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Arts & Culture

DU Landmarks – A Cinema called Amba

By Shaurya Thapa February 26, 2019

Exploring Amba Cinema, the single screen theatre near North Campus and the people that make it.

The University of Delhi in general, and its North Campus in particular is like a brewery of cheap wine, brewing cheap thrills and sweet memories for the students that thrive in it. Kamala Nagar is one such prime destination, bustling with activity every day. On its outer edges, lie areas that start showing a family demographic rather than that of students. Just a few steps ahead of the market place’s ghantaghar (clock tower), and you’ll set foot to the gate of the only movie theatre in the campus area. This is Amba.

When I first arrived at Amba Cinema, I could see a diverse crowd before the evening show was to start. There were a couple of college couples, scattered all over the outer edges of the building, smiling sheepishly, waiting to exchange a kiss for a millisecond. Amidst this young love, I saw a small boy called Faizal pedalling an equally small bicycle.
He was cycling around, gazing at the movie posters with the fascination of a film connoisseur. As I stopped him for a conversation, he gave his verdict on the poster of the upcoming historical drama Manikarnika. ‘Bohot tagdi picture lag rahi hai. Par dekhke hi pata chalega ab.’, Faizal said. (‘It seems like a strong film. But I’ll get to know how it actually is, only after viewing’).

This little boy lives nearby and helps his brother at times, who sells vegetables on the street. Times aren’t easy for him but yet he smiles with his weekend entertainment when he comes to Amba with his brother. After all, Amba has two varieties of seats, wooden and recliner, both decently priced at 60 and 120 bucks (which is even lesser than what a bucket of popcorn in an ordinary multiplex would cost).

Amba has had a history with several generations of DU students now, as it has been more than fifty years since it was set up by certain old gentlemen Shiv Shanker Lall and Bhavani Shanker. The family runs the cinema till this day. Set up in 1963, the word ‘Amba’ (written in Devanagari) has survived, erected on a stand above the building, In the face of multiplexes, its single screen format has survived too in this part of the city.

However, it has accepted some modern changes along the way. The Dolby Atmos sound system was introduced a few years ago, as the staff says. And now, even English movies are being screened every once in a while, along with the usual Hindi ones. Hence, a cut out of Captain Marvel stood proudly, along with posters of Simmba and Manikarnika.

Turning it into a proper movie hall, the security has also been updated. The guards at the gate and the doors are hired on a temporary basis. However, nearly a year ago, the security scene reached a new level, with the controversial film Padmavat hit the screens. Rishabh Gogoi, a second-year student from Cluster Innovation Centre, recalls on how his experience was.
‘My first experience at Amba was remarkable as I had come to watch Padmavat. On the first day and the first show, there were at least three rounds of security checking before you actually sit inside. At one point, it even felt that there were more CRPF chaps than movie watchers.’

Talking about security, the hall is generally a quiet place without much ruckus. However, according to many students, the night shows are not advisable as the hall is rather filled with ‘uncivilised crowds’! Barring that, Amba Cinema is still a noteworthy landmark for the DU student. With a new outlet of H&M in Kamala Nagar, people are predicting that the wave of capitalism won’t stop till a privatised multiplex is set up. If that happens in the near future, some like Faizal and many more would still pray that Amba’s charm doesn’t die and it doesn’t shut down. Hope their prayers are answered…

Featured Image Credits: Rishabh Gogoi for DU Beat

Shaurya Singh Thapa
[email protected]

Delhi High Court Directs CBSE and DU to be Considerate to Gender Change

By Anoushka Sharma February 24, 2019

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed CBSE and University of Delhi to arrange for a medium for transgenders to attain changes in name and gender, in educational records.

On Wednesday, 20th February 2019, the bench comprising of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice VK Rao showcased its disapproval to the University of Delhi (DU) and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in declining the change of name and gender for a transgender person. It stated that when the Supreme Court had recognised their gender identity, education bodies must rise to the occasion to help.

The bench was hearing a PIL (Personal Interest Litigation) challenging the guidelines of the Centre, DU, and CBSE for the change of name and gender by a person. The petition has contended that the guidelines under challenge are “depriving her of the right to live with dignity and to self-identify her gender which is different from the one assigned at birth.”

