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Course Profile: Cluster Innovation Centre

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The Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) is an institution of University of Delhi, established in 2011. Based on interdisciplinary learning, it has been designed to seek and derive answers to the real world problems in all spheres, and look for innovative solutions for problems of the society.

It is a Meta College as well as a Meta University concept with an innovative curriculum, which is more project-oriented and tailored to the need of the society and industry.

Located in the quaint premises of Rugby Sevens Building, University Stadium in North Campus, it is a promising course for students who wish to seek the connect of research with its practical application.

COURSES OFFERED AT CLUSTER INNOVATION CENTRE:

Currently there are three courses offered at CIC-

  1. B.A. (Honours) Humanities and Social Sciences
  2. B. Tech (IT and Mathematical Innovations)
  3. M.Sc. (Mathematics Education)

SEAT MATRIX FOR B.A. AND B. TECH COURSE:

In 2019 – 20 there will be 44 seats each in both the courses. They are distributed as:

General Category – 20 seats

EWS – 2 seats

OBC Category – 12 seats

SC Category – 7 seats

ST Category – 3 seats

Apart from these there are 6 supernumerary seats distributed as:

PwD Category – 2 seats

CW Category – 2 seats

Foreign Nationals – 2 seats

 

  • B.A.(Honours) Humanities and Social Sciences

This is an off-beat course compared to other regular honours programmes offered by University of Delhi.  It is based on interdisciplinary learning, which presents an opportunity to the student to design his/her own degree.

This course is divided into four streams:

  1. Journalism
  2. Counselling
  3. Historical Tourism
  4. Art & Design

Based on these four streams a student can study a variety of subjects offered in different colleges of University of Delhi in semesters two to five, and study some basic courses at the centre itself in semester one and six. Apart from the core papers, the distinctive aspect of the curriculum is the hands-on research project, which gives the students a grass-root level experience of the functionality of the society.

One can schematically study Political Science at Hindu College in one semester and Economics at SRCC in another! The interdisciplinary nature of the course gives a holistic view in the field of humanities and social sciences.

Commenting on the course, Rishabh Gogoi, a third year student of CIC says, “It’s unlike any other course in the country, and a much needed alternative in an otherwise restrictive education system. We all know the efforts of the University of Delhi to enhance the flexibility of its course structure through the Credit Based Credit System (CBCS). The course at CIC takes the same concept several steps ahead to present its scholars an absolute freedom to design their own degree. Although there are a number of nuances associated with the aforementioned “freedom”, but regardless, the B.A. course at CIC is undoubtedly the best decision any indecisive student can make who wants to study humanities and/or social sciences.”

Niharika Dabral, an outgoing student of CIC reminisces her experience at CIC as, “I would never change my experience at CIC for anything. It’s a college experience like none other. Since I’ve survived the project presentations I think I can survive anything. It has been intense.

There are so many things that have to improve, but that University stadium is comfort. Four colleges in six semesters is bound to make one like a nomad, but today I’m more independent than ever.”

However, a person may feel detached and have a certain sense of instability due to changing colleges in each semester, from semester two to five. It may not be the best fit option for students not willing to feel so.  But this rigorous course would surely develop leadership qualities and improve one’s perspective towards humanities and social sciences.

  • B. Tech (IT & Mathematical Innovations)

Cluster Innovation Centre offers a four-year B.Tech. programme in Information Technology & Mathematical Innovation.

According to the official website of CIC, “The B. Tech course offered is a unique programme, is designed to inculcate an innovation mind-set as part of the curriculum and pedagogy. Building strong analytical skills through Mathematics and application skills of Information Technology (IT), this course encourages students to recognize the connectedness of various disciplines.”

The streams offered in the B. Tech programme are-

  1. Robotics and Embedded Systems
  2. Economics and Management
  3. System Biology

The innovation lab known as the “Engineering Kitchen” is the place where students carry out hands-on projects, experiments and model implementations which are linked to the curriculum.

