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All Lenses on Gaza: Digital Activism and the Palestinian Resistance

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As you think of others far away, think of yourself (say, “If only I were a candle in the dark”). –Mahmoud Darwish (translated by Mohammed Shaheen)

At the time of writing this article, it has been 40 days since the commencement of Israel’s relentless retaliatory assault on the Palestinian people living in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. Following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Israel’s offensive has resulted in the tragic deaths of at least 11,000 Palestinian civilians, with over 20,000 sustaining injuries. 42 journalists and media workers have lost their lives, and the war has recorded the highest number of UN aid worker casualties in the history of the organisation. Craig Mokhiber, the former Director of the New York Office of UNHCR, who resigned in protest of the United Nations’ failure to intervene and avert the crisis, has described the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe as “a textbook case of genocide.” Yet, if one were to turn to mainstream media, particularly in the West, one would find a very different picture than this grim reality.

Indeed, the Western reporting of the Israel-Palestine issue has been marred by a series of “erroneous Western assumptions,” as Professor Amir Ali of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) called them in a commentary piece for the Economic and Political Weekly. From an ahistorical account of the situation as beginning on October 7, 2023, to the labelling of all condemnations of Israel’s actions as antisemitism, along with the ad-nauseum repetition of “Do you condemn Hamas?” Prof. Ali identifies these assumptions as reflective of “the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the West.” Underneath these apparent fallacies in logic, of course, lie much more deliberate and coercive forces of racism, Islamophobia, and the state-driven race for geopolitical gains.

In light of this active epistemic erasure, many have chosen to turn instead to Palestinian journalists, photographers, and activists, such as Plestia Alaqad, Bisan, Yara Eid, and Ali Jadallah, among others, who have utilised their social media presence to document the harrowing genocide as it unfolds on the ground. “My photos travelled the world, but my feet couldn’t touch my homeland,” reads the Instagram bio of Motaz Azaiza, one such Gaza-based photojournalist, whose photographs have indeed travelled the digital world and exposed the ongoing atrocities of the Israeli state. From highly graphic and excruciating images of dead or injured children to capturing the daily resilience of the Palestinian people, the social media posts of Gazan civilians like Motaz have struck the consciences of millions across the world. Amid active attempts to dehumanise victims of genocide, they have served as an unprecedented tool of personal documentation, humanising the statistics too often reduced to mere death tolls.

The democratisation of information dissemination via social media has brought out the face of a genocide like never before in history. Such is the power of online discourse that many experts have called it “a battle to control the narrative dimensions of conflict and war.” The meddling forces in this narrative battle include disinformation, online propaganda, and censorship by social media platforms. The latter is particularly pertinent in the current context, as numerous activists, journalists, and regular users have accused major platforms of shadowbanning or taking down Palestine-related content. Yet, the sheer magnitude of this online movement is evident in the fact that October saw 15 times more posts on Instagram and TikTok with pro-Palestinian hashtags than pro-Israeli ones, as reported by Humanz, an influencer marketing company founded by former IDF intelligence officers.

On an individual scale, this has translated to what I’d like to term ‘digital-user morality’ for the purposes of this article. Digital-user morality may be understood as a form of individual social responsibility that encourages the socio-politically conscious usage of one’s social media platform, however big or small, to create awareness about issues that matter. Emphasising the complicit nature of silence and ignorance, it calls upon individuals to speak out for what’s right and stand in solidarity with marginalised communities across the world.

The idea here is not to suggest that passive engagement in the form of a single repost or retweet is going to bring about a revolution. Rather, the objective is to harness online support and channel it into tangible forms of dissent and protest movements. With the widespread adoption of the BDS (Boycott, Divest from, and Sanction) movement and people marching in the thousands across the world, it is evident that the line between digital activism and real-world mobilisation is a thin one, and the former has a significant bearing on public sentiment about war.

As we continue to mobilise our voices for Palestine, it is also crucial to be cognizant of the pitfalls of virality and not forget the many ‘silent genocides’ unfolding in other parts of the world right now, such as the Congo and Sudan. Social media is a powerful tool, but it is a tool based on capital, after all. So, when the Palestine issue inevitably dies out its so-called time on social media, just as the Manipur issue did earlier this year and countless other humanitarian crises that seldom see the spotlight, remember not to let your activism be washed away in the transient waves of online attention.

Read Also: What’s Going on in Gaza and Why You Should Care

Image credit: @motaz_azaiza on Instagram

Sanika Singh
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DUB Speak

Miles to Go Before We Sleep

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As months of anticipation and years of struggle come ostensibly crashing down, here is a moment of reckoning with institutional failures and the road that lies ahead.

10:48 AM on the crispy morning of 17 October, 2023. Groups of students huddle at the back of lecture halls, their eyes or ears fixated on the livestream or latest updates from the Supreme Court’s (SC) judgement on same-sex marriage equality. Nearly 5 months of waiting and 10 days of preceding hearings had led up to this moment. While the expectations going in differed for each individual, I swear we all experienced a collective adrenaline rush in the hours and minutes leading up to it. It is as if the weight of this verdict and the bearing it would have on our fates and futures had suddenly come crashing upon us.

Such is my intent with this piece. I am no queer activist with credit or contribution to the struggle that was fought for this case. Nor am I an expert who can offer insight or add to a conversation that has already been covered much better than I ever could. I am simply a young queer person seeking to memorialise this event in my eyes and those of the people of my age and community. Because if there is anything that queerness has taught me, it is that the power of memory and the power of stories outlive everything.

