Latest
DU Beat – Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper
Tag

DU

Browsing
Arts & Culture

Unmasking the Privileged Classes in Delhi University

By

Known for the diversity of its student community, the University of Delhi ends up masking the dominance of the privileged in its spaces by not addressing the emptiness of the concept of merit.

Despite the perpetual complaints of corruption and inefficiency within public institutions and government offices, public higher education institutions continue to be icons of (relative) integrity in India. Government colleges regularly top the lists of best institutions in the country. Unlike private institutions for one, they seemingly are based on merit alone rather than unscrupulous “donations” and have a sense of legitimacy associated with them. The University of Delhi is no exception, with it painting a picture of being socially progressive with its apparently diverse crowds from all over the country.

However, a simple examination of the makeup of the student body shows a different side. While the geographical diversity holds up to an extent, it shows a dominance of those from urban areas. This is important for a seemingly inclusive institution, considering the fact that about 70% of the population lives in rural area, and is also indicative of the obvious dearth of facilities in rural areas. Socially, a look at the merit list shows the disproportionate lack of lower caste and minority religions. An article by Nidhin Shobana pointed to her similar observations of the alumni list of Miranda House and is worth a look.

Even without the statistics, encounters with the caste/class privilege are routine and invisible. If you had lived in a big city, chances are you probably have a few schoolmates in the University, too. Or, there must be other students in the University from your city, from the same circle of three or four top schools of that city. Or, maybe you’ve had instances where you’ve run into an old classmate/neighbour/family friend on the University campus, wondered “What a small world!”, and left it at that. If you ask those who do not belong to your social strata, however, it turns out that these chance meetings and coincidences have their frequencies going down as one’s social standing goes down.

Of course, this is not a sweeping generalisation. There is no total dominance. It does seem odd, though, that most people who seem to do well as per the narrow definitions of marks scored are of a numerically minuscule class, and will probably also dominate corporate and administrative fields when they leave these institutions. Even worse, there seems to be no conversation on this unfair dominance that hides diabolically in the name of “merit”.

A quick activity can illustrate the point that this article is trying to make – we urge our readers to ask within their respective classes, students who are Dalits and Bahujans, to raise their hands. The few hands will speak for itself.  Premier institutions of the country, like the ones within the University of Delhi, reek of the hegemony of the Brahmin-Savarna class. Merit isn’t the sole reason that lands them within the confines of such colleges, but the perpetual cycle of a fairy advantageous existence because of their social standing within the larger society. It is the ugly truth that we must confront. It is the norm that has dictated the corridors of such colleges for decades now. Nidhin Shobana’s article, speaks of the same.

So, the next time you hear someone in the university merrily quip, ‘what a small world’, pat them on their backs and ask them to think twice.

 

Feature Image Credits – Fuccha.in

 

Ankita Dhar Karmakar
[email protected]

Rishika Singh
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Arts & Culture

Economics Department of JMC Organises Ecovantage

By
The Economics Department of Jesus & Mary College successfully conducted their annual fest – ECOVANTAGE on the 25th September 2017.
The energy of the fest reached great heights as crowds from different colleges poured in, brimming with excitement and enthusiasm!
The fest kick-started with an inaugural lecture by Professor Indira Rajaraman, providing an insight into the critical economic challenges of India. This was followed by a plethora of fun events and exciting food stalls. The International Trade Game was a first of its kind and was a huge success. The Tri-quizzard Tournament, an economics quiz, was heralded as a favourite amongst the participants.
Other popular events included Brand Tambola and Campus Surfers which witnessed huge participation. The Paper Presentation event saw wonderful submissions, pushing the bar higher than last year.
They had an online event as well, Memeopoly, where participants sent in humorous memes related to Economics and current affairs.
All in all, they received an overwhelming response and saw another year of fun yet intellectual events!

 

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

Audit Report On DU Irregularities

By

An audit report was done by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), University of Delhi reveal irregularities regarding appointments, land acquisition, income tax etc. They assessed several financial and administrative irregularities in its audit report of DU. These irregularities were assessed earlier this year. A lot of questions were raised on the university’s alleged “adventurous expenditure”. The document was titled “Inspection report on the accounts of University of Delhi for the year 2014-16”. It was compiled by the Director General of Audit, Central Expenditure and highlighted various irregularities in appointments, land acquisitions, income tax etc.

