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Shri Ram College of Commerce Organises Youth Conference 2017

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With the theme “Bridges not Boundaries”, Shri Ram College of Commerce held the sixth edition of the annual Youth Conference on the 22nd and 23rd of September 2017. The two-day event saw a confluence of distinguished personalities from the fields of politics, cinema, music, and comedy.

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Day 1 kicked off with a with a lamp lighting ceremony by the Guest of Honour, General V.K. Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs. In her brief address, Professor Simrit Kaur, Principal of Shri Ram College of Commerce, thanked the sponsors, attendees, and speakers for participating in the conference and hoped for the enriching two-day extravaganza. General V.K. Singh spoke candidly about his early days in the army, power of entrepreneurship, and his transition from military to politics. “Confidence between the men and the officer wins wars. Be it an insurgency operation or a full-front war, the moment your team loses trust in each other, that moment you lose,” he said, asserting the need for teamwork. When asked about the difference between working in the army versus working in politics, he answered, “In the army you know who the enemy is, but in politics you don’t.”

The second speaker of the day was former Miss India, social activist, entrepreneur, and actress, Gul Panag. In a highly interactive session, she shared stories about her modeling career, education, aviation dreams, and her tryst with public speaking that started in Patiyala Government College and remains till date. She also invited a fan, who was named Gul after her, on the stage.

The second half of the day resumed with the coming of Aranya Johar, a Mumbai-based poet who recently came to limelight with her poems such as “A Brown Girl’s Guide to Beauty” and “A Brown Girl’s Guide to Discrimination”. She highlighted the misconceptions people have regarding feminism. She explained that feminism is not only about women but is also for men who are suppressed by the patriarchal conventions of the society. She also recited the aforementioned poems to the audience before ending her speech.

The ebullient crowd finally witnessed the much awaited speaker Usha Uthup. The legendary singer was humorous as ever from the minute she got onto the stage. She talked about her personal life, reminiscing her childhood days. It was only a matter of time before she started singing, bringing the auditorium to life. The crowd erupted in applause as she sang one song after the other. From “Skyfall” to “Kolaveri Di”, claps and cheers were all that could be heard inside the hall. Gurcharan Das, author, public intellect, and former CEO of Procter & Gamble, happened to arrive while Usha Uthup was still performing. He talked about how to find one’s passion and also shared a story addressing that the right attitude is essential for organisational success. He quoted “We learn how to make a living. We must know how to make a life.”

The day ended in disappointment after Mohit Chauhan did not arrive even after a long wait of more than two hours. To make do for his absence, a singing competition was organised, followed by performances by individuals and the music society of the college. It was later announced that Mohit Chauhan would come the next day instead. Delhi’s rains could not deter students of various colleges from turning up at SRCC Youth Conference’s second day. The auditorium was bustling with energy of the students. The first speaker, Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Aviation arrived in the auditorium with the Principal of the college, Simrat Kaur. He was felicitated and then rose to address the audience. He emphasised that the students of today are the leaders of change for the future. He said that the three complicated problems that these world leaders will have to solve are – global warming, shortage of natural resources, and urbanisation in a way that quality of life is ensured in all cities and villages. During the question-answer round, he descended from the stage to talk to the students one-on-one. He enthusiastically answered all the questions and even quoted John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your country has done for you but what you can do for your country.” He wants Indians to work for their own country rather than other countries where they go to study and settle down. He ended by teaching the students to dream big and think global.

Rega Jha, the Editor-in-Chief of BuzzFeed India, arrived at the venue clad in a bright yellow jumpsuit exuding energy. She started her speech by asking the audience if anybody had said anything really dumb on the Internet and to everyone’s surprise, the entire audience had done that. She narrated her own instances from the past of being trolled. While laughing, she commented that our generation has said the dumbest things on the Internet in history. She talked about Mira Rajput being trolled for her motherhood statement and none of the people trying to teach her in a courteous manner, and how the new song ‘Bol Na Aunty Aau Kya’ is immensely sexist, validates rape culture, and is simply obnoxious. People have gotten into the habit of calling out people online for something they had said ages ago. While interacting with the students, she said that nobody should be called a ‘Nazi’ in reference to terms like ‘grammar-nazi’ or femi-nazis’.  Before leaving, she taught everyone that one should be accepting of people changing and evolving because people’s perspectives change every day. She also stated that we shouldn’t make fun of people with weak English.

