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DUSU Elections 2014: Behind the Scenes

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Delhi University Students’ Union, or DUSU, has never been the garden variety of students’ unions in the country. It has been the breeding ground for renowned national political leaders. The likes of Arun Jaitley, Ajay Maken and Vijay Goel have all hatched out of DUSU. It is also a great indicator of the national mood, as was evident in 2013 when ABVP nearly swept DUSU elections eight months before BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections.

The ways through which the various student bodies prepare for DUSU elections are as intriguing as the Union itself. Guidelines of the Lyngdoh Committee are going to feature heavily in this article, therefore, for the uninitiated: Lyngdoh Committee, headed by J.M.Lyngdoh, was set up by the Ministry of HRD to draw guidelines for elections of Students’ Unions across the country. Its report was submitted in 2006 and the guidelines were notified to all universities.

httpwww.academics-india.comLyngdoh-report.pdf
The recommendations of Lyngdoh Committee regarding the DUSU elections.

 

 

Top political parties begin hunting for possible candidates right after admissions cease. First years are the most preferred choice, which is so because Lyngdoh Committee’s guidelines require 2nd and 3rd year students to have a minimum of 75% attendance in the previous year. The rule, however, is not applicable to first years. How much of an impact a first year would have in the capacity of a DUSU member is worth giving thought to.

After zeroing in on candidates comes the phase of campaigning. Not known to many is the guideline that limits the expenditure of a candidate on their campaign to Rs.5000. This rule is generally flouted by everyone. Most candidates believe the limit to be impractical considering the size of the University. On the other hand, rampant bribes in the form of movie tickets and food vouchers are an undeniable reality.

DUSU
The electoral campaigns in the University of Delhi during DUSU elections.

 

 

Lastly, candidates file their nominations for various posts. It is a regular practice for a political party to initially nominate multiple candidates for a single post. Additional candidatures are later withdrawn when the party is sure of its decisions and the eligibility of their primary candidates. This is the answer if you’ve ever wondered why parties declare candidates much later after the last date of nomination.

 

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Word On The Street

Why Rent Regulation has been a hot topic this election season

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In 1958 was passed a law we know as Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958. In 1995, a revised bill was passed and received presidential assent, but the government, under pressure from traders’ bodies, could never notify it. Later, in the year 1997, an amendment also did not get passed in the Rajya Sabha.

In simple words, properties in Delhi are still governed by a law that was made 56 years ago. While most agree that the 1958 law favours tenants, one section of the tenant community pleads that the defunct state of the law allows landlords to exploit them.

This section is that of outstation students studying at colleges in Delhi. It’s safe to say that these students, miles away from home, are the most defenceless lot of tenants and do not possess any choice but to heed to the demands of their landlords.

There are an estimated 2 lakh students enrolled in Delhi University, including UG and PG students, whereas the number of hostel seats available is a mere 6000. DU, being a central and not a state university (as was recently stressed upon when a 90% quota for Delhiites was demanded), should expect students from all 36 states and union territories. However, to accommodate all these students, the University has no means. Students are also known to have not taken admission in certain colleges solely because of lack of a hostel.

This lack of hostel accommodation more than often leads students to the doors of ‘rent mafias’ who have sprouted around practically every college of DU. These mafias, apart from charging exorbitant rates for rooms, are known for committing felonies. In many rentals, landlords do not provide a formal Rent Agreement which is supposed to act as the student’s address proof. While disclosing rental income to municipal corporations and the Income Tax Department, the rent originally charged is seldom ever disclosed, thereby making the additional money acquired ‘black’. Some landlords also ask for advance payment for the entire semester or year. The 1958 law, however, rules that collecting an advance of more than one month’s stay is a crime.

In recent days, ahead of DUSU elections, political student bodies have taken up the issue of inadequate hostel facilities and rent regulation by means of rallies and signature campaigns. In actuality, a repeal of this archaic law was initiated by the UPA government in 2013 and a new law is expected to take shape in the next 2-3 years. Harsh as it may sound, it is just short of impossible for Delhi University to provide for even nearly all outstation students. Moreover, how much of a say DUSU or student bodies have in these matters is also up for speculation.

