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North East Cell of Daulat Ram Colleges hosts its Annual Fest

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The North East Cell of Daulat Ram College under the aegis of The North Eastern Council hosted its annual fest on 27th January 2017. Mr. Jitendra Singh, hon’ble Minister of State for The Ministry of Development for the North Eastern Region was the Chief Guest for the event. Prior to this inter-college cultural extravaganza, there was an inter-college Poster Making and Collage Making Competition held on the 18th of January 2017,where students from various colleges of Delhi University participated. The topic of both the competitions pertained to the natural and cultural heritage of the North East of India and both the events saw large-scale participation. Students of Daulat Ram College and Ram Lal Anand College brought glory to their colleges respectively by bagging prizes in both the competitions. The award winners of both the competitions were announced on the day of the fest.

sikkim-bhutia-dance

The eight colourful North Eastern states of India are so rich naturally and culturally and thus people from the eight sister states came together to put up stalls exhibiting the food, ornaments, art and accessories of the region. The cultural programme began with the performance of the traditional Garo dance from Meghalaya by girls of Daulat Ram College. It was followed by the Sikkim-Bhutia dance performed by students from Ramjas College, Daulat Ram College, Maharaja Agrasen College, Amity University, Ambedkar University, Lakshmibai College, Zakir Hussain College and Swami Shraddhanand College respectively. The pretty faces and the silken attire lit up the event. Then, the much awaited Cheraw dance, also known as the bamboo dance from Mizoram was performed by the students of Jesus and Mary College. The amalgamation of 12 bamboos, 6 dancers and the beats of the bamboo was very lively to watch. The Maring War Dance,a tribal war dance form from Manipur was performed by students of St. Stephens College, Shivaji College, Hansraj College, Hindu College, Swami Vivekananda College and Indraprastha College for Women collectively.

With vibrant colours and typical tribal get-up the audience got a chance to witness the celebration of tribal art form and the integration of the eight sister states. In the end, the Students’ Union of Daulat Ram College presented special dance performances by Dance India Dance (DID) contestant Suraj Sharma and Rohit Bachi from IIT Bombay.

Radhika Boruah
[email protected]

Image credits: Sepia, Photography society of Daulat Ram College

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Lady Shri Ram College for Women

Econvista 2017 organised by LSR

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econvista

Econvista is the annual fest of Department of Economics of LSR which was held from 19th Jan-21st Jan’17.  

Econvista 2017 – The International Economics Symposium was organised by Department of Economics of Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), University of Delhi from 19th-21st January, 2017. The first day of the fest began with a learning session ‘Ideas Conclave’ which was graced by speaker Arvind Virmani, an Indian economist who was appointed India’s representative to the International Monetary Fund in 2009 prior to which he was the Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India. In his talk he focused upon the issue of corruption that has paralysed the entire system giving the students a flavour of how policy making works.

Keeping in line with the theme of Econvista ‘17 of exploring alternative development paradigms, The Ideas Conclave witnessed a panel discussion on ‘‘Achieving Inclusive and Sustainable Development: Feasibility & Challenges of Market Economy.” The Chairperson was Dr. Geeta Gouri, a former member of Competition Commission of India while the esteemed panelists included, Dr. Farzana Afridi, Dr. Surajit Mazumdar and Dr. Anirban Kar. The discussion began with Dr. Afridi highlighting the dire income inequality that exists today, particularly in context of the liberal market reforms of the past few decades implemented in emerging markets of the developing world. Dr. Mazumdar took the discussion further by bringing to the forefront the exclusive nature of our economy in status quo. In a labour surplus country like India, people face unemployment or are paid low wages as sellers of their labour services. Following this, Dr. Kar elaborated on problems that remain unsolved through free market operations, such as the under provision of public goods or coordination problems.