For 2014-16 audit, CAG gave 11 inspection reports and 60 outstanding paragraphs which were struck down to eight inspection reports and 34 outstanding paragraphs after due process of explanation. Sources say, when the audit was closed, there were only 20 or so paragraphs left outstanding. These outstanding paragraphs, too, are being worked on by the university. Earlier, in transactional audits, at times, the university used to have around 200 outstanding paragraphs.

A law student along with an advocate, Mohit K. Gupta, had filed an RTI with the CAG in July this year. The audit includes 16 faculties and 77 colleges. The audit has questioned the treatment of the post of registrar on deputation basis and termed purchase of iMac computers for routine work in South Campus as “unauthorized expenditure” worth Rs 24.95 lakhs. The report also highlighted that the University press had been under-utilized and incurred losses from 2009-15. It showed that the press had not paid expenses amounting to Rs 1.30 crore and had idle equipments worth Rs 36 lakhs. The non-payment resulted in the outsourcing of the work causing losses amounting to Rs 1.40 crores to the Faculty of Law.

Not only this, the report also revealed that the university had incurred heavy losses due to the parallel running of feeder buses along with campus bus services without any feasibility analysis. A source in the Vice-Chancellor’s office said that the University was working on the outstanding paragraphs and would respond any further queries by the CAG.

Image Credits: CAG

 

Karan Singhania

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Events

HR Symposia’17: Delhi School of Economics

By

HR Symposia 2017, one of the most awaited events of MBA (HRD) Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics kick-started on 23rd September 2017. The theme for HR Symposia 2017 was  ‘Techcelerating HR: Forging Integration’.

The first day of the two-day extravaganza commenced with the inaugural lamp lighting ceremony by Dr. Urvashi Sharma, Course Coordinator, MBA (HRD) along with our esteemed guest speakers, Ms. Ira Singhal, who is an IAS officer and Mr. Alok Nigam who is the Group CHRO, Bhartiya Group. Ms. Ira Singhal started her keynote emphasizing upon the importance of HR’s role in any organization. She described how HR has the ability to create an impact in other people’s lives. “To succeed in HR, one should be a silent warrior.” she quoted. Mr. Alok Nigam took the stage and started with his address with the fact that one must have a lifelong yearning to learn new things, calling himself an eternal student. He further continued talking about the essentials an HR manager must keep in mind. “Practice doesn’t make a man perfect, it makes a man better” he quoted.

Soon after, we had on stage, Mr. Jaspreet Bakshi, Director & Regional Head, HR People Services India, Royal Bank of Scotland. Mr. Bakshi talked about how the technology is going to drive the businesses in future. He shed some light on the recent trends which have enabled the organizations to transform the traditional workspace setup. “Focus on value, not on raw data” he quoted. Shortly, Mr. Bakshi was joined by Mr. Arindam Chakraborty, VP-HR of Eicher Polaris, Mr. Kiriti Sen, Life, Career and Relationship Coach, Winged Bird, Ms. Rashmi Mansharmani, Corporate Head – HR, The Wave Group, Mr. Govind Negi, Director – Talent Engagement India, 3Pillar Global – India for the first panel discussion of the day which was on the topic, “HR in C-Suite: Assuring Seat at the Table”.

The panel started the discussion highlighting the fact that HR is no longer a support function and has become a growth enabler in business. They talked about how crucial it is for the HR managers to have an in-depth understanding of the business they are a part of so as to enhance their influence in the business. They also discussed various challenges the businesses are facing in the present day and how HR can help them provide fruitful solutions to them. The panel discussion concluded with an interactive Q&A session between the students and panelists.

After the panel discussion, we welcomed Mr. Paras Kaushik, VP-HR, Aditya Birla Group for the Speaker Session on the topic ‘Design Thinking in Tech HR’. Mr. Kaushik explained in detail about what Design Thinking is all about with real-life examples and experience sharing. He emphasized on how Design Thinking is more about the mindset than just the process. He also briefed upon the key elements of design thinking. In the end, there was an interactive session between Mr. Kaushik and students to get further insights on Design Thinking and its future implications. “Ownership of product leads to more responsible use and care of the product, increasing productive usage.” he quoted. After Mr. Kaushik, we welcomed Mr. Prasad Kulkarni, Head HR – Shared Services and C &B, Raymonds Ltd., Mr. Avadhesh Dixit, Head Global HR, Moody’s Analytics Knowledge Services and an MHROD Alumnus 1999 Batch, Mr. Gaurav Saini, HR Director – India & MENA Region, HMD Global (Nokia), Mr. Rajneesh Singh, Managing Partner, SimplyHR Solutions and Mr. Rupesh Tripathi, Head HR, IHS Markit for the second panel discussion of the day. The topic for discussion was ‘VUCA Times and Technology: Finding Solutions’.