The pronouncement of the judgement certainly began on a high note, in large part due to the Chief Justice’s words, whose queer-sensitive remarks had been a highlight of the hearings as well. It did not take long, however, for all the hopes and exhilaration to come cascading down, ultimately solidifying as a pit in the stomach as we saw a relatively trusted institution shift the mantle of responsibility to one that few queer people hold faith in. Prakhar, a student who had been closely following the livestream, shared the initial joy he felt in being seen,

While all of this was happening, I was feeling very, very emotional. I was almost about to cry because of how we were being validated and talked about, and the fact that someone at a high level was acknowledging that queerness is not western and that we exist to deserve better. But of course, as the judgement moved on, all of these statements became futile. All the emotions that I was feeling went straight down the drain.

The degree of institutional trust held by the queer community is key to understanding the verdict at hand and the reactions it has elicited. The battle for LGBTQIA+ rights in India has historically found more success in the courts than it has in our legislatures. From the 2014 NALSA judgement to the 2018 decriminalisation of homosexuality, the judiciary of India has upheld the rights and dignity of queer individuals in the face of a cis-heteronormative society whose majority opinion seldom sways in the favour of marginalised groups.

In the case of the queer movement, legal reform has had to precede a social overturning of long-held prejudices. To see an apex institute abdicate itself of the responsibility to initiate such change is disappointing, to say the least. Add to this the Centre’s affidavit in March disapproving of same-sex marriages as something that “would cause a complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country and in accepted societal values” and their history of misrepresenting the queer community in legislation such as with the Trans Act 2019, and it is evident why people are calling this verdict the setback that it is.

Not all hope is lost, however. In fact, far from it. In conversation with DU Beat, Yash Sharma, founder of Official Humans of Queer, says,

While this verdict may not grant us all we’re fighting for, it has ignited the flame of determination within us. This newfound resilience will undoubtedly aid us in future battles, whether it’s for marriage equality, horizontal reservations, mental health support, or any other essential rights.

Moments like these also bring out the dire need for queer representation in the leadership and decision-making institutions of our country. Reflecting on the judgement, Gavish from Hindu College Queer Collective says,

The fiasco made me realise how just pressure from our side is not enough, we need more and more queer folks in position of power to change the prevalent conditions. Queer destinies are being determined by people who do not relate to queer issues; hence they are bound to fail.

In my conversations with queer peers, I was saddened yet felt empathetic upon observing great dejectedness and hopelessness among the youth of my age group. Perhaps stemming from the fact that this was our first face-to-face incidence with an institutional failure of this scale, a reaction of hurt and rage is naturally expected. It is in moments like these that I find it crucial to turn to our queer elders and queer history. Georgina Maddox, queer feminist art critic-curator, shares,

The younger generation should not feel defeated or depressed because queer rights have been gotten through fighting. We faced a similar set-back for Section 377 of the IPC that criminalised ‘carnal intercourse against the order of nature.’ Similarly, the marriage act for queer couples has to be redefined in gender non-binary manner and re-applied for. We will not give up but continue to struggle till we get our rights.

This should serve as a moment of reckoning. If you are a young queer person, especially one whose intersectional privileges have allowed them to distance themselves from politics and activism, this is your wake-up call. Apoliticism will not bring you queer rights, but channelling the pain and rage into actionable dissent might. As the LGBTQIA+ movement wages on in the country, which side of history will you choose to be on?

Read also: Student Unions and the Queer Community: Authentic Representation or Queer Baiting?

Featured Image Credits: DU Beat Photo Archive

Sanika Singh
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Who Protects Our ‘Safe’ Spaces?

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Against the background of an ongoing onslaught on the University’s gender-minority colleges, we seek to explore what it means to exist in DU’s so-called ‘safe spaces’ and why any threat to their sanctity must be dealt with the gravity of an ‘invasion’.

Introducing yourself as the student of a women’s college is an act that elicits a wide range of responses. From blatant objectification of yourself and your peers as ‘dream girlfriend material’ to feigned concerns about how the institutional absence of men is hindering your ‘holistic’ development, it is evident that gender-minority spaces are no safe haven from patriarchy. If anything, patriarchy operates in covert ways within and outside the walls of these institutions.

Beyond sexist stereotyping and disparaging remarks, it manifests as the very real and physical threat of gender-based violence, of which these students often become primary targets. As our campus witnesses a rise in public displays of male entitlement and territorial chauvinism, it is imperative that we learn to contextualise these incidents and understand that no violation of a safe space happens in isolation.

Before delving into the subject of gender-minority spaces and what threatens them, it is crucial to understand what these spaces symbolise for their students in the first place. The very need for exclusive spaces for women and gender minorities points to a history of sexual violence that has endangered these groups for simply existing in public. Delhi itself hosts the track record of being one of the most unsafe metropolitan cities for women in the country, with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recording 14,277 registered cases of crimes against women in the Union Territory in 2021 alone. The fear of violence is thus statistically backed up and deeply embedded in the collective psyche of gender-minority groups, who are forced to live much of their lives on ‘survival mode’.

In the midst of an overwhelming threat to life and autonomy, gender-minority spaces emerge as a cocoon of safety for historically marginalised groups. Hence, Priya Agrawal, a student of the Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW), Delhi University’s (DU) oldest women’s college established in 1924, comments,

There is a reason why our parents and relatives feel very comfortable with the fact that their daughter is in an all-girls’ college. They feel that she’ll be safe there.

In fact, this dichotomy between unsafe public spaces and the safe space of gender-minority colleges is epitomised by the daily experience of commuting to the latter. Any student of these institutions is all too familiar with the sense of relief that rushes over you as soon as you step inside your college gates and are no longer bound to check the length of your skirt or feel the gaze of a man staring down your chest. As Sobhana, a student of Miranda House, relates,

The journey from my house in Vijayanagar to the Miranda House campus, which is no longer than 3 minutes by rickshaw or 10 if you walk, gives me more trauma and catcalls than the entire day I spend on campus.

It is apparent why, despite the conflictual nature of the inner workings of these colleges, they hold sanctity as a form of ‘private space in public’ universities (to borrow author Shelly Tara’s idiom, who used it originally in the context of women-only coaches on the Delhi Metro).

