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Celebrations Result in Lathi Charge

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Congress’ student wing NSUI (National Students’ Union of India) made a clean sweep at the DUSU polls on Saturday 15th September by winning all three top posts of President, Vice-President and Secretary. After the results were announced, the losing side (ABVP activists) started pelting stones at the ABVP office, broke through the tight security and barricades. Subsequently, Delhi Police had to lathi charge the gathered ABVP activists while they shouted anti-Congress slogans and demanded the recounting of votes. ABVP suspects something fishy behind the counting of votes.

ABVP isn’t satisfied behind the counting process as they alleged rigging in the elections and staged protest at the DUSU Office breaking the windows and destroying the DUSU Office property. “Everything was done with calculated planning and even the DUSU officials made sure that NSUI wins. Congress MPs Depender and Bhupender Singh Hooda were seen at 6 am on campus. We were even given a deaf ear and thrown out of the DUSU Office when we demanded recounting” said Rohit Chahal, regional leader, ABVP.

Some students who were injured were taken to Hindu Rao hospital while some students who were critically injured were taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre. “It’s not about winning or losing the polls. It’s about the way Delhi Police reacted when our students demanded recounting of votes. I hope DUSU officials look into the matter and do the needful.” said a disappointed Vijay Goyal, BJP Leader.

The ABVP has also called for a bandh across the University to protest against these alleged malpractices during  counting of votes.

 

Picture credits: Sawdha Singh and Aishwarya Chaurasia

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Campus Central

DUSU Elections 2012- NSUI beats ABVP

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Saturday, September 15, 2012 Congress’ student wing NSUI swept the Delhi University Students Union polls, winning all three top posts of president, vice president and secretary. NSUI’s Arun Hooda defeated, a margin of 5,465 votes. As against Arun who got 17,621 votes Choudhry secured just 12,156 votes.

For the post of vice president NSUI’s Varun Khari defeated ABVP’s Gaurav Chaudhary, and Varun Choudhry won the post of secretary by defeating ABVP’s Ritu Rana. There was a tie between NSUI’s Raveena Choudhary and ABVP’s Vishu Basoya for the position of Joint Secretary.

“I am extremely happy, it was indeed a well deserved victory” says a supporter of the winning president Arun Hooda.

The DUSU elections were held yesterday in which 40% polling was reported. The ABVP is obviously not satisfied with the results and alleged rigging in the elections and staged protest at the Delhi Universitycampus, to control which the police had to resort to lathi charge. Since the morning, the area near the University Plaza and Dean Student welfare where the counting was taking place was cordoned off by the police and nobody, not even the media was allowed in.

 

Aishwarya
[email protected]

Picture credits: Swadha Singh

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ABVP, BSKS protest Kashmir documentary screening

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In another act of right-wing protestation, members of the ABVP and BSKS threatened to disrupt the screening of Jashn-e-Azadi, a documentary on Kashmir earlier this Thursday over its alleged delineation of a pro Kashmir independence sentiment. The screening was organised by the Delhi School of Economics’ Sociology department.

In previous incidents, Pune’s Symbiosis University cancelled the screening of the film after protests from the RSS-aligned Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. ABVP even protested the teaching of the Ramanujan text in 2008 by vandalizing the office of Prof. S.Z.H.Jafri, the then history department head. The Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena (BSKS), infamous for one of its members attacking Prashant Bhushan over his statement on Jammu and Kashmir, tweeted “Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena & other Nationalist’s Groups will stop today Sanjay Kak’s Jashn-e-Azadi (anti Army & pro Kashmir azadi movie) screening at Delhi School of Economics, DU(sic).”

Rohit Chahal, Pradesh Mantri of ABVP Delhi, who was incarcerated temporarily in 2008 for his involvement in the violence outside Prof. S.Z.H. Jafri’s office in protest of the teaching of the Ramanujan text said, “The permission for the movie screening was cancelled by the University, also Jashn-e-Azadi hasn’t even got clearance from the Censor Board, so how can they show it. The movie hurts regional sentiments, depicts the Army to be responsible for the tribulations in Kashmir”

Denying reports of any ABVP protesters barging into the screening and breaking the police cordon, he further went on to say, “The police allowed us to go in. There were ABVP members who were already inside and we peacefully protested in the campus. We would have anyway been permitted to go in as the screening was organised by the All India Students’ Association”

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A Faith Questioned

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– Aditi Sharma

On February 4, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati asked the Prime Minister to put a ban on the text recommended for the Delhi University History students, which allegedly contains objectionable references to the characters in Ramayana. Mayawati made a written complaint to the Prime Minister, after Akhil Bhartiya Vidhayarthi Parishad (ABVP), and BJP students wing protested in Delhi and Lucknow, alleging the text was a part of a book compiled by Prime Minister’s daughter Upinder Singh.

According to Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti, ABVP, Indraprastha VHP, Bajrang Dal and other socio-religious organizations this is degrading to our Hindu culture. A number of groups have organised protests and have raised objections to the inclusion of an essay by (late) A. K. Ramanujan, titled “Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation�. The said essay is one of the readings for the Delhi University concurrent course on Ancient Indian Culture in the B. A. (Honours) programme, which has been offered in several Colleges from July 2006 onwards.

In the essay, Ramanujan illustrates and analyses the great dynamism and variety in what he describes as ‘tellings’ of the story of Rama within India and across the world. It has, however, some references to Hanuman which the ABVP says are offensive. “This is a deliberate attempt to hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community. If the article is taught, students will be expected to reproduce it in exams as well. In our education system, unless you write what is taught in class, you do not get marks. Hindu students will be forced to write something they do not believe in,� said Niharika Sharma, the ABVP’s Delhi General Secretary. A memorandum has been sent to Deepak Pental asking for the deletion of that text from the course.

The Prime Minister’s Office, however, said there had been a misunderstanding as Upinder Singh’s name had been found in one copy of the text. “I have absolutely nothing to do with this text. The contentious article is not written by me. Nor is there any book of mine, which contains the article. I fail to understand why I am being linked to the text,� Upinder Singh said.

Some students are of the opinion that the entire issue is baseless and aims to promote party politics. “India is a country of diverse cultures. These epics were in fact oral and were later converted into written forms as per the various cultures. And so (that explains) the differences.� said Shreya, a History student from Stephens.

“One cannot teach by imposing. One cannot questions different faiths and other versions. The crux is the same�, said Arushi, Vice President, Gargi College. History Department teachers in LSR, too, spoke on the same lines, saying that they defend the issue and “The article should certainly be included in the curriculum The aim of the course in question is to teach University students to be able to analyze a variety of source material academically, analytically. One should not get sentimental on issues like these�

As the famous saying goes…“History is past politics� and Politics is “present history�. It is after all a game of select few who decide the paradigm of the events that happen in a certain country. India is a free country where it is our democratic right to express freely. Whether this debate will uphold that freedom and integrity is still a question mark.

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