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The Obsession with Student Politics in India: A case of Delhi University

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Politics has played a major role in the Indian frame for a long time, and we explore its obsession branching out in the student arena as well.

Election season is over but the hype, controversy and the obsession with student politics brims over hot brews of coffee debating and general angst.

The past few years have noticed a consistent increase in the role the student bodies play in the circuit of Delhi University. Delhi University’s Students Union [DUSU] is the representative body for most of the faculties and colleges. The hierarchy also includes the internal students union in every college, with elections being held every year for office-bearing positions. Ever since 1954, the Delhi University’s Students Union [DUSU] has peaked prominence in the university. One of the key factors being is the expanse of the varsity. Being one of India’s largest universities, it serves as a great plethora for younger generations to express their viewpoints in a different light. These bodies are backed by different political parties.

Campus activism in the words of T.K. Oomen in his book Asian Survey, “is one of the pet areas in the research in contemporary social science. However, the nature of student politics and government is rarely studied”. The DU campus is blessed with serenity until the election season hits in. there is chaos and loyalty battles wrung out, with roads synonymous with lying pamphlets and college walls echoing with slogans. The case of Indian students’ union politics or student parliaments is quite different compared to its western contemporaries.

While the major touch-point for being actively involved in a student’s union means the adequacy for a good and experienced political career in the future, a lot of the nuisance created here is not prevalent there. While student bodies have a variety of tasks enrolled within, there is a big difference in the varsity student unions abroad and here. For starters, the students union elected has representative halls, like the George Sherman Union in Boston University or the up and coming promising members of the Yale College Council. Compared to the American and Western counterpart, our student unions are still emerging but are we convalescing in the shackles of unclear domains when it comes to politics? Are our student unions a reflection of the un-impressive struggle Indian politics has faced coming into the purview of the world?

The obsession of student politics can be traced to the source of power and authority, a pre-requisite to self-sufficiency in a now emerging Indian youth. While politics still stands as an attractive career option in the Indian domain, there are certain criticisms attached to the political situation and the trend of familial politics which has been extending an arm ever since the British Raj.  In a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald, an interesting view-point of Indian politics was given notice stating, “In India politics is not a vocation, but a family business.” Continuing with his argument, Amrit Dhillon also comments that “Whichever party you look at, in every part of India, nepotism is rampant. Merit, a record in public life, knowledge, skills, character, are all irrelevant. If you have the right surname, you will get a ticket.”

While just politics in a global scenario is still long miles away, it is safe to say that there are pros and cons both attached to the increasing importance to the student bodies in India. While it still is ushering up in other universities, the Delhi University scenario places a good observation and argument as to where we stand when it comes to student parliament bodies, and their role in the overall national hierarchy of democracy.

Sources cited:

https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/nepotism-the-way-they-do-politics-in-india-20140327-zqnpg.html

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2642743?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Feature Image Credits:  DU Beat 

Avnika Chhikara

[email protected]

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DUSU Elections 2018

Setbacks of an Unaffiliated Delhi University College

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DUSU (Delhi University Students’ Union) election is the time to relish the University’s characteristic aura. Unfortunately, unaffiliated colleges are denied this. Here’s what the marginalised community misses out on:

  •  Monetary Relief

As students of colleges unaffiliated with DUSU, we are considered ineligible for receiving payments. While other students are entitled to receive customised stationery branded with misspelled names of VIPs in return for a mere promise of votes, we cannot even avail free eatables and movie tickets. Flyers do not lay around for us. Instead, we have to recycle our precious newspapers as mats for our books and butts. Also, is there any point in paying taxes when we can’t be a part of litter production that the government is paid to clean up?

  •  The Grand Annual Carnival

Delhi University election is that happening time of the year when the campus transforms into a maha mela nagri. Colleges are adorned with festoons containing names of the sponsors. Campaigners throw flyers like confetti to convey their existence, through which students familiarise with previously unknown contesting candidates. Jeeps loaded with peppy youngsters block the roads to make room for more peppy youngsters jigging to the tune of the dholwala. Sadly, we hardly get to experience these festivities.