The discussion began with the panelists discussing how technology should be seen as a facilitator to problem-solving instead of making things complex. To adapt to the fast-changing technology, there has to be a change in the mindset of people. Panelists were of the view that VUCA times need to be embraced rather than feared. Each speaker of the panel shared their own experience and guided the students in the interactive Q&A session which was an extremely enlightening experience for the students.

After a very interesting first day, the second day saw the excitement and enthusiasm of the participants soaring high!

The first session of the day was a panel discussion. In keeping with the theme of the event- “Techcelerating HR: Forging Integration”, the topic of discussion was “Optimizing HR: Augmented Workforce. The panel included Mr. Ashok Kumar Rai, Director Human Resources at Aricent, Mr. Biplob Banerjee, Executive VP – HR and CSR at Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd., Mr. Sanjeev Sharan, Director- HR- Globalization at ZTE Telecom Ltd and Mr. Manoj Sharma, Senior VP – HR at RG Group.

The discussion began on a very interesting note where the moderator, Mr. Banerjee introduced the panelists and opened the discussion by delving into what augmented workforce means. The discussion was taken forward by Mr. Douglas Peter who put forth the observation that in today’s changing industry, it is the HR manager who holds the power to actually implement policies and add value to the business in the bigger picture of things. The rest of the panelists spoke along the same lines, agreeing to the common fact that while the change is really fast-paced, the role of HR is all about adapting to that change.

The second session of the day was another highly intriguing panel discussion on the topic, “Digitalization and Disruptive Leadership”. The panelists included Mr. Mukesh Batra, Head HR at MothersonSumi Infotech & Designs Ltd., Mr. Anurag Srivastav, Co-founder of PayReview, Mr. Vikash Dubey, Head HR – Services BU at Persistent Systems, Mr. Ashutosh Sharma, Head HR at Paras Buildtech and Mr. Snehashish Bhattacharyya, VP-HR at VLCC Person Care Ltd. The panel gave some insightful views on the topic, with Mr. Batra moderating the session for the house.

The topic of discussion for the session is currently a highly relative one with more and more organizations moving towards Disruptive Leadership. This is impacting the role and functioning of the HR manager majorly as organizations today are becoming boundary-less, making them very susceptible to the technological changes happening in present times. The key takeaway from this session was that prospective HR professionals need to be ready to think of the unthinkable to survive this disruption and simultaneously work towards improving the experience of the end-user.

The panel discussion was followed by Mr. Vikash Dubey, Head HR – Services BU at Persistent Systems addressing the house. Taking a cue from the discussion that took place in the previous session, Mr. Dubey went on to explain more categorically how the role of an HR is evolving. He emphasized the importance of staying conceptually strong and tech-savvy at the same time for any HR manager today. Maintaining that human connect will always be the core responsibility of an HR manager is what he concluded his address with.

The final session of the day and the event saw an extremely interactive and exciting panel discussion on the topic- “Cognifying HR and Social media”. The panelists comprised Mr. Narendra Chandel, Head, Talent Acquisition, North India at Tata Consultancy Services, Mr. Rakesh Seth, Director of ICPI, Ms. Harpreet Datta, Sr. Vice President / Head – Human Resources at The Princeton Review, Mr. Deepak Bharara, CHRO at LANCO, Mr. A.K. Munjal, VP-HR at Maruti Suzuki and Ms. Amrita Singh, Senior Manager- HR at Godrej. The discussion was moderated by the high-spirited veteran speaker, Mr. Deepak Bharara.

The session started with each panelist presenting their take on the topic of discussion. They all agreed to the fact that data today is the new oil and social media has changed the way we are communicating in our personal as well as professional lives. HR roles have been transforming to accommodate all these changes, and while the use of technology has eased out things, it can in no way replace the HR manager.

Mr. Bharara made the session very interesting by giving the panelists a pop quiz. It was really interesting and informative to listen to the panelists answering his questions to the best of their abilities and experience.

Day 2 of HR Symposia ’17 ended with the Convenor of the organizing committee, Student Development Cell, Khushboo Mandal declaring the event officially closed. The participating students were definitely left richer by the experience and knowledge shared by the speakers of the event. HR Symposia ’17 concluded on a successful note, with the anticipation of something bigger happening in the coming year!

