Deepika Padukone Archives - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

The ‘Virgin-Tree Puja’ at Hindu College is carried out despite an agreement to scrap it amid much controversy and polarised opinions.

Amid much controversy and deliberation, the ‘Virgin Tree Puja’ conducted annually on Valentine’s Day took place at Hindu College this year as well. This long-running tradition has come under fire for being a ‘highly sexist and misogynistic celebration’ with some calling for it to be scrapped while some remain in support of it, encouraging dialogue on how to make the tradition more inclusive and acceptable to all.

Traditionally, the students of the boys’ hostel conduct a poll to choose an actress to be ‘Damdami Mai’ and put up a poster of her on the Virgin Tree, which is followed by a ‘puja’ that is led by ‘Mr Fresher’ of the year who is dressed up as a priest. It is believed that the puja brings ‘good luck’ and many believe the tradition is synonymous with romance. In recent times, there has been dialogue and attempts to ‘modernise’ the tradition with the inclusion of a male actor as ‘Love Guru’, yet many still believe the tradition is still discriminatory and derogatory and should be scrapped, with the girls’ hostel calling the tradition ‘misogynistic, patriarchal and Brahminical’ in a post. Following negotiations and discussions, a joint statement of solidarity was released by the Presidents of the Girls’ and Boys’ Hostels which stated that the Virgin-Tree Puja would be reformed into a ‘Valentine’s Day Celebration which would encompass an inclusive celebration’ and that ‘No Pooja of any conventional sense’ would be held. However, on the 14^thof February, a procession to the Virgin Tree was carried out with drums and slogans and while some attempted to stop the procession, they were allegedly paid no heed and mistreated.

A group called the ‘Dissenting Voices of Hindu’ called out the administration and police for their inaction calling them ‘extremely inefficient and ineffective’ and alleged that members of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) entered the College and joined the ‘Puja’. The Girls’ hostel also called the slogans, drums, procession and posters a ‘violation of the agreements made between the two hostels’ and said the Girls’ Hostel Union felt ‘disrespected and let down by the breach of trust’ while calling for ‘disciplinary action against all the people present there breaking the agreement and supporting the agreement-breachers’. Students put up a poster of Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh and actress Deepika Padukone and chanted slogans in support of the tradition, despite the agreement not to do so. In a statement to the Times of India, the Principal said “There was an agreement to keep the event inclusive. However, there are students who claim the agreement was violated. We will look into the issue.”

Following the kerfuffle, there was a call for a protest ‘against unsafe spaces in campuses’ with the incident being called an ‘absolute breach of formal agreement’. While it is true that the agreement to not conduct the ‘Puja’ was violated, opinions still vary on the matter with some pushing the College administration to put out an official notice condemning the tradition and punishing the offenders, while some believe that the tradition is a part is harmless and should continue to be carried out. Does this tradition really promote misogyny and Brahminical values, or is it simply a fun tradition that should be seen as nothing more than a symbolic and humorous celebration of romance? While it does seem that reforms are in order to make this long-running tradition more inclusive, what is really needed, is for the students in support and against this tradition to find common ground and engage in a discussion without demonizing or trivialising each other’s sentiments and taking a ‘moral high-horse’ or the path of stubbornness.

Picture Credits: Tashi Dorjay Sherpa for DU Beat

Tashi Dorjay Sherpa

[email protected]

Keep Reading

DUB Speak

The BJP IT Cell: Digital India Gone Wrong

By Shivani Dadhwal January 23, 2020

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is promoting its Digital India campaign with full gusto- in all the wrong ways.

While, Bhartiya Janata Party, has been notorious for a couple of things, the most ridiculous of them all is the BJP IT Cell. The party is known to have a large social media team that works on sites like WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook to spread misinformation, slander, and rumors.

BJP seems to have it all figured out: the fastest way to get to the public now is to use social media. And while they already do have media houses in their pockets, social media is where everyone is. This is why, the large team is known to trend hate hashtags, share doctored videos and photos, create fake news, troll people online and even use bots to spread its propaganda. The IT Cell essentially functions like an army; it is an organized army of trolls, belonging to the party, always ready for an attack.

PM Modi is also infamous for following trolls, fake news, and threatening accounts. Kuldeep Bhandari, a man who proclaims to be a ‘social media activist’ at the BJP IT Cell, tweeted a photo of Trump pointing at Modi with the caption, “Ghar mein ghuskar kaise maarte hain mujhko isi ne sikhaya. (he taught me how to hurt people inside their own homes)” He is, unsurprisingly, followed by the PM. “Mr. Modi is possibly the only leader in the world, who actually follows handles which give rape threats, death threats, actually put out incitement videos, peddle fake news,” said Swati Chaturvedi, the author of I Am a Troll: Inside the Secret World of the BJP’s Digital Army to CNN.

(Image Source: Kuldeep Bhandari)

The very head of the BJP IT Cell, Amit Malviya, had a twitter timeline selling pornographic content and tweets providing Hot Sexi Gerls Free before him getting this position with the party.

The IT Cell has always been very active on social media: its WhatsApp forwards remains one of the prime reasons why BJP gathered such mass support. However, it recently keeps coming in the limelight. After the anti-CAA protests countrywide, their presence online has intensified. In what appears to be their panicked and thoughtless reaction, they can be seen attacking and trolling anyone who goes even slightly anti-BJP. While a lot of times these trolls are genuinely far-right Modi-bhakts, it is also found that a lot of times they just happen to be unemployed people working online for a small stipend.