  •  Awareness Programmes

General knowledge is not at our tips, thanks to the fact that nobody recites party manifestos and ballot numbers to us. Similarly, we are neither explicitly or casually cautioned about the wrongdoings of other parties, nor advised preventive measures to ensure upcoming developments that are in store for us. We understand that elections should not concern us since we do not play a part as voters, but it is a matter of shame that we are not up-to-date regarding DUSU affairs, considering that today’s student politicians are prospective future change makers of the country.

  •  Anti Monotony Therapy

Election-themed tiles on walls and floors do not endearingly follow us to our washrooms. We have to bear through the entirety of our lectures without recurrent or perpetual sloganeering keeping us refreshed. DUSU goons aren’t interested to entertain us with their acts of hooliganism, due to which our college remains devoid of live brawling and vandalism. We do not of encounter real-life Bollywood situations like enthusiastic young students sticking out of open jeeps and sunroofs. Our colleges lack young vibes due to minimal graffiti. This is not what our college life was supposed to be like, our expectations have gone down the drain.

  •  Social Inclusion

Even as Freshers, we were never insisted to accept the immense unconditional hospitalities that our future mentors had to offer, let alone being the recipients of welcome garlands on our first day of college. Unsolicited reminders, good mornings, WhatsApp group adds and Facebook tags never warm our hearts. Even the compulsory participation for campaigning isn’t expected from us. Pamphlets are never handed out to us in person except for when we are mistaken as desirable a.k.a. potential voters. We are also deprived of habitual celebrity visits that we always longed since we started keeping a track of the personalities occurring on campus posters and hoardings. Basically, we are treated unworthily of love.

In a nutshell, we are being subjected to the discrimination that no college deserves to suffer. This clearly defies the spirit of an ethical democracy.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

 Ananya Acharya
[email protected]

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DUB Speak

“Community” in Delhi University

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An account on how Greendale College from the hit series Community is somewhat similar to your DU college.

Out here in India, we can hardly relate to American college movies or shows. Leave that, even their booze drinking, virginity losing high school films seem too edgy for majority of Indian high schoolers who are busy mugging up stuff in their Akash tutorials. The only edginess they experience is perhaps the school farewell and “conti”.

In this context, the cult NBC show “Community” is a different entry in the college sitcom genre. Not only is the six season saga a gem of postmodern humour and a mine of pop culture references, the show is also a vague reflection of majority of DU colleges. Here’s how…

 

  1. Funding and autonomy issues now and then.

 

The Greendale College in Community is no architectural masterpiece. The community college often shows signs of cracked walls and washrooms needing repair just like our many “sarkari” colleges of DU.

 

Image Caption- Greendale , an imperfectly perfect college

Image Credits- Community Wikia

 

  1. Diversity

 

A Middle Eastern boy who wants to be a director. A Jew girl who has bouts of anxiety. A single black mother wishing to start her own business. These are some of the few main characters in the show so naturally it has a lot of diversity and casual racist and ethnic jokes. That’s what happens amongst our colleges too. DU is a hub for people from all over India. Getting along with such different people, understanding their culture, joking on each other’s cultures (of course, non offensive humour) and having each other’s back, that’s what Community and DU is about in the end.

 

Image Caption- Different levels of skin shade, same level of happiness

Image Credits- Community Wikia

 

  1. Every college has a bunch of Brittas

 

Britta, one of the female protagonists in the show, is a feminist, atheist and any other -ist that you can think of. She’s one of those who might jump at every protest at Arts Faculty (even if it’s for a trivial reason) and share social awareness related hashtags on her social media stories. Now, sometimes Britta might stand for the charged up social activist friend in your group or a pseudo intellectual from DebSoc; that’s for you to decide.

 

Image Caption- Britta, the epitome of “edgy”.

Image Credits- Community Wikia

 

  1. Elections

 

Elections at Greendale College or a DU college, they both are marked by a sense of pomp, show and ridiculousness. 

For an instance, let’s take up the case of names of the candidates fighting elections. DU election norms specify the scale and limit of campaigning and expenditure for each contesting candidate. Now, often this is not the case and our student netas have figured out a smart strategy to escape charges by the court. The NSUI candidate Rocky Tuseed’s name was often displayed as Rocky Tuseer in posters and pamphlets scattered all over North and South campus. Just a replacement of the letter “d” by a plain “r” has shushed the court, even though we all know it’s the same person!