Yatharth Rai, a third year student from B. Tech. says, “The curriculum, although hectic, is quite flexible. The three minor streams grant a clarity. There is a focus on practical applications, rather than theoretical expertise. Each paper in the semester has an accompanying project. I personally find these projects extremely beneficial as they provide an outlet to the theoretical concepts learnt during the semester paper.”

The B.Tech course offered is comprehensive with a special emphasis given on practical learning. In last semester of the course i.e. 8th semester, the programme is based on industrial internship to give students the necessary work experience.

Unlike other B. Tech courses, a student of Arts or Commerce having Mathematics and English can apply in the B.Tech (IT and Mathematical Innovations) course on the condition that he/she fulfils the eligibility criteria as laid down by the Cluster Innovation Centre.

  • M.Sc. (Mathematics Education)

It is a meta-university concept, which offers a two year post graduate programme jointly offered by University of Delhi and Jamia Milia Islamia. The course is developed to give students theoretical as well as hands-on experience of mathematics education.

There are total 20 seats in the programme distributed as:

University of Delhi: 10

Jamia Millia Islamia: 10

Seat Matrix:

 

IMG-20190612-WA0046

  

Source: www.ducic.ac.in

All the three courses offered at Cluster Innovation Centre are uniquely designed and promote hands-on learning in addition to building theoretical concepts. Therefore, these courses offer a different experience of academics altogether.

Selection to these courses is based on an entrance test which is to be conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) this year.

The entrances for the Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes are to be conducted between 30th June, 2019 – 6th July, 2019.

Feature Image Credits: www.ducic.ac.in

Sriya Rane

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Campus Central

Errors in Econometrics Exam Creates Panic Among Students

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The Econometrics exam of second-year B.A (Hons.) Economics was conducted on 22nd May 2019. It had a lot of errors which created a problem for many students.

The last exam of B.A. (Hons) Economics for the fourth semester students was conducted by the University on 22nd May 2019.  According to sources, the Econometrics question paper was full of errors which created a lot of confusion among the students. In Jesus and Mary College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharam College, and Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, students were informed about the corrections around 11:40 a.m. which was very late. By that time it was not feasible to attempt the questions according to the new changes. However, many colleges like Hindu College and Deshbandhu College did not receive the corrections at all.

In one of the questions, there was a change of sign from ‘+’ (positive sign) to ‘-’ (negative sign). This created a huge problem for those students who had already attempted the question with the positive sign since the paper was extremely lengthy. Moreover, the students were not left with any time to make the changes.

Riya, a student of Maitreyi College said, “Due to the hassle of errors and corrections in the exam, the students sitting in the examination hall felt distracted and I found it harder to concentrate. One of the corrections came around 10:30 a.m. or 10:45 a.m. I had already attempted half of that question. After the change in the signs, I had almost no time to redo the question since the paper was lengthy in itself.”

A student of Hindu College informed DU Beat that the students were not informed about any corrections and the exam was pretty easy. However,  the students are now worried about their marks since the paper they attempted wasn’t uniform with the other colleges.

According to a student of Kamala Nehru College, except for the first and second question, all the other questions had major errors. “There were corrections or clarifications in almost every question and the usual format of writing standard errors below the estimated error further below the estimated parameters was not followed which led to confusions. Some questions also had wrong signs of ‘T ratios’ but since there wasn’t much time, nothing could be done about it”, said Sanjana Sejwal, a student of Kamala Nehru College.

However, another student of Kamala Nehru College says, “The errors in the questions I attempted were general so I did not face much problem. The changes in the answers were also a matter of few minutes. So overall the exam was fine for me.”

It is also important that the University should recheck the question papers for any corrections beforehand so that the students do not face any problem during the examination. Making corrections in the question paper at the last moment also leads to low confidence level during the exams. Announcing the corrections in the examination hall distracts many students and creates a panicky situation.

A similar situation arose in the General Elective exam where there was a change in the format of the question paper and students were supposed to attempt five questions out of eight instead of four. It must be noted that some colleges asked students to attempt only four questions whereas students of other colleges were asked to attempt five questions.