Image Credits: Department of Commerce, DSE

Keep Reading
By
Uncategorized

Restrictive Hostel In-Timings in DU: What Do They Represent?

By

In light of the recent Banaras Hindu University controversy comes to mind the question of moral policing and gender. Different in-times in college hostels for boys and girls show how the administration tries to morally police women. The fear of female autonomy and expression of sexuality is so deep; it makes colleges implement these sexist rules and guidelines in order to curb them.

Seemingly liberal colleges, where conversation around feminism and gender is never lulled, have restrictive hostel timings or a different in-time for boys and girls (not officially but in implementation). The in-time for Daulat Ram College’s hostel is 7:30 PM, for the Miranda House Hostel, is 8:30 PM, for the Rajiv Gandhi hostel for women, is 9:30 PM as is the Hindu College girls hostel. Timings for Men’s hostels are also somewhat similar but the difference is they are never really enforced. The Post-Graduate Men’s (PG Men’s) hostel for instance on its prospectus has an in-time of 10:40 PM but according to sources, the in-time is never followed. Srivedant Kar, a resident of PG Men’s hostel says that while the prospectus reads 10:30 PM, there really isn’t an applicable in-time there. He mentions that the PG Men’s hostel is “open 24*7”. A resident from Rajiv Gandhi Girls Hostel, who would like to stay anonymous, says “The in-time is 10:00 PM and it is strictly implemented”. Hindu College offers hostels to both boys and girls but here is how both are treated differently. According to Muhammad Daniyal Ubaidullah, a student of Hindu College “Boys’ in-time is hardly a reality, as in, it is not enforceable at all. Girls hostel is strictly around 10:30, I think”. Kirori Mal College (KMC) hostel’s in-time is 11:00 PM ( please note-three and a half hours later than DRC, two and a half hours later than Miranda). When I asked an acquaintance living there if the in-time was implemented his reply was “not really”.

Two people from a similar age group are allowed radically different levels of independence. So, if a girl gets back to the Daulat Ram College hostel at 8:00 PM instead of 7:30, she may have to go through disciplinary action, humiliation, and child-like admonishment but if he were a boy living in either the Hindu College boys hostel, KMC boys hostel or PG Men’s hostel, he would have the liberty to walk in as and when he pleased. This system which allows one eighteen-year-old boy to be out all night but expects another eighteen-year-old girl to inside the hostel premises by 7:30 PM sharp is shameful and sexist. It is these kinds of discriminatory laws that infantilise women. It reiterates that women are incapable of taking care of themselves and should be indoors before it gets dark.

The idea of a woman being out at 10:30 PM was apparently so threatening, so unsettling that administration nipped this problem in the bud itself. The radical difference between how boys and girls hostels are treated highlights a deeper problem. The underlying root of this form of strict discipline enforcement is moral policing. This moral policing stems from a) a fear of female independence and b) an attempt to control women and curb their decision-making power. If a university willingly chooses to limit the choices the women studying there can make, we have a problem at our hands.

Here is how these discriminatory timings play a greater role than they seem to have. Every time a girl needs to rush back to meet her 7:30 or 8:30 PM deadline while her male counterparts continue to be out, it reminds her of how societal perception of what girls should do and how they should behave has still not changed. This mould of a “good girl” that’s so aggressively marketed by college administrators, movie makers, and pop culture subconsciously affects us, one that is idolized, glorified, put on a pedestal if reinforced by these ridiculous timings. Those who choose to speak out and rebel are often problematically labelled as “feminazis” (casual usage of the word “Nazi” is insensitive).

Here is another dangerous idea which is behind these ridiculous in-timings, the idea that women will be “unsafe” at night and therefore need to be actively protected and locked indoors. It is this restrictive in-time that stops women from “reclaiming the streets” so to speak. If women won’t be allowed to step out at night, the idea that women are unsafe after dark will only strengthen. That part in Jab We Met where the ticket conductor compares a woman a lone woman to an open box of riches, ready to be ravaged, was not funny then and is not funny now; simply because it hits home. Because I know that isn’t some random dialogue in a random film that will not matter the second I step out of the theatre. That sentence defined and reflected the beliefs of our society at large. The fact that in a place like the University of Delhi, one of the most “woke” institutions in India allowed such outright discriminatory rules to stand and gave men a free pass while caging women shows how little is progress that we have made.

