Tag

Ambedkar university

Browsing

Delhi University embarked on a new journey after signing an MoU with Ambedkar University in order to share resources with each other in sync with NEP.

On Thursday, May 18, the University of Delhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ensure the optimum utilisation of their resources with one another. Both universities have agreed to work together in areas of research, extension activities, student and faculty exchange, consultancy, and outreach. Officials reportedly agreed to maintain a common ground by allocating libraries, sports grounds, research laboratories, seminar halls, auditoriums, etc. for students and staff of both universities.

Due to proximity, the collaboration can explore the possibility of mobility of students between the two universities. It will help students study courses/papers offered in the collaborating university and their credit transfer as well as issuance of a certificates.

– DU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Yogesh Singh

The Vice Chancellor also proposed to conduct joint PhD programmes for the students to get the best opportunities under the co-supervision of both universities. The universities will work on emerging areas like the impact of artificial intelligence on social sciences and promote research in the fields of science and technology.

Committed to academic partnerships and collaborations with other institutions, the goal of Ambedkar University is to become a Multidisciplinary Education Research University in alignment with the objectives of NEP 2020. Vice Chancellor of Ambedkar University, Prof. Anu Singh Lather, said that the University is committed to the ideals of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar by bridging equality and social justice with excellence.

We are working on becoming a Multidisciplinary Education Research University (MERU) and have recently signed MoUs with GGSIP University, NSUT, DTU, NLU-D.

– AUD Vice Chancellor Prof. Lather

Prof. Lather added that AUD’s mission is to create sustainable and effective linkages between access and success in higher education. The MoU will be a step towards fulfilling this purpose.

 

Read also: DU Scraps Existing B.El.Ed. Programme, Teachers Raise Objection 

Featured Image Credits: B.R. Ambedkar University Website

Aanya Mehta
[email protected]  

Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) and Students Federation of India(SFI) had a violent conflict due to the screening of the documentary Ram Ke Naam in the Kashmere Gate campus of Ambedkar University Delhi(AUD). 

 

On the 30th August, Ambedkar University Delhi(AUD) branch of the Students Federation of India(SFI) organised the screening of the documentary Ram Ke Naam by Anant Patwardhan in their Kashmere gate campus when they were disrupted by members of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) and were asked to stop the screening. The screening was organized in solidarity with the students of the University of Hyderabad who were recently detained by the police for organizing a screening of the same.

 

The documentary explores the campaign waged by the Hindu-nationalist Vishva Hindu Parishad to build a Ram temple at the site of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, as well as the communal violence that it triggered.

 

The representatives of the ABVP claimed that the SFI did not have proper permission and they should’ve sought permission beforehand. They said that the SFI intimidated the administration and gathered last-minute permission.

 

However, SFI denied all these claims stating they took all measures beforehand.

 

According to the SFI, The screening started at 2:45 and a few minutes into it, a few men barged into the room and turned on the lights. They began speaking about how their caste sentiments were being hurt by the screening of the movie. “Main brahman hoon and meri sentiments ko hurt karti hai yeh,” said one of the men present.

 

Mr. Siddharth Yadav, State Secretary for the ABVP Delhi, told DU Beat ” the ideological issue that they (SFI) were polluting the mind and not giving enough free space for students to judge for themselves whatever they were trying to show is not correct. They can have their version of whatever idea they were trying to represent, but space must be left for the students to judge for themselves. So it was a very biased and propaganda-based presentation that they were trying to make.”

 

Eventually, Dean of Student Services and the Pro Vice-Chancellor had to get involved. A representative of the students’ union asked the officials to ensure that these people leave and the screening continues. When they weren’t able to do so, so the guards had to drag them out.

 

When diplomacy did not work, the goons resorted to violence and tried breaking the projector. They went outside and tried manhandling the guards and throwing tables. Within a few minutes, the power supply was cut off for the entire campus.

