Author

Srivedant Kar

Browsing

In an undertaking where ability and the character counts, diversities accepted and promoted, and facts held precedence over comments, I learnt the best lessons of my college life, for life.  

Back in 2016, a day before Valentine’s Day,  an array of the surprise addition to new WhatsApp groups and welcome messages from strangers marked my joining of the largest campus publication of India. Little did I know then that this small attempt to get an internship experience will end up being the love of my college life. This experience which constituted a major learning adventure in my college life will be treasured forever.

Three years is a very ‘small time’ to have spent in the newspaper, which has built up a legacy of ten years, but having worked, grown and later led the paper as its associate editor in the final year, I can speak with certain intimacy of acquaintance about the values the paper has held for years. Facts, ethics, credibility and liberal values have always remained the guiding principles of the paper, the baton which I hope the upcoming batches will uphold with care. In these years the paper has largely widened its reach among the student community through various social media platforms, amidst this growing amalgamation of digital technology and journalism where the ethical lines are becoming thinner, the newspaper has been successful in upholding its values.

Being caught amidst sudden riots during covering a protest, contemplating over societal norms during covering a street play competition, watching democracy function even in the small spaces of classrooms and colleges where students fought against issues like discriminatorily high fees for girls hostels, tireless coverage during the popular admissions session, organising the first on ground event marking the ten years anniversary of the paper are those small bits of larger professional experience that I was privileged enough to receive. Meeting Deans, university officials, student leaders and students, listening to their side of the story and yet adhering to non-partisan reporting is something I have learnt in the past three years. Teaching the same to the youngsters who joined the team during the past year will always be remembered as the best part of the time I spent here.

Meeting the best people in the University because they were all on the same team has been the most rewarding so far. Meeting excellent academics who travelled abroad for their masters and offered their invaluable advice can be credited for the success of my study abroad plans. Seeing juniors from colleges joining the team and then falling in love with the paper, young writers taking up reporting assignments, colleagues turning into the best of friends and this heady journey of getting inspired to turning an inspiration have been exceptional.

J P Scott, the longest-serving editor of the ‘The Guardian’ often believed the press as an institution that can take authority into account and can turn things around for a better society. And I believe that I have worked to the best of my ability to ensure the same during my time here.

Wishing the very best for the future to the new kids.

Signing Off

Srivedant Kar

Associate Editor 2017-18

 

The learning spaces beyond classroom teach us how to deal with lives, one book each time. We must strive to save them as well.

Stones were flying from one side to other. Students, slogans, and their attempts for the salvation of university spaces from turning into hostile hubs were quite visible and somewhat violent. In such a circumstance, the law and order situation was fragile in the campus. With time I had learned how to cover violent protests, and the students who had protested learned lessons about how to fight violence in a non-violent manner. Despite various drawbacks and flaws, the University of Delhi has remained to be an incredible place of learning for everyone.

The vividness of extracurricular activities constitutes a major part of the University’s unique identity. College societies which provide a platform for honing talent in diverse fields ranging from dance to culinary skills deserve major credit for creating and maintaining this culture. Since these societies are student-run, peer review becomes a major way of learning and evaluation.

As a part of this newspaper, I had to cover and sometimes write features about societies that did exceptionally well. This experience provided me with a bird’s eye view of how students strived for excellence, with a competitive spirit. Although sometimes, this spirit turned out to be sour and the competitiveness was escalated into fights. However, the larger vision of learning has stood the test of time.

The organisation of events and fests, ranging from a small guest lecture to a large scale spectacle of a star night, has also constituted as a major learning incentive for students. Everything from hunting sponsorships to printing certificates is executed by the students. Managing these affairs teaches the nitty-gritty of certain roles and helps them manage bigger responsibilities with ease in their careers ahead.

In these past three years, I have learned much more about India than what I had learned from the course books till class 12th. The student diversity of Delhi University, which takes pride in being the alma mater to scholars from all states of India, has its own advantages. As students, we learn remarkably about issues, ground realities, and politics from the experiences of those around us. Be it the ground reality of Kashmir, the experiences of queer community, the discrimination against Dalits, or the perspectives of residents of Ayodhya, Delhi University students learn about these things from those they share classrooms with.

In a nutshell, despite grave problems like lack of faculty members, improper infrastructure, lax administration, and mismanagement, Delhi University continues to flourish. Intake of bright students might be the reason behind the same. But the question appears: for how long?