This was not agreeable to both the education bodies as CBSE stated that name and gender needed to be changed before the 10^th or the 12^th grade, and DU responded by stating that to make changes in the University’s records, changes must be made in the school records.

The High Court disapproved of their stand and responded, “You cannot say its history for you. You keep your history, but give her a certificate declaring her changed name and gender. Give a declaration without changing your records. You should understand the practical problems they suffer. If they apply for a passport now, it will be put in objection due to contradiction in her name and gender no and what is shown in their education records. You need to be considerate. You cannot put everyone in one basket and say you won’t do it.”

The court by stating, “let us work out what can be done” further assured the petitioner that her right to gender identity was a Constitutional Right recognised by the Apex Court. It instructed both the statutory bodies to come with solutions with respect to the problem and listed this case for further hearing on 13^thMarch 2019.

Image Credits: World Politics Review

Stephen Mathew

Anushree Joshi

(With inputs from The New Indian Express)

DUB Speak

Lack of Psychology courses in DU: A Blot on University’s Academics

By DU Beat February 20, 2019

Despite being an important subject, the lack of Honors courses available in Psychology, Delhi University proves that psychology is still not accepted and recognized as a worthy bachelor’s degree.

Psychology as a subject has the power to help you grow as an individual and also help others grow. It is filled with concepts on human beings, stories and examples we can relate to and also interesting topics about which we can talk to with our friends. But what is unfortunate that only eleven colleges in the prestigious University of Delhi offer B.A. (Honors) Psychology as a course and three offer B.A. (Honors) in Applied Psychology.

This restricts the opportunities for students to pursue this subject. The cut offs go very high for the few good colleges offering this course. While, for a male student, this situation is even worse since majority of the colleges offering Psychology are only open to girls, so they have to either compromise on the course or despite having a good score, study in private institutes. According to a source who requested to be anonymous, he scored a 96.75 but still couldn’t get Psychology in Delhi University and is pursuing B.Sc. (Honors) Psychology from Christ University, Bangalore.

Apart from this, most of the colleges are unable to offer Psychology as a General Elective, and when they do, due to the lack of faculty, many times the classes get cancelled. In Lady Shri Ram College, girls who took Psychology as an Elective for the first semester reported that the it was extremely disappointing. A student quoted “We were allotted a teacher somewhere in last August and even this semester we have gotten a guest lecturer who taught from Wikipedia, it was pretty basic and did not feel like a Psychology class.” In Gargi College, Psychology is not offered as a General Elective despite having a department for Applied Psychology.

By lack of Facilities in Delhi University for this essential subject, the University is proving the general discourse prevalent in the society regarding Humanities courses that- “they are courses specifically for girls.” The larger, older and renowned colleges like Miranda House, Hansraj, Hindu and Sri Venkateswara do not offer Psychology at all. It is high time that this course is given the importance and attention that it deserves and the University introduces it in the other colleges as well.

Feature Image credits: The Indian Express

Shivani Dadhwal

Sakshi Arora

Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

Neither Black, nor White: The Scheming with Love

By Anushree Joshi February 14, 2019

A gentle reminder that every import from the west carries with it complex implications for a society as diverse and traditional as ours.

Among other things, Delhi University (DU) students very often boast about the kind of diversity their respective colleges enjoy. In every section of every course, there will be those who attend classes and those who don’t. Keeping the simplistic distinction aside, a safe assumption would be that all of us have known people across religions, states, and economic and social classes. Hence, Valentine’s Day too is a messy affair in this diversity of possibilities and options.

In the Indian context, the warring ideas emerge as that of hyper-capitalism and traditionalism which ultimately result in a rather interesting scenario. The whole week leading up to the 14^th of February becomes larger than life, as we’re bombarded with manufactured images and products that define love in the 21^st century. The capitalists controlling us carefully create customised needs and, through the course of the week, manipulate us into believing that we needed those things in the first place. Friends who are in relationships are aware of this manipulation and yet feel compelled to take part in it.