However, it is necessary that the University and the Examination Committee looks into the matter and work out a solution which helps the students.

 

Feature Image Credits: Edexlive

Priya Chauhan

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Campus Central

NIRF Ranking 2019: Delhi’s Miranda House and Hindu college ranked as Top colleges

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The Ministry of Human Resource and development released its fourth edition of National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) which was announced by President Ram Nath Kovind.

The Top Institute (overall) position was given to Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) whereas Delhi University’s Miranda House topped the list of colleges and Hindu College was ranked second. This year, six colleges of Delhi University featured in the top 10 which included St. Stephens College, Lady Shri Ram College, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Hansraj College and were respectively ranked as second, fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth.

“The credits for achieving this feat belongs to foremost the Principal of our college, the phenomenal support of the professors and obviously students who played a major role in achieving this position by participating in classes as well as in learning process outside the classes.” Says Prof. R.B. Azad Choudhary of Hindu college.

While Miranda managed a glorious hattrick for itself by taking the first position, Delhi University’s other 22 colleges also managed to get featured in the list of Top 100 colleges of India.

Snimar, the Vice president of Miranda House said, “I think I speak for every Mirandian when I say that we are more than proud to be recognised as the best college in India for the third time in a row. The atmosphere and environment of Miranda House, the inclusivity, the wonderful faculty, our former Principal and our acting Principal have all been a huge part of this success.”

However, as compared to previous year when Delhi University was ranked seventh amongst top universities of India, this year it saw its position dipping to that of 13th .

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) featured at seventh in overall category and bagged second rank in the Top 10 universities of India whereas the first rank in this category went to Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. IIT-Delhi was placed third in the overall category whereas was ranked second in Top 10 engineering institutions. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) retains its position as Top Medical Institute of India.

Nikita Mohta, a student of Miranda house sums up the excitement in these words, “I am privileged, blessed and grateful to be at an institution with this repute. While I couldn’t be happier, I also know that on other side this is a fraction of the women in the country receiving quality education. The rankings speak of the capabilities of women today and how we need to work for the education of every girl child in the country.”

Image credits: DU Beat archives.

Antriksha Pathania
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Campus Central

In a First, Hindu College Provides Office Space for Leader of Opposition  

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On 12 March, the Leader of Opposition of the Parliament of Hindu College was allotted an office space, for the first time in the Parliament’s near hundred-year-old history. How significant would this be?

A day before Hindu College’s annual fest, Mecca, Naveen Kumar, the Leader of Opposition of the College Parliament, proudly announced on his official Facebook page the allotment of a formal office space to the parliamentary representative.

Unlike many students’ unions, Hindu College has a Parliament – christened the ‘Parliament of the Republic of Hindu College’ – to which the student elections are held. According to the constitution of the college, the candidate with the maximum number of votes is elected as the Prime Minister (PM), who then appoints his Cabinet, while the candidate securing the second highest number of votes becomes the Leader of Opposition (LOP). The same constitution also provides for formal office spaces to both functionaries. However, while the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had been in place in the college, the office of the LOP had been absent till now.

Image Source: Facebook Naveen Kumar, the incumbent Leader of Opposition of Hindu College.
Image Source: Facebook
Naveen Kumar, the incumbent Leader of Opposition of Hindu College.

The situation changed under Naveen’s incumbency. He tells us that he had been at work since September to get the space allotted. While his term is about to end soon, he hopes that the new development will benefit the subsequent LOPs.

Often, the margin between the votes pulled in by the PM and the LOP respectively isn’t very significant numerically. Naveen, who lost to Shreyash Mishra, the Prime Minister, fell only 44 votes short. Hence, the LOP also represents a major chunk of the students, as Naveen tells DU Beat, making an office space all the more necessary.

Elaborating on the significance of the office, he says that it would allow students to raise grievances and make the LOP more accessible so that their complaints could be better addressed – ultimately increasing accountability of the representatives, while also enhancing the significance of the position itself.

