Aryabhatta College Archives - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

A 19-year-old student from the University of Delhi was allegedly stabbed to death outside of Aryabhatta College.

On Sunday, in front of Aryabhatta College in South Campus, a 19-year-old Delhi University student, named Nikhil Chauhan, was allegedly stabbed to death. A week ago, one of the accused had allegedly harassed a woman friend of the victim, to which he had objected, said a senior police officer in conversation with The Hindu.

On Sunday, around 12:30 pm, the key accused and three of his accomplices met with Nikhil outside the College and stabbed him in the chest, the police stated. He was later rushed to the Charak Palika Hospital, where he was declared dead. CCTV footage has surfaced online, which, captured near the college, purportedly showed the accused escaping on scooters and a bike.

While talking to The Hindu, Nikhil’s father had this to say

We deserve justice, this is not what we send our children to school for.” He further stated, “I received a call at 12 p.m. that Nikhil has been injured, I rushed to the hospital, but by the time I reached, he passed away.”

The victim, who has been survived by his two brothers and parents who live in West Delhi’s Paschim Vihar, worked as a part-time model. His parents have said that he loved modelling and acting, taking part in many competitions in the city.

My son was also into modelling. He told me that he also wants to study political science to have vast knowledge about our country. He had a bright future. We don’t know what to do now,”

– said Mr Chauhan.

A case under IPC 302(murder) has been registered and an investigation is ongoing to apprehend the accused-who have been identified, the police have said.

“It is very unfortunate and sad that a young life has been lost and that also just outside the college where students come to learn and make career.” said a Delhi University spokesperson in a statement to The Hindu.

Feature Image Source: DU Beat Archives

Vanshika Ahuja

[email protected]

Keep Reading

News

Aryabhatta’s Principal: Plagiarism? We Don’t Copy That!

By Shaurya Thapa August 8, 2019

Aryabhatta College Principal accused of plagiarism by a whistle-blower, DUTA demands an independent probe.

The presence of plagiarism in University level publications has been a concern of the academic community for a long time now. The vice has now hit a reputed University of Delhi when in recent turn of events, the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Delhi (DU) received a complaint through a whistle-blower, accusing the Principal of Aryabhatta College, South Campus, DU, of plagiarising journal papers and books, six months before applying for the post he currently holds.

This series of events started in 2014, when Aryabhatta College principal Manoj Sinha published five books and 11 journal papers, eight of which and four other works are said to be ‘heavily plagiarised’, casting a shadow of doubt over the authenticity of his work and even employment. According to the complainant, six of these claims have been verified. Apart from this, the complainant has also highlighted the publishing of the same material at two independent places in an attempt by Mr Sinha to take credit for it twice. It is imperative to note that Sinha is also the Secretary of the Delhi University Principals’ Association.

The complainant seems to have used the plagiarism checking software ‘Turnitin’ for this investigation. Last year, Union Minister for the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), Prakash Javadekar, had made this software available to universities to enable them in checking the credibility of texts.

In response to these accusations, the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), which also received a 243-page dossier detailing the allegations, has made a demand for an independent probe into the matter as of June 25th.

According to the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations notified in July last year (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions), the penalty for plagiarising above 60% of an academic publication would invite withdrawal of the manuscript, denial of two successive annual increments, a barring from supervising any new master’s or Ph.D scholars for a period of three years, and if benefit has been obtained from plagiarised works but proved on a later date, the benefit would be put in abeyance for a period recommended by the Institutional Academic Integrity Panel.

The UGC has prescribed that the “Academic Performance Indicator” or API of a candidate be looked into critically, for their appointments to the posts of Principal across varsities. These are points allocated to an applicant on the basis of factors such as the number of teaching hours put in, extracurricular activities engaged in and the number of books and research papers published. The system is meant to help incorporate a “transparent, objective and credible methodology of analysis of the merits and credentials of the applicant” read the UGC’s guidelines from 2013. To be eligible for the post of principal, a candidate requires a minimum API of 400 points. Mr Sinha, in an application to the post of Principal to the prestigious Hindu College in 2017, has bagged a score of 660, out of which more than 120 points have been allegedly secured to him by six ‘plagiarised’ texts, reports The Hindu.

A case like this defeats the university’s ideology of innovation and originality.

Under conditions of anonymity, a student of Aryabhatta College said, “Even though there is no decision in the case, I believe if these accusations are proved accurate, it will be very shameful for the college and the university.”

Defending his case, Mr. Sinha, who has been teaching for 29 years and is up for reappointment for another five-year term as principal of the college on November 22, told The Hindu that the plagiarism may have taken place inadvertently given the immense pressure during years of syllabus revisions to churn out textbooks in time for students to have study material.