Capitalism scheming functions in such efficient ways that the expenditure is almost always considered directly proportional to the amount of love. To extend this scheme of manipulation beyond their target market, marketers are now also dictating how single people should spend this day. Quotes expressing the importance of self-love are splashed across hoardings leading you to believe that your consumption will instantly solve all of your problems and you will live “singly-ever-after”.

This complete rejection of Valentine’s Day, owing to its hyper commercialization, is increasingly becoming a dominant perspective. As students are becoming increasingly aware of the pressures influencing their consumption habits, they are becoming more immune to its effect. How many actually make the effort to exist outside of this system is unknown, but the realisation of the fact that it’s happening is growing. While this understanding is necessary in the long run, it also springs from a very specific group of people. For this group, the idea of Valentine’s Day itself is very ordinary. It’s in a way suggestive of their privilege, which allows them to go beyond the idea of V-day and focus more on a larger global trend.

However, this idea of freely expressing love is extraordinary and even exciting for some. When you look beyond Delhi and into smaller towns, more specifically smaller towns with saffron skies, Valentine’s Day becomes much more significant. These are places where young people are regularly morally policed and not given spaces to freely interact and behave like young people with will and desires. In suffocated environments like these, you can see why Valentine’s Day would stand out as special. It’s almost an invitation for rebellion. Despite their circumstances, to keep the spirit of the day alive, young people venture out to spend their time in public spaces. Claiming to save our country from western influences and adding communal flavor in the form of Love Jihad, extremist groups inflict violence year-after-year on these youngsters.

The real story of the commercialisation of this day can be traced back to the time when it reached the same small towns. Year-after-year, more coffee houses and shopping complexes were being decorated with heart-shaped balloons. The extremists couldn’t multiply faster than the capitalists and, in the end, they were outnumbered. There were too many balloons to burst and the religion of profit-making became more lucrative than the rage of vigilantism. This is not to suggest that capitalism will solve conservatism, but is just to lend to a more rounded idea of Valentine’s Day and the significance it holds in parallel India’s narrative.

Image Credits: Bustle

Pragati Thapa

DUB News

Increased Seats for Economically Weaker Sections

By Anushree Joshi February 9, 2019

The DU administration rules on implementing and increasing the economically weaker section (EWS) quota by 25%, leading to 6550 more seats across all colleges.

The Delhi University has decided to increase the total number of seats available to students from EWS background by 25%. This increment will be seen taking place in two steps- first, seeing a 10% increase, i.e. 2620 seats and the other, 15% i.e. 3930 seats. This plan shall see that the new academic year will see 6550 more seats for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Another agenda that was brought up during the meeting of the admission committee was that of developing a mechanism to avoid duplication of registration data, and to finish admission procedure before the academic session starts. This would mark a serious change as the admission process goes on a long while after the teaching already starts, and this could suggest that the admission for DU courses might begin earlier than before.

There will be a centralised admission process under the ‘children/widow of armed forces’ category, as last year DU had increased the sub-divisions within this category, causing problems and technical errors in finalising the admissions quickly.

The committee has also decided that in order to make the admission process simpler they will upload a tutorial video on the official website that will help the students by showing them how to fill the form and perform other functions. There will also be dummy forms filled on the website to show the students the proper way of doing the same. The chairman of the committee, Rajeev Gupta, said in a press release- “Usually applicants apply through cyber cafes. This often creates a problem for them as multiple mistakes happen, which often don’t get rectified.”

However, the ideas aren’t off to a great start as the university administration missed the 31^st January deadline for providing the details on how the seats will be added, the money that will be required, and other such details for the phase one i.e. the 10% increase. The admission committee members were not available for a comment on the same.

Image Credits: Tribhuvan Tiwari for DU Beat

Haris khan

Bazinga: DU to Install Centrally Air Conditioned Systems in Colleges

By Avnika Chhikara January 8, 2019

Delhi University to ensure centrally air conditioned campuses, due to the growing climate concerns.

Delhi University issued a statement on the 7th of January, 2019 that it will instal central air conditioners in all the college campuses. The proposal is set to be in motion from the new academic year (July onwards). On a trial basis, a few select colleges will have these installed. Depending on the affect or reaction of the college community, this measure will be taken on a full-fledged mode.