Coming to Community, one of the students Leonard also pulled a cheap trick to win the votes of all Mexicans in the college. Leonard is an aged student who’s young at heart and always up for pranks and cracking racist jokes. Ethnically speaking, Leonard is a white male but he runs his college elections under the name Leonard “Rodriguez” (and surprisingly he emerges victorious too!

Ah! The election time is always filled with such entertainment.

 

Image Caption- Electoral campaign or electoral drama?

Image Credits- Community Wikia

 

  1. The Troy Barnes complex

 

Many of us might have been our school superstars, the school council president of a topper. But in college, you’re like a new baby in a new world and your school achievements would hardly matter. That has been the exact case with Community’s Troy Barnes (played by a young and fresh Donald Glover) who was a high school jock but at Greendale College, hardly anyone raises a brow seeing him. It’s initially disappointing but eventually Troy finds his weird bunch of friends and enjoys his life of leading the “not so popular” student life in college. This is something which many of us would relate to while joining college as we are to survive in a new campus, a new world. But over time, we learn to blow peacefully with the winds of change and the Troy Barnes complex wanes away (this complex needs to be taught in Philosophy courses!). 

 

Image Caption- College life is a metamorphosis for which one needs to shed the caterpillar skin back from high school.

Image Credits- Community Wikia

 

So in the end, Greendale College and your generic DU college might be several miles away but in the end, it’s all about the inhabitants of these “not so high scale architecture” worlds having the best of moments, experiencing cheap thrills and making even the imperfections seem perfect… 

 

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Campus Central

What to Expect from the University of Delhi

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I’m pretty sure that all your dramatic expectations from college (courtesy of Bollywood) have been shattered by now, and you’re one with reality. Honestly, life at the University of Delhi (DU) is beyond estimation. It’s too thrilling to draw generalisations about. One moment, you may be sitting in your college lawns enjoying utter serenity, the next moment you’re part of a protest to get the back gate of your college re-opened for students.

Here is a skeleton of what you can expect during your three years of undergraduate study at the University:

Elections:

If you have been to college, you must have seen people reaching out to you with “May I Help You” cards. That’s mainly a precursor to the Annual General Elections to the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU). Each year, the student cabinet is democratically elected, the politics and campaigning of which remain a burning issue throughout the year.

Fests:

While the odd semester is dominated by elections, even semesters are dominated by cultural fests organised by colleges affiliated to the University. These fests give students an opportunity to have some fun after their strenuous battle with the semester exams of the odd semester. Now, what’s interesting is that these fests are marked by guest appearances by celebrities and entries to these are open to all. A totally fantastic way to while away your time, that is!

Strikes:

Student politics being a very important part of the varsity, the latter witnesses strikes from the student as well as staff associations on matters carrying mammoth importance to the stakeholders. These along with other factors form the essence of life at DU.

Exposure:

Apart from the aforementioned points, the University offers ample opportunities to all those who are looking for it. With college societies covering extensive realms and participating in intra-University competitions, there are also some out-of-college (external) societies and groups that extend opportunities to those who are scouting for them. With a full-fledged democratic political set-up existing in the university, there’s also necessary exposure to those willing to venture out into that field. We really need some educated politicians, don’t we?

 

Feature Image Credits: Reacho

Aashish Jain

[email protected]

 

 

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Uncategorized

How I fell in Love with Delhi in my First Year

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For me, the idea of Delhi from a nondescript town in Assam had been small. It was bounded by red brick buildings of a campus, in the souls of what I considered the crème de la crème of India’s student life. But after a year in this glorious city, after countless kebabs in paranthe wali gali, I realize that there is so much more to it.

I moved to Delhi during August of the year 2017, very pleased with my admission in Miranda House, a college I had hoped would cater to my feminist wings. I encountered a bunch of people there, who amazingly tackled subtle forms of misogyny and sexism with grace and patience. I was proud to be a part of such an institution.