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Interviews

An interview with Archit Kumar of Kochings.com

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In conversation with Archit Kumar of Kochings.com, a  portal providing high quality curated information for informed academic decision making.

Q: Briefly explain what Kochings is all about.

 Kochings.com, simply put, is a listing and reviewing portal  for coaching institutes and home tutors. We’ve made this platform for students to be able to choose the correct institutes and tutors for their private coaching needs.  At Kochings.com, we are trying to solve three basic problems –

1. Problem of choice with regard to the number of coaching institutes existing in the market.

2. No structured rating and reviewing platform for coaching institutes, and

3. Dependence of decision making on word-of-mouth and marketing efforts of institutes.

We therefore, are building a web-based student driven solution where coaching institutes and home tutors can showcase their offering and students can search, compare, apply and review the same.

Q: Have you had competition in this field?

No, we have the first-mover’s advantage.

Q: How would you say has your college life fueled this venture?

I’ve had a history of leadership experiences right from school to college. I was the President of SRCC’s Economics Society. For a short while, I even headed  The Business Conclave, which is one of India’s biggest undergraduate management  festivals. In my final year at college, I went for The Jagriti Yatra,  a fifteen day train journey across the country. The motto of the Yatra is to build India through enterprise by turning job-seekers to job-creators. This was quite a boost for me.

Q: Given you do not hail from a tech background, what’s it like to handle a tech-educational start-up?

It is of course a challenge. But I guess that is what entrepreneurship is about –taking on your problems head-on and finding a solution to them. Currently we have outsourced this vertical but very soon we plan to bring it in-house.

Q:What is the most attractive feature of Kochings?

Kochings is a unique and one-of-its kind clutter-free platform. We are trying to provide information which is not easily available but plays an important role in the decision-making of a student i.e the average class size, the facilities, the faculty and the courses offered by the coaching institutes and home-tutors.

Q: What is your opinion on the prevalent compulsory-coaching culture of India?

Blame it on the population! The race towards good colleges has become so tight that a student can’t help but take coaching. I do not personally favor coaching. It’s taking the shape of societal pressure.

 

Check out the website of Kochings.com by clicking here.

 

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DU Dhaba

Food Review: The Booty Call

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The Booty Call is a pocket-friendly cafe and another addition to the wide range of cafes in Satyaniketan, opposite Sri Venkateswara College. To locate the cafe you’ll have to navigate a little deeper into the market. Its USP is that the cafe also undertakes deliveries from dusk to dawn (which explains the off beat name), coming as a huge boon to college students living as paying guests in South Campus.

The cafe cannot exactly be said to have ‘dine-in’ facility. However it can accommodate 6-8 people on the mattress laid on the ground and another 2-3 on the bunk-bed style loft. The walls are covered with interesting one-liners like, “Live by the booty, die by the booty” and posters of popular culture references including The Joker from the Batman series. The cafe also provides some popular books and a few board games for customers to enjoy as their food is prepared, with the dishes being served on bed trays. Overall, The Booty Call offers quite a ‘jugaadu‘ experience as far as arrangements go.

For the food review, we were served cheese burgers, pasta in Alfredo sauce and tandoori sauces, grilled chicken sandwich and paranthas.

One can literally taste the freshly melted cheese slice between the buns. In spite of being an ardent chicken devotee, I found the vegetarian burger to taste better than the chicken variant. Next came the pastas. The sauce was a bit sour for my tongue, and olives dominated the dish more than the pasta itself. Nevertheless, ‘tandoori pasta’ isn’t an item you see on menus everyday. Full marks for innovation!

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We were told that one of the chefs has previously worked in Old Delhi’s famous Paranthe Wali Gali. With that information came the final serving of paranthas and grilled chicken sandwich. The parantha did not match the hype it was surrounded with. On the other hand, the regular-looking grilled chicken sandwich turned out to be one of the best I’ve had in a while. The chicken was as minced as required and the bread was perfectly grilled. I did not even share the sandwich with my team!