The reason, issued earlier, is the shifting climatic conditions. With the northern India witnessing a cold wave, it is expected that the summers will be as scorching as ever. Heena Garg, a student of Maitreyi College says, “The college infrastructure, especially the ventilation is a big problem in classrooms. The rooms are very stuffy and it creates a lot of problems in the hot summer months. The fans do not work properly. It results in a lot of discomfort among students.” A lot of private universities have already adopted the centrally conditioned system in their campuses. Infrastructure is still a major issue faced by a lot of Government or state based colleges.

Professor Yogesh Tyagi, the 22^nd Vice Chancellor of Delhi University, expresses his views on this decision, “It is about time the Delhi University improves its infrastructural facilities. Addition of the centrally conditioned campus will be a major boost for the University and will benefit the students and staff.”

With the rising levels of pollution and lack of pure air in the Capital’s air index, a lot of households are also shifting to centrally treated air conditioning. Their growth in the Indian markets has been very restricted as compared to that of their western counterparts, where every house is already centrally conditioned. India is lagging behind in this lifestyle concern as its affordability is restricted only to the rich.

Apeksha Jain, a second year B.Com. student of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College comments, “In a city which has such extreme climates, DU’s decision for central air conditioning is a really good one. it will improve campus engagement and attraction, and improve the existing infrastructural conditions of the university.” While some of the colleges in DU provide air conditioned classes to its students, the call is for a campus wide change for the better.

Feature Image credits: Interact Classroom

Avnika Chhikara

Academic Council Claim Recommendations not Considered by DU

By DU Beat January 3, 2019

The Academic Council claims that its recommendations have not been considered by DU, which has allegedly made the teachers unhappy.

On 1st of January 2019, a day before the meeting of the Academic Council (AC), several of its members claimed that the administration of University of Delhi has decided to not take the recommendations suggested by them into consideration. According to them, many of its recommendations have been missing from the Academic Council meeting’s agenda.

The University of Delhi, on the UGC’s notification, dated 18th of July 2018, had formed a 20-member committee to frame ordinances and statutes for promotions of 3,500 teachers, beginning with professorship in colleges and maternity leaves for ad hoc teachers, among many other issues. The committee was constituted so that it could look into the University Grants Commission Regulations, so that it could be implemented by the varsity. Following approval from the Academic Council, the concerning matter is sent to the executive council.

DU had called a meeting of the Academic Council, one of the statutory bodies of the varsity on the 12th of December 2018 which got postponed to the 2nd of January 2019. The reason behind this, according to some teachers, was that the administration kept on passing the University Grants Commission Regulations 2018 out of the meeting’s agenda. The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) had also expressed its concern regarding the postponement of the meeting with the Vice Chancellor YogeshTyagi in a letter dated 11th of December 2018. It had also stated that the regulations had to be adopted within six months of the gazette notification and amendments made accordingly.

On 28th of November 2018, the Committee had submitted its report after meeting ten times for two months to decide on the modalities of the regulations.

Feature Image Credits: University of Delhi’s (DU) Official Website

Disha Saxena

DUB Speak

A take on Safety in North Campus

By DU Beat December 23, 2018

In light of recent events, safety in North Campus has been proven fragile. But even the failure in this test has not incentivized the necessary authoritative action.

Delhi University’s North Campus is famously known for its prestigious colleges. Some of the best colleges in the country are all smattered in close vicinity to each other. But in recent months, the same area has come to be known for its increasing crime rates.

On 2nd December, a tragic incident happened in the campus at nightfall. The incident started doing rounds on social media in a couple of days, to the utter disbelief and outrage of all students and residents of North Campus alike.

In the Facebook post, shared by multiple people, the following message was broadcasted:
“With utmost shock and anger, we inform you that our dear friend, Sandipan, a PhD student of Delhi School of Economics, was attacked by a couple of phone snatchers with knife late night on 2nd December. He was stabbed multiple times and is now admitted at Hindu Rao Hospital. The incident happened on the Naala bridge at Patel Chest. This is just opposite the Maurice Nagar Police Station.”
Pointedly, the area in question is a frequently visited place by all students in North Campus. A huge number of students reside around the area and so, the famous food outlets of North Campus are accessed via the same road. However, the incident raises questions on the presumed comforts and safety of the area, that the students expect before they take up expensive lodgings there.