Come winter, me and my roommate went on the quintessential Delhi darshan: meandering through the crumbling lanes of Chandi Chowk, the jaded monuments of Majnu ka Tila, and the looming monuments of South Delhi. All were relics of the history of the city, all enshrined in glorious magnificence. Having a best friend as a roommate means that you get a partner to be insane with and to hang onto that insanity through the nitty-gritties of college life. It is a blessing to have someone so close to you, that you literally sleep on top of each other during winters (because we cannot afford a heater so we proudly rely on body heat). I saw dervishes in Nizamuddin’s famed dargah, cried in its sweltering heat, and let my teeth chatter during winters. I saw the ghosts of the past and the present.

Ghalib once wrote, “I asked my soul: What is Delhi? She replied: The world is the body and Delhi its life.” His words ring true in every cobblestone path, every blade of grass of the city. The world’s life beats in the streets and the blades of grass of Delhi. But it is the University campus that is where I come to roost— Hudson Lane, McDonald’s, Tom Uncle’s Maggi point, Kamla Nagar, Arts Fac, and Vishwavidyalya Metro Station became my daily vocabulary.

There are still great desires to be fulfilled with Delhi. My tryst with its ghosts and its denizens will continue. But I have come to realize that like Ghalib, my soul lies not just with the city but with its people. It lies with my roommate, my friends at the University, with DU Beat, the guards at my college, the rickshaw pullers from Vijay Nagar who know me well enough to know I won’t ride their rickshaws, the professors who seem to grow in stature, and in the fire that burns in every individual of the city. It lies with the ghosts of Edwin Lutyens, Nehru, and Ghalib. For the freshers stepping into the city, I only hope your experience is just as subliminal and yet sublime. That you realize that it is the people of the city who breathe life into what would have otherwise been a lifeless, insipid necropolis.

 

Feature Image Credits: NDTV

Sara Sohail
[email protected]

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Campus Central

Dealing With Disappointment: University of Delhi Admissions

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Congratulations to those University of Delhi (DU) aspirants who have been admitted to their preferred college and course! However, this article is not directed towards you. This article provides some words of comfort for those aspirants who have been stung by the bee of disappointment.

As the admission season of 2018-19 is starting to wrap up, it seems like an appropriate time to address the admissions’ disappointment for students who weren’t admitted to their desired course and college in DU.

Disappointment Is Natural:

To begin with, you must realize that it is alright to be disappointed: The sting of admissions’ disappointment is never easy to handle. The first step is to sit down and face the rejections you received. Ignoring them or pretending they don’t affect you will most likely catch up with you later. When I realised that the ‘Mother’ is diagnosed with a deadly illness in the TV series ‘How I Met Your Mother’, I had faced such real and stinging disappointment that I had thought it would take me ages to get over the ending. But eventually, I, like everyone else, moved past it and learned to forgive the producers. Likewise, everyone, in due course, gets over the disappointment of not getting into a particular college or course and learn to forgive the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or any other root cause of the disappointment.

After Heavy Rains, Comes a Rainbow

If you are taking too long to come out of the ‘being disappointed’ phase, think about Brazil getting eliminated at the quarter-final stage for the third time in the football World Cup. After a period of mourning, it is imperative to cheer yourself up with the uplifting thought that you, out of the more than two lac applicants, have made it to DU. While you are sulking for not having been admitted to the desired course and college, 2 lac other students must be disappointed that they didn’t make it to DU itself.

You Carve Your Own Fate In DU

In a phone call conversation with the DU Beat correspondent, Professor at Deshbandhu College Vandana Kaul spoke some wise words, “Whether you are in St. Stephen’s College or Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, what DU has to offer depends on how much you are willing to accept. A person might spend three years in a “good college” and yet not acquire anything from the 3 years of undergraduate study. On the other hand, a person studying in a not-so-prestigious college might have the most stunning takeaway if he/she is dedicated enough. DU as an institution will provide you with a lot of opportunities. How well you utilize this exposure is completely up to you.”

Embrace Your Present College And Course

Arunima Roy, an assistant teacher at Miranda House told DU Beat, “You never know, you might turn out to be miserable at your desired college, but a college which you were not even considering, might actually be the greatest place for you.”

She added, “Students must focus and worry about things over which they currently have control, and not those things over which they don’t. Instead of whining over not getting into your desired college, you should start bracing yourself for life at a different college.”