The next speaker was the most awaited guest, Mohit Chauhan. He was welcomed into the auditorium with claps and hoots by the students. He started his speech by saying that he didn’t think much of himself as a speaker and that speaking gives him jitters. He introduced the audience to his childhood living in Dharamshala, Kullu and such hill stations, how music took over his soul from a young age and how he would camp alone in the hills for peace and creativity. He told the youngsters that he chose science stream as he was a fine student and he went on to study B.Sc. and M.Sc. hoping to get a decent job hailing from a family of bureaucrats but deep down he wanted to make something of his own. He talked about meeting A.R. Rahman in November, 1998 in Delhi, hoping to work in Bombay soon but actually got a call to sing for the movie Rang De Basanti after 6 long years. His quote that touched the students was, “You don’t realise you are working hard when you are working with passion”. The audience roared when he finally picked up the guitar to sing ‘Dooba Dooba Rehta Hu’ and ‘Tumse Hi’ of Jab We Met while the students sang along. After the students’ chant of ‘Sadda Haq’, Mohit Chauhan relented and sang it for the eager audience at the end of which the auditorium reverberated with the thunderous claps and the singer left behind a chirpy audience.

dsc_3507The last speaker before the lunch break was Bimal Jalan, who has been in the advisory committee of the government, been the Chief Economic Advisor, and the Governor of RBI twice. In his speech, he talked about the cyclical movement of the economy, India’s literacy rate, incentives, the complex system of administration, rural development, UPSC’s selection criteria of candidates, India’s economy, and poverty. He jokingly mentioned in the answer to a question that he wouldn’t have approved of demonetisation but what could one do after the government had announced it, except simply follow it. Before leaving he said that a reform that this generation has to do is make better roads in Delhi as he was stuck in traffic for an hour and a half. The students then proceeded to lunch.

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The second session  of the Youth Conference resumed around 2:30pm. The energy of the audience was still pumped up to the zenith level of their enthusiasm to welcome the subsequent speakers. The session kicked off with Rajeev Shukla, Chairman of IPL and a journalist. “There can be personal differences but there is no space for personal rivalry in politics,” he said. He talked about his career in journalism and narrated how he grew close to politics and the Indian National Congress. He advised the students to try different things in life and take rational decisions. The next speaker in the pipeline was Sudhir Mishra, an Indian film director and screenwriter known for directing critically acclaimed movies like Hazaro Khwaish Aisi, Dharvi, and Chameli. He is a graduate of the University of Delhi and has three national award under his belt. The session with him was extremely humorous and entertaining. He urged the people to pursue what they love.

Karan Thapar, the next speaker, said, “When you look at me, don’t look at my religion. I am an individual first. If you see me as a member of a religion, you see a blur. But that’s not me. That’s not my identity. I am me because I have an individuality.” He was very concerned about the rising intolerance in the country and addressed the audience with very balanced views which pushed the students into contemplation. An engineering drop out, singer, and composer, Siddharth Slathia who is well known for singing the cover version of ‘Tum Hi Ho’ staged an enchanting performance at the SRCC Youth Conference. Talking about his career he said, “You may not be the most talented person but you can be the most hardworking person”. He took the audience back to the retro times and the crowd swayed to his melodious voice and rocking songs.

The pumped up crowd finally witnessed the much awaited performance of Zakir Khan. The walls of the auditorium reverberated with the chants of ‘Zakir Zakir’ when he entered. The audience got on the top of their enthusiasm when he started  delivering his signature jokes which gave a perfect closure to the conference.