With the clamour of autonomy, fee hikes, and reduced funding, how long can the University sustain its diversified student culture? This is the question that one needs to ask today.

 

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

From a time when student reporters had to run around to capture pictures of protests and then send them to their copy editor to ensure that it goes for the weekly print issue, to posting live stories on Instagram – our journalism has travelled a long way in the past 10 years. Amidst the chaos of getting quotes from people in various administrative hierarchies, student leaders, documenting the events and happenings around the campus, and raising crucial issues regarding gender and sexual health among students – we have played a major role in initiating conversations through our student journalism in the past decade.
In the words of Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, “Information is the first step towards liberation.” Be it through printed copies across colleges or reports on our social media handles, we have tried our best to keep you updated about what all happens in DU, while sincerely hoping that the experience has been as liberating for you as it has for us. Right from raising issues concerning women’s safety in the campus after the Nirbhaya case in 2012 and the haphazard introduction of the Four Year Undergraduate Program in 2013, to raising the issues regarding the right to dissent and debate post the violence at Ramjas College in February 2017 – we have represented students in media and given a voice to the unheard. As completely independent journalists, we have embraced our responsibility, sometimes even at the cost of our safety.
We are an entirely student-run platform – a badge of honour we wear with pride. From ideating stories, writing, investigating, raising funds to print copies, to regular managerial work, every little thing in our organisation is handled solely by undergraduate students. We recruit students, train them to excel in their various fields, and prepare them to work in professional settings. In the past 10 years, students who have worked at DU Beat in various capacities have gone ahead to lead major teams at Google, pursued journalism in globally influential outlets like The New York Times and Huffington Post, excelled in academics as Commonwealth Scholars, and begun their own media initiatives.

Externally, our journalism has also allowed our readers to succeed in their lives post their time at Delhi University. Many students still write to us, detailing how our news about admissions helped them bag a seat in the college of their choice. Inspired by our journalism, many of our readers have gone ahead to pursue a career in journalism, while others have benefited from our humble initiative of an independent student-run media outlet.

After successfully organising Mushaira, the Literature festival of Hindu College on 30th and 31st January with the Hindu College Parliament, to commemorate 10 years of independent student journalism, our team would like to raise a toast to our long-standing relationship with you, dear reader. Let the University and these printed words stand witness to our effort of making our University a more efficient, democratic, and liberating space.

 

Srivedant Kar
[email protected]

As the long drawn battles of compulsory attendance have garnered attention, with the University and several of its colleges using online applications that can monitor attendance, we stand with the students, reiterating the fact that compulsory attendance never fulfills its purpose.

Several research studies have shown that mandatory attendance does not increase academic success rates. A highly cited article, “A Case Against Compulsory Class Attendance Policies in Higher Education”, published in the Innovative Higher Education journal, examined the research literature on the relationship between attendance and academic achievements. The article inferred that compulsory attendance does not ensure a higher academic grade. The article claimed that attendance is linked to individual motivation, noting, ‘Classroom environments that engage students, emphasise the importance of students’ contributions, and have content directly related to knowledge assessed will undoubtedly provide encouragement to students to attend regularly.’

Students who pursue higher education often aspire to learn from subject experts who can help them not only understand the concepts and ideas of the subject, but also who can engage them in meaningful conversations. On the contrary, a teacher simply reading out texts from the prescribed reading in a monotonous voice never incentivises learning. Moreover, coercing students into attending such classes, where there is no learning incentive, makes the concept of a university highly redundant. In today’s world, where lectures by the world’s best teachers are available online for free and students can learn the subject from the comfort of their homes, the universities need to innovate ways that will motivate students to attend classes.

As students of the regressive school education system that restrains individuality, and as children brought up within the institution of a family where questioning the elders is considered as a sign of disrespect, many students find university to be a safe haven where they can pursue their dreams without any restrictions. Isn’t inculcating the spirit of freedom the very objective of education?

A system which priorities our physical presence over our willingness to learn goes against the inherent spirit of our education. In a time when the University is unable to fill up its permanent faculty positions and provide outstation students with proper accommodation, the step of spending lakhs of rupees to create an application that will monitor the attendance of students displays an extreme case of misplaced priorities. If colleges actually taught students what is relevant, they would not have to coerce them to attend classes. The University should spend its resources on providing for opportunities like the innovation projects and the gyanodaya trips, rather than spending lakhs on monitoring the mere physical presence of students in the classrooms.