“Sure, it would be exciting to be admitted to St. Stephen’s or Ramjas or Lady Shri Ram College”, Professor Vandana Kaul remarked matter-of-factly. She went on, “However, you must introspect on the factors that are appealing about those colleges, find those qualities in other colleges, and make the most of where you currently are or what you are currently pursuing.”

Officially Equal

Anshul Rastogi, a DU graduate from Sri Aurobindo College, told DU Beat, “While it would be wishful thinking to say that there are no differences between various colleges of DU, it is true that they are officially equal. The certificate which you secure at the completion of your graduation only mentions that you have graduated from the University of Delhi, and nothing about the college you graduated from.”

Wrong Course: A Disaster?

Realising that you were admitted to a course other than the one you had desired is not enviable, but it is not the disaster that it might have been made out to be. Lucy Buragohain, a student studying in the Department of Sociology in Delhi School of Economics (DSE) told the DU Beat correspondent, “I was pursuing Philosophy (hons) for my under-graduation. While I was dissatisfied with my course, I started preparing for the DSE entrance exam in Sociology. Thus, if you are aiming for higher studies, under-graduation only forms your primary level of study. You can always change your direction in post-graduation.” Since admission to Master’s courses in most universities of the country are based on entrances, changing your course after graduation is even more affable.

 

Feature Image Credits: Veritas Prep

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

[email protected]

 

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DUB Speak

Bidding Adieu to the Journey of a Lifetime : Vineeta Rana, Editor 2017-18

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Vineeta Rana, Editor 2017-18 writes her farewell note, bidding goodbye to DU Beat. 

I first came across DU Beat during my college research post my Grade 12 examinations and recognised instantly that it was a platform like none other. It had the perfect blend of credible University of Delhi (DU) news that I required and light-hearted college-oriented content that I couldn’t wait to consume as a student studying in the varsity. In one of my first weeks in college, I watched with awe as one of my seniors who worked at DUB distributed a print issue. I wanted so desperately to be involved with the organisation, but when she told me I should apply at the end of my first year, I was doubtful. I wasn’t sure I was good enough for such an esteemed platform and I didn’t want to face the possible rejection. But I went ahead and applied anyway, and I can confidently say that it was the best decision of my college life.

I was recruited as a correspondent but started copyediting only a few months into my tenure, and had the opportunity to realise my passion for print publications by working with DUB’s print core. From getting to cover BITS Pilani’s Oasis with no senior member in the team in my third semester to heading LSR’s Tarang in my fourth, fest season became my favourite time of the year. I couldn’t get over the media privileges and interviews that a press ID card granted me, but more importantly, I couldn’t get over how much fun I had during it all with some of my best friends by my side. Before I knew it, my passion for writing had seamlessly expanded into my passion for the organisation and its members.

By virtue of its dynamism, DUB offers a steep learning curve that is rarely seen in other establishments. My tenure as Editor has been the single greatest learning experience and has taught me through practice what I would not have had the opportunity to learn anywhere else.       The 2017-18 team accomplished certain unprecedented feats for the platform – daily videos, regular graphic series, and our first-ever on-ground event, Mushaira, to name a few. All of these projects allowed me to drastically hone my journalistic, interpersonal, and leadership skills. But the extraordinary feature of DUB lies beyond these professional accomplishments.

To an outsider (and even to me when I first joined), DUB is a credible platform for university-related news and a media publication that churns out impressive content on a daily basis. However, being part of this team, and having the privilege of leading it for the past year, has opened my eyes to what this organisation actually is – a team in the truest sense of the word. DUB is made up of the most talented and hardworking individuals in the University of Delhi who come together to fulfil a shared vision of responsible journalism and student-based issues. We pitch in for each other when it is required and take on responsibilities we technically have no obligations to fulfil. I have been lucky enough to work with a team of department heads who have now become my closest confidantes, and even more fortunate to work with an immeasurably skilled team of copyeditors who have played a crucial role in the growth of our newspaper. Moving ahead, I am immensely proud to pass the baton to Kinjal Pandey as Editor and Vijeata Balani and Bhavya Banerjee as Associate Editors for web and print. I am confident that with their leadership, the next year holds great things in store for the platform.