It is imperative that authorities recognise that this form of moral policing does a gross injustice to the young women whose idea of self they are meant to shape and positively influence. Universities across the country need to stop acting like the self-anointed guardians of women. When we don’t question the reasoning behind these chauvinistic rules, we give them legitimacy. Rules that reinforce age-old problematic norms about women, try to constrict their freedom and independence should be actively questioned and fought against.

Image Credits: The Hindu

Kinjal Pandey
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Why the University of Delhi Is Not As Inclusive As It Seems

By

The University of Delhi, with its highly subsidized education and with a plethora of Gender Cells and Enabling Units may look like the ideal place to be but its education pattern and infrastructural facilities are structured in a way that largely benefits able bodied, upper-middle class, privately schooled, English speaking students.

The internet and its spawn twitter have made everyone with an internet access, a potential activist. And with this sense of activism on the internet I came to know about the concept of inclusivity- which is a concept that asks whether an institution, organization or work space is accessible, suitable and does justice to people from all ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic backgrounds, and gender identities and does not condone ableism. In 2015, Brown University allocated $100 million dollars to make it more inclusive. This shows how globally renowned colleges are doing a reality check of their own hidden biases and it is time DU did the same. Inclusivity in a university space is important because first, invisible barriers in education means putting disadvantaged communities at a greater disadvantage by keeping them away from education and second, students who will learn in a non-inclusive, privilege rewarding environment will tomorrow propagate that kind of behaviour in their respective work spaces, simply because their idea of society in general would be warped and distant from reality, they were never sensitized about their hidden privilege while learning.

Here’s why DU is not all that inclusive and how this affects certain students and communities particularly-

1) Lack of hostels– as of now there are only 15 colleges that have hostels available for undergraduate students in DU. Eight of them are girls hostels, with one of them for foreign students, two boys hostels and only four colleges that have both girls and boys hostels. These hostels can accommodate on an average no more than one-fifty students. When a college student body consists of some four-thousand students, this number appears to be pitiably-low. Since DU attracts students from all over India and in large numbers, it falls upon the shoulders of these students to find appropriate accommodation for themselves. They resort to living in private hostels which cost some Rs. 12,000 on an average. Thus, studying in DU for those not from Delhi/those who don’t get a college hostel is expensive. Ergo, DU is, speaking in general terms, a feasible option only for those who can afford private accommodation. The accommodation issue is one which also makes us question the subsidized nature of DU’s education and make its status as a diverse and accessible university dubious.

2) Lack of uniformity in facilities available for differently abled students and academia– the biggest problem for differently abled students is that there are vast discrepancies in facilities offered to differently abled students. While a handful of top-ranking colleges have ramps, elevators, tactile paths and active enabling unit cells, the remaining don’t. These six or seven colleges act as tokens that make DU appear more democratic and inclusive but in most colleges, differently-abled students continue to suffer because of broken tactile paths, ramps with no railing, no elevators, broken recording machines and limited or no braille libraries.

3) Linguistic barriers- the medium of communication for most classes in DU is English. Majority of students, who hail from a Hindi-medium educational background, find this problematic. They rely on guide books and the help of friendly classmates to tide through lessons. And while professors try to be accommodating, if they held their classes in Hindi alone, students who don’t speak the language would be at a heavy disadvantage. Nanditha Harimohan of Daulat Ram College says” Since I do not speak Hindi, if all my classes were conducted in Hindi I would quickly lose interest and end up assuming things”. This linguistic barrier affects all those who are not fluent in either English or Hindi. Unless the university acknowledges this issue as a legitimate problem, an adequate solution to it will never come by and it will continue to be a conundrum that plagues students.

4) High cut-offs – While each one of us works exceptionally hard for our boards’ percentage, it is important to keep in mind that it is much easier for a student hailing from an urban private school to score 95% in their boards than it is for someone studying from a government school in a far-off village. And while both study diligently, one has an invisible privilege over the others. There is no shame in being privileged but it is essential to acknowledge it. While top universities across the globe take a subjective approach towards determining ones achievement and dedication, this system in our University, which reduces everyone’s individual struggles to a number, to a game where a 0.25 less means heartbreak and crushed dreams is strangely dehumanising. Scoring marks in boards is an objective, soulless process where wealthier students with their ten-year question papers, private tuitions, goals oriented not knowledge oriented studying and guidance on how to study and write answers; will always do better.