In totality, I would go to The Booty Call again if I were a South Campus student. Although it faces stiff competition in Satyaniketan, the café is rather different when it comes to its concept and has a relaxed and easy going feel to it-perfect for those lazy late afternoons after grueling classes during the day.

Featured image courtesy: The Booty Call’s official Facebook page

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Admissions 2014

No admission under BMS; students protest outside Smriti Irani’s residence

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In a major development, Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) has officially been done away with for the batch seeking admission this year. Instead, students will be admitted to the three-year BBS, BBE and BFIA courses as was usual before FYUP was introduced.

In a notification issued on the University’s revamped website, the move was confirmed:

“The admission to BBS and B.A. Hons. (Business Economics) [will] be held on the basis of the criteria already announced for BMS admission 2014-15. However, the best four subjects will be calculated as per the admission guideline for these courses prevalent in the year 2012-13. The seat distribution will be restored to the status 2012-13.  Centralized Counseling would take place as per the schedule to be announced.”

According to the old seat distribution which is being brought into force again, DU has 275 seats of BBS, 554 seats of BBE and 62 seats of BFIA. Results of the recently concluded BMS Entrance Exam will be valid and considered.

The news comes as a huge blow to the present and only BMS batch of Delhi University. “BMS shouldn’t have been scrapped. It is unfair to us as employers will not at all value our BMS degrees. We have been subject to a lot of negative publicity too. Another of the many decisions taken in haste by DU in the past 2 years,” said Sanjivni  Sanju, a BMS student at College of Vocational Studies.

Students who enrolled in BMS last year protested outside Smriti Irani’s new residence in Lodhi Colony.  “We were protesting but nobody came to talk to us. Police barricaded the area and stopped us. Some of us sat there on a hunger strike. Initially the police did not even allow water through the barricades,” said Akshay Jagota, another BMS student at College of Vocational Studies.

The fate of the batch studying BMS remains clouded as neither the UGC nor the University has notified in writing what policy will be adopted for them but, in all likelihood, the batch will be migrated to a three-year course however the degree conferred will be titled BMS.  The final decision is expected to be taken tomorrow.

 

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St. Stephen's

St. Stephen’s hikes tuition fees; other colleges follow suit

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Citing inflationary pressure and rising operational costs as the reason behind the move, Delhi University colleges are preparing to hike fees by 2-7 percent this academic season.

The first such move comes from St.Stephens College. While humanities courses at the college will now cost Rs. 23,660 per annum, a Rs. 1,225 hike, the fee for the science courses has been hike by Rs. 1,345 to Rs 25,655. Students enrolling for mathematics will have to Rs. 24,020 per annum. Apart from tuition fee, the college has also hiked its hostel fee from Rs 37,400 per annum to Rs 44,500.

Colleges of Delhi University charge a highly subsidised fee from students as they are funded either by the Central or Delhi State government. Some colleges are also funded by organisations such as the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.

The colleges that are following suit are Maharaja Agrasen College, Bharati College, Hindu College and Ramjas College. Dr.Promodini Verma, Principal of Bharati College, spoke to DU Beat. “The language and medical courses we teach are funded neither by DU nor UGC, thus we are hiking their fees by Rs.1000 and Rs.100 respectively to cope with increasing costs. Bharati College is still one of the most inexpensive colleges in DU as our fees do not cross Rs.10,000 p.a. for any course,” she said.

Meanwhile, the issue is still being debated upon at Sri Venkateswara College. The colleges that are expected to not hike fee are SRCC, Dyal Singh College and Daulat Ram College. Dr. IS Bakshi, Principal of Dyal Singh College, explained that the college did not need to hike fees immediately although a decision in this regard could be taken in the future.

Colleges are careful in citing reasons and only marginally raising fees since the University has been witness to numerous protests by student bodies related to inadequate infrastructure and high canteen food rates among others.

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Campus Central

ABVP passes special resolution against FYUP in National Executive Meet

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After the triumphant victory of its principle party in the national elections, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad is set to move to the Ministry of Human Resource Development and seek a rollback of the Four Year Undergraduate Programme, introduced during UPA-2’s term.