SRCC Youth Conference 2017 was a full-on extravaganza that left its audience stunned!

 

Image Credits: Sahil Chauhan, Hemant Goyal, and P.V. Purnima for DU Beat

Niharika Dabral
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Karan Singhania
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Prachi Mehra
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Sandeep Samal
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DUB Speak

The Hegemonic Demon that is the “White Gaze” in The Bluest Eye

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Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye explores why in a pluralistic society, under the pretense of being tolerant, we still prefer “whiteness” in our magazines and on our TV screens.

Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winning American novelist, wrote and published her first book, The Bluest Eye, in the year 1970. In Morrison’s novel, she investigates what happens to a young, black girl living under the “white gaze” of 1940s America. The novel tells the story of an 11-year-old girl, Pecola Breedlove, who wants to have blue eyes because she views herself as ugly. It’s a female Bildungsroman, telling her story as she grows up, black and female, in a racially discriminatory America. In the novel, Morrison unabashedly challenges western standards of beauty and demonstrates that the concept is socially constructed. Morrison’s novel was inspired by one of her black classmates who wished for blue eyes, much like Pecola. She thus wrote the novel to explore the roots and effects of racial self-loathing, wondering, “Who told her [classmate]? Who made her feel that it was better to be a freak than what she was? Who looked at her and found her so wanting, so small a weight on the beauty scale?” Thus, Morrison’s novel is an attempt to “peck away at the gaze that condemned her”.

Morrison goes on to offer a decisive critique on the homogenising effect of the white aesthetic so prevalent in most of our cultures in the world. She rejects the beauty of the white consumer culture because it separates women “from reality”. Women of colour start internalising the crippling notions of beauty that this white culture propagates. This perpetuation of the dominant culture’s aesthetics and tastes, their standards of beauty and fairness, have always and still continue to contribute to racial tensions. The novel, in its endeavour to question the yardsticks of socially constructed notions of beauty, makes the reader confront his or her own reality.

Not only is the novel beautifully written, Morrison’s prose being so vivid, she is also able to implicate the reader in the destruction of this little girl and her dream to be “beautiful”. Morrison’s contempt for the racial bias in popular American culture, and her rejection of a white-defined form of female beauty are reflected well in her first novel. Pecola’s mother, Pauline, also internalises the damaging racial self-loathing because such has been the coloniser’s influence over the “weaker” masses. The coloniser goes on to “invisibalise” the “other”.

One’s visibility thus gets knotted with one’s beauty. In The Bluest Eye, Pecola’s self, her presence as a subject, remains unrecognised by those who have absorbed the white standards of visual attractiveness. In the tragic swamp of alienation, Pecola’s only saviour, her blue eyes, are ironically also symbolic of the colonial instrument of oppression. What strikes one as being crucial here is the homogenising effect that white culture creates. Much of it is interestingly manufactured as a product of western capitalism. Rampant consumerism, movies’ and media’s role are to be blamed for the skewed notions of reality which people of all colours embrace. Thomas Fick argues in his essay, entitled “Toni Morrison’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’: Movies, Consumption, and Platonic Realism in The Bluest Eye” (2000), that, “Movies are the centrally destructive force in [The Bluest Eye] not only because of the values they present but because of the way they present them: as flawless archetypes above and outside the shadowy world of everyday life.”

Despite the increasing presence of black celebrities, the white aesthetic still strongly defines beauty and worth in today’s racist culture. Many of the contemporary black celebrities, such as Halle Berry, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Vanessa Williams, and others, are whitewashed to appeal to white audiences, thereby denying the black body. Famous black women are often anglicised on the covers of magazines: their hair and skin lightened and curls straightened. “Just as English has become the lingua franca of the world, so the white, blondified, small-nosed, pert-breasted, long-legged body is coming to stand in for the great variety of human bodies that there are,” comments Susie Orbach, a British psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer, and social critic.

