she’d rather study in Himachal University than the Delhi University. A 1st-year psychology honours student from JMC argued that “This will lead to most jobs being concentrated in the commerce sector and it will take away jobs from sectors which already don’t have enough opportunities. Even though I can afford the fee hike, I will not be able to get a job after graduating from this course.”

Panicked parents were also seen outside colleges. A parent said, “I cannot withdraw my daughter’s admission as she has already studied here for two years. I cannot transfer to another college either but it’ll be very hard for me to pay the fee this year.”

We tried to get in touch with officials from the Delhi University, but they remained unavailable for comment. This new will not only impact lakhs of students studying in the Delhi University, but also lakhs wanting to get admission.

With the semester exams approaching, lectures being cancelled, and ongoing protests it’ll be difficult for the Delhi University to end this semester on a good note.

Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated and not accepted!

Feature Image Credits: Digital Learning Magazine

Meher Gill
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Muskan Sethi
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DUB Speak

The Rise of the Saviour: Celebration of Easter

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Easter is a very popular holiday that is celebrated worldwide by Christians and Jews (as Passover). The article reveals some significant details about the celebration of the same.

This year, Easter, the oldest Christian holiday, falls on April 1 and it is celebrated all over the world by devout and non-believers alike. Here we present seven must-know facts about this much-loved festival:

  1. The rise of the dead: The reason why Easter is celebrated so widely because it carries with it joyous theological meaning. It is the day when Christ was supposed to have been resurrected which is supposed to have occurred on the third day of his burial according to the New Testament, thus proving that he is indeed the Son of God.
  2. Before Easter: Easter is preceded by a number of important commemorative days such as the Good Friday which remembers Jesus’ crucifixion and death. Forty days before Easter is the Christian ‘festival’ of Lent which is celebrated finally concluding in the in the Holy Week where the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus are commemorated.
  3. What’s up with all the chocolate? Easter eggs are usually hard-boiled, decorated eggs used as gifts. Although the oldest customs included using chicken eggs, the modern way is to make chocolate eggs that are symbolic of the empty tomb of Jesus (the cracking open of the eggs thus alluding to resurrection). There are Easter egg hunts that are widely popular such as the annual one held at the White House.
  4. Not your usual Santa: The legend of the Easter Bunny started among the German Lutherans, where a hare played the role of a judge who decided the children in the beginning of the season or Eastertide. The bunny is supposed to appear and bring coloured eggs in his basket, candies and other gifts to the children’s homes on Easter Eve.
  5. Floral symbols: Lilies are associated with Easter and they symbolise the resurrection, new life, hope and the beginning of a new season. The Easter Lily is supposed to have originated (according to Christian mythology) in the garden of Eden where the flower originated from the tears shed by Eve when she left Eden.
  6. The colour red: Orthodox Greek Christians dye their Easter eggs red which symbolises blood and the victory of life over the death of Jesus. Some legends also link the colour to Mary Magdalene, the alleged spouse of Jesus as well as the Virgin Mary.
  7. Namesake: the festival is supposed to be named after a pre-Christian goddess in England called Eostre who symbolised the beginning of spring. According to the writings of a 7th-century monk named Bede, the celebration of Easter during the spring or the month of “Eosturmonath” (in Old English) led to the coining of the name of the festival by later Christians.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Conversation

Sara Sohail

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Campus Central

A Case Against the Commercialisation of Higher Education Institutions

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The recent autonomy granted to 60 higher education institutions by the University Grants Commission (UGC) has unleashed debates regarding the increasing commercialisation of the education sector of the country. The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has been on strike for the past five days protesting against the  70:30 ratio of funding recommended for central universities, which would lead to the blurring of line that separates the fee structures of private and public-funded education. Under this new funding formula, universities are being asked to generate 30% of the additional costs towards revised salaries for teachers and non-teaching staff on account of the 7th Pay Revision. If this formula is implemented, higher education will become inaccessible to thousands.  The teachers have reportedly called their students to join the strike and show their solidarity. In such a highly charged atmosphere, it is apparent is that our access to affordable, high-quality education is in grave danger.