Ideas Conclave unleashed its third event of the day, ‘Theatrical Play’ by the renowned Chilsag Entertainment Network. The performers not only charged up the whole atmosphere by their chuckle some act, but also left the audience to ponder over the quotidian yet paramount subject of ‘Woman Empowerment’. The concluding and the most awaited session of the day was – slam poetry by a group called ‘Slip of Tongue’. The theme of Econvista 2017 was “Thinking Beyond the Invisible Hand: Exploring Alternative Development Paradigms”. This session can easily be accredited for having gathered the largest audience as compared to the other sessions. The slam poetry performances revolved substantially around the theme of development and its denotation to them. The first performance was by a trio of Diksha, Shubhra and Cheryl wherein they spoke about norms that women have been following till date.

The online events were Economic Reelties, Eco Trails and Eco Toons, and flagship events were Dr. Saroj Gupta Memorial Paper Presentation, Policy Dilemma, Eco Prayog, Mock IP, Checkmate and Eco Matters. Zestomania was, as per popular opinion, one of the most exciting events of the second day at Econvista’17. Also, the interactive events were Galloping Producers, M Triple A and Zest-O-Mania. The amphitheater became interesting with a flurry of activities as teams from colleges from all over the country engaged in a battle of speed and intellect. All these events entertained participation of students from most of the colleges of Delhi University, and from colleges outside Delhi.

Radhika Boruah

[email protected]

Image credits: www.fuccha.in

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DUB News

Student’s Union calls for a strike at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College

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The differences between the College Administration and the Student’s Union at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (Morning) further widened this week. The crisis between the administration and the union, which has existed for sometime, continued after the removal of the student union’s board from the Canteen Area by the college authorities.

Abhishek Bishnoi, the President of the Student Union and Prateek Kothari, the Vice President of the same body, in conversation with our correspondent maintained that the college has been indifferent to their demands since election time. According to them, the proposals for the Power Backup system and better infrastructure at the Canteen area among other things had been rejected multiple times by the administration.

Prateek Kothari further added that “Even the Student Union display board was erected after many efforts. But the college administration took another offence, this time in response to a grievance post on social media. The display board was torn down. Only after many protests, it was reinstated at a different location.”

The student union’s members also complained about the lack of financial incentives. The Vice President of the student’s Union in this regard said, “Even the bare minimum funds are never made available to us. For instance, only 2.9 lakh has been sanctioned to us for the fest, which is an impossible amount to work with” .

The Students Union had also approached the college authorities, who had refrained entirely from any clarification on the matter. According to the Union members, despite repeated efforts no response has been recorded from the administrations side as yet.

The students of the college seemed harboring similar questions. Sparsh Saini, a first year student, having keenly observed the conversation, had made his opinion and said, “Something is missing. If the fests don’t do well or the infrastructure is bad, it’s the college’s reputation that gets tarnished”.

A strike has been called for in the first week of February by the Student’s Union of the college. “The administration cannot go on kicking us out of the rooms and turning deaf ears to us”, Union members added.

Feature Image Credits: www.sbsec.org 

Nikhil Kumar

[email protected]

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Uncategorized

Slam Poetry and why it may not be so cool

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Once a sceptic, on being asked why she disliked slams, said, “It’s not even poetry. There are two topics it revolves around, which are feminism and politics.” And so it does. But that does not stop the trend of having at least one poetry slam event being organised in each department fest of Delhi University. The spoken word is clearly not going anywhere.Even the Delhi Poetry Slam’s ‘Slam India Retreat 2016’, in Jaipur, saw the participation of self-confessed “poets” in huge numbers.Some of them have picked up the craft solely from watching Youtube videos of Button Poetry.In fact, there are many who do see slam poetry as legitimate poetry.

The spoken word, as a form of poetry, finds its roots in the musical, free verse of the likes of Allen Ginsberg. It sprang up via open mic sessions for the first time in the 1980s in U.S., primarily in small cafes. The trend seems intent on emulation in India, where such poets are increasingly choosing cafes for their debuts as well. There are now organizations like the Delhi Poetry Slam to consolidate and unite slam poets in different regions. The idea is that poetry is performance. Like any other craft, the craft of performance can also be learnt very quickly. It’s not very different from the concept of reality shows in this sense: quickly learning the tricks of the trade to compete and achieve overnight stardom. That it allows poetry to become a source of livelihood,however, might just be the only positive side to it.
Traditional modes of expression are an impasse. The paper does nothing for us now, since we have a Kindle. It’s hard to concentrate on a book for too long without dozing off. Similarly, monologues in the theatres lost charm since competitive slams took precedence, hanging somewhere between rap and poetry. The classification is difficult and something not worth attempting either. It should be let free, as far as the idea goes. But when overnight stardom without any desire of mastery, looking down upon writing, or performing poetry for a quick buck become the inspiration behind it, this generation should sit up and take notice. It should treat this as a warning, an impending disaster stemming from an attitude of materialism and competition.