Media conglomerates thus fabricate lies. Advertisers clutch on to insecurity as a selling tool, instead of embracing empowerment. The many fairness cream advertisements and products, advertisements for silkier and shinier hair, hairless bodies, skinny bodies, and many other campaigns hold testimony to this. It is the coloniser’s body which echoes on our television screens, which we consciously choose to watch.

What The Bluest Eye as a piece of literature does is to subvert the “white gaze”. What we, as self-aware citizens in this world of majoritarianism, must do is to resist and disrupt the gaze. Morrison, time and again, does it with her words. As Adrienne Rich once said, “This is the oppressor’s language, yet I need to talk to you.”

 

Feature Image Credits: Teen Ink

Ankita Dhar Karmakar
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DU Rejects NSUI’s Request for Recounting of Votes

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The University of Delhi has rejected Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) plea for recounting of votes in the recently concluded Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections. Even though a recount of votes will not take place, the grievance redressal committee has permitted Meenakshi Meena and Avinash Yadav, NSUI candidates for Secretary and Joint Secretary respectively to view EVM-wise data.

 

NSUI claimed it won three not two posts in the DUSU panel post elections and alleged that the results were tampered due to intervention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah. NSUI’s National Media In-Charge told Scroll.in., “The CCTVs were not working properly, and many officials from the ABVP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were present in the counting centre.” NSUI asked the Election Commissioner to recount the votes and also submitted an official complaint to the grievance redressal committee. It had also threatened to move to the Delhi High Court soon.

 

Avinash Yadav, NSUI’s candidate for Joint Secretary of DUSU lost to RSS affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Paridhad’s (ABVP) candidate by 342 votes. NSUI’s candidates for the positions of President and Vice-President, Rocky Tuseed and Kunal Sehrawat bagged the seats by 1590 and 175 votes respectively.

 

Image Credits: Hindustan Times

 

Vijeata Balani

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DUSU Elections 2017

DUSU Elections Highlights for 2017-18

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With the election season finally having come to an end, here is a look at some of the key highlights from the DUSU elections of 2017.

The elections for this year’s Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) came to an end on the 13th of September, with the declaration of results. As this year was as eventful as the election season gets, here are some key highlights from this season’s elections:

  • 21 AUGUST- University of Delhi notifies the dates for the election of the office bearers of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) and members of the Central Council, the most awaited students’ election in the country. The election is to be held on 12 September, 2017, for the 2017-18 academic session.
  • 23 AUGUST- The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) organises an event in the Arts Faculty, North Campus, on 23rd August. It comprises a protest march from the Arts Faculty towards Ramjas College, Kirori Mal College, and back. The protest is for the scarcity of hostels and instillation of sanitary pad facilities for women.
  • 24 AUGUST- The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), organises a press briefing where it proposes a set of electoral reforms for the upcoming elections scheduled on 12th of September.
  • 1 SEPTEMBER- A referendum titled “Should Aryabhatta College be affiliated to Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU)?” is held. The students of Aryabhatta College vote in favour of the motion.
  • 4 SEPTEMBER- The University of Delhi, in a press release confirms this date as the last day for receipt of nomination papers and security and publication of the duly nominated candidates, for both DUSU and the Central Council.
  • 6 SEPTEMBER- The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Indian National Congress (INC), gets a shock when it discovers that its presidential candidate for DUSU elections, Rocky Tuseed, is missing from the final list of candidates released by the Chief Election Office (CEO).
  • 8 SEPTEMBER– Court has allowed Rocky Tuseed to fight elections and he will be representing  with the potential to win the election this year.
  • 12 SEPTEMBER- The polls for the DUSU elections are held for the morning and evening college respectively.
  • 13 SEPTEMBER- The results of the elections are declared. Rocky Tuseed of NSUI wins the post for DUSU President with 16,299 votes. Kunal Sehrawat of NSUI became the Vice President with 16,431 votes. Mahamedha Nagar of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) wins the post for Secretary with 17,156 votes. Uma Shankar of ABVP becomes the Joint Secretary after bagging 16,691 votes.