Being a part of DU Beat for the last two years has been the experience of a lifetime and I am beyond grateful to everyone who made the journey as fruitful as it has been. To DUB and all the DUBsters I have ever had the honour of working with, thank you for everything.

Vineeta Rana
[email protected]

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Campus Central

Words that are Added to Your Vocabulary after Joining Delhi University

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When the month of May is taken over by the vigour of fresh University of Delhi (DU) admissions, it is time to recall and pay respect to the culture which these newbies will blend into soon. One of the intrinsic elements of the Delhi culture is the language passed down to us by our fore bearers! To familiarize you with the same, here are 10 words from that language, which will get added to your vocabulary when you spend too much time in Delhi University.

 

  1. K Nags – Kamla Nagar, a cool hangout spot

Now, if you are part of North Campus, chances are you’d want to chill with your friends after going through hours of torturous classes. One of the cool hangout spots, 5 minutes away from the North Campus is Kamla Nagar. But, are you going to call it Kamla Nagar? Nope, you’re too cool for that. You, thus, call it K Nags!

 

“Hey, let’s go somewhere nice!”

“Yeah, man. Let’s hit K Nags and take advantage of our Stanza Living ID cards to get student discounts at some happening place.”

 

  1. Mecca – ‘The’ Fest of Hindu College

When you enter Delhi University, Mecca changes from a peaceful place of pilgrimage to a place with colourful confetti and loud musical concerts! Mecca is the name of one of the most awaited fests throughout the year, in Delhi University. It is the annual cultural fest of Hindu College that takes place every year in March. “I was at Mecca” can never mean you were praying, after you’ve entered Delhi University!

 

“We’re all heading to Mecca. We’ll be back by 11.”

“Does your PG allow such late nights?”

“Bro, we are Stanzens!”

 

  1. Soc (pronounced as sock) – Society

You are now a part of Delhi University, so welcome to the real world! We introduce to you a soc your mom can’t help you find. Every society in DU is called a soc because these societies are too active to have the time to say ‘Society’! (Not even being sarcastic!) Deb Soc refers to the debating society; Lit soc is the Literary Society etc. These societies are a great way to take your talent up a notch and be a part of a network of like-minded people.

 

“Guess who just became the President of Debsoc?”

“How would you even find time to manage academics, Debsoc work, and taking care of things like cooking, cleaning, washing your laundry, etc?”

“Dude, great minds don’t worry about trivial things – Also, Stanza Living takes care of everything for me.”

 

  1. Fuchcha – A fresher

The word fuchcha traces its roots from the words fresher and bachcha. You are bestowed with this title when you enter college as a first year student. This is the time when your seniors will give you immense attention and build tight friendships with you. All of them will call you a fuchcha, until you suddenly enter the second year and have to do the same for the new set of fuchchas.

 

“Stanza Living seems to be the preferred choice of accommodation with the fuchchas this year.”

 

  1. Satya – Satya Niketan

Satya may mean truth to you but you can’t be all truthful about the delayed assignments, missed tests, and low attendance. So, if a DU student is walking on ‘satya ki raha’, they are probably going to Satya Niketan, a cool hangout spot near South Campus.

 

“Now that we got our proxies, let’s go chill at Satya!”

 

  1. Companion – A guide book for DU students

It is said that you create lifelong friendships during your college years. However some friendships last only a semester. They remain your ‘companions’ till the final exams and once you clear that, you get new ‘companions’. However, such ‘companions’ must not be underestimated. They are meaningful and useful friendships you can’t do without. English Honours students can probably relate the best.

 

“My friends and I haven’t studied anything but we’ve got a ‘companion’ which will help us during the exams!”

 

  1. Superseniors – Seniors to your immediate seniors

If your course is a 3 year one, you will have just one set of superseniors. If you’re in first year, your only superseniors are the third year students. They never come back and you never get another set. They are guides you’ll look up to and learn the most from, even if you spend the least time with them.

 

“My superseniors were very sweet to us so we’re trying to make their farewell special.”