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

Based on the concept of live online games, this real life adventure location can guarantee you a wonderful and unforgettable experience with friends and family.

If you’re one of those Sherlock Holmes fans who have long been planning to test their secret detective skills and prove the mettle of your mind against the race of time, then Mystery Rooms is one of the perfect places that deserve to be on your must-visit list. Located at Rajouri Garden, you can easily reach the location by road or taking an e-rickshaw from the Rajouri Garden Metro station.

The place is situated on the ground floor of the building and plays around with the concept of escaping out of a difficult situation. It applies a combination of puzzles, riddles, and codes to unlock and escape out of every situation. It has a variety of games in increasing levels of difficulty.

The games that are currently available in the Rajouri Garden centre include Hurt Locker, Lockout, Abduction, and Cabin in the Woods. Beginning with the easiest one, Hurt Locker is a game where you are required to diffuse bombs that have been left behind by terrorists. In Lockout, a game that’s more difficult than the former, you begin as a wrongly convicted prisoner who has to escape from jail. In Abduction, which is the second most difficult game – and the game that we tried our hands at – you are a political personality of your country who has been kidnapped by terrorists and have to escape before your country’s administration bows down. In the most difficult game, Cabin in the Woods, you have to enter into a forest to solve a murder mystery. In all the above games, you get only an hour to escape out of the situation.

The cost of having this experience varies in accordance to your team size and timing of the visit. On weekdays (Monday to Friday) the charges for two, three, and four persons is INR 900, 800, and 700 per person respectively. For a team size more than five, it’s 600 per person. On weekends and special holidays, the charges for two and three persons is INR 1000 and 900 per person respectively. For a team size more than four, every person has to pay 800. While the minimum team size is two, the maximum team size can include only eight persons.

Our team tried our hand at Abduction. A team of three people, as the time was racing against us, we realised that we had overestimated our detective skills, finding out that everything was connected somehow and that no clue or object was useless. Nevertheless, we managed to unlock three out of four stages of the room within the given time, an exhilarating feat.

Do visit this place with your friends, as you’ll take back an experience that you won’t forget!

 

Feature Image Credits: Srivedant Kar for DU Beat

Srivedant Kar
[email protected]

Hansraj college celebrated the inaugural ceremony of the sports council on the occasion of National sports day. The occasion was formally inaugurated by Dr Rama Sharma, Principal of Hansraj College by lightning the lamp with the department head, teachers & council members. In her address she spoke about how she desires to move forward not for individual sports or particular team sports but for sports for all, widening the extent of health and fitness in the institute through the council. A token of greeting to the Department from the President of the council, Ms Pracchi was received by Dr MP Sharma following his words of wisdom. He addressed how the life of a sports person is different from being a regular College student and how discipline, dedication and own gratitude to one’s performance should be worship of particular sports. felicitating Ms Pracchi as the President followed by the core team of 8 members which are Mr Sahil Delu as Vice president, Mr. Avinash Panwar as General Secretary, Mr. Divyansh Chauhan as Managing Director, Ms. Noor E Zehra as Editor in Chief, Mr. Saim Akhtar as Production Head, Mr. Akshat Kaushik as Executive Head, Ms. Parinita Saini and Ms. Divya Teres Kuriyan as Executive member. The ceremony of felicitation was completed by following performances by Vani & Ankur and graceful dance performance by Kavyakriti. The sports council will seek to organise and regulate several sports-related events for the college throughout the academic year. The Council also announced that an annual Hansraj Sports Magazine will be published by its editorial board.

The HSC organised the first field event ‘Manchala’ organised on 11th October, proved to be a grand success. Students across the University of Delhi actively participated in it. With a plethora of games, which included tug of war, sack race, partner race, spoon race, broad jump, throw the ball and flag picking race, being offered at a minimal entry fee of Rupees 20, almost everyone was eager for a second and even a third round. Manchala was a strong initiative to bring together students from different colleges of the University of Delhi and rejuvenate their spirit of sports that is lost amidst the hustle & bustle of college life.