 

Feature Image Credits: University of Delhi

Sandeep Samal
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Karan Singhania
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Instead of May 2018, JNU entrance to happen in December 2017

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In a surprising move, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has decided to shift its entrance examination for all courses including MPhil/ PhD courses for the year 2018-19 to December 2017. Usually, JNU Entrance Examination (JNUEE) happens in May. However this year, the entrance exam will take place on 27 December to 30 December.

For the past two years, JNU was considering shifting its entrance exams for all courses to December from the usual May-June session. The proposal to hold all future entrances in December was put forward at a meeting of the Academic Council (AC) in April 2015, which was thereafter approved in a Standing Committee meeting on June 15, 2015. The reasons given for such a shift were related to logistical issues, where the AC pointed out that JNU doesn’t come as an option at the right time and normally when the JNU admission procedure begins, all other university admissions close. Also n the case of BA admissions, they felt it was better to hold the entrance before the Class XII pre-board exams in January. Although teachers unanimously supported the move in the AC meeting, the four JNU students’ union office bearers opposed it back then.

The move finally comes two years after the AC and Standing Committee approved the proposal. It was put to hold because of reasons accorded to feasibility. The Vice Chancellor said that the university was trying to fill all vacancies available with faculties in MPhil and PhD courses in December. A committee has been formed to find modalities to conduct the exam. The prospectus for 2018-19 has been uploaded on the website, as well as the link for online admissions, opened from 10:00 AM today and will stay open till 13 Oct 2017 at 11.59 p.m.

The University will hold examinations for admission to various programmes of study (MPhil/PhD, MPhil/PhD through JRF, PhD., PhD through JRF, MTech., MPH. , PGDE, MA., MSc., MCA., BA(Hons.) in Foreign languages and Part time courses, MSc (Biotechnology) and allied, MSc (Agri) (Biotechnology)/M.V.Sc., and MTech. Biotechnology programmes )from 27 Dec-30 Dec 2017 in 53 centres across India and in Kathmandu (Nepal).

For full details, applicants can visit the JNU website www.jnu.ac.in  or visit the admissions site.

Image Credits: JNU Website

Oorja Tapan

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Delhi University, JNU, IIT-D and other higher education institutions can no more receive foreign funds

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Union Home Ministry has cancelled the FCRA-2010 (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) licenses of various acclaimed higher education institutions, including Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), University of Delhi, IIT-Delhi, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Punjab University, Gargi College (Delhi), Lady Irwin College (Delhi), Mumbai University, Pune University and others after they reportedly failed to file their annual income and expenditure statements, for the period 2010-11 to 2014-15, to the government. A FCRA licence is mandatory for any organisation which wants to receive funding from abroad.
The list consists of 18,871 names of several top-notch universities, educational institutions and noteworthy non-governmental organisations (NGOs) whose FCRA registrations are cancelled. Prominent associations, trusts and societies are also affected by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order like Supreme Court Bar Association, Kamala Nehru Education Society, Kasturba Peace Centre, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, School Of Planning & Architecture-Delhi, FICCI Socio-Economic Development Foundation, Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital, Escorts Heart Institute, Cancer Educational Society and People for Animals. Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, Armed Forces Flag Day Fund, Doon School Old Boys Association, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College (Delhi), Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia International Trust, Coordinating Voluntary Adoption Resource Agency, Bombay Diocesan Society, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (Karnataka), Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health (Bengaluru), Shri Mahatma Gandhi Charitable Trust (Gujarat) and Sri Satya Sai Trust also feature on the list.
The organisations were asked to submit their replies by July 23, failing which action would be taken against them. The MHA also directed 1,222 NGOs – including Sri Ramakrishna Math, Ramakrishna Mission, Indore Cancer Foundation Charitable Trust and the Coimbatore Christian Charitable Trust – to authorise their bank accounts and provide relevant details to the government. The move comes after the government found that the organisations – all registered under the FCRA – had not validated the bank accounts through which they receive foreign funds. In a circular issued on September 8, the ministry had asked all NGOs to take rectifying steps to avoid punitive action. A similar request was earlier made to 2,025 NGOs on June 7. Ministry officials said non-validation of such accounts had been halting efforts made by banks to comply with FCRA provisions.
The BJP government has already revoked the registration of over 10,000 NGOs in the last three years for allegedly failing to file annual returns as prescribed by the FCRA. Furthermore, violation of regulations was cited to disallow more than 1,300 NGOs from renewing their registration in the recent past. The NGOs, however, allegedly claim that the government has been selectively targeting them. “It is not a level playing field,” Ravi Chellam, the executive director at Greenpeace India, told Hindustan Times. “When political parties need funding from foreign donors, they amend the law retrospectively. That is a problem – the law should be applied fairly to everyone”, he said.
Promila Kumar, the acting principal of Gargi College, told the Indian Express, “We have filed our returns. In fact, we got a reminder about filing returns recently and we informed the government that we have already complied. I’m not sure why this has happened.”

Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

 

Oorja Tapan

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Hans Raj College

NAAC Results Declared: Hansraj Soars With 3.62 CGPA

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The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body of the University Grant Commission, visited Hansraj College on 3rd & 4th August where the ‘Quality status’ of the institute was audited.  The college has been accredited by the NAAC team with a CGPA of 3.62 and a grade point of A+.

In the context of Higher Education, the accreditation status indicates that the particular Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) – a College, a University, or any other recognised Unit therein, meets the standards of quality as set by the Accreditation agency, in terms of its performance, related to the educational processes and outcomes, covering the curriculum, teaching-learning, evaluation, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organisation, governance, financial well-being, and student services.

Among DU colleges, Shri Ram College of Commerce became the leader of NAAC’s point table with a score of 3.65, beating Hansraj College by a small margin. It is followed by Miranda House and Lady Shri Ram College with a score of  3.61 each and Hindu College with a score of 3.60.

NAAC’s Top 10 scorers in the University of Delhi with CGPA are:

  • Shri Ram College of Commerce: 3.65
  • Hansraj College: 3.62
  • Miranda House: 3.61
  • Lady Shri Ram College: 3.61
  • Hindu College: 3.60
  • Kirori Mal College: 3.54
  • SGTB Khalsa College: 3.41
  • Shaheed Bhagat Singh Evening College: 3.36
  • Kamla Nehru College: 3.33
  • IP College for Women: 3.33

DU beat congratulates the College and its students for the glorious feat.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

 

Sandeep Samal

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Uncategorized

Creating Suicide Awareness On World Suicide Prevention Day

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10th September is observed as World Suicide Prevention Day. Suicide cases are on the rise in recent years due to reasons that need to be minimised to ensure good mental health.

On 10th September, organisations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) organise various events to promote and conduct activities for spreading awareness about suicide. With the increasing number of suicide rates, let’s look at the leading causes leading to such tragedy:

  • Depression
    There are over 350 million people who suffer from depression all across the world. Low self-esteem is a huge contributor. Everyone sets targets for themselves and failing to complete them can demoralise them and make them question themselves. Family issues are also undeniably a great cause for mental stress. Resorting to alcohol and other drugs seems an easy solution to let go of the stress. But again, this has disastrous effects which ultimately lead to addiction and contribute towards isolation from friends and family.
  • Peer Pressure
    Peers fulfil an essential social requirement everyone has. But their impact can go wrong at times. In a competitive environment, not being able to do what one’s peers do or not achieving something as worthy as one’s peers can inject a sense of low morale in oneself. The thought of not doing something worthwhile terrorises the mind and harms mental health.
  • Cyber Bullying
    Cyber bullying cases have intensified with the rise of the internet’s popularity where over 25% of teens have reported to being repeatedly bullied over the internet. In recent times, there has been an outburst of suicidal cases due to a game called “The Blue Whale Challenge” which targets teens. The challenges include tasks like carving a whale on one’s body and causing self-harm. Eventually, the last challenge of the game requires the person to commit suicide.
  • Relationship Issues
    Being in a relationship is seen as a very normal part of social life today. However, deep attachment to one’s partner and the inability to cope with conflicts induce a great degree of pain that encourages self-harm and even suicide. Such cases make a person’s mind fragile, exposing the individual to suicidal thoughts eventually resulting in suicide.