Another anonymous student of Aryabhatta College told the DU Beat, “The credibility of these accusations is yet to be checked but this sets a very wrong example for the students as well as stains the reputation of the teaching faculty.”

The complaint if proven credible and the accused proven guilty, is deemed to open many Pandora boxes, putting numerous previous appointments under the scanner.

Image Credits: Manoj Sinha (@msinhadu) on Twitter

Chhavi Bahmba

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Events

The Marketing Cell of Aryabhatta College organises Exult’17

By Niharika Dabral November 6, 2017

The Marketing Cell of Aryabhatta College in association with Innolabz organised EXULT’17, a fun-filled fest on 26th and 27th of October, 2017.

The first day was filled with enthusiasm and energy. A day full of exhilarating games, soothing music to delicious food and drinks! There was a soul to it. A soul that was vibrant, contagious and exuberant. The college was beautifully decorated by the team members from the entry itself and was a perfect example of eye candy! The minute one set foot inside the premises of college, one could feel the vibrancy. Outside the building, various mini-games were set up and stage and tents were put up on the football playground. It set the mood for the celebrations. The tone of decorations was very festive.

Various mini-games from drizzle throw to human tic tac toe were held and various students and teachers loved to be part of it. With each game, the winner was awarded various prizes like coupons of various outlets to cash-backs. Various other games like Impractical Jokers, Scavenger Hunts were also organised. The games were mind-boggling, adventurous and were filled with dares and thrill. The participants were from various colleges and were divided into teams and competed vigorously and were given a fixed amount of time to complete their tasks. The winners were awarded with various cash prizes and in kind.

Foodgasm a food game was also held. It was a game filled with fun for the foodies that were present out there. Participants had to eat the most in order to win followed by the tagline ‘eat till you last’.

B-quizophilia: a business quiz curated entirely by Innolabz was also organised in the college premises which experienced tremendous participation from various Colleges of Delhi-NCR.

The tents put up were occupied by various food stalls selling delicious food and drinks. From Dosa to Pasta to Waffles everything was finger licking delicious. The drinks did their job right on that hot sunny day!

The first day slowly came to an end as the sun started to set. The day was undoubtedly a success and did not fail to bring a smile on everyone’s face.

Riding on the tremendous success of the Day 1 of Exult’17, the Marketing Cell of Aryabhatta College kicked off the Final Day events with enormous zeal and motivation. The first event of the day was #StartAb, in collaboration with Josh Talks and Facebook. The team warm-heartedly received Mr. Bhavishya Wadhaman, founder of 98FIT.com as the first speaker of the day. 98FIT.com, unlike other online fitness trainers that aims for a healthy living without sacrificing on the available food choices, employing the use of Artificial Intelligence. It is an up and coming start-up and the brainchild of Mr. Bhavishya. He stayed on for over 2 hours as students listened keenly, and was more than happy to answer every single question after the engaging session. Later, we had Mrs. Arunima Shekhar on the stage from Tell-a-Tale, telling us delightful stories of experiences and life.

#StartAB ended with a Facebook presentation video on how it has been positively helping change lives all over the globe and its new plans for developing countries.

As fully expected, Josh Talks ended on a high note. It was followed by an interactive workshop on Entrepreneurship by InnoLabz which received a great response. The last item on the list, an ‘Open-Mic Standup Comedy’ session began in the next 30 minutes. A lineup of 9 participants from various colleges, some of which being Motilal Nehru College, Ram Lal Anand College, Aryabhatta College and Sri Venkateswara College eagerly expected to wait for their turn. It was a session jam-packed with humor and hilarious jokes, with everyone enjoying every minute of it and actively participating as the audience. Aryabhatta College and the Marketing Cell are extremely proud to have hosted one of the first of such event in the South Campus of the University. We all hope to have a bigger and better version for the next year.

With prizes for the Top 2 winners given out and Exult’17 finally drew to an end. The members and the teachers were proud in the culmination of an immensely successful event all over the university, thanks to every dedicated member of the team.

Keep Reading

Aryabhatta College

Healthy Happy Headspace: TEDx Aryabhatta College

By DU Beat October 2, 2017

Team TEDx, AryabhattaCollege organised Healthy Happy Headspace on TEDxGlobalDay to spread awareness about mental illness. TEDxGlobalDay is a one-day initiative by TED aiming towards creating a sustained momentum for local change on a global scale. The programme was divided into three components Watch, Discuss, Activate.

The exciting day began with a viewing of TEDGlobal, NYC, an inaugural event aiming towards out-of-the-box thinking about world issues, followed by The Human Library event in which the volunteers got to share and discuss their life experiences with fellow team members. The next event was Stress-Free Zone which included many exuberant activities such as musical chairs; art competition, rapid-fire, dance, confessions and a cupcake stall to spread sweetness the world needs. The event was wonderfully carried out.