 

By Organising Team

Lately across the country, in the absence of a notable opposition decisions of the establishment, students have taken it upon themselves to stand up to the authoritarian policies. Lately, the spur of student movements in the JNU, DU, University of Hyderabad and other campuses has also spiked up the enthusiasm in other Universities where student politics have been suspended for long for the revival of Student Politics and the demand of Student Union elections. On Thursday, students of Jamia Milia Islamia University staged a protest march and submitted a memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor Talat Ahmad demanding the restoration of the Student Union and demand of elections.

Eleven years back, the University had suspended the Student Union on the account of student leaders interfering with the administrative process of the University in 2006. The Union was disbanded after a scuffle broke out between the union president and the proctor over the former having a say in the allotment of hostel seats, which the university was not willing to agree to. Later in the year 2011, Hameed Ur Rahman, a student approached Delhi High Court for the matter. Najeeb Jung, who was the VC during that period told the court that the environment was not conducive for polls.

Recently the students have formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC) with members from various students bodies’ including the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, All India Students’ Association and Jamia Students’ Forum to raise the demand for a Union. Speaking to a major national daily, students of the JAC said that they would “resort to democratic means of protest” in case the varsity does not meet the deadline of announcing a date for the polls.

However, the administration on receiving the memorandum said that the university had no objections to the formation of a students’ union but it could not give the go-ahead as the matter was sub judice. Talat Ahmad, the vice chancellor of the University who is known to be personally in favour of having a student’s union said, “When the matter is in court, I cannot take decisions that would end up in contempt of court.”

The University which has a rich past of student activism during the freedom movement remains an environment devoid of a students’ voice today.

Interestingly, Jamia has a strong union of teachers and non-teaching staff.

Image Credits: jamiajournal.com

 

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

In yet another shock to the final year students, who are still recovering from the fact that Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is holding its entrance exam in December this year, the University of Delhi (DU) has decided to prepone its semester exams, which were to be held in December to mid-November. This shuffling of dates comes in the wake of the JNU entrance scheduled to happen in December. Some sources in the examination department claim that this change occurred because DU doesn’t want its students to suffer, and wants them to prepare for the entrance without any stress. The revised date sheet has been uploaded on the website.

An official source confirmed that the decision for the change of dates was taken in the academic council meeting which took place on 21st September. One of the council members proposed the change on the grounds that many colleges have received requests for the same by students. This proposal was later supported by the majority of the council members and passed subsequently. Since JNU is one of the most prestigious universities, all major universities desire to send the highest number of students to it. “This is not just a matter of pride, but also confirms that the academic merit of your institution is at par with the best of this country”, said Prof. M.K Khanewala, who is the dean of academics in another major University, situated in the temple town of Varanasi.

Meanwhile, the decision has received a mixed response from the student community. While some are rejoicing on account of the fact that they can finish their exams early and study for JNU’s entrance in peace, others are not happy as now they have to study for the semester exams along with the preparations. Prachi Dedha, a final year student who was not happy with the decision, says, “Now, this change of date will make our teachers give us more assignments and will kill all the time we have got to prepare for the entrance.”

Even some of the other departments of the University, which play a major role in organising the semester exams, like the Finance Department and the Transport Department, are surprised because of this sudden change of dates. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the officials of the Finance Department said, “This decision has put all of us on our toes. The pace of our work was in accordance with the previous December date sheet. Now, all of us have to work day and night for the exams to take place in November.”

Although the surprising decision has received mixed responses, the real consequence of taking such a step can only be gauged after the results of the semester exams and the JNU entrance are declared.

 

Picture Credits: JNU website

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

Be it hiccups like the election officials cancelling his nominations, or reliefs like the High Court allowing him to contest the elections, or moments of ecstasy at finally winning the elections, Rocky Tuseed of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the newly elected President of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) who is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Buddhist Studies, has seen it all in just a week’s time. In an exclusive interview with DU Beat, he discusses his ideas for the betterment of the University.

 

Q: You have been considerably active in politics this past year. From where did you start your venture into the field?

Ans: I joined Shivaji College in 2013; in my first year, I encountered several small problems like the non-functionality of the water-cooler, unavailability of Girls Common Room, etc. On being persuaded by my classmates, I contested and won the election for Executive Committee of DUSU, and that’s how it all started.

 

Q: Now that you are the DUSU President, what are the key areas you would like to personally focus on?