But amidst all the mental chaos, we must not forget that we have been blessed with the gift of life and that we should rejoice in it. Talking to friends or family members can lessen our burden and also help us find solutions to any problems. Sports, games, music, debates etc. help us in keeping our minds healthy. Hanging out with friends or reading books may help too. Doing social work helps us feel satisfied and fills us with joy. There are adequate ways to cope and solve mental issues that trouble us. We must face them and overcome such hurdles. So this September, let’s smile and spread smiles to let people know that we care.

Feature Image Credits: AM New York

Karan Singhania
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DUB Speak

Analysing DUSU 2017 Manifestos

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Since the last five years, the issues involved in Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections have always revolved around women’s safety on campus, the number of DTC buses exclusively for DU students, provision of more number of hostels, and a much hue and cry to increase the number of colleges. We can see the deployment of a lot of money and muscle power, as well as caste politics, being essentially ingrained in the DUSU politburo, with special preference to Jat, Gujjar, and Gurjar candidates who deploy their own private machinery to boost their electoral campaigns. Rising violence on campus has been a concern for all student wings, though all of them have insinuated violence as and when the need arose. Very few female candidates contest for the polls and thus, there is a visible undercurrent of patriarchy in the trends of DUSU candidature.

ABVP, the party that won three seats last year and has been a dominant player on the DUSU grounds, has demanded more transparency in the sports, ECA and quota admissions, concessions in admission to students of rural background, an equitable fee structure across colleges, free Wi-Fi services in every department and college of  DU, a Central Placement Cell to work in tandem with Skill Development Department of the government, metro feeder bus facility at major metro stations near colleges, facilitate more DUSU affiliation and a demand for a permanent DUSU office. Some highlights of their manifesto are – efforts to arrange U-Special Generators for evening colleges, struggle for establishment of East and West Campuses, digitalisation of Central and Arts Library, reiteration of their demand for a Sports Complex  in South Campus, issue of University Health Card to all students, student insurance of Five Lakh Rupees for every student at the premium rate of 1 rupee per day, demand for water coolers in every 200 metres of Chhatra Marg and  foot-over  bridge on Ring Road near Khalsa bus stand, another near GTB Nagar red light and a third at Kingsway Camp main red light. ABVP’ s manifesto is quite extensive, specific, detailed, and gives a holistic view for the entire University by covering almost all the issues related to students.

NSUI is quite generalist in its manifesto and guaranteed  preparation of a Charter of Students’ Rights in consultation with the students that will constitute issues relating to pending scholarships, fee rationalisation of fee across colleges (Rs.3000-3500 per annum), process and timeline for various certificates from university, no moral policing or curbs on women’s freedom, tracking incidents of rioting and violent  protests to ensure accountability of perpetrators, provision of dialogue and institutional mechanisms to resolve college-level issues with college councils, ensure exposure for students in the form of guest lectures, seminars and internship opportunities and a transparent DUSU budget. In their bid for ‘ Take back DU’, NSUI  demanded special support for first generation learners, students from marginalised communities, remedial classes and English tutoring to be provided for such students, (Similar to ABVP demands as well). NSUI demanded rent control for private PGs and counselling for students in distress. Their highlights were special Nodal officers for North East students, revised diet rates for sports quota students, U-special buses, and active grievance redress Cell to be opened.

