Delhi University Archives - Page 30 of 59 - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

DUB Speak

The Role of Delhi University in the Indian Freedom Struggle

By DU Beat August 15, 2018

From sheltering Chandra Shekhar Azad to jumping over the walls of confined campuses for leading a protest, DU students have a story of their own to tell about their contribution to the Indian freedom struggle.

The University of Delhi (DU), established in 1922, was supposed to be the centre of educational and cultural control for the Britishers. The University received funds amounting to INR 1 lakh per year. Since the British had the monetary power over the DU colleges, they threatened to withhold government grants and forced the college principals to take strict action against any politically active student and staff. In fact, in September 1942, the government cancelled the wheat permits of hostels of three colleges of Delhi University – Indraprastha College, Hindu College, and Shri Ram College of Commerce. Although the British didn’t give any reason for this action, it was seen as an act of vengeance against the colleges for participating in the freedom struggle.

Despite that, DU contributed actively in the form of cadre and infrastructure in the Indian freedom struggle. During the Civil Disobedience Movement, they put up the national flag on the flagstaff in campuses. Even the college buildings served as hiding places for revolutionaries and hosted crucial conferences.
Vice Chancellor’s office The building which now houses the Vice Chancellor’s office was earlier called the Viceregal Lodge. It served as the residence for five Viceroys and hosted several crucial conferences. Bhagat Singh was confined here and his trials were held in this very building too. It is also said that the Gandhi-Irwin pact came into existence in this Lodge.
Ramjas College This beautiful campus was surrendered during World War II for the use of Allied forces. Around the same time, India was taking the opportunity to revolt against the Great Britain, which had weakened due to the war. A group of Ramjas students was arrested and jailed for its involvement in the freedom struggle. Their names have been inscribed on a plaque, near the college auditorium.
The hostel students also sheltered Chandra Shekhar Azad, while he was evading the British government. They kept him in hiding, and for months disguised him as a Sikh student from Pakistan.
St. Stephen’s College Several significant leaders including Lala Hardayal, the first revolutionary, and Sir Chhotu Ram, the leader of Unionist Party of Punjab, were from the St. Stephen’s College.
Students and staff of this college protested in several ways, for example, C. B. Young, an English professor wrote a column condemning the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. In 1946, Sameeruddin Khan, a Stephanian, disrupted the morning assembly and with 50 to 100 boys, they boycotted classes, organised a protest march, and pulled down the Union Jack from the flagstaff. Charles Freer Andrews, an English teacher in the college, was close friends with Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore and even went to South Africa in 1914 to persuade Gandhi to come to India and lead the freedom movement.

Hindu College This college was the centre for political debate and action particularly during the Quit India Movement. Several students and teachers of the college went to prison following the movement.
Since Hindu College had a Students’ Parliament back then, it became an easier platform for many national leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, and Subhash Chandra Bose to motivate and guide the youth of the nation.
Indraprastha College for Women Writing about the bravery of students of Indraprastha College for Women (also known as IP College), Dr. Aparna Basu, a professor of history at DU and author of the book University of Delhi (1922-1997), writes, “During the Quit India Movement on 10th August 1942, a vociferous gathering of Hindu College students and ladies from Indraprastha College collected outside Stephens’ and urged Stephanians to join them in a procession to support the Congress leaders who had been jailed the previous day. The crowd marched down Alipur Road, passing enroute IP College, whose authorities had shut the gates to prevent the girls from joining in. They resourcefully jumped down the walls assisted by willing Stephanian hands and the procession continued down Chandini Chowk, shouting slogans.”