However, a problem that still persists is the low number of Parliamentary sessions organised in the college. Many students express this sentiment: a college that once was an intellectual centre of the nationalist movement, now sees its culture of debate and discussion declining. Without Parliamentary sessions, one is made to wonder if the representatives can actually be held accountable and whether the politics of the college could go beyond Mecca to addressing more pressing issues.

Pointing at how the office has been a long time in the making, Naveen says, “People tell me that it took a long time and that my term is ending; I tell them it’s been a hundred and twenty years since the college was established. Compared to that, the few months of my term are nothing!”

Image Credits: DU Beat

Prateek Pankaj

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Cultural Festivals

A Fantastic Finale: Mecca 2019 Day 3

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The final day at Mecca was a spectacular display of glamour and celebrations. Vishal-Shekhar duo had the massive crowd crooning and dancing to their beats; a brilliant end to Mecca.

The third and last day at Mecca 2019 witnessed a multitude of events being organised throughout the college. From the first two days dedicated to dance and bands, the third day was all about music and theatre.

Karwan-E-Shaqafat, a gathering to celebrate the multicultural identity of Hindu College was organised in the Zoology Lawns by the Parliament. The event saw the participants performing classical dance forms and various other cultural performances.

Mecca also hosted massive participation on day three – in terms of the crowd. The huge sports complex was brimming with Hinduites and Non-Hinduites likewise. However, given the special space reserved for Hinduites, and also, the college IDs being checked by faculty members multiple times before the entry into the concert ensured minimum foolery. “The huge crowd was managed well. There have been instances where concerts have been unsafe spaces for women.” said a third-year student from Hindu College.

Champrange, the A Capella event was organized by Aria, the Western Music Society of Hindu College which saw the participation of several teams from various colleges. The first position was bagged by Euphony of Gargi College followed by Cresendo of Sri Ventakeswara College at the second position and Echo of Jesus and Mary College at the third position.

The third and final day of Mecca continued in high spirits. The day kick-started with arpeggio ’19 by Aria: the western music society of Hindu college followed by the western music solo competition.
Chudamani Iyer Akshara from Lady Shri ram college for women secured the first place, Raphroyia Kayina from Gargi College secured the second place and Khushi Pallavu from Jesus and Mary College secured the third place.

Alankaar, the Indian music organised Harmony ’19 for their search for Mecca Idol. The event was followed by Raagmala, a group singing competition. Daulat Ram College’s Ahaalya stood first along with Alaap of Sri Venkateswara College. The second position was shared between Miranda House’s Swaranjali and Hansraj College’s Geetanjali. The third position was shared between SGTB Khalsa College’s Swarang and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies’ Dhwani.

At the historical Ibtida lawns, street theatre found life once again as many societies delivered their last performances for the season. The street theatre competition by Mecca in collaboration with Ibtida, the dramatics society of Hindu college saw participation of over 15 teams. The event ended with ibtida’s street production ‘outvoted’. The first position was secured by Et cetra- the dramatics society of GTBIT for their production “Don’t kill my vibe”. Kahkasha, the Hindi dramatics society of Jesus and Mary College secured the second position and the SRCC dramatics society secured the third position.

Alankaar, the Indian Music Society of Hindu College organized a solo singing competition named Mecca Idol which was judged by Pavitra Chari. The room echoed with canorous music when eleven contestants from various colleges gave their euphonic performances to win the title of “Mecca Idol”. Sakshi Taneja of Lady Shri Ram College bagged the first position while Sukriti Poddar of Gargi College came second and Dakshraj Sharma of Maharaja Agrasen College got the third position.

The Parliament of Hindu College in collaboration with Nakshatra, the Fashion Society organized a competition to crown Mr. and Ms. Mecca. The event was conducted in three rounds. The first was an online round followed by an introductory round and a question and answer round with the esteemed panel of judges which included Mamta Sharma Das, who is a Creative Stylist and the founder of Viva la Vida and Pooja Chopra, who was crowned as Health Queen India, 2018 and is the founder of PNA Origine. The highlight of the event was a ramp walk by the judges themselves. The title of Mr. Mecca was bagged by Yaduvansh whereas Suhani was given the title of Ms. Mecca.