All of this is not to paint gender-minority colleges as infallible institutions above any and all forms of discrimination. Caste, class, religion, queerness, and other social cleavages dictate the inner anatomy of these institutions, and indeed, the very notion of a ‘safe space’ comes to be contested in the face of social hierarchies and exclusionary cliques. Any sense of safety is accorded on the basis of privilege and it is crucial that we keep this intersectional standpoint at the back of our minds while examining the remainder of this issue.

So, it is not the case that DU’s gender-minority colleges represent some sort of progressive, feminist utopia, but more so that they unite students under the banner of shared experience and solidarity against patriarchal injustice. Payal Krishnan, an LSR alumna from the batch of 1996, says,

Even in a women’s institution, you would routinely face instances of internalised misogyny and homophobia, and it takes time and dedicated efforts to shatter. Just stepping inside a women’s institution doesn’t automatically make you a certain way. But luckily, we always had people come out in support of individuals and communities which were discriminated against, and that unwavering support and dedication towards creating a safe space is what mattered.

Despite the numerous problems that permeate such institutions, she speaks of a “culture of cooperation, respect, and holistic growth” and concludes, “There is power in the collective.” This power—this collective front put up against the omnipresent violence of gender norms—is what poses an existential threat to patriarchy. While it is not within the scope of this article to delve into the rich history of these colleges, it is true that dominant society has always felt a sense of unease in the presence of such highly-educated and liberated women. Whether it be the 1990s matrimonial ads declaring ‘Girls from JNU, LSR or Miranda House need not apply’ or the aforementioned judgemental remarks, the autonomy of gender-minority spaces has always existed as an open challenge to the hetero-patriarchal foundations of our society.

Perhaps it is this challenge, this daring not to conform, that has resulted in the repeated targeting of these spaces and attempts to infringe upon their boundaries. Case in point is that of the recent DUSU election campaigning rallies that have barged into women-only campuses, but also of much earlier incidents, such as the 2020 Gargi College fest, the 2022 Miranda House Diwali mela, and the 2023 IPCW fest. It is evident that these are not isolated incidents but rather a pattern of invasions that legitimises male entitlement to spaces clearly not meant for them. Even relatively normalised behaviours, such as men deliberately hanging around outside women’s college gates, are not to be dismissed either, since they form the root of this very patriarchal problem of ‘space and who occupies it’.

The cases of women’s college fests being invaded by men are some of the most publicized events within this scenario. These incidents, which become grounds for rampant sexual harassment in the form of catcalling, groping, and unwanted advances, and actively put the students’ safety at risk, have been meticulously covered by national media houses as well. What is often left out of the conversation, however, is the aftermath of such events. Sharing her traumatic experience during the IPCW fest invasion and how that permanently changed her perception of the college environment, one student relates,

The purity of the place was gone for me. I did not go to college for 1-2 weeks straight because there were many protests, but also because I didn’t feel like it. Many of my friends didn’t go either. Even months after, as soon as we’d enter, we’d get flashbacks from that night.

It should be made clear then that men climbing walls and trying to barge into gender-minority spaces are not a case of them doing just that. These are incidents that reinstate the fear of violence and re-establish the norm of male proprietorship over women and gender minorities. They serve as a painful reminder to the latter that no space that they construct with love and care for themselves is truly theirs forever. It is forever dangling under the threat of patriarchal violence and could be overcome, at any moment, by the ever-destructive male ego. As the above-quoted IPCW student went on to share,

Even after all this went down, people still don’t realise that this was not about a college having a concert, where people simply climbed the walls and chaos and stampede happened. No, it’s not about that. It’s about men trying to enter the space of women, trying to harass us in our own spaces, and telling us, ‘We can come here too; what will you do about it? Your administration is not going to help you out either.

Indeed, it is only within this context that one can begin to understand the visceral reaction of gender-minority students against their spaces being invaded. Recently, when the political rallies for the DUSU 2023 elections barged into Aditi Mahavidyalya and Miranda House, students of both colleges were quick to label these as ‘invasions’ and expressed dissent against them. Unfortunately, they were dismissed under the claim that such hooliganism is just ‘part and parcel’ of the DUSU election fever. Such statements, that ring too close to the common adage of ‘boys will be boys’, fundamentally fail to understand the sanctity that safe spaces hold for gender minorities and the reason why they might get so protective about them.

It is no far-fetched remark to also suggest that the way elections season has panned out over the past month in DU has been nothing but a display of power under patriarchy. Yes, money and muscle power reign supreme in this University’s (and by large, the country’s) electoral politics, but must we be so quick to accept that as the norm, as students and conscious voters? Must we allow our gender-minority spaces to be violated for the sake of more noise and pamphlet-litter? Of course, one also wonders why it is always the same political outfits, like ABVP and NSUI, that choose to engage in this chauvinist brand of student politics. Perhaps, someone will tell us to quietly accept that just as boys will be boys, ABVP and NSUI too will be ABVP and NSUI.

Ultimately, what matters, however, is the safety of our spaces. One of the most disheartening outcomes is always the immediate reaction of administrative authorities, who seem quicker to police the gender-minority students than take action against the perpetrators. Whether it be barbed wire being put up on college walls or student protestors being detained before the men who invaded IPCW, the question of who will protect our safe spaces remains unanswered.

Read also: The Invasion of IPCW – A Student’s Account

Featured Image Credits: Anshika for DU Beat

Sanika Singh
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The Nominations Debacle: SVC in Uproar as Nominations of ABVP Candidates Cancelled

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SVC

After a tumultuous pre-election campaigning season, the nomination period for DUSU and college Student Union elections has proven to be no less happening. Amid similar scenes being reported in Hindu College, SSCBS, and Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College, ‘Venky’ or Sri Venkateswara College (SVC) saw students protesting against the administration to demand an explanation for the grounds on which their election nominations were cancelled.