Deepannita Misra
[email protected]

Image credits: https://pbs.twimg.com

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Events

Breaking barriers and setting standards – JMC MUN 2017

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After two scintillating days, it is finally time to call curtains for the JMC MUN Conference of 2017. This conference saw the most agile of minds and most hardworking of teams unite to produce an event to remember; and this brief was not only met, but far exceeded in terms of both expectation and overall satisfaction.

 

The first day began on a high note, with the honorable Justice Markandey Katju, ex Chief Justice of India delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony. The audience was captivated by his signature wit, and delegates were roused to action upon hearing his inspirational words of wisdom. This was followed by an opening speech by Ms. Alimah Rehan, Secretary General of JMC MUN 2017, a bright and dedicated young lady whose passion for the MUN touched every person in attendance. And finally, with the resounding sound of the gavel, the conference was officially declared open.

 


 And so began the action. The excited delegates were raring to go, and launched straight into intensive debate as soon as their committees were in session. Allegations flew, speeches were made, and an atmosphere of somber intensity and focus was created as the committee’s deliberated on how best to solve their respective agendas. These tense sessions were interspersed with breaks, wherein the delegates could unwind to socialize, lobby and network in the company of their fellow delegates, and of course the delicious feast of food laid before them! The organizing committee ensured that the food was a delectable delight, and a well deserved treat for the exhausted delegates.

The second day was about solutions and resolutions, and finally a bittersweet conclusion. While only a select few could take home awards, each and every participant undoubtedly took home a lifetime of memories and an enriching experience. The Secretary General’s closing address summed up perfectly the emotional journey that is setting up a conference, and left everyone feeling nostalgic with her meaningful words.

 

We here at JMC make it our mission to break barriers and set new standards, and remain committed to doing just that. The only cliche we can deign to conform to is “bigger and better”,

Because that’s exactly what we promise we are going to do for the next edition of the MUN. For those of you who joined our family this year, we thank you and hope you had a wonderful experience, because we certainly did in setting all this up for you. We’d also like to thank our esteemed sponsors and guests for adding value to this important event. There is not a single thing we’d do differently.

 

JMC Model United Nations Society.

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Arts & Culture

Know the Man Behind Dangal’s Success – NiteshTiwari

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After the huge success of Dangal, both popularly loved and critically acclaimed – it is time to know the creative minds behind this heart-warming project. We present the life and career of Nitesh Tiwari, the talented director of Dangal and Chillar Party.

Interestingly, Tiwari was a software engineer before turning to the world of advertising and his newest venture; film-making has definitely taken Indian cinema by storm. In another lifetime, he was a creative director in ad agency Leo Burnett, and was highly respected as a writer.

Right from his time at IIT Bombay, Tiwari had been active on the drama front which ensured he loved every moment of his 16 year old career as a creative professional. Heralded as the “lucky” one, Tiwari first sampled the world of advertising whilst working on a project for R K Swamy BBDO when he was pursuing B Tech at IIT Bombay. The project ended, but his journey had just begun. “What I saw in the ad agency, I really loved. The atmosphere was informal, people were playing pranks. They were having a blast and were paid for it,” he says.

As a trained Hindi writer, Tiwari began with four creative directors at the agency. Being trained by four specialists in different styles, he quickly got his first brief to write a television commercial for Captain Cook Atta.