Ans: There are several areas that I am going to work on for the betterment of the students. Alongside working on every issue that has been mentioned in our manifesto, I will try to ensure that University students are entitled to metro passes because many students travel daily from far-off places.

 

Q: Providing affordable accommodation to students was one of the main agendas of NSUI this time. Given the fact that DUSU doesn’t have any power to construct hostels, how do you plan to see this promise fulfilled?

Ans: Although DUSU doesn’t have the authority and budget to construct hostels for students, we can certainly pressurise the University of Delhi (DU) administration to construct more hostels. The University returned nearly Rs 150 crore meant for infrastructure development to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) despite the fact that it has more than 95 acres of vacant land where it could have constructed new hostels. We will also take up the issue of implementation of the Room Rent Control Act with the Delhi government.

 

Q: Your campaign focused on ensuring transparency in the DUSU budget. How do you plan to turn these words into action?

Ans: We are planning to ensure maximum transparency in our budget allocation. We will try to upload all our bills that are sanctioned by the Union on the DU website if allowed. Or else, every bill will be uploaded on the NSUI website.

 

Q: How do you plan to ensure a violence-free campus wherein our academic spaces remain free from intimidation and political interference?

Ans: We will try to restrict outsiders entry into the University. No type of violence in the shadow of fake nationalism will be allowed under our leadership of the Union.

 

Q: With several hiccups, your campaign must have been hectic. What is that one moment that you recall as being particularly unique in the course of your entire campaign?

Ans: There was this moment of disappointment after my nomination was cancelled by the University authorities. But, as the High Court reinstated my candidature and allowed me to contest the polls, the whole team just cheered and we all shouted in joy. I will cherish that moment of small victory forever.

 

Q: In one line, what would be your motto as the DUSU President for the year 2017-18?

Ans: Ho gayi peer parvat si bighalni chahiye, is baar DU se nayi dhara nikalni chahiye. Ye buniad ab parde ki tarah hilne lage, maksad hamari hai ki ye buniyaad badalni chahiye.

(The University has encouraged new voices and ideas. These very foundations are shaking now due to a new wave of change.)

 

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

Now that the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections are finally over and you’ve voted to elect your leaders who claimed to transform your college into one that resembled an institution of the west, it’s time to rest. The ‘rest’ doesn’t refer to you relaxing, but rather to the Union.

Every year, the same sequence of events plays out. It has been running for so long that this silence which suddenly appears everywhere after this hullabullah of elections seems normal. The storyline is obvious; the passion and vigour of the student leaders to work for the welfare of the students is so short-lived that even the graffiti which carries their names and is used to deface the city during the elections lasts longer.

How does so much energy suddenly fade into oblivion at the end of the day?

“The leaders are, after all, students and are lazy just like you and me.” Even if one decides to buy this logic, the argument that follows fails to be convincing on any level. There is no reason for any sort of leader to ignore his or her responsibilities one he or she has come to power on the back of people’s votes. Accountability is key. Another reason might be that this vigour doesn’t actually belong to the students of the University but is, in fact, artificially created by the outsiders who are mostly the caste-based supporters brought into the varsity by these candidates. Hence, this ‘outsourced’ vigour doesn’t survive even a day after it has served its purpose. Out of both of these reasons, the latter portrays the reality.

If one digs deeper in search of the reason behind this inactivity, the story becomes clear. A simple look into the manifestoes floated by parties before the election uncovers the entire picture. This year, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) promised to start U-special buses and increase the number of hostels for students of the varsity. This is an unreasonable promise as out of these, one comes under the onus of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) which is a body of the Delhi government, while the latter entirely rests upon the university administration and governing bodies of the colleges. In both cases, the Union has no real power to do anything except for protesting and writing letters. Similar pictures emerge with the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and other parties. These tall promises by candidates and parties are akin to showing students the dream of reaching the moon when in reality, they don’t even have the technology of building a rocket. This is precisely why the same issues are raised every year, with absolutely no success.

In the condition of having promised the moon, and with no promises of the things that they can actually do within their power, these leaders embark upon the slippery slope of being absent for major parts of the year. They only make their presence known until something controversial pops up, such as the Ramjas College issue which can offer them another chance of greater media visibility.

In a scenario where our leaders are absent for the majority of the year, it’s we, the students, who suffer the most. It’s high time these elections stop referring to things that the Union cannot do, and instead start becoming a fight about what the Union can, and should, do.

 

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]