The issue was also tabled at ABVP’s recently concluded National Executive Meet in Mangalore (26th-29th May), in which a special resolution was passed to express complete dissatisfaction over the implementation of FYUP. In an exclusive interview to DU Beat, Saket Bahuguna, ABVP’s State Secretary for Delhi, said, “For the past 5 months we have been taking delegations to various BJP leaders and expressing our worries for the University. Now that BJP is in power in the centre, a delegation will meet Minister of HRD, Ms. Smriti Irani, as soon as senior ABVP Delhi leaders return from the National Executive Meet. It is a matter of great urgency as the University plans to begin the process of admission from the 2nd of June, thus we passed a special resolution in the meet.” The Leader went on to challenge the FYUP on grounds of proper approval from the appropriate authorities. He also said that the programme is in contrast with the National Policy of Education, which recommends the 10+2+3 system. BJP’s student wing also cited arising problems in the University’s School of Open Learning (SOL). The institute will not be able to award honours degrees henceforth, courtesy of UGC’s new ruling which prohibits a University from awarding the same degree in 2 different ways.]]>

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Small Screen

Game of Thrones: A look at season 4 so far

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Spoiler alert!

Hasn’t this season given us the perfect welcome with the death of Joffrey Baratheon? At last, the debt has been paid! Though it would only be fair to praise Jack Gleeson for his flawless depiction of one of the most notorious characters ever created by George R.R. Martin in his medieval fantasy book series, A Song of Ice and Fire! It must be remembered that Joffrey wasn’t intentionally or ambitiously evil. Book readers would know of his confused upbringing, courtesy a drunk ‘father’ who spent most of his time in brothels or hunting and him secretly being an incestuous child. Fans of the TV show will surely remember him. (Remember him? Yes. Miss him? Definitely not!)
DU Beat brings you a detailed review of the 7 episodes of the fourth season of Game of Thrones that have been aired till now.

This season has swung in all directions, from giving us the best moment of our lives with the death of Joffrey Baratheon early in the season, to almost making us cry when Tyrion Lannister is tried for the same murder. His little speech at the trial is surely worthy of a second Emmy Award for the actor Peter Dinklage!

But let’s begin with the beginning. The season began with Tywin Lannister melting a sword, made of Valyrian steel, to make two swords for Jaime and Joffrey. The scene went quite unexplained, so for those who didn’t understand, that was the ancestral Stark sword taken from Ned Stark when he was announced a traitor in season one. In that same episode, Arya is depicted as a rising character when she melodramatically kills Polliver (who was responsible for killing her friend Lommy) and gets her own horse amidst some majestic Game of Thrones background music.

The season progresses to Joffrey and Margaery’s wedding, also called The Purple Wedding, which ends when King Joffrey dies of poisoning. Cercei accuses Tyrion of the murder, since the two never got on well (not that anyone got along particularly well with Joffrey!) The half-man had imparted a couple of slaps across Joffrey’s face in the past. The real culprits however, are later revealed to be Olenna Tyrell and Petyr Baelish.

At the trial of Tyrion, many testify against him. But the biggest disappointment was Shae’s betrayal. Shae is a prostitute Tyrion fell in love with, but because matters in King’s Landing had started turning dangerous, Tyrion wanted Shae to stay away from the city. He told Podrick, his squire, the same and he adhered. Shae was persistent on staying, compelling Tyrion to insult her as a ‘whore’ just to make her go away to a safer place. She returns and, possibly on the persuasion of Cercei, testifies against Tyrion and lies, saying that to please Sansa Stark, Tyrion had promised to kill King Joffrey. When Tyrion cries to her to stop lying, she replies, “I am a whore, remember?”

This has undoubtedly been the lowest moment of the season. It was followed by an outburst of Tyrion as he reminds the court that it was him who saved the city from being sacked at the war fought at Blackwater Bay. He says he’s not on trial for a murder, but on trial for being a dwarf. Finally, he demands a trial by combat, to the shock of everyone present.