On September 14, 2023, the administrative body of Sri Venkateswara College (SVC) released the provisional nomination list of candidates for election of Executive Committee of SVC Students’ Union & Central Councillors. This document listed 5 provisional candidates against the post of President, of whom two candidates—Arth Ohlan and Kartikey Tomar—were supported by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) according to our sources. The very next day, however, a corrigendum was issued by the college, removing Kartikey’s name from the list.

Even though the very first list claimed the candidates being “found valid provisionally, after the scrutiny for various posts”, the nomination of Kartikey Tomar was cancelled in the second list reportedly on the grounds of not meeting the attendance criteria. In conversation with DU Beat, Kartikey revealed the explanation he received from the college administration for the cancellation of his candidature.

Nominal list mein mera naam tha, usmein meri attendance poori thi. Par doosri list mein mera naam nahi thi aur admin ka kehna hai ki tumhari attendance poori nahi hai. Ya to meri attendance poori pehle nahi thi ya meri attendance kam karwai gayi hai.

(My name was there on the nominal list and my attendance was complete at that time. But my name was not there on the second list and the admin told me that your attendance was not sufficient. Either my attendance was not sufficient in the first place or my attendance has been reduced by someone.)

He blamed the college administration and election committee for committing such a blunder, if it was a case of the attendance criteria falling short. The latter part of his statement here is referring to a protest that happened on the college premises on the morning of September 15, where he and other sources alleged that “pass-out students” had protested to cancel his nomination. The same was mentioned in a complaint mail sent by Kartikey, addressed to the DU Registrar, Dr Vikas Gupta, Dean of Colleges, Prof. Balaram Pani, DU Proctor, Prof. Rajni Abbi, among other University officials. It read,

My name (Kartikey Tomar) was there in the list. But today a group of opposition students protested in front of the college administration and finally the election officer favored them and finally reduced my attendance by 1%.

One of our sources claimed that these protesting students had belonged to a youth organisation called ‘Happy Club’. We were able to get in conversation with one of the students from Happy Club, and they told us that suspicions arose over Kartikey Tomar’s attendance when they talked to his fellow batchmates.

Classmates ko idea rehta hai kisne kitne lectures attend karein hain… Jab humko doubt hua to humnei strongly is baat par demand rakhi. Administration ne humari sunkar cross-check kiya aur fir list badal di.

(Classmates tend to be aware of who has attended how many classes… When doubt arose, we strongly raised this demand. The administration listened to us and cross-checked (the attendance), after which they changed the list.)

They also informed us that the candidates from Happy Club have won both the posts of Vice-President and Secretary unconstested.

The provisional list of candidates is supposed to provide a final window to candidates to withdraw their nominations. ABVP activists from the college informed that they had submitted the withdrawal of Arth Ohlan’s nomination on their own volition, since the latter “was a second-year student and we thought it would be better for him to contest as President next year”. However, with the cancellation of Kartikey’s nomination, ABVP is left with no valid candidates on the final list for the post of President of Sri Venkateswara College Students’ Union.

In view of the same, Saturday, September 16, saw sloganeering and protests by ABVP activists in the Sri Venkateswara college premises. Protesting students gathered outside the administration office and messages circulating on social media also claimed that students had locked professors and staff inside a room. While the validity of the latter claim could not be fully confirmed, one of the protestors present on-ground did strangely admit during our conversation,

Ek hi professor hain jo apni marzi se ander baithe hain. Bas hum unhein bahar nahi aane de rahe.

(There is only one professor sat inside willingly.  We are just not letting them come out.)

They also said that the door had been locked by the guards from the outside.

This is not the first time an incident like this is happening. Reports have been floating around of candidate’s nominations being cancelled allegedly without satisfactory explanations and students protesting against the same. The latest updates on the situation in SVC have informed that the Hostel Warden and another professor of the college advised the protesting students to send a mail to the Grievances Redressal Cell, along with assuring that their demands will be formally heard on Monday morning. Students wait in anticipation for the redressal of their grievances.

Read also: Death of Democracy? Protests at Hindu College as Multiple Student Union Nominations Rejected

Featured Image Credits: EducationWorld

Sanika Singh
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Protesters Demand Suspension of DRC Principal Dr. Savita Roy

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As the Daulat Ram College Principal, Dr Savita Roy, faces casteist harassment allegations from a former staff member, organizations have gathered in the Arts Faculty area of North Campus, DU, to demand the former’s suspension.

Since August 28, 2023, the Bhim Army Student Federation (BASF) and Mission Save Constitution have staged an ongoing, 24/7, sit-in protest that demands the suspension of Daulat Ram College Principal, Dr. Savita Roy. Dr. Roy has been accused of perpetrating caste-based discrimination and firing former ad hoc Assistant Professor, Dr. Ritu Singh, without a show-cause notice.

The case dates back to 2020, when Dr. Singh was allegedly fired without proper notice in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. She came out with accusations against the Principal at the time, saying that the latter took issue with her social activism and political stances. She was also accused of passing casteist remarks and slurs.

Initially, Dr. Singh’s plea was dismissed by both the Sessions Court and High Court and also failed to register as an FIR by the Delhi Police, citing a lack of evidence. Only after she approached the National Commission for Scheduled Castes was an FIR filed last year against the Principal, as well as DU Registrar Vikas Gupta, under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The Quint elaborated on the various accounts under which FIR was filed and chargesheeted: “Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using a forged document or record) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 3(u) (promoting feelings of ill-will, enmity or hatred against a member of the SC/ST community, through words or signs) and 3(2)vii (committing any offence under this section as a public servant) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989”.

Dr. Singh’s case is being represented by her lawyer, Adv. Mehmood Pracha, who is also the National Convenor for Mission Save Constitution. When the Principal came out with a statement saying that Dr. Singh’s removal had been on the basis of a complaint against her signed by 35 students, Pracha claimed that these 35 students had allegedly not even studied under Dr. Singh.