Keep Reading

Aryabhatta College

Aryabhatta College to hold referendum for DUSU affiliation

By DU Beat August 27, 2017

In the light of the recent events pertaining to the upcoming elections of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), contrary to the anticipated scenario, Aryabhatta College has given out a notice seeking a referendum regarding its affiliation to the DUSU that will be held on the 1^st of September, within the college premises.

While the college was affiliated to the DUSU in the past, the excessive political inclination of the latter and the consequent amalgamation of campus violence and suppression in the recent years have garnered a lot of attention, questioning affiliation of other member colleges as well. Since both the Principal as well as the administration remained unavailable for any comments, we had a word with Yashank Bhutani who is also one of the presidential candidates this year. He informed us that a joint protest is going to be held on Monday, that is, on the 28

Yashak Bhutani, one of the presidential candidate for this year informed that a joint protest is going to be held on Monday, that is, on the 28^th of August regarding whether or not the institution should be affiliated. Amidst all of this, a pro-DUSU affiliation signature campaign was doing the rounds on Thursday. The referendum, as explained by Yashank, proposed against the centralization of power that otherwise is the case with party-affiliated student politics, wherein, the six-post system including the President, the Vice-President, the Joint Secretary, the General Secretary and two Central Councillors are vested with the sceptre of power, leaving out the other students in a subordinate position. He further goes on to add that the alternative way would include a two-post system with only the President and the General Secretary at the highest rung, with a division of power among the Class Representatives (CRs) and the respective department Presidents who will be responsible for keeping the powers of the two heads under check or “the parliamentary form of elections”, as he calls them.

Meanwhile, the principal and other college authorities were unavailable for comments.

While it has become quite clear from certain examples in the recent past that the triumph of party-affiliated politics nurtures nothing but only the mouthpiece of a particular ideology; it is, like Yashank states, “the leadership in a free environment is what we look for with every student having a say in the decision-making”.

Shrija Ganguly

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Around the Campus

Enactus of Aryabhatta College celebrates its first ever Enactus Day 2016

By DU Beat October 28, 2016

“If each one of us can make a difference, together, we can make a change.”

With this motto in mind Enactus, Aryabhatta College, an organisation formed just two months ago, celebrated its first ever Enactus Day on 24th October, 2016. The one-day event took place within the college campus and involved students from all over the University of Delhi.

The main motive behind the Enactus Day was to conduct a fundraiser, for Enactus Aryabhatta’s initial project, i.e. ‘Project Shakti’. The project focuses on uplifting the standards of the backward and ignored sections of the society with the help of entrepreneurial actions by the students associated, with the main agenda of making rescued sex workers and Kabadiwalas financially independent.

The newly recruited team of Enactus Aryabhatta having a strength of 60 committed members was enthusiastically involved in the preparations for the event for almost over a month.

Enactus Day was a one of its kind event. It comprised of several stalls with ‘Best Out of Waste’ products on sale. These decorative and utility products were handmade by the team members themselves. Registers made out of one sided used sheets along with handmade items like photo frames, used denim jeans’ bags, earrings, herbal rangoli colours and painted glass bottles were up for sale. “We actually kept boxes all over the college in order to collect one-sided used sheets from the students, weeks before the event. A great response enabled us to make around hundred registers from the collected sheets, each having a trendy cover page.” said Shubham Verma, the General Secretary of Enactus Aryabhatta.

“The products were a success. They made a large part of the revenue, as the people who purchased them had a sense of pride in their minds, contributing their bit towards a social cause. Even the faculty members including the Principal of the college came to the stalls and appreciated the products while purchasing them.” added Mayank Mittal, the Vice President of this team.

The event also had some very successful game stalls which actually attracted a huge crowd and were an instant hit. These included games like the ‘Brick Bucket Challenge’, ‘Sorted’, ‘Cover the Spot’ and the ‘Golden Cup’. However, the main highlight of the event was the ‘The Scavenger Hunt’, which was a dual round mystery object race that involved the participants to be given clues, using which they had to find various objects ranging from car tyres to a candle within stipulated time duration. Dhruv Gupta, the organiser of the scavenger hunt said, “The participants were really enjoying themselves while they were searching for the objects though they were very competitive in doing so. We received a great response and an amazing feedback.”

The event was also complimented by a special ‘Nukkad Natak’ by the Dramatics Society of Aryabhatta College, which was specially prepared for the Enactus Day. Themed upon Project Shakti, the play discussed the tormented story of young girls being forced into prostitution and leading a non-dignified and disrespectful lifestyle without any recognition from the society. Aman Grover, a first year BBE student added, “It was truly an excellent performance, as it made me refurbish my notions about these sex workers and the situations they face every day. I feel proud that being a member of Enactus, I am contributing towards this part of our society.”