 

  1. Tutes – Tutorials

Since each batch has a lot of students, it can sometimes be difficult for teachers to connect with each student. Therefore, the teachers like to divide the batch up into smaller groups that can meet the teacher every week at an allotted time. These classes with smaller groups are called tutorials. They are used for discussions, doubts, extra topics etc. They are almost like ‘extra’ classes. And while it may not be very cool to attend them, we thought we might as well give it a cool name to hide our pains!

 

“Bro, I can’t come right now, I have a tute!”

 

  1. Ricks – Rickshaw

When you drop off at Vishwavidyalaya or the South Campus, the Electric Rickshaw drivers or bhaaiyas give you more attention than you’ll ever receive from your boyfriend, parents, or best friend. They will make you feel like a celebrity as they crowd around you and somehow judge which college you’re from based on how you look and what you wear. If they ask you ‘Miranda?’, they mean you look amazing! To suit all the attention you get, it is important to use a cool substitute like ‘ricks’ for calling the rickshaw, it lets you maintain your character. Only, the bhaaiyas might not understand you.

 

“Bro, stop the rick. Let’s go back and attend the movie night at Stanza!”

 

  1. Jugaad – Making ANYTHING Happen

The University works on jugaad. Want fest passes? Want to complete an assignment in 2 hours? Want the Gods to come bow down to you? “Tera bhai jugaad karwa dega!” Delhi University has a lot to offer to its students. However, sometimes it becomes difficult to juggle all that you can do, simultaneously. Sometimes it’s the time constraints, other times it’s lack of contacts. But, remember there will always be that one person who can get the work done through jugaad! Keep them close!

 

“I don’t have the Crossroads passes. Koi Jugaad karwao, yaar!”

“Ask a Stanzen, they usually have jugaadu networks across the University.”
Feature Image Credits: Stanza Living
Khyati Sanger

[email protected]

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Campus Central

Reasons to Choose Delhi University Over Others

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Delhi University is not just a place of learning but it also provides a variety of opportunities for all-round development of students. This article shows just some reasons why this remains an ideal choice for students.

Delhi University is a vibrant place to study and probably one of the foremost universities in the country. There are various reasons why this is the ideal place for a diverse group of people to come and rack their brains together. At the risk of sounding like propaganda, here are our top reasons why you should opt for DU over other universities:

1. Holistic learning: Delhi University hosts numerous undergraduate programmes through its affiliated colleges in various streams of studies under different faculties namely Arts, Social Sciences, Applied Social Sciences & Humanities, Commerce & Business Studies, Mathematical Sciences, Sciences and Inter-Disciplinary and Applied Sciences, around 70 postgraduate courses in addition to diploma and advanced diploma courses, certificate courses, Ph.D and M.Phil programmes. Sports and ECA category students are also given freedom to develop their extra-curricular activities. Such a plethora of courses means that students get to experiment and explore various disciplines. Combined with a distinguished faculty and research opportunities, this provides for a holistic learning experience. Academic excellence: In the year 2018, The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) under the Ministry of Human Development saw 5 DU colleges make it to the top 10 colleges in the country. The University overall bagged the 7th rank. In the National Assessment and Accreditation Council’s yearly assessment, most DU colleges end up in the top ten slot. Regardless of the ranking parameters, there are other aspects like teacher-student relations, opportunities for research, and presence of well-stocked libraries that make this place a haven for students around the country. As one of the foremost undergraduate centres of learning, it also attracts the best of the brightest students in the country.

2. Diversity: In terms of cultural diversity too, Delhi University attracts students from all across the country as well as other nations. You will get an opportunity to interact, live, and dance with the best of the minds of the country.

3. Campus life: The campus life in Delhi University goes beyond the red-brick canteens. It is always bustling with research seminars, talks, film screenings, society fests, and not to mention the college fests that happen in every winter semester. The central location of the university means that students are in constant touch with not just students from other colleges but also from other heavyweight Institutions such as the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

4. Teaching faculty: Delhi University’s myriad teaching faculty adopts a student-friendly approach to learning. Their diverse research interests and numerous publications mean that they are also experts at their fields of interest. An exposure to them certainly helps the students here.