Ideally, it is the government’s responsibility to invest in higher education (as is the case in countries like Germany, Mexico, Finland), but the UGC’s new funding policy of grants being replaced by loans through the Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) for any infrastructural needs of universities means that the burden of providing affordable education would shift to parents and students. This has far-reaching consequences as it would lead to the marginalisation of students from backward communities and sections, an exclusivist academia, and eventually, the homogenisation and unilateralism of critical thinking.

Commenting on similar privatisation of American universities, Noam Chomsky, an American linguist and political activist pointed out how when corporate values and money start to govern the education sector, there are disastrous consequences ranging from greater job insecurity to a division of the society into the “plutonomy” (the small group which has the highest concentration of wealth) and “precariat” (the rest of population who live a precarious existence). Such a thrust for creating profit and hence, an emphasis on vocational courses and skills that would fit a globalised, capitalised world would mean that education would become education for the sake of it, and thereby lose its value. Colleges and universities would be forced to sell their brand, their reputations to generate funds for their use.

The rich cultural diversity of campuses such as DU and the empowerment of marginalised sections through affirmative action would cease to exist. Subjects like liberal arts, minority studies, gender studies, language courses are bound to get sidelined for their sheer ‘impracticality’ in a free-market economy. As Debra Leigh Scott mentions “If you remove the disciplines that are the strongest in their ability to develop higher level intellectual rigour, the result is a more easily manipulated citizenry that is less capable of deep interrogation.” Education would just be another commodity, available to the highest bidder.

What is even more disheartening is the lack of awareness among the students about how much this issue affects us all at the primal level. The fees hike would lead to an exclusive admission procedure, which would in turn increase the social and economic disparity between classes and various regions, leading to greater unemployment and higher dropout rates. The state has been carefully constructing a narrative of “autonomy” that is supposed to give the universities and colleges greater freedom to decide their educational blueprints. In reality, the purpose of education as a social good rather than a profit-making venture, our need for spaces for assertion of our diverse identities and issues, our access to tools for critical thinking and learning— are all getting endangered.

Feature Image Credits: Scroll.in

 

Sara Sohail
[email protected]

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Campus Central

Day one of Mecca’18 travels to its culmination with The Local Train

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Mecca 2018, was one of the most anticipated annual cultural fests in the University of Delhi. The three-day fest that kicked off on the 14th of March, is expected to enthrall fest going students in the University. With a line-up that includes The Local Train, Zaeden, and Amit Trivedi, one can expect Mecca 2018 to be bigger and better than ever. The fest, which attracted a significant crowd during the first day itself, will be a thrilling event including good music, food, and games.

The decorations of the fest were based on the theme “Around The World in 72 hours”. The college was decked in trinkets, maps, and more which divided the college on the basis of countries and cities. The theme could be seen on the graffitis that were made by students as well. Overall, the decor made the college infrastructure come alive, all the while providing fest going students aesthetic backgrounds to take photographs.

The Inauguration ceremony of Mecca 2018 took place in the auditorium of the college. Alankar, the Indian music society of Hindu College has opened the ceremony with a musical gala which was followed by various cultural performances including Kathak and classical music. The performances enthralled the audience and were a collective display of skills of some of the most talented students of Hindu College. Panache, the Fashion Society event subsequently followed the inauguration in the venue itself.

Mecca idol, the solo singing competition, began right after the inauguration ceremony. The winner of the contest will get the opportunity to perform at an opening gig before Amit Trivedi’s performance on the 16th of March.

Panache, the fashion show competition, organised by Nakshatra, the fashion society of Hindu College. The event saw the participation of seven Delhi University teams.
Harsh Khullar, stylish and show director, Rishi Raj, an image consultant, Sawati Verma founder of Glam Veda and, Parina Chopra, an actress, model, a reality show star judged the competition. They judged the competition on the parameters of theme, choreography, walk, and the wardrobe. I Vogue, the fashion society of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce secured the first position while Poise, from the Institute of Home Economics, got the second position. The last performance was by the home team Nakshatra which garnered huge applause for their stunning work.