The post continued, “Despite giving the number of the bike to the police, no action has yet been taken. The incident and the police inaction is telling of how dangerous our own campus has become.”

Multiple cases of phones being snatched have been reported by students. Within the first week of the commencement of college, a student of Hindu College lost her phone to the self-same phone-snatchers. Another student of Hindu College, on her way back from Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station to her PG in Shakti Nagar said, “I was sitting in a rickshaw with three other friends. The rickshaw came to a halt in front of Daulat Ram College where two men on a bike rushed past us and took away my phone.” The incident was traumatic for her to recount later.

As reported by DU Beat earlier, Aashish Jain, a student of Kirori Mal College (KMC) recalled the incident when his mobile phone was snatched. “I was right outside the college gate when I was on a call,” he said, adding that he hadn’t realised that people on motorbikes were keeping a watchful eye on him. “I disconnected the call, and was going to put the phone in my pocket when one of them snatched it from my hand and ran off on their motorbike.”

Unfortunately, safety is not a concern because of these material losses alone. Safety of girls is as always only an agenda in the pompous manifestos of all political parties. A student recalled being stalked by a group of men in their car when she was returning from her college one evening. Such stories are far from uncommon. It is sad that we should demand for gender-specific safety in such an eminent area.

Casual sexism and misogyny that all of us observe everyday go on to show that legal action in seclusion cannot ensure safety of women. We need a more ‘human’ approach towards the issue. Calling out such abominable behaviour is our resistance. It is ironic how an area that is marked for its institutions and their excellence, should be called out for its degrading safety measures.
“Delhi Police must immediately book the perpetrators,” notes the same Facebook post (aforementioned). “DU administration and the Delhi Police must ensure safety of students around the campus and around every college of DU.”
The inaction of the authorities can easily be explained in their inability to apprehend the perpetrators as yet. It is high time that proper action is taken. The ignorance towards these seemingly petty crimes may prove more harmful otherwise.

Feature Image Credits: Dailymail

Kartik Chauhan

Moment of Reckoning: DU Accredited ‘A+’ NAAC Ranking

By Anoushka Sharma December 1, 2018

The University of Delhi has been awarded ‘A+’ grade with a corresponding cumulative grade point average of 3.28 by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council .

One of the most prestigious universities in the country, the University of Delhi has come to its reckoning with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grading. After a comprehensive evaluation of various departments from across the varsity, it has been accorded an ‘A+’ by the NAAC.

The cumulative grade point average (CGPA) for A++ accreditation is between 3.51 to 4. As per an official, the council review was held in the last week of October. Last year, the Jawaharlal Nehru University was ranked “A++” in the NAAC review. The council grading is crucial for funds and grants allotted to a varsity by the University Grants Commission.

As reported by the Press Trust of India, a detailed questionnaire assessing a multitude of aspects- from inclusivity to flexibility or rigidity in practising rules in the colleges were sent to the Department Heads across the varsity ahead of the official NAAC visit. There were 103 questions in total. Does the DU department celebrate national festivals or observe birth and death anniversaries of great Indian personalities; Is there a policy in place to check plagiarism were some of the questions in the questionnaire.
The accreditation is as per the Revised Accreditation and Assessment Framework launched by the NAAC in July 2017, which represents an explicit paradigm shift in the accreditation process, making it ICT enabled, objective, transparent, scalable and, robust, DU said in a statement. As reported by The Indian Express, the primary focus of the shift is from qualitative peer judgment to data-based quantitative indicator evaluation with increased objectivity and transparency. These include combination of online evaluation (about 70 per cent) and peer judgment (about 30 per cent), it added. DU has been accredited (First Cycle) with a CGPA 3.28 with A+ Grade, valid for a period of 5 years from November 30, the statement said.

With inputs from The Indian Express.

Feature Image Credits: India TV

Kartik Chauhan