The Mission’s Delhi Convenor, Rajesh Kumar, said in conversation with DU Beat,

If Dr Savita Roy has been booked under such heinous allegations and had a chargesheet filed against her, how is she still holding this post?

The ongoing protest has been organised by the Bhim Army Student Federation in alliance with Mission Save Constitution and awaits an appropriate response from the University administration and Vice Chancellor.

Read also: DU Teachers’ Associations Unite to Take on RSS-backed Union in DUTA Elections

Featured Image Credits: Vanya Garud for DU Beat

Sanika Singh
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Keshav Mahavidyalaya’s Non-Teaching Staff on Month-Long Protest

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For the past month, the non-teaching staff of Keshav Mahavidyalaya have been protesting in a sit-in dharna for demands such as pending promotions and timely payment of dues. The administration has allegedly not relented to any requests as of yet. 

In an exclusive conversation with DU Beat, a member of the Karamchari Union of Keshav Mahavidyalaya alleged that promotions of the college’s non-teaching staff have been halted since 2009. Instead, they accused, the appointment of retired individuals has been extended to fill up the posts that were supposed to be taken up via promotions. This has led to serious concerns about financial security and workers’ rights, given that 30-32 members of the Keshav Mahavidyalaya Non-Teaching Staff Union have been protesting in the college since April 12, 2023.

Jo jahan pe hai wo vahin hai. Job kisiliye karta hai aadmi? Isiliye ki jisse uski koi growth ho, wo zindagi mein kuch achieve kar paye… 17-26 saal ho gaye hain logon ko kaam karte hue. Mehangai badh rahi hai, par us hisaab se aapki salary nahi increase ho rahi. Aadmi apni zaruratein nahi puri kar paata, apne parivaar ke kharche nahi utha pata.

(Everyone is stuck where they are. Why does someone work at a job? So that they can achieve something in life and for growth… It’s been 17–26 years since we have been working. Prices have been rising, but our salaries have not been increasing in proportion. One is not able to fulfil their needs and fend for their family.)

– Anonymous member of Keshav Mahavidyalaya Non-Teaching Staff Union

Even though the number of students being admitted to the college has increased over the years, our sources claimed that the number of posts for non-teaching staff has not increased in proportion to the increasing workload. Reportedly, posts such as lab assistant, library assistant, gardener, etc. are vacant and awaiting promotions.

Additionally, our sources alleged that the college has not been adhering to the reservation policy; posts reserved for SC, ST, and OBC categories have allegedly been allotted to unreserved candidates. In another instance, they accused the college of allotting examination duties to “near and dear ones” instead of the existing college staff.

Our sources retold a particular instance of pending promotions which arose in the case of the post of Senior Assistant in the Administration department. According to the post-based promotion roster available on the college website, there are two posts in the cadre. However, our sources informed us that the same was reduced to 1 post in subsequent rosters. A plea filed in 2011 under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, once again revealed that there were two posts present of Senior Assistant in the college.

Alleging “a blame game on Dilli sarkar (Delhi government)”, they reported that inquiries with the administration were met with the response that Delhi government has not sanctioned or approved those posts and that the college lacks adequate funding. Letters and mails to the administration have allegedly not yielded much positive response either.

Admin se jo ek-do baar baat hui hai, tab unhone humein pressurize karne ki neeti apnai hai. Ki aap apne kaam pe laut jao. Darane-dhamkane ka bhi unka raha hai.

(In the one or two times that we have talked to the administration, they have adopted the strategy of trying to pressurize us. That we should return to work. They have tried to intimidate and threaten us.)

– Anonymous member of Keshav Mahavidyalaya Non-Teaching Staff Union

While headlines of fund-crunch in the 12 DU colleges that come under the purview of the Delhi government have surfaced before, our source reported that, as per their knowledge, the teaching staff of the college hasn’t faced any issue with promotion or dues. If the issue is reportedly limited only to the non-teaching staff, they raised questions about the validity of the fund shortage reasoning.

The protesting workers and non-teaching staff have pleaded for immediate redressal of their “long-overdue demands” and inquiry into all cases of alleged maladministration.

Read also: DU Non-Teaching Staff Protest Demands Pending Promotions

Featured Image Credits: Sourabh for DU Beat

Sanika Singh

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SSCBS Mark-It: Devil’s Advocate or Blatant Transphobia?

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The following piece may be upsetting for some readers. T.W. transphobia, queerphobia, hate speech, suicide, mental illness

 From April 24–25, Mark-It, the marketing society of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS), organised their flagship event, Excelsior 2023. A case study round within one of the competitions, unabashedly and arrogantly titled ‘Unscripted and Unapologetic’, saw the platforming of blatant transphobia and hate speech.

 Self-described as “one of the best marketing societies across the DU Circuit,” SSCBS’ Mark-It is known for its annual flagship event, Excelsior—a national-level marketing cum management conclave that brings 10,000+ college students together to participate in events such as Best Manager, HR-PR, Corporate Strategy, and Marketers. This year’s Excelsior featured a similar host of events. However, it was a case study round, based on the Mr. Beast, Chris Tyson, and SunnyV2 controversy, organised on the first day of HR-PR, April 24, that crossed all boundaries of what may be deemed responsible or ethical.

Explaining the SunnyV2 Controversy

For the sake of context, it is important to consider what the original social media controversy was about. Jimmy Donaldson, or MrBeast, is an American internet personality and YouTube tycoon who is regarded as the largest individual creator on the platform and known for his boisterous and over-the-top challenge and stunt videos. His videos feature a crew of friends, of which Chris Tyson was to be the unfortunate victim of this controversy.

A childhood friend of Jimmy’s, Chris Tyson, went through a series of very personal matters that were brought out and scrutinised publicly, including their marriage and separation from fellow influencer Katie Tyson. In April 2023, they announced on Twitter that they had been undergoing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and that it had “saved their life.”