Dr. Meena Bhargava and Dr. Kalyani Dutta, in their book, Women, Education, and Politics: The Women’s Movement and Delhi’s Indraprastha College, mention that the students of IP College also started a charkha association in college against the principal’s order.
Zakir Husain Delhi College Situated in central Delhi, the 326-yearold Zakir Husain Delhi College predates Delhi University by over 200 years. At the time when the British would demean our literary heritage by saying, “A single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia,” this college established international standards of education in the medium of Hindustani or Urdu. Its old walls have braved the Revolt of 1857. During the partition of India, the college was set on fire by the mobs but somehow the staff members managed to protect the library.
The Foundations of Delhi University Delhi University was established 96 years ago with only two faculties. Since then it has flourished to be one of India’s largest universities with 90 colleges, 87 departments, and more than a dozen centres. But what was the beginning of this enormous educational institution and what is its inspiration?
The University of Delhi came in existence in 1922 and saw the affiliation of St. Stephen’s College, Ramjas College, and Hindu College, which was closely followed by Zakir Husain Delhi College and Indraprastha College for Women. The importance of instituting DU came to the British as an exercise to mitigate the attempts by nationalists to set up their own institutions. A bill to reorganise Indian universities was passed and came into effect on 1st May 1922. We celebrate this date as the Foundation Day.
Mr. Hari Singh Gour, a distinguished jurist and social reformer, served as the University’s first Vice-Chancellor and pioneers like Mr. Daulat Singh Kothari and Mr. Panchanan Maheshwari were part of the faculty. With its motto, ‘Nishtha Dhriti Satyam’ (Dedication, Steadfastness, and Truth), the University has time and again shown its contribution and commitment to nation building. DU has produced an illustrious array of alumni across the fields who went on to become presidents, scientists, and artists.
Be it the Indian independence movement or the democratic struggles of the present times, Delhi University has been on the forefront of all important events. The University that once operated out of Ritz Cinema, Kashmiri Gate, has today expanded its web in all directions of the National Capital Region.

On a lonely day if you press your ear against the college walls, you will hear the whispers of those who came before us. They will tell you their stories of struggle against the British. It will speak of the foundation that has been made and its legacy which is in the making.

Feature Image Credits: Delhi University

Khyati Sanger

Niharika Dabral

Campus Central

A Guide to Fighting Apprehension and Uncertainties About Your Course

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak August 1, 2018

As your initial classes begin, so does your fear and anxiety regarding your course. While having second thoughts about the chosen course is a common phenomenon amongst students, knowing how to maneuver through these doubts and uncertainties is important in order to extract the most out of the three years’ undergraduate programme in the University of Delhi (DU).

As the alarm clock resounds and a new morning invites you, your drowsy self gets up and gazes into the mirror. While you attend to your routine morning activities, your mind is shrouded by a cloud of perplexing thoughts. College is the arena which beholds the foundations of your career. Hence, it is natural to feel minor pangs of anxiety about your chosen course and worry about your compatibility with the same. However, you must not stress about these apprehensions, since these are mere insecurities which will fade away very soon.

Every course offered by DU has significance, so don’t get jittery or plunge into a confused state of mind based on assumptions that your chosen course is not adequate or not good enough. Exhibit some gratification. Queuing up for admission in the sweltering and oppressive weather of Delhi to secure your seat in DU is an achievement in itself! Then why do these unwholesome thoughts come into your mind and engulf you in a bout of uneasiness? It is because you haven’t received clarity of your course yet.

The best way to acquire greater clarity would be to undertake some research and understand what exactly your subject of choice entails and what it has to offer. You may also look for opportunities like internships associated with your field of study to get better insight into the same.

Here are a few points to bust the insecurities:

Research Extensively on Your Course

Thanks to the age of the internet, you will be able to gain access to many websites providing you the information required to conduct an extensive research on your course and the career prospects emanating from it.

Coordinate Your Future Plans With Your Course

Since it is your first year in college, don’t be too hard on yourself. While you don’t need to be ascertained about what you want to pursue in life, you must start structuring basal ideas about how you can connect the offerings of your course to your areas of interest.

Experienced Faculty Across All Courses

If there’s one thing which makes Delhi University so great, it is the amazing and supremely qualified faculty brimful with years of experience and unparalleled expertise. Your teachers will be able to do away with your qualms once the classes begin and you delve into your syllabi.

Time Heals Everything

Last, but surely not the least, give some time to your course and to the other changes that you have encountered. As Leo Tolstoy would say, “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” Give it time as it is an inherent aspect of human nature to invariably take time before adapting to something unfamiliar. So don’t be under the impression that you’re the only one skeptical about your course. Once you take a few deep breaths, you will soon be able to comprehend what a privilege it is to get to spend three years in one of India’s most prestigious universities.

Feature Image Credits: Eflux Conversions

Avnika Chhikara

Uncategorized

How I fell in Love with Delhi in my First Year

By vijeata July 13, 2018

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]

Campus Central

Words that are Added to Your Vocabulary after Joining Delhi University

By Bhavya Banerjee May 31, 2018

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.

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.”

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!”

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.”

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.”

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!”

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!”

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.”

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!”

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!”