Over years, he has worked with a range of clients- Tide, Heinz Foods, Sony Entertainment Television, Reliance Mobile, McDonald’s, Perfetti Van Melle, Bajaj Electricals, Axe Deodorants, Castrol, Amul, CeatTyres, as the man who probably created their trademark and user pool in India. Today, he has successfully directed three films- Chillar Party, Bhoothnath Returns and his recent project ,Dangal bagged the filmfare.

We can’t wait to see what other tricks this director has up his sleeves!

Feature Image Credits: fatimasanashaikh/instagram.com

Anahita Sahu

[email protected]

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Daulat Ram College

A Daulat Ram College Student sexually assaulted by bank employee

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On January 18, 2017, at the onset of a new semester, a first year student of Daulat Ram College was sexually assaulted by an employee of the Indian Overseas Bank that is inside the college. The incident came to light after the victim decided to share it with an ABVP activist in her college. “She came to me to ask whether she could leave the college. She was shivering. When I asked her why she wanted to leave, she broke down and told me that the man had unzipped her jacket and touched her inappropriately,” said Priya Sharma, the activist with whom the incident was first shared.

The 52 year old accused, Devinder Kumar, had apparently helped out the victim when she needed funds for her mother’s treatment. She lost her father a few years back and stays with her mother and an uncle in the Moti Nagar area. The accused also offered her a ride to college, claiming to live in the same area, which she accepted. The victim said he had made her uncomfortable prior to the incident as well, touching her under the pretense of changing gears while driving, but she put it down as an accident and chose to ignore it. She was traumatised when it happened again on their commute to college. Before she shared her plight with Priya Sharma, she had decided to not report it and instead drop out of college. The college authorities were made aware of the case after a few other college students wrote a letter to the Principal, who then reported it to the police. The Prinicipal of Daulat Ram College, Savita Rai, said that the incident took place around 11:45 a.m., and even though it didn’t take place inside the college, it was reported to the police as soon as it was brought to their notice.

An FIR was lodged at the Maurice Nagar Police Station, where the accused confessed to the crime and was charged under section 354 for molestation, which is a non-bailable offence. Reportedly, the court was supposed to proceed with the hearing for the case from January 19 onwards. The victim is currently undergoing counseling.

Feature Image: wired.com

Radhika Boruah

[email protected]

 

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Admissions 2017

Admission process at Delhi University likely to start early this year

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In continuation with its commitment to thunder bolts from the blue, Admission Committee, Delhi University recently came up with the proposal that will likely make admission process for the next academic season start by March instead of May/June this year. This news comes in succession to the plans of the university to introduce entrance tests for admissions to various Bachelors courses.

Although the decision has not been officially confirmed as yet and no dates have been released, but if sources are to be believed, the registration process shall start by the end of March, and the marks shall have to be updated as and when the results come out.

A professor from the South Campus of Delhi University shared his views with DU Beat about the same. He said, “In the light of recent announcements, this can be seen as one of those better after-plans. These two and a half months time would be crucial and sufficient for the preparations”

This amendment can be a response to the unnecessary conundrum in the admission process last year. The early registration process will give about two and a half months to students instead of the three weeks time which was given earlier. Though the entire online registration process shall most certainly remain the same as previous year, the extended period of registration will likely curb lawlessness and confusion to a significant extent.

Being still in the amorphous stage, It is still some time before this reform is implemented. “It will have to be approved by the academic council and executive council to be implemented,” Hindustan Times yesterday quoted an official as saying.  “If the policy gets the sustainable nods, this might prove a notable leap towards increasing the ease and efficiency of the admission process” according to an administrative staff member of a Delhi University college.

For more latest informations about the Delhi University admissions, stay tuned with DU Beat!

Photo Credits- Du Beat

Nikhil Kumar

 

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Campus Central

Why online news portals pack a good punch

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Today’s tech-savvy world has allowed everything to go digital –right from food to sports to music and even the radio. It is only fitting that we find an alternative to the newspaper our father enjoys every morning with his cup of tea. We present to you a list of digital news apps for the courageous and honourable folks who admit they don’t read the average newspaper afterall!

Inshorts: We’ve all heard of this very popular news app that delivers news in short (quite literally). With crisp and accurate data accompanied by pointers explaining certain terms (yes, they do love us students), this funky app in signature red is a must read.