The announcement was met with some support, but as is the case with the Internet, there was no dearth of transphobic backlash. Bigoted remarks and comments attacked Chris’ feminine appearance and went so far as to question their ability to parent their young son. However, the most divisive hate came in the form of a video by YouTuber SunnyV2, titled “Why Chris Will Soon Be A Nightmare For MrBeast”, in which the creator made the outlandish claim that Chris’ gender transition was going to negatively affect MrBeast’s channel performance. The video served to fuel much of the transphobic abuse that had already been hurled at Chris across all platforms, but somehow provided a uniquely insensitive take on the situation by dehumanising and reducing Chris to a mere content prop in MrBeast’s videos.

This video was met with sharp criticism as MrBeast himself took to Twitter to call out the transphobia of the video and state that Chris is his “friend and not a nightmare.” Many others commented across social media platforms to defend Chris too.

The Case Study Round

Back to the story. The case study round organized by SSCBS’ Mark-It introduced this controversy and asked the participants to create a 3-minute response video as SunnyV2, addressing the criticisms and accusations that the creator’s video had faced. Shockingly, the brochure explaining the task at hand read,

“Your response should not be thoughtful, respectful, and inclusive. Promotion of intolerance and misunderstanding towards the LGBTQ+ community should be the goal.”

In the name of being “unscripted and unapologetic,” Mark-It thus blatantly asked participants to make a hate speech video that would defend the deplorable actions of an online creator that had directed transphobic abuse against an innocent trans person. Whether this was a convoluted attempt to challenge contestants to play devil’s advocate or something more malicious, the end result was utterly reprehensible and dangerous for the college environment.

A Participant’s Account

In conversation with DU Beat, Sanya (name changed for the sake of anonymity), a participant in the event, shared the traumatising experience of having to sit through such a competition.

“I felt taken aback. We had to make a video, and the criteria was that we had to be hateful, that you shouldn’t be respectful towards the LGBTQIA+ community. At first, we thought that maybe we had not read it properly and maybe there was a catch. We read it twice, thrice, 4 times, and we realised that this was something we cannot do. This was not even about being comfortable or uncomfortable; it was about our integrity as people.”

 – participant in the case study round

Sanya and her teammate approached the organisers with their concerns, asking the team to change the topic or scrap the round, or else they were going to walk out. They were first met with the direct response to walk out, but later offered the option of making a simple apology video that was not hostile in nature.

The team decided to walk out. Much to their and our horror, they were the only team of the 28 total participants to do so. The rest of the teams continued to make the video without opposition in the name of “completing the task at hand.”

Assessing the Repercussions

The immediate repercussions of the competition were felt after Sanya’s team walked out, and the news that such events had transpired was found by queer cells and collectives of different colleges. The Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) members of SSCBS themselves came to know about this through external sources.

“It was very upsetting and regretful for us to hear, especially because we were being informed of this by another QC (queer collective). The person who had approached us was very triggered; they raised their concerns about what could be done. We were really shocked that a college society would actually do something like this.”

       – anonymous member of the SSCBS Queer Straight Alliance

 People have voiced concerns about the long-term impact that such an event is likely to have and how it reflects on the college environment’s inclusivity. The display of such explicit malice and hatred against the queer community is highly alarming. Further, the fact that it was legitimised all in the name of breaking boundaries and doing things out of the box, really raises a question about the levels that college societies are ready to stoop to. Mark-It, through its actions, has made an utter mockery of the real-life experiences and trauma that LGBTQIA+ individuals must go through on a daily basis.

Beyond the ignorance and hatred of a few bigoted transphobes, what is even more astonishing is that an entire society deliberated and decided upon such an event. Many have accordingly questioned how such a case study competition came to see the light of day in the first place.

“Having made a lot of case study competitions myself, I know that there is a proper thought process that you put in for a month. There’s a whole team that sits to understand the case, make the case, and make multiple drafts which are seen by seniors and others. So, this wasn’t a silly mistake that a few people could’ve made. It never goes like that. It’s always that the whole society knows what’s going on.”

     – anonymous student at SSCBS

Members of QSA alleged that much of Mark-It’s initial responses claimed the rhetoric of them being “mediators who are just giving a platform” and “not taking any side because we are all educated enough to know what’s right or wrong.” Mark-It has since responded by saying that this was “an independent statement made on WhatsApp by a participant.” Statements like these, regardless of who make them, fail to take into account is that some issues cannot have a neutral stance. If the question is between basic human rights and dignity for a community and the lack thereof, there is no middle ground that can be found. Actions like such propagate the platforming of hate and transphobia without any recognition of the scale and magnitude of harm they may have caused—not just to a queer person who may have participated and felt highly triggered by the content of the competition, but to each and every queer person on the college campus who will feel infinitely more unsafe amid the prevalence and normalisation of transphobia.

Actions Taken

Following conversations that reportedly involved the faculty, members of Mark-It, and the QSA, an apology was issued to all participants and the QSA. The apology to QSA assured “remedial/redressal measures,” which included a public apology on Mark-It’s Instagram handle, a team meeting to address the issue, and promises to institute a “regular sensitivity training mechanism” and “a representative equity cell within the society.” The letter also said that the society plans on “keeping TICs in loop and having all cases vetted by them,” since allegedly that was not the case this time. An apology issued to all participants informed them that the case-study round had been scrapped and the evaluation process of that round had been halted permanently.

However, the briefness of the public apology, as well as the lack of mention of the events that had actually transpired, really bring into question the sincerity of the gesture. To quote one of the comments on the Instagram post, the tone was that of a “ChatGPT apology” and felt more performative than heartfelt. People in the comments section also pointed out that the damage had already been done in terms of making the campus space dangerous and unsafe for queer individuals. No number of hollow words or apologies can undo systematic propagation of queerphobic hatred.