AISA, which is the only party to vouch for a female Presidential candidate this year, raised concerns over rising hooliganism in campus, problems for visually-challenged students, lack of gender sensitisation committees in colleges, the imposition of centralised power of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, and privatisation of higher education. Major highlights and demands include:  ‘A Room of My Own’ movement to ensure hostel facility for all including PH students, active grievance Committee to look into issues of scholarships, admission etc., active committees on sexual harassment, institutionalising the practice of General Body Meetings along the lines of DUTA to ensure responsive functioning of DUSU, reform of DUSU election system by creating effective forums of debate like Presidential Debates in clusters of colleges to ensure informed choice and reduced use of money and muscle power. The issues of sanitisation, DTC bus facilities, digitalisation of DTC bus passes, improved infrastructure, security of women etc., remain common to all the three manifestos.

These are the various demands and steps that the ABVP, NSUI, and AISA have in mind and their unique action plans to reach out to students once they come to power. Such issues must actually be raised in debates across colleges in order to make students aware but due to the hoopla over propaganda politics and money-muscle, these interesting demands do not come to the forefront of DUSU playground and thus, the elections lose their vitality in the eyes of students. We tried our best to make you aware of their concerns and charters, to help you in making an informed decision. It is up to you now to make the right choice. Do exercise your power to vote and cast your vote on September 12.

 

 

 

Oorja Tapan

[email protected]

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DUSU Elections 2017

Lyngdoh Committee: The Recommendations Which Have Remained Mere Recommendations

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Lyngdoh Committee Recommendations are perhaps the most cited phrases in DUSU politics today. To understand its importance and relevance, it’s necessary to know that they were approved by the Supreme Court in 2006, to curb the use of muscle power and money in student politics. The aim was to reform the election system to make it more inclusive for students and involve fewer malpractices. Unfortunately, the guidelines have received brickbats from students and politicians alike, as many clauses are unrealistic and utopian.

Lyngdoh had aimed to keep political interference out from student elections but unfortunately failed to realise that this endeavour doesn’t exist without acknowledging the ‘political’ aspect of student political parties. To escape these restrictive guidelines, parties have identified loopholes, a few such examples being:
Clause 6.6.1: The maximum permitted expenditure per candidate shall be INR 5000.
Probably the most flouted clause in the recommendations, parties spend as much as lakhs to print countless pamphlets and hoardings that can be seen across the campus. The loophole that every party takes advantage of is that the guidelines restrict the candidate’s expenditure to INR 5000, but nothing has been mentioned for the candidate’s respective party. All major parties reiterate this reasoning to escape legal action.
Clause 6.7.5: No candidate shall be permitted to make use of printed posters, printed pamphlets, or any other printed material for the purpose of canvassing. Candidates may only utilize hand-made posters for the purpose of canvassing, provided that such hand-made posters are procured within the expenditure limit set out herein above.
To cleverly counter this, parties have been releasing posters that misspell the name of its candidate but allow it to be distinguished back to the party as well. The use of an extra ‘A’ after the name would save it from any legal consequences.
Clause 6.7.9: During the election period the candidates may hold processions and/or public meetings, provided that they do not, in any manner, disturb classes and other academic and co curricular activities of the college/university. Further, such procession / public meeting may not be held without the prior written permission of the college/university authority.
It’s common knowledge that campaigners do disturb classes and disrupt routine workings in a college. It’s also never the candidate alone who partakes in this, more often the supporters do the loud sloganeering or get involved in brawls. Since the LCR specifies nothing for parties, political outfits do it as per their will, and candidates are absolved from all responsibility for its party’s action.
What could also be a major advantage for political parties is that the LCR are only applicable from the day the nominations are declared. Up until that day, parties can freely distribute pamphlets urging students to join their organisation.
Apart from one clause in the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines that calls for dissociation of student elections and political parties, there is no clause that directly links the entire party with the administration or puts it under the purview of the election officer’s power. This requires an urgent overview of the recommendations to make them more realistic to plug the loopholes and acknowledge the ‘politics’ in student elections.
Image Credits: Hindustan Times
Vijeata Balani
[email protected]

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