As the event progressed, products like decorative items were all sold out. The recycled registers were a hit as well since the entire college contributed for it, literally. The teachers in charge were also praising the efforts and the hard work of the entire team.

Tushar Sharma, President, concluded by conveying his thoughts, “I was very excited to see such a huge amount of crowd coming for our event. The event was successful since we have raised a sufficient amount of fund for our initial motive i.e. Project Shakti. We will now be focusing entirely on the project and will make sure that together we make a significant change towards the people of these communities.”

Akshat Bhargava

Image Credits: Team Enactus Aryabhatta

Keep Reading

Campus Central

Clash of Departments: Inter-department sports event of Aryabhatta College

By DU Beat September 16, 2016

Clash of Departments is an inter-department sports event organised by the Business Economics Department of Aryabhatta College. With the recent conclusion of the world’s most iconic sports event, the Business Economics students of Aryabhatta College were able to frame the first ever ultra sports event in the college. The students of the department took a bold initiative and planned to organise an inter-departmental sports event named Clash of Departments (COD) across its campus. A week-long event, it was initially to be conducted in the last of August, but was postponed to the first week of September due to monsoon rains. The three-day event was organised without any kind of permission from the administration of the college. Ten courses participated with ten to twelve students in each departmental team. The event included sports like – football, cricket, volleyball, table tennis, and carrom. The inaugural football match was kicked off in rain, charging the atmosphere of the campus. There were more spectators than anticipated; even the professors missed their classes to catch a glimpse of the game. Amidst the nail-biting game and adrenalin rush, it was difficult even for the referees to penalise the players. The games progressed and winners were announced. After being on their toes the whole match, students of Hindi honours won the cricket finals. Business Economics students won the football finals against economics students with a score of 2-0 in the penalty round. A duo from B.Com honours won the table tennis finals, whereas a team of three clinched the carrom title. Students from Business Economics were on fire as they stole the show in the volleyball match as well. “This huge game plan was not an easy task to handle, but the efficiency and dedication of the organisers and their team effort turned it into a reality. I think it was the best we could do to relieve ourselves from the study load and look away from the entire election nuisance. It exceeded expectations as for the first time in my college life, I could see the college united as one.” said the mastermind of this event, Sandesh Choudhary, a second-year business economics student. The initiative was appreciated by the participants as well, “It was a great step by the business economics department. The best part was the variety of sports and the excellent organisation in such a short period of time. However, more time should have been allotted for the teams to prepare and practice. Then again, sometimes adrenaline overcomes preparation,” said Syed Shabee Rahman, a first-year economics student. Banking on the success of this event, the department students are looking forward to putting together a sports fest in the month of October too. Gerush Bahal [email protected]]]>

Keep Reading

Events

Entrepreneur Society of Aryabhatta College organises Innovacia’16

By DU Beat April 5, 2016

The Entrepreneur Society of Aryabhatta College, University of Delhi organised Innovacia- The Business Plan competition on March 30, 2016. The competition principally encouraged innovative minds to come and share their own vision and understanding about emerging business venture and structures. The shortlisted teams were required to present their unique business plan idea to the judges within the given time limit of 15 minutes via a PowerPoint Presentation.

The participating teams were from various colleges of University of Delhi including- St. Stephens College, College of Vocational Studies and Deen Dayal Upadhaya College among many others. Students from IP University, Ambedkar University and IRAI (Indian Agricultural Research Institute), PUSA too participated in the event. The teams introduced very distinctive concepts like instant ready to serve millets-meal, a herbal substitute to tobacco products, concept of service dogs for India, etc.

The event came to a closure with the valedictory session, which was graced by the Honourable Principal of Aryabhatta College, Dr. Manoj Sinha, who also awarded prizes to the winners. Ankit from IARI, PUSA and Baksheesh from Ambedkar University took away the runners up prize, while Shrenik Jain from Deen Dayal Upadhayaya College, University of Delhi emerged as the ultimate winner.

Image Credits: The Entrepreneur Society, Aryabhatta College

Riya Chhibber

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Campus Central

Economics Society of Aryabhatta College organizes Sciminoce'16

By DU Beat March 13, 2016

An eating competition called ‘Khatron ke Khiladi’ was also organized. Artonomics, a painting competition saw young artists showcasing their talent. The topic for the same was caste and identities. The final event of the day that concluded the festival was the ‘Deadly Hunt’ that witnessed the maximum number of teams. The event was a blend of 2 rounds beg, borrow, deal and a murder mystery. A game zone section was also set up to provide entertainment. Radio mirchi also tied up with the college to organise an event of their own giving an opportunity to do a FBB campaign with Varun Dhawan.]]>