 

In conversation with DU Beat, Ms. Shruti M D, Secretary of the Kashmere gate unit of SFI-AUD, said, “There were eight disruptions. The movie is one hour fifteen minutes long but the screening took two and a half hours two complete. We took a laptop and Bluetooth speakers and continued the screening of the movie inside while these people continued their ruckus outside… There were only 50 people in the beginning, but the screening finished with about 200 people who had come. The ABVP guys were less than 10 people.”

 

Utkarsh, another member of the SFI elaborated saying, “about 200-300 AUD students came to resist the 10 goons from ABVP, most of which were not students of AUD. common Ambedkar students spontaneously mobilized. It was a historic moment for AUD”

 

Later during the day, videos of goons vandalizing the campus and protesting the screening spread around Facebook. In one video, a man, who the SFI identified as Rahul Tiwari from ABVP, could be seen throwing a table. In another, members of both parties along with the other students of AUD could be seen in conflict.

 

When asked about the vandalism and destruction of property, Mr. Yadav said, “If there is a video of ABVP throwing tables, it will be headline news. Generally, ABVP is shown as vandalizing but if you investigate more into it, the administration would tell you how intimidating these SFI members were there to attain permissions for the screening…  The person in the video is not an ABVP member but a student activist. Turns out that normal students had also protested independently.”

 

The protest gathered attention and both the faculty and the students of AUD were present trying to make sense of the situation. “I was in my music society meeting when the power broke out. We thought it would be a normal power cut but someone came in and said that the SFI and ABVP were fighting so we tried to rush out of the college. There was a huge crowd and the police were there. I got out of there since I didn’t want to be involved but it was pretty violent.” said a student present.

 

Amidst political differences, accusations of vandalism and destruction of property emerge in a crucial time for ABVP with the DUSU elections just around the corner. This year, other student parties have also raised voice against the gundagardi in the North Campus.

 

SFI in their official statement wrote that they will continue waging a fight in defense of the secular and pluralistic ethos of our nation.

 

Featured Image Credits- AUD

 

Satviki Sanjay

[email protected]

The academic space of university is supposed to be conducive for personal growth and in which a young woman thrives into an independent and confident person, but thanks to the regressive hostel rules and constant moral policing of the authorities; it’s actually a space which reinforces and strengthens patriarchal norms that hinders growth of female students.

Chitra Dabral, Secretary of Phrophecy- fashion society of Lady Irwin College laments, “My society members, who live in hostels, never get to enjoy even a single the star night during the fest session because of the hostel timings. What’s worse is that we often have to cancel our participation, if competitions are scheduled later than 6pm.”

While male hostel residents enjoy late nights and have lax curfews rules (none, in many cases), girls are obliged to return within the walls by as early as 7pm. Such discriminatory regulations are very conveniently justified under the grab of women’s “safety”. What authorities fail to understand is, such rules put women at further risk as they are unable to return to the hostel at night and hence have to look for shelter elsewhere. Besides, if the authorities were so concerned about the “safety” issues then they would have shown the same enthusiasm they display while exercising control, in constituting Sexual Harassment Complaints Committee Cells as per the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India.

Voices of resistance against unfair rules are cropping up across campuses. The latest case in example is the permission letter written by two students to the warden of Kaveri Hostel of Ambedkar University, Delhi.

unnamed-1
Letter written by two students to the warden of Kaveri Hostel of Ambedkar University, Delhi

Unlike their male counterparts, girls are asked to give explanations and seek permission to spend a few extra hours out of the hostel. In response to this “permission culture”, the girls wrote an honest letter resonating that they were “stressed and disappointed” with their academic life and hence needed a break. The picture of the letter was shared by Pinjra Tod on their Facebook Page .Talking to DUBeat, on condition of anonymity, one student of Ambedkar University confirmed that the duo was granted permission.

We don’t know if the letter was rebellion of a sort or just an honest request. Though by the looks of it, the latter seems to be the case. As they say, humor is the best way to expose the ridicule.

Feature Image Credits: The Quint

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]