Ibtida: The Dramatics Society also presented their powerful annual production titled ‘Outvoted’ at the Street Play event. A satire on the Indian politics, this performance was Ibtida’s outgoing batch’s last performance. The crowd cheered and connected with the emotional Ibtida team and celebrated along.

Panache, the fashion show competition organised by Nakshatra, the fashion society of Hindu College was adjudged by Mr. Viren Barman, Mr. India 2017, Ms. Mamta Sharma Das, creative stylist and founder Vive La Vida and Ms. Aishwarya Sharma, fashion and lifestyle blogger. The event saw participation from 9 teams which showcased their annual productions on themes ranging from Nature vs Technology to Depression. Debonair, fashion society of Daulat Ram College bagged the first position while Glitz from Kamala Nehru College came second.

To deliver the perfect finale, the crowd could not have asked for anyone better than the superb duo of Vishal and Shekhar. Performing some of their best tracks from Bollywood and their Coke Studio project, the duo had the crowd enraptured. The performance shortly also moved to a patriotic avenue as the band accompanying the duo performed ‘Saare Jahan Se Accha’. Both of the singers declared their gratitude towards an aazing crowd.

Kartik Chauhan 

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Sakshi Arora

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Priya Chauhan

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Jaishree Kumar
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Cultural Festivals

Mecca Day 2: Drizzles and Dazzles

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Day 2 of Mecca, the annual cultural fest of Hindu College saw various music and dance competition and ended on a glorious note with Papon’s magical performance, Let’s look at the events that took place.

The unfortunate and perplexed weather conditions delayed many of the events at Mecca Day 2. However, despite the erratic weather shifting between sunlit and dewy, Hindu College hosted a massive crowd in its premises.

One of the first events to start today was Jagerbob: Battle of Bands organised by Aria: The Western Music Society. The event witnessed amazing musical performances by various societies from across the varsity.
The light drizzle managed to delay the event but failed to drizzle on the spirits of the performers. The winning band Firdaus from Ramjas College presented a deservingly winning performance. Anhad from Keshav Mahavidyala finished second.
Aarambh, the western dance society of Hindu College organised Firestone, the western dance competition as part of its Annual Dance fest “Aramya” sponsored by OMC, Insight One, Love Grill and Ozone. The event saw participation from 13 teams from across different colleges which was adjudged by Mr Sahil Aneja aka Sazzie, founder of BADA and a Dance India Dance participant. The auditorium was full of enthusiastic dance lovers who enjoyed all the dynamic performances. Enliven, the western dance society of Gargi College came first while the second position was shared by Spardha from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College and CVS Zest.
Also, as a part of “Aramya” Srijya, the choreography society of Hindu College organised Finesse, the choreography competition. This event was judged by Ms Jhilmil Modi, a trained dancer in Jazz, ballet and contemporary who has been teaching in Danceworx Academy and is currently heading the GK-1 studio along with Ragini Bhajanka, who has performed in various pieces of the Danceworx Company Repertoire choreographed by many Indian and International artists. LSR Dancesoc came first while second position was bagged by Sensation from Kirori Mal College and Adagio from Kamala Nehru College came third.

Alankaar, the Indian Music Society of Hindu College, organised two magnificent competitions. The perfect ambience was created with the venue covered with black sheets and fairy lights adorning the room, echoing with heartwarming music. First was the instrumental solo competition, where Soumendra from Sri Venkateshwara College emerged as the winner. Rohan Prasanna from Hansraj College and Nandu Krishnan from Satyawati College were awarded the second and third position.
The same society organised Jugalbandi, the duet competition where Upasna and Padmaja from Indraprastha College for Women bagged the first position with their soulful and splendid music. Shounak, from Ramjas College, and Nandu, from Satyawati College stood second. Daulat Ram College’s Navya and Vasudha came in third with their melody.

The Zoology Lawns hosted Snap, the annual photo exhibition of the college. Organised by Vivre: The Film and Photography Society, the exhibit saw some splendid shots clicked by the society members on display