5) Good infrastructural facilities offered only in a handful of colleges – The idea of what DU is and what it stands for, for a lot of people across the country is limited to St. Stephens, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Shri Ram College of Commerce and Hindu College. Ceilings have fallen in Daulat Ram College, Hans Raj College and College of Vocational Studies (twice). While certain off-campus colleges or lesser known colleges are crumbling away, authorities remain unconcerned. Basic issues like lack of adequate number of washrooms or a shortage of classrooms is seen in many colleges but these issues remain un-highlighted because leaders and administrators only bother visiting the top six or seven colleges. Narendra Modi visited SRCC, Smriti Irani visited Hindu College but colleges where no major infrastructural improvements have taken place in decades are side-lined and few renowned people in the public eye seem interested in visiting those. A highly subsidized education cannot obviously offer the same kind of amenities that a privately funded education might, but in institutions where basic needs remain unfulfilled, it is impossible for any academic or cultural breakthroughs to take place. These colleges are not neglected for a lack of funds. Out of the Rs.300 crores that has been given to DU by the UGC from 2012 to 2017, only Rs.100 crores was spent and of the remaining amount Rs.105 crores lapsed. So while colleges continue to hike their fees or suffer due to a cash crunch, grant money remains unutilized. If the administration bothered to look at the almost pitiable state of certain colleges, this could have been avoided. This inherent sense of elitism where politicians, actors and famous personalities visit a handful of colleges and remain bothered with only them is discriminatory and not inclusive because it limits the resources the rest of the student body has access to.
A College of Vocational Studies student has the same right to sit in a classroom, where ceilings do not fall on their head as a St. Stephens student does. Elevators for wheelchair bound students are needed in every college, not just the five most renowned ones. Everyone deserves the opportunity to study in the University of Delhi, not just those who can choose to spend two-lakh rupees annually as PG rent due to lack of hostels. A student hailing from a small village in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and studying in a government school worked hard for her 85% in boards and deserves the same chance to study in DU as another 95% hailing from an ISC affiliated private school’s student. It is important that both the student body and administration work actively in order to make DU a make inclusive space. Our responsibility towards making the world more inclusive is not limited to sharing dramatic tumblr posts about lack of people in the Trump cabinet. While that is certainly important but our responsibility also extends to and includes our immediate surroundings, our colleges, our workspaces, our films and pop-culture and our environment.

Image Credits: Equal Opportunities Cell, University of Delhi website

Kinjal Pandey
[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

An Unreserved Student Gets Admission in a Reserved Seat at DU’s Law Faculty

By

Student Manmeet Kaur Sareen had filed a plea in Delhi High Court questioning the policy of admission into the Law Faculty of Delhi. Even after the last cut-off list as 233-34 for the unreserved category, seats were left vacant. Ms. Sareen had scored 231 in her LLB entrance exam and there were 14 seats left in total at the three Law Centres.

Law Centre 2 had 7 seats for reserved category and one for a foreign national but after filing for an affidavit, the university declared that these seats won’t be carried forward to the next year.

The following is the rule by the University for reserved category students, ‘The seats reserved for SC/ST shall be filled by SC/ST candidates only. However, in case of non-availability of the eligible candidates, the reserved seats may be interchanged between the SC and ST. If still, any seats remain unfilled, the same shall be left vacant’.

In Justice Indermeet Kaur’s own words, “The ends of justice would definitely not be served if available seats in educational institutions are allowed to go waste; this could also not have been the intention of educational legislators…This would be a denial of opportunity to an otherwise meritorious student…”. to which DU argued that there were 67 students before Ms. Sareen.

The court ordered admission only for Ms. Sareen since only she approached the court and nobody else. She has been given admission at the University’s Law Centre 2.

Image credits: dubeat.com

 

Prachi Mehra

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

State of Co-Curricular Activities in Delhi University

By

Famed for its performing societies and star alumni, does the University’s ecosystem encourages the growth of co-curricular activities?

If there’s anything that the University of Delhi is famous for besides its headlines-grabbing cut-off percentages each year, it’s the star alumni. Apart from politicians, some of the country’s top artists are also DU graduates, partly stemming from the fact that Delhi in itself is a city that promotes such fields with its various cultural centres that regularly hold performances and workshops by experts.