 

Google News: Yes and they publish news too (remember that old Tata Steel ad-after a wide range of activities, it read “we make steel too”). Let’s face it, nothing Google does is ever average and this is no exception. With a personalized newsfeed covering all possible areas of your interest, this app is perfect for those sloppy Joes.

 

Way2News : This app provides an exceptional reader experience , allowing you to skip the fluff and access the data. Let’s not forget, it operates in 9 Indian languages and has the most adorable monkey as its mascot. Yes, this is definitely worth your phone space.

We sincerely hope that all those who garner secret hatred for that badly formatted, black and white, advertisement ruled TOI will find solace in this article!

Featured image credits: inshorts

Anahita Sahu

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

The current Samajwadi Party fiasco: The falling dynastic Politics

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samajwadi party

The current crisis in the Yadav clan in Uttar Pradesh possesses bigger questions and threats than a mere feud over the symbols. How do we place these political developments on the broader time frame of the illogical dynastic politics in India?

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of the New Year, the aisles of the great Indian political arena have been jam packed with deliberate rumpus in the top leadership of the Samajwadi Party. The approaching election dates further intensify this tussle as random horns are seen locked every other day. The entire controversy which ignited on 14th  September last year when Mulayam Singh Yadav appointed his brother Shivpal Yadav as UP SP chief, replacing  Akhilesh Yadav to which the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister responded by ousting his uncle of three prime portfolios;  has roped in all the major stakeholders of the party. Opposition drools over the entire family drama with timely crocodile tears here and there.  Fittingly, the media houses are leaving no stone unturned to be the first ear to any development at 19, Vikramaditya Marg, Lucknow.

Unfortunately, a myopic picture which the entire crisis depicts is one of the objectification of something as theoretic and communal as a political party. Only time will tell how the general mass of UP respond to this bickering of the father and son over what seems to be something as mundane and personal as family business, further degrading not only the sanctity of the already blasphemous Indian politics but also the reliability of the government.

The inevitable question here is what makes these dynastic rulers take for granted a political party, and hence the social ideology on which it stands or the general mass which supports it? What gives certain families the liberty to defame the reputation of a party which is earned over time through blood, sweat, toil and tears of countless supporters?

The answer lies in the patriarchal hierarchical setup of the Indian culture which the nation has been witnessing ad infinitum. We have ended up being a nation of people who feel that leadership, and hence its charisma,  is a trait which is passed through generations, and hence there is no questioning of the leadership skill of a prodigal progeny of a veteran father however badly they fare or what new lows they lead the party, or the nation, to.

Mr. Nehru, the trendsetter, capitalized on this ardent desire of ours for a monarchical system and taught the nation that nepotism was all right and it was only fair to later reward your siblings, cousins and children with plum posts if you happened to be in power. This formula later worked so well by 1991 that when an utterly inexperienced, disaster orator Sonia Gandhi offered the Prime Minister-ship, no-one batted an eyelid. So dismal is the situation that now when Congress seems to be getting reduced to nothing, the alternative to the appalling leader in Rahul Gandhi is thought to be his sister.

Inder Malhotra, the former editor of The Times of India, in his book ‘Dynasties of India and Beyond’, poignantly  reasons this form of feudalism exercised by these political stakeholders when he writes “the vocal minority’s denunciation of dynasties-particularly loud in India and primarily directed against the Nehru-Gandhis-is indeed out of sync with the basic reflex of the silent majority… To the bulk of the subcontinent’s population, there seems nothing objectionable in political power passing from parent to progeny”.

This resentment of a minority is something which is fatal for a democracy. Keeping in view the changing tides of the mood of the masses in India and globally, a general consensus among the political parties needs to be made to stop taking people for granted and rise above the family lines to salvage their political party in particular and the national politics in general. We do not want to see the rise of our own version of Donald Trump.

 

References-

Dynasties of India and Beyond, Inder Malhotra, Harper Collins, 2004

Sunil Rajguru, Dynastic politics in India.

Image credits: TheIndianExpress.com

Nikhil Kumar
[email protected]

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