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

Campus Central

Reasons to Choose Delhi University Over Others

By DU Beat May 30, 2018

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

News

Delhi University and Jamia soar in India Today and Outlook survey

By DU Beat May 30, 2018

The 2018 Annual Best Colleges of India Survey by India Today and Outlook saw multiple colleges of Delhi University and Jamia Milia Islamia included in the top ten.

The annual survey of best colleges done by India Today and Outlook was done through extensive survey methods that included detailed questionnaires and field visits and revealed the rising academic excellence of Delhi University and Jamia Milia Islamia.

The India Today annual survey was conducted in collaboration with Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA), a Delhi-based marketing research and consulting organisation. It surveyed around 1000 colleges in various streams across the country on the basis of a revised tightly-structured methodology. Field visits to over 100 colleges helped to survey them objectively through five broad parameters: ‘Intake Quality & Governance’, ‘Academic Excellence’, ‘Infrastructure & Living Experience’, ‘Personality & Leadership Development’ and ‘Career Progression & Placement’.

Among the Best Arts Colleges of the country, St. Stephen’s College attained the 1st rank, while Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) was deemed to be in 2nd rank. Hindu College (3rd rank), Miranda House (4th rank) and Kirori Mal College (5th rank) were also among the top ten.

Among the Best Science Colleges of the country, Miranda House bagged the 1st Rank while Hindu College came second. St. Stephen’s (3rd rank), Kirori Mal college (4th rank) and Loyola College, Chennai (5th rank) were among the top ten as well.

In the list of the Best Commerce Colleges of the country, Sri Ram College of Commerce bagged the first rank. Hindu College came second followed by LSR, Hansraj College and Department of Commerce, Christ College (Bengaluru), in that order.

Among the best colleges for Mass Communication, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi bagged the first rank followed by AJ Kidwai Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI). In a press release, JMI’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Talat Ahmad congratulated the centres and departments of the university and also said that the findings complemented JMI’s 12th rank in the ‘universities’ category in MHRD’s NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) for two consecutive years, 2017 and 2018.

In terms of other parameters as well, the colleges of Delhi University were again at the top position. A few categories where they shone were Career Progression and Placement (Kirori Mal), Personality and Leadership Development (St. Stephen’s), Academic Excellence (LSR), Intake Quality and Governance (St. Stephen’s) and Cost of the Best (St. Stephen’s).

The survey done by Outlook in collaboration with the Mumbai-based research agency Drshti Strategic Research Services included detailed objective questionnaires that were sent to more than 2700 colleges in the country across 12 streams including Engineering, Medicine, Social Work and Mass Communication. Five key parameters of selection process & institute profile, academics, personality and development, placements, employment & graduating outcome, and infrastructure were used to judge the colleges while separate perceptual surveys were conducted among students, faculty members and other professionals.

In the ranking of top Social Work Colleges in India, Delhi University’s Department of Social Work was granted the 2nd rank with an overall score of 929 with TISS, Mumbai bagging the 1st Rank and an overall score of 947. Among the Best Law colleges of the country Faculty of Law, JMI bagged the 5th position as did the Faculty of Architecture & Ekistics of JMI, in the Best Architecture Colleges category. In Mass Communication, AJK MCRC, Jamia Milia Islamia, was judged to be the best college.

DU Beat wishes the heartiest congratulations to the colleges for their achievements.

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Sara Sohail

News

Deshbandhu College Central Councillor Leads Strike Against College Administration

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak May 22, 2018

Deshbandhu College students took place in a hunger strike, demanding better facilities and more resources.

A group of protesters, led by the Central Councillor of Deshbandhu College, staged a strike from the 19th of May 2018 within the college premises. The strike, which took place intermittently from the 19th, witnessed the Central Councillor of the college Students’ Union Saurabh Kumar holding a hunger strike for 2 days, only ending it at 1 pm on the 22nd.

The protesters put forth a chain of demands which included construction of a new computer science lab in the college, the appointment of a nurse, the release of funds for the cultural societies, and equipping the college chemistry lab with student safety gears including eyeglasses and gloves.

Explaining the reasons underlying his demands, Kumar told DU Beat, “Last October, in the college Chemistry Lab, a student had to be rushed to the hospital after a chemical reaction had gone wrong. Acid fumes had gone into the student’s eyes due to the lack of glasses in the lab.” Speaking on the demand for the release of funds for the societies, he commented, “It is common knowledge that the college has adequate resources to provide the required funds to our societies. But there has been withheld despite repeated requests from our side.”