At the college level, however, the stepping stone for the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan is the college societies. Upon closer inspection, though, it becomes obvious that enough is not being done to facilitate their workings. Right from the inception stage, it is difficult to find out about the formalities required to start a society. The presence of a faculty advisor is also a condition and it takes a lot of hassle to find a convenor because most of the teachers are already under a lot of workloads, having no incentive to take on additional responsibility. Further, the music, dance, and theatre societies require spaces for their daily practices. In institutions like Jesus and Mary College and Hans Raj College, it’s cumbersome to book the Auditorium for practices as obtaining the administrative permission takes a lot of time, which leaves students without proper practice spaces. Colleges like Miranda House, Kirori Mal College, and Sri Venkateswara College do not have proper auditoriums currently, which results in finding nooks and corners of the college for practices. This becomes tiring, and due to no allotted space for each society, societies secure spaces on a first come first serve basis, leaving other groups in a lurch. As performances and competitions’ season nears, these colleges have a disadvantage since necessary rehearsals are unable to take place.

A good portion of the already meagre society funds has to be devoted to booking external auditoriums during the fests’ season as well. Lack of funds is usually cited as the reason for the delays in construction and repair work, but recurring stories of the collapse of unused funds amounting to crores contradicts that claim. Finally, the members of these societies themselves are often not treated well by the faculty and administration. Professors are often unwilling to co-operate regarding rescheduling of the internals on account of performance events that the members have to attend – which is representative of the disinterested attitude of the University as a whole.

There are a few efforts being made. Miranda House, for one, has developed an app that lets societies book spaces online, cutting scope for bureaucratic work. Such efforts, however, are very rare and should be the norm instead of an exception.  On the whole, a very sorry state of affairs exists and it’s quite saddening to see that basic facilities are unavailable in the country’s premier liberal arts colleges due to administrative roadblocks, sitting on funds, and an ironically uncaring attitude in the world beyond academics.

Image credits: DU Beat

 

Rishika Singh

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

How To Start a Society In Delhi University

By

Life in DU is not only about academics, and it is a place to hone your talents. This can be achieved through participating in the various societies.

The student experience in the University of Delhi has never been restricted just to academics. Delhi University gives equal importance to extracurricular activities, as almost every college has provisions for cultural societies that are fully supported by the various colleges and cater to talents like debate, dance, music, drama, art, music, social service, quizzing etc.

Societies nurture your potential, hone your talents and best of all, and give you immense and adequate exposure and platforms to express yourself. In addition, being a part of any society is a huge boost to your CV. However, being a part of a society does not come easy as they tend to have a rigorous audition process and have a limited intake.

Starting a brand new society in any college can prove to be quite a challenge. The long and strenuous process can sometimes prove to be demotivating. Moreover, there isn’t much clarity on either the university website or the college websites on how to do the same. Every college has a different procedure, but all of it originates from the same basic criteria.

Here is what you need to start a society in DU:

1) FACULTY ADVISOR

When starting a new society, make sure you have the support and backing of a faculty member. You can approach either your department head or any faculty member you are comfortable with and pitch them the idea so that they can disseminate the plan to the higher authorities. A faculty advisor is crucial to start a society as all the funds and the communication with the higher authorities can only be done via a faculty member. Every society has a faculty convenor or a faculty advisor. In case the principal of a college is approached directly and the society is formed, the college administration assigns a faculty member as the convenor of the society.

2) FUNDS

A society in a college of Delhi University, once registered with the college, is entitled to receive certain funds for hosting events and competitions in the college. However, once you start a society you aren’t immediately eligible to obtain access to the funds. The society, once it starts, has to be self-sustainable and prove to the college administration that it can function smoothly. This probation period of sorts determines the type of funds you can avail from college. When starting out, societies mainly have to be dependent on sponsorships for their events.

3) INTERMEDIARY BODY

To start a society, most colleges require a student’s union or an intermediary body of students to see through the functioning of the society and obtain the initial provisions. You can approach the student’s union of your college with an application signed by a faculty member or directly approach the principal to set up the society.

The concept of societies in DU is not a new one; however, with the ever-changing times and the increased creativity of the students, innovative ideas can always be turned into a reality. Societies such as National Service Scheme, Enactus, SpicMacay, Gandhi Study Circle etc are examples of unconventional and relatively new societies in the Delhi University circuit.

Image credits:  DU Beat

 

Bhavya Banerjee

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

Hegemony in College Elections

By

What are the factors affecting college elections and how they put the average student with political aspirations at a disadvantage?