It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to call yourself an ally and profess that it goes against the value of the organization, considering that the decision to make the study and go forward with this task wasn’t taken in a silo, without any chance or scrutiny by others, be it at the time of ideation or the event run.”

– read one of the comments on Mark-It’s apology post

A History of Problematic Behaviour?

Sources have alleged a history of problematic behaviour by the marketing society Mark-It, claiming that events held in the past have involved themes of slavery, objectification of women, etc. There were also reports of another horrifying round in the competitions held during Excelsior 2023. Allegedly, the event involved a case study or situation-based competition inspired by the tragic Burari deaths case from 2018, involving the mass suicide of eleven family members of the Chundawat family. Grotesque paper cut-outs of humans were hung from the ceiling to represent the situation, along with religious iconography scattered across the room to represent some of the ritualistic details of the original case. Despite the availability of photographic evidence, not all of these claims could be verified. Any updates on the story will be taken up and reported by DU Beat.

Featured image credits: shiksha.com

Read also: English Department and Queer Collective Condemn Transphobic Video in Circulation

Sanika Singh

[email protected] 

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Campus Central

DU Teachers Stage Protest for Absorption of Ad-Hoc Teachers

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On Monday, April 10, the teachers and various teacher organisations of Delhi University staged a protest during an Executive Council meeting, demanding the absorption of ad-hoc and temporary teachers along with the formation of governing bodies in Delhi government-funded DU colleges.

The members of the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) protested outside the vice chancellor’s office while the Executive Council meeting was underway. They were joined by the teachers’ wing of the Aam Adami Party, the Academics for Action and Development Delhi Teachers’ Association (AADTA). The demonstration included two members of the Executive Council itself, Seema Das and Rajpal Singh Pawar, who are also associated with AADTA. The primary issue raised was that of the displacement of ad-hoc teachers, leading to dire financial conditions and job insecurity.

 “The ousting of long-serving teachers is inhumane and promotes social insecurity in the working of the ad-hoc teaching community, which is not in the interest of the academic environment, teachers, and the community.”

                                            —AK Bhagi, Delhi University Teachers’ Association President

They demanded the absorption of displaced teachers and additionally called for the formation of governing bodies in colleges funded by the Delhi government, claiming that the “arbitrary displacements” had been a result of the absence of governing bodies.

“DU has been reneging on its promise of no displacement and warned that this is leading to the harassment of thousands of ad-hoc and temporary teachers working in the colleges of the University.”

                         —Seema Das, Executive Council Member and Member of AADTA

Displacement of ad-hoc teachers has been a pressing issue in the varsity, as data gathered by some University teachers suggests that nearly 76% of ad-hoc teachers have been displaced. Of the 615 ad-hoc teachers who were interviewed for permanent positions in various colleges, it is estimated that nearly 465 have been displaced as of April 8. Many of them have been teaching for several years, some even decades and nearing retirement.

“You cannot displace them in just two minutes. What will happen to them? Where will they go? Many of these teachers are above 40 and some are even nearing retirement. They provided their services despite knowing that they were not going to receive any facilities that the permanent staff do. We have been abandoned by the University and left in a lurch.”

                   — An anonymous ad-hoc teacher who was displaced recently

Some teachers alleged lack of transparency in the interview process, saying that they were not selected despite having experience and academic publications.

Featured Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Read also: Chronological Account of the DUTA Ad-Hoc Crisis

Sanika Singh
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Around the Campus

Pride, Privilege, Politics: A Third-Year Perspective on Being Queer in DU

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queer in du

As final-years gear up for farewell, here is an attempt by a first-year queer student to ask and articulate what their LGBTQ experience has looked like.

When I first took up this piece, I must admit the tinge of narcissism I brought to the table with me. As a first-year student, I wanted to look up to these seniors—these wonderful, proud, queer seniors, whose mere existence on campus had made me feel safe and like I belonged—for answers. It’s as if my long-suppressed desire of stopping every queer senior in their tracks and bombarding them with questions had finally found a less-creepy outlet. I wanted to ask them if they had felt the same way. Had they stepped into college with similar dreams and aspirations as me? Did those dreams come true? Did they feel just as lost and lonely? Was the feeling going to last forever, or was there someone to turn to? I reached out to the ever-so-loving hand of the guiding senior that DU had taught me to trust so much.

As you can imagine, my plan of mapping out a queer journey and, vicariously, a personal trajectory too, is not exactly how things panned out. Assuming the existence of a single, unified, queer DU student experience was a fallacy in the first place. Each day at DU is a lesson in the incredible diversity of this university, and its queer students are no exception. Queer people are far from a monolith, and their journeys as students at Delhi University are shaped by their wide range of backgrounds, privilege, and family values. Equally important is the college in which they land.

It is certainly true that for many, DU, or college in general, represents a highly liberating and exhilarating experience—to be away from the shackles of one’s often queerphobic and non-accepting family and to experiment, question, and live on your own terms perhaps for the first time is no small deal, after all. The question I wanted to pose, however, is how often those hopes are realised. 

I did have very high hopes about Delhi and queerness but it didn’t meet my expectations. Queer people in Delhi have this very secluded, exclusive circle. The community itself has not been too welcoming. If you see a bunch of queer kids hanging out and you think that you can just go and blend in with them, you probably can’t.

Titas, a final-year student from Miranda House

This feeling of alienation, resulting from a homogenised, elitist, and exclusive queer culture, is one that I sadly found echoed by most final-year students that I talked to. Another person lamented,

Being queer is always supposed to look a certain way in DU. I, as an individual without coloured hair, multiple piercings, non-ability to party, drink alcohol, etc always feel like I don’t really belong in these circles.

An anonymous final-year queer student

Rejected from these social circles, one may turn to queer collectives and gender cells for community—or at least so I thought in my naivety. The very existence of these bodies in most DU colleges remains an exception to the rule, especially when it comes to whether or not the college administration recognizes them officially. Much to my disappointment, I was additionally disillusioned about the integrity and effectiveness of these bodies in colleges where they do exist.