The Instrumental (solo) competition organised by Alankar, the Indian music society of Hindu College and judged by Mr. Nandan Borkar, witnessed a perfect blend of sur and taal by various participants from School of Open Learning, Hansraj College, ARSD, Ramjas College, to name a few. Karthik Balan from Hansraj College who bagged the first prize performed ‘Aditaalam’ on Mridangam, Shikhar from Delhi Technological University performed the raga ‘Hansdhwani ‘on flute grabbing the second prize and Nandu Krishnan from Satyawati College, performing ‘Aditaalam ‘stood third.

Scribe, the Literary Society of Hindu College organised the Slam Poetry Competition. Himel Sarkar from Bring Back The Poets who judged the event, remarked, “Poetry is so vulnerable that it seems wrong to put grades next to it”. He found it a cumbersome task to take out winners from such a talented pool of poets present at the event. Vishal Kumar was declared the winner in the Hindi Category and Chahak Gupta bagged the First Position in the English Category, while Mahesh Krishna and Gurveen Dang were declared the runners-up.

Sumit Anand, a stand-up comedian spirited the Mecca audience in a fit of laughter with his witty and relatable punchlines. With a happy-go-lucky attitude, his jokes were effortlessly funny, leading to momentous hooting from the audience. From RSS, casteism to masturbation, his line-up didn’t leave any area unattended.

The Local Train, a Hindi rock band was invited to close the first day at Mecca. Their songs were peaceful yet upbeat, a combination we never thought could be achieved in a rock performance. Their set featured popular songs like Manzil, Aaftaab, Khudi, and Mere Yaar. The lighting arrangement added to the appeal and brought the audience to their feet, where everyone lost themselves in the moment.

 

Feature Image Credits: Surabhi Khare fo DU Beat

Niharika Dabral
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Kinjal Pandey
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Raabiya Tuteja
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Anukriti Misra
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Oorja Tapan
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Sex Amma

Sex Amma – A Revolution

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The subject of sex has been shushed in classrooms, homes, and streets, even though it is an important part of everyone’s lives. With the hush around sex comes a lack of awareness and education. DU Beat aimed to burn the taboo of sex and created its own column for sex education with Sex Amma – a fun, humourous, yet educational and helpful column that answered questions about sex and related things.

The ‘sex education’ classes back in school focused on how a child is born and what the names of all the genitals are. But what about indulging in sex out of choice? We were never taught what to do if having kids wasn’t the goal; ‘sex for pleasure’ as a concept only existed in pornography and was, quite expectedly, looked down upon. College was no different. Sure, everyone was doing it, but no one talked about it and no one asked questions; sex was still a taboo. It is difficult to learn about contraceptives if your parents change the radio station when the condom advertisement comes on, and it is impossible when the government does not play any condom advertisements during waking hours. This is what the students of the University of Delhi faced in a conservative country with an even more conservative government.

With the great free press comes great responsibility. The idea of a sex column is not novel. All leading newspapers and media use their freedom of expression to try and educate their audiences more and more about sex and related health problems through these columns. DU Beat led the charge from a student perspective. As India’s largest campus publication and as an entirely student-run platform, we felt it was our responsibility to try and answer questions that the students of the University of Delhi had about sex, relationships, and intimacy. And so, Sex Amma was introduced as a weekly column in 2008. The column was widely loved and became so popular that Hindustan Times did a special feature on it.

The queries Amma got ranged from “What is the use of flavoured condoms?” to “How do I protect myself from STDs?” and were not only limited to questions; Sex Amma got a lot of ‘fan mail’ as well in the form of inappropriate messages. During all this, the column did its part in helping its readers become more aware of sex and related topics, while also making use of the platform to wipe out the taboo around the subject by talking about things that still were not openly discussed. The queries and concerns that were received were also related to body positivity, a healthy sex life, and the LGBTQ community. Moreover, not only did the column provide educational information, it also gave advice on improving mental health.

Unfortunately, Amma’s cleavage and flash of her thong, as well as her quirky way of calling her readers idli and dosa were not appreciated by a select few, after which the conversation around Sex Amma turned into something it was never intended to be. Focus was shifted from the column that provided humour and education to DU students to the inappropriate nature of the column simply because of its subject. However, even as Amma took a break for a few months, the magnitude of her revolution was not forgotten. She sparked a change in the way people viewed sex education – there were finally answers for the many questions that were not discussed anywhere else. The column had successfully become a space for students to talk, and raise questions, about sex.