One character who has started to turn out more important to the story than we ever expected him to be is Lord Petyr Baelish. Lysa Arryn discloses that she had poisoned her husband Jon Arryn on the request of her love, Petyr. He also reveals to Sansa that it was him who murdered Joffrey. At the end of the seventh episode, Petyr kisses the young Sansa on her lips telling her she is more beautiful than her mother and pushes a heartbroken Lysa out of the gaping Moon Door as she played an uninvited witness to the moment after telling her that the only woman he has ever loved is Sansa’s mother Catelyn Stark. Just your typical, happens-all-the-time, GOT drama.

Hopes are high for episode eight as the new entrant of the series, Oberyn Martell a.k.a. The Viper, has volunteered to be Tyrion’s champion in the trial by combat, for which Cercei plans to introduce Gregor Clegane a.k.a.
(and very rightfully so) The Mountain. Gregor is responsible for raping and murdering Oberyn’s sister Elia 15 years before the beginning of the series, for which Oberyn is vengeful. Who knows what will happen next; well, except for the ones who’ve read the books! The rest of us can treat ourselves to the following blessing of the internet.


 

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Small Screen

Six things Game of Thrones fans are looking forward to in Season 4

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Dracarys! After the end of How I Met Your Mother, it’s time to lose ourselves in the magical world of Westeros and Essos in the fantasy HBO television series, Game of Thrones, based on the popular novel series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. For those of us who haven’t read the books, there are many questions left unanswered and many mysteries yet to be revealed! As we gear up for season 4, DU Beat takes a look at six things the viewers are looking forward to the most!

[Spoiler alert for those who haven’t seen season 3 yet!]

Dragons, Dragons, Dragons! Do we want to see more of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons? Yes! The ‘Mother of Dragons’ has done a fine job taming the only dragons left, North and South of the wall. Now it’s time for them to be put to action! Whether they go up against humans as we’ve been seeing till now or the White Walkers, remains to be seen! The latter would definitely be fascinating.

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The fate of the (remaining) Starks: The clan portrayed as the protagonists of the show seem to have all died tragically with the exception of the children – Bran, Arya, Sansa and Rickon. While Sansa is living in King’s Landing against her will, Bran is discovering his powers as a Warg or ‘skinchanger’, Rickon’s existence in the story has sadly not played a very important part till now and Arya is burning in the fire of revenge with her new potential ally, the Hound. Will the fierce Arya finally take the limelight and score some Lannisters with her ‘needle’, after episodes of repeating and memorising the names of everyone she vows to kill? Will the handicapped Bran, being towed by Hodor, be able get inside the minds of his enemies? Or is there something better awaiting us?

Tyrion’s condition and whereabouts: Clearly the only Lannister most viewers like, the trailers of season 4 have had us wondering why he is shackled. Whose prisoner is he? He seems to have lost Shae’s trust and the rest of his family doesn’t like him either (not that they were very fond of him to begin with!). In fact, after Jaime’s return, do the Lannisters even need the half-man? Life-in-danger and conspiracies detected.

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Cercei and Jaime’s relationship: The twins and the incestuous parents of Joffrey Baratheon, the couple is finally reunited at the end of season 3. With Robb Stark dead and Jaime back in King’s Landing, the Lannisters are undoubtedly in their most powerful times ever, since the war for the Iron Throne began. Though we certainly can expect Tywin and the Tyrells to openly challenge the two’s relationship.

The role of the White Walkers: Curtains fell on season 3 with hundreds of White Walkers, marching towards Westeros from beyond the wall. What role will these creatures be playing in the upcoming season?

White-Walker

Theon Greyjoy’s possible rescue: Most of us spent a large portion of the previous season wondering who Theon’s mysterious and cruel torturer was! Though we didn’t feel all that bad for him, it was an unanswered question till the end. Will Yara be able to rescue to her brother from Ramsay in the coming season?

Another question that still eludes is, when exactly is ‘winter coming’? It’s been 3 years since the phrase started echoing from all parts of the kingdom. Also, let’s just say that we’re hoping for the death of a particular Baratheon soon.

We’ll have to wait for the new season for a lot of those answers! One thing is for sure, we can definitely expect brutally crafted battle scenes, acts of vengeance and passion, along with startling turns and many more deaths; all in the quest for the Iron Throne.  As they say, valar morghulis.

 

Image courtesy: reddit.com, tumblr.com, fansided.com

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