Most administrations are happy to use places like the Queer Collective tokenistically to appear progressive when required, but otherwise want everyone to be hush hush about the same on most accounts. You’d expect at least DU professors to be progressive and all that? Most aren’t.

—an anonymous final-year queer student 

Problems of elitism are quick to seep into queer collectives too. Their effectiveness, in that case, seems to stem from how empathetic and accepting an environment they are able to cultivate and the true sense of community they may foster.

We were able to start a queer collective in our college. It’s not a formalized society, but it does exist as a safe space for people to come and talk about things. I personally saw a lot of people journeying from what they thought was their cishet identity to their queerer identity, and that was really nice to be able to see them be open with their friends and have that safe space. So, I think in terms of the University, if we just have more places like that where people, one, have the ability to learn, and two, have this community where they can talk to people, it would be great in terms of making the University more queer-friendly.

— Sagarika, a final-year student from St. Stephen’s College

As with all things DU, politics also factors in a big way when it comes to being queer on campus. While for some, their identity becomes a political statement in itself, others prefer to distance themselves from such a stance.

The “safe” space of DU definitely comes with multiple terms and conditions. At a time when there is a humungous right-wing upsurge in the university, there is constant control of the queer folx around.

The queer community itself is largely covertly divided because not everyone has the access to the same kind of social resources and that creates the image of what queerness is acceptable and what is not. Nonetheless we have come a long way from multiple colleges to having just gender cells to now having queer collectives. It is definitely a step forward but there still stands a long way to go.

But amidst all the brouhaha I hope that people never lose sight of the fact that pride was and must always remain a protest first and a celebration later. To alienate one from the latter is a disservice to the history of this deeply political movement.

– Anwesh Banerjee, final-year student from Ramjas College

One of the loveliest anecdotes that I came across while working on this piece was one shared by a final-year student from one of DU’s women’s colleges. I must spare the details for the sake of anonymity, but they described finding, within the pages of decades-old library books, queer love letters and Urdu shayari written for and by the women students of the institution. There is solace to be found in this history of queerness at DU, but it also signals the continuing presence of queer students as part of the diversity of this campus. LGBTQ+ voices have mattered and will always continue to matter as queerness continues to shape this dynamic university space.

Read also: The Need for Queer Collectives in Colleges

Featured Image Credits: Scroll.in

Sanika Singh
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Gargi College

Gargi College Students Protest for Reverie College Fest

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On April 3, 2023, the students of Gargi College, led by SFI, organised a protest to demand the restriction-free organisation of their annual college fest, Reverie, along with standing in solidarity with protesting IPCW students.

On Monday, April 3 2023, a rumour that the Gargi College’s administration’s planned to cancel its annual fest, Reverie, was met with protests led by SFI Gargi. This event followed the stampede and cases of harassment that took place at the annual fest of Indraprastha College for Women on March 28, 2023.

The fest was tentatively scheduled for April 10–12, 2023. Such rumours particularly caught wind when, on March 31, 2023, “Reverie Reveal” did not go as planned, as the college’s Student Council failed to disclose the theme for the upcoming fest as they were expected to. The protestors assembled in front of the admin office for hours. However, nobody from the admin office came to address them, instead asking two students to enter the office but leave their phones behind – something they refused to comply with.

The protestors questioned the administration’s move of imposing restrictions on a women’s college fest because of what transpired at IPCW, rather than increasing security as necessary. They questioned the “highly regressive” idea of asking students to leave early in a metropolitan city like Delhi, simply because they are women. They demanded the right to organise a college fest without the imposition of such unreasonable restrictions, just like other co-ed colleges of the University.

However, it was revealed that rather than the fest being cancelled, additional guidelines and restrictions had been put in place by the administration to allegedly curb crowding and the chances of mishaps. These included wrapping up the event by 5 PM, removing the element of a star night or concert, and limiting the fest to society competitions and events. A student, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared that the student council were informed of these changes on the evening of 30th March, Thursday.

Our original itinerary had a band performance, stand-up comedy, and Qawwali night till 7-8 in the evening. But on the 31st they told us that it will be till 5, with no band, no stand-up comedian, only sufi night, because apparently that would not attract boys. Basically, nothing that can generate mass crowd because apparently coronavirus is spreading – only after 5 PM – and because of the IPCW incident. These were the two reasons they gave us.” – an anonymous student

In opposition to these restrictions as well as in solidarity with protesting IPCW students, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Gargi College, decided to lead a protest demanding “a proper fest without restrictions while ensuring safety of the students,” as said in an SFI press release dated April 3, 2023. The protest began around 12:30 PM with a handful of students in the Arts Quad area of the college, but over time allegedly grew to amass a crowd of over 500.

SFI Gargi led a protest on 3 April, 2023 in solidarity with the students of IPCW and against the Gargi administration restricting the students by cancelling Reverie’23. We were joined by a huge mass of students as well as the college societies. We’ll continue to fight for the rights of the students inside and outside our college campus.” – Aahana, SFI South Area President and Anurakti, SFI College Secretary in a joint statement

A meeting was held with the members of the Student Council, heads of various societies, unions, etc., and other students, where the Student Council of Gargi College allegedly stepped down from the organising committee as the event was not going as they had planned. Several societies have also reportedly decided to boycott the fest unless it is organised as per the original itinerary.

This edition of Reverie would be the first to take place after the unfortunate incidents of harassment and abuse that took place in the last edition of the fest, organised in February 2020. A continuation of the protest on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, seems to be planned until student demands are met. SFI’s press release additionally mentions a memorandum that will be submitted on the same day in this regard.

Read also: Overcrowding and Harassment at Reverie’20, Gargi College

Feature Image credits: Devangi for DU Beat

Sanika Singh
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