When Amit Shah created a new hotline for people to phone in and show their support of the Citizenship Amendment Act, thousands of tweets popped up sharing the number. These tweets offered ‘free sex’, hot girl pics, free coupons, free Netflix and amazon prime membership, and other such attractive offers to people who called the number. So much so that even the Netflix India official account tweeted and asked people not to fall for the scam and to “use someone else’s Netflix account if you want free membership, like the rest of us.” When the publication Boomlive called the social media head Amit Malviya regarding these activities, he “cut the call hearing our query”, as reported by the site.

After Deepika Padukone was seen at a solidarity protest at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) after the JNU violence orchestrated, allegedly, by ABVP, thousands of trolls lashed out on her, talking about boycotting her then-upcoming movie Chhapaak. Trolls all over India posted photos of them getting their tickets refunded; the catch? They all had the exact same seat number.

Anandi, a student of Kamala Nehru College said, “The cell is the living embodiment of being cheap and the level to which one can fall only to propagate lies and enforce their ideology on the public. False lies, rape threats, trolling, harassment, this is what the cell is synonymous with. When we asked for employment, this is not what we meant.”

The BJP Delhi official twitter handle also trolled Arvind Kejriwal in the light of upcoming Delhi elections and tweeted ‘memes’ on him. These ‘memes’ showed the problems of the city as the ‘art’ and had pictures of the Chief Minister as the ‘artist’. One of the tweets of this series, which ironically are pinned to their twitter page, came under fire for being Islamophobic as it showed a burning bus as the ‘art’ and Kejriwal in the Islamic Hat Taqiyah as the ‘Artist’.

(Image Source: BJP Delhi)

“BJP IT Cell is clearly very ignorant considering the issues that come under the jurisdiction of the central government. BJP’s twitter account trolled Kejriwal for Delhi’s rising traffic problem while completely neglecting the fact that Delhi traffic comes under the central government’s jurisdiction and they chose to stick to this even after some people pointed it out. I mean that’s just stupid and a very condescending move on their part,” said Suhani, a student from SGTB Khalsa College.

So, not only are their actions morally incorrect, but also illogical and ill-informed. But it is not as if people aren’t standing up to this virus-like ecosystem.

Amit Malviya was in the news again for saying the Shaheen Bagh protesters were all paid Rs 500-700 by the Congress party to protest. For this statement, two women of Shaheen Bagh filed a legal notice under Section 500 of the IPC (Defamation) and demanded an apology and Rs 1 crore in damages from the social media head.

A trick learned from stan twitter, the best way to engage with these trolls is to not engage. Accounts like these thrive on visibility, and the more engagement they get, the more are their ideas promoted. Report and Block: that is the only way their impact can cease. And when science has developed antiviral medicines for actual overpowering viruses, what are a group of sheep-like humans in a virus-like colony.

Featured Image Credits: Dhruv Rathee

Satviki Sanjay

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Arts & Culture

Rajputs versus Khiljis: Reviewing Movie Padmaavat

By Radhika Boruah February 3, 2018

Malik Muhhamad Jayasi of Awadh penned a poem in the sixteenth century, glorifying the beauty of Rani Padmini. She, whose existence is itself a controversial issue, did not fail to enamour the readers of the poem and the spectators of the movie through the legend of her beauty and bravery.

After many contentions to the release of the historic movie Padmaavat, it was finally showcased on the 25^th of January – almost two months late after the original release date. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is an artist of great taste and has a penchant for the historical Indian royal portrayals. From Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) to Bajirao Mastani (2015), this producer and director has never failed to awe the Indian audience. This movie is one of the most expensive movies Bollywood has ever produced – with a budget of over Rupees 200 crores.

This movie, Bhansali’s magnum opus was originally titled Padmavati, after the name of the poem Padmavat by Jayasi. The title was modified as the filmmakers have attributed their creative source to the fictional poem, and not history. The existence of the events described in this poem has little authenticity. Though Alauddin Khilji had won Chittor, during that period there is no mention of any character as Padmavati in history. Historians point that not even Amir Khusrau (prolific writer of Alauddin’s court) mentioned Padmavati and the ruler’s longing for her. However, Rajputs claim the existence of Rani Padmini of Chittor.

The entire cast has been terrific throughout the movie. Ranveer Singh played the tyrannous Alauddin Khilji, Deepika Padukone portrayed Rani Padmavati, and Shahid Kapoor depicted the King of Chittor Raval Ratan Singh. From the very first look of Padmavati, Deepika portrayed feminine delicateness along with Rajput valour with finesse. The onscreen chemistry of the King of Chittor and the Rani was missing but the grandeur of the couple and their heroism while fighting the tyrannous Khilji was portrayed perfectly. Alauddin has been portrayed as the oppressive ruler who longs for Rani Padmavati after he hears about her from the traitor of Chittor, Raghav Chetan. He contrived the Rajputs to possess the beautiful Rajput queen. After the foreseen defeat of the Rajputs, Rani Padmavati and the women of Chittor commit jauhar (self-immolation) for the sake of their honour. The very last scene has been applauded by many, as the queen stepped into the burning pyre in the entrance of the fort – marking a great sacrifice in the name of the kingdom.

Despite all high alerts due to the upheavals by the Karni Sena, this movie is worth the wait and money. It is an amalgamation of considerable hard work from all the artists involved and deserves to be thoroughly appreciated.

Feature Image Credits: India

Radhika Boruah
[email protected]

Keep Reading