Kumar, who was taken to the hospital after the strike had elaborated on their demand for a nurse by saying, “We have a medical room and yet we neither have a doctor nor a nurse. Toh Kya Faida Medical Room Ka? (What is the use of a medical room then?)”.

The President of Deshbandhu College Union Devesh Tiwary told a DU Beat correspondent, “First of all, our college doesn’t have a Principal at the moment. In the absence of an overarching authority, the financial transactions find difficulties in implementation. The interviews for the Principal’s post have been carried out. We are awaiting the results now.” He further assured, “Once the exams are over, we will conduct a meeting with the newly appointed Principal, and subsequently take stock of the demands.”

Tiwary alleged that the protesters had not given prior intimation of either their demands or the protest. Pehle Apni Maange Toh Rakho Humare Aage (at least apprise us about your demands first)”. He expressed concern and said, “I received calls from the police. But this wasn’t a matter to actuate a hunger strike upon.”

In contrast to Tiwary’s remarks, student councillor Saurabh Kumar asserted, “We had given prior notification to the college administration about the protest.” Notably, a copy of this aforementioned notification was sent to DU Beat in the evening of the 22nd. In the letter dated 18th May 2018, Kumar had put forth an ultimatum to the college administration by stating that he would sit on the hunger strike till his “last breath”. Kumar had further stated in the letter that if something happens to him during the hunger strike, the culpability of the same will lie with the college. Copies of the same were sent to the police station in Kalkaji, the Chairman of Deshbandhu College and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi.

Saurabh Kumar imposed serious charges against the administration and said, “The protesters sat on strike day-and-night for two days. And yet, the administration had locked the washrooms at night. They not only prevented us from bringing in mattresses, they didn’t allow us to bring even mosquito repellents during the course of our strike.”

In a letter of assurance that was received by Kumar from the college administration, the latter had promised the commencement of construction for the computer science lab within 10 days and appointment of a nurse by the month of July. As for their other two demands, a member of the college administration told the DU Beat correspondent on conditions of anonymity, “The issue of the provision of safety gears in the Chemistry Lab will be discussed in the department and the college will hold a meeting with the Convener of the Cultural Committee on 23rd of May.”

Feature Image Credits – Saurabh Kumar

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

Campus Central

AAP Accuses Vice Chancellor of Interfering with GB Decisions

By Prachi Mehra May 17, 2018

The deadlock of the appointment of Governing Body (GB) heads of the 28 Delhi government funded colleges between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Vice Chancellor broke in March, after a rough patch of one year. AAP alleged on 15th May that the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Yogesh Tyagi has threatened the principals of the 28 colleges under Delhi government against appointing the candidates suggested by the Delhi government for the top posts of the Governing Bodies.

AAP Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha told DNA India, “Before the AAP government in Delhi, any member from the ruling party in Delhi used to be the chairman of the governing body of Delhi University (DU), but now because it is AAP who wants to work for the people, the University has planned to hold elections to have a new chairman. Not only this, they are also putting pressure through the vice chancellor’s office, so that nobody from AAP can be the chairperson of these bodies in any college.” Some colleges under Delhi goverment are Gargi College, Kamala Nehru College, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Maharaja Agrasen College, Rajdhani College, Maitreyi College, and Satyawati College (Morning) among others.

According to sources, the Vice Chancellor has suggested Mr. Rajiv Nayan’s name for the post in Satyawati College due to his close relations with him but the college authorities opposed this move. DU may also disqualify his membership for being a panel member of three colleges already.

In a conversation with the DU Beat correspondent, Mr. Shashi Shekhar Singh, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science of Satyawati College stated, “A letter was sent by the Joint Registrar of the University to the principal a night before the meeting stating that the meeting has to be postponed because Mr. Rajiv Nayan has withdrawn from the membership of Aryabhatta College and the college failed to inform the University about the tie in last year’s Governing Body elections. This was the third scheduled meeting to be cancelled, 11 or 12 faculty members had written to the Vice Chancellor on cancellation of the very first meeting but to no avail. The elections had been scheduled for today, the college has no obligation to inform the University about the tie since all the members were aware of it, and elections could have been held smoothly. The University is pressurising the college and interfering in the autonomy of the college. The college is being run without its Governing Body. Absence of a Chairperson and Treasurer has led to a delay in payment of pensions. The University has no right to interfere in this matter of the college.”

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Prachi Mehra

DUB Speak

A Love Letter to Delhi University

By Oorja Tapan April 19, 2018

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