It is important to keep in mind that student life and the functioning of a college is largely influenced by the elected student representatives.  These members wield immense power over the day-to-day functioning of the college. They have an essential say in everything ranging from the cultural events to be organized, the fests, facilities offered to students and more. For a lot of students, this is an opportunity to actively participate in student governance, and have a say in how the administration runs. It is important to keep into account that in politics, the beam always tilts heavily towards the side that has money, muscle power and influence at its disposal.

And while it would have been naïve to assume that college elections in the University of Delhi (DU) are free from these influences, the extent of power these factors exert is shocking.

1) Hostellers vs Day scholars                                                                               

It seems that in the College union elections, the beam always tilts heavily towards hostellers. Student’s studying in DU College’s that have both a hostel and elected students union know that in most cases, as far as elections are concerned, hostellers are at an added advantage. They have the benefit of not just being physically present on the campus at all times which allows them to contribute effectively and easily for the college welfare but also gain traction over scholars over the same. The fact that they are present in college at all times allows them to participate more actively in college activities. Hosteller’s also had a closely knit network and support group which opens up more avenues for them. The relevance of being a hosteller is particularly more in college’s that are not affiliated to DUSU, since this reduces the influence of political groups. Sanchita from the Daulat Ram College Hostel says “ day scholars are at a disadvantage because they can’t be present on campus 24*7. Hostellers are more available during fest season and other events which puts them at an advantage”

2) Student political groups

Another major factor influencing college elections is the association with parent parties and organizations that help create background support. Recently Chattra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, Aam Aadmi Party’s student wing won 25 seats out of the 28 seats it fielded its candidates on, across DU. ABVP and NSUI are key players in these elections. A lot of support from parent parties is covert and goes into the background. Building traction, getting contacts, organizational support during the campaigning period are all ways in which these parties contribute and influence college elections. While this kind of backing may not be very public and may seem irrelevant, it ends up influencing elections in a major way. It is especially relevant in Delhi University Student’s Union (DUSU) affiliated colleges, where student political groups help leaders in their campaign to win college elections and subsequently these students help them in DUSU elections. It is a symbiotic relationship that benefits both the parties into gaining supporters.

3) Regional sentiment

Regional sentiment plays a significant role in these elections. A student belonging to a particular region is more likely to support a candidate from the same place.  Not just that the idea of community and regional pride runs deep in the conscience of the majority. Recently a video was seen on social media which showed the celebrations post the victory of Shivam Bhadana as the President of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College Morning. The victory was seen as not just the candidate’s but also his community’s, it seemed. Statements like #GurjarPower and “Gurjar is king “could be seen in the comments section, which showed how relevant community lines are for a lot of voters. Student politics does not exist in isolation and the kind of regional sentiment that is central in all aspects of national politics, cannot miraculously be absent from universities. A source from KMC that chose to stay anonymous says “This regional idea is very internal, it’s not really broadcasted with people saying things like- we are from Haryana or we are from UP, but it’s there and it has a big role to play”.

4) Wealth 

A bevy of SUVs, music, crackers to celebrate victory and the occasional brightly coloured sports car is a frequent sight at off-campus colleges during election season. Candidates charm voters by their army of loyal supporters, their flashy automobiles and the slogans, drums, and claps that accompany them, each attesting to their popularity and influence. These shiny toys come with a shock value and they provide the student body all the more reasons to talk about the candidate. It is an effective way to generate interest and grab eyeballs. To add to that election costs include the cost of posters, hoardings, pamphlets and more. These banners and hoardings are ripped out and damaged by rival candidates and their supporters and need to be replaced regularly. These additional costs that come with contesting and winning elections acts as a barrier that filters out the majority of students. It is a primary reason why student unions’ are not as effective as they ideally should be. These candidates, with wealth and resources at their disposal, may not always be able to comprehend and relate to the struggles of the average student, which makes them ineffective as leaders. Students with an active interest in politics and a desire to contribute to change are dissuaded from pursuing it because more often than not, these factors passively work against them. A lot of debate has been going about around the idea that student politics has somehow lost its relevance. Student politics has not and will not lose its relevance but it has become ineffective and the marginal benefits gained from it are continuously decreasing. The first step to making it more effective would be realising how it has become an elite institution which heavily favours a small group of students, where everybody does not stand an equal chance. Once this insight is present in the student body at large, they will be less likely to fall prey to tried-and-tested election campaigning tricks and this would allow more dedicated students with political aspirations to pursue their goals.

 

Feature image credits: Facebook page of Shivam Bhadana

Kinjal Pandey

[email protected]

 

 

Keep Reading
By