5. Fest season: Come winter, you will wait excitedly for the fests, which will mean that all the colleges in the University will open their doors to other students. You will meet new people, eat amazing food and dance to the beats of the likes of KK, Benny Dayal, and Nucleya, amongst the many artists that visit DU. It is the perfect time to meet new people, places and that occasional crush you will persistently stalk for the next two months on Facebook.

6. Protests Season: There are three seasons in DU: test, fest, and protest season. Whether or not you are politically inclined, it is the best place to see different kinds of student movements develop from scratch. From the anti-autonomy strikes to the protests held by Pinjra Tod, students here are politically very active, and they often organise creative ways to assert themselves. Students are not just restricted to the classrooms but they also have an acute sense of the happenings of the world around them.

7. Placements: Although the rate of placements varies from college to college, it is one of the most successful universities to get placements in the country. Students also branch out to different streams of higher learning once they graduate from the university.

7. Food: If you are like every other student at a university, you are most likely to be a foodie too. For foodies, DU is among the best possible food havens. Whether you fancy a plate of savoury momos (Dolma Aunty’s) or just that perfect cuppa, (Sudama’s Chai) the university and its food joints will cater to your taste buds. Explore areas like Majnu ka Tila, Old Delhi and Hauz Khas to get other kinds of food experiences. Moreover the canteens of the different colleges also present low-cost, hygienic food that will leave you wanting more. The city: History, myth, language, and centuries of culture merge together in Delhi and lend a unique touch to the University. With an active nightlife, markets, food joints and places to hang out with your friends, the city provides immense opportunities for a new cultural experience. For both the avid traveller and the casual wanderer, Delhi is a treasure trove of monuments, forts, rivers and ancient nooks and crannies. The short distance between the city and hill stations like Dharamshala, Shimla, Manali means that those road trips might just manifest during your college years.

Feature Image Credits – India Today

Sara Sohail 

[email protected] 

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DUB Speak

A Love Letter to Delhi University

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This letter would have ideally been written on a giant maple leaf from Mohabbatein, being ‘the last leaf’ from a third year student to the University of Delhi (DU).

Dear DU

These letters were an emotion I was feeling while I was burning the midnight oil during my Class XII board examinations. When I first visited Delhi after the first cut-off list was announced, I was fascinated by the tall standing of your (University of Delhi) colleges and the charm you exuberated on my parents. For me, Delhi was only about you and honestly, I did not care much about the city in the beginning. I immediately fell in love with you when I realised that there are more food joints in North Campus than the number of colleges. Your warmth was expressed to me right from when I realised that one Identity Card of my college will allow my entry in as many colleges as I want, sometimes with tiffs with the security guards. Your candour about politics, your emancipated campus lawns, your roads of liberation, were all a part of the magic. You resonate with the buzz of the city, and the Delhi Metro enjoys a significant portion of its commuters because of you. Your charisma shares the credit of giving an amazing source of employment to all the brokers and owners of flats and Paying Guest Accommodations’ (PG’s).

There were rough times with attendance issues, homesickness, mental breakdowns, internal examination pressures, 8.30 a.m. lectures and low SGPA. But you retained your aura whenever I freely debated in your classrooms, performed on the stage of the auditorium, used the ‘Delhi University’ Snapchat filter, and ate the best and cheapest ‘samosa’ with ‘chai’. The e-rickshaws that ever so proudly zoom on the roads of your campus and I share a special bond. They seem to be more familiar to the roads of the campus that any other vehicle. You showered your affection on me in the fest season but the election season’s traffic jam and litter took a toll on both of us. At all times, you were always beautiful, caring, and welcoming. You have witnessed my tears and heard my giggles; you have nodded to all the whispers wherein I have thanked God for allowing me to spend three of the most splendid years of my life with you.

While I have entered the last leg of my relationship with you, I do not wish to break away and frankly, Delhi is still about you, and ‘DU’ still equates to an emotion for me, even after the three years. The way I get to show you off in front of my relatives in my hometown has made me grow fonder of your existence.

I have to bid adieu to you now, but I want to tell you that whenever in future, I hear the term “Vishwavidyalaya”, my heart will beat and flutter a little more in your name. The spirit of ‘Vishwavidyalaya’ will always ignite my soul, and your name will never be forgotten.

From

A graduating student.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat.

Oorja Tapan

[email protected]

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