The column had one sole purpose – to provide a fun, humourous take on something that was everyone’s favourite thing to do, yet considered a taboo. Sexual health, STDs, LGBTQ rights, contraceptives, and body positivity, needed to be talked about and Sex Amma was the platform that made it possible for these queries to be answered. As firm believers in freedom of expression, we will continue to strive for a University space that does not allow taboos to hijack our education, regardless of its form. After all, it is nothing to be ashamed of, is it?

Anagha Rakta
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LQBTQ

Gender Revolution: A Beginner’s Guide

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For a long time, our society has considered heterosexual, and cisgendered identities as the norm. With changing times, LGBTQ+ persons are being recognised and celebrated. Here is a glossary that will give you a glimpse into the concept of varied gender identities and their expressions.

Sex – Sex refers to the biological anatomy of a person (Eg- male, female, intersex)

Gender – Gender refers to the psychological identity of a person (Example – Cisgender, Transgender, Agender, Gender fluid, etc). Gender is a social construct and is based on the notions of societal roles, clothing, expression. Gender binary refers to an idea that gender and its expression is strictly male/masculine or female/feminine based on sex assigned at birth. Such an idea becomes problematic for those who don’t fit into such a system.Gender Identity- Gender Identity refers to a person’s internal awareness of their gender.

Sexual Orientation – A person’s feeling of attraction to other people. A person may be attracted to the same sex (lesbian, gay), opposite sex (heterosexual), both sexes (bisexual), or without reference to the sex or gender (pansexual). Some people do not exhibit sexual attraction at all and, hence, they are called asexuals. While sexual orientation is about attraction to other people, gender identity is about a deep-seated sense of self.

Gender Dysphoria – Involves a conflict between a person’s sex (biological self) and gender (psychological self). The presence of Gender Dysphoria is the medical diagnosis of being transgender as defined by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5). The inclusion of gender dysphoria as a diagnosis in DSM-5 is controversial in transgender communities because it implies that being transgender is a mental illness rather than a valid identity. But because a formal diagnosis is generally required in order to receive or provide treatment in India, it does enable access to medical care for some people who wouldn’t ordinarily be eligible to receive it.

Transition – According to DSM-5, a transition is seen as a treatment for gender dysphoria. Transition usually involves counselling, cross-sex hormones, puberty suppression, and gender reassignment surgery. Some people may have a strong desire to be treated as a different gender without seeking medical treatment or altering their body. They may only want support to feel comfortable in their gender identity. Others may want more extensive treatment including hormone treatment, and gender reassignment surgery leading to a transition to the opposite sex. Some may choose hormone treatment or surgery alone.

Transgender/Transexual – Usually abbreviated as ‘trans’, it refers to a person whose gender identity does not match the biological sex they were assigned at birth. A transgender boy refers to a person who was born as a female, but their gender identity is a male. While a transgender girl refers to a person who was born as a male, but their gender identity is a female.
Intersex – A disorder of sexual development, results in a reproductive, genetic, genital, or hormonal configuration such that the person’s body can’t be easily categorised as male or female.

Kinnar Community – Usually known as ‘Hijras’ in North India, the Kinnars are a marginalised group of eunuchs, intersex, and transgender people. They have been legally recognised as the third gender in our country. Please note the words ‘chakka’, and ‘hijra’ are offensive words and one should refrain from using them.

Agender – A person who doesn’t identify as a man, or a woman can be labeled as Agender.

Gender Fluid – A person whose gender identity/expression shifts from male to female is gender fluid.

Gender Queer – A person whose identity doesn’t follow the gender binary. Such a person will identify as a combination of both genders, neither of the two genders, or somewhere in between.

Pronouns – One should use appropriate pronouns for a person based on their gender identity. It’s best to ask a person which pronouns they use. Apart from the commonly used ‘he’, ‘she’ pronouns, genderqueer people use ‘they’ or the newly created nongendered pronouns; “zie” and “per.”

Satrangi Salam!

Reference: National Geographic Magazine, January 2017

 

Feature Image Credits: Tele Juice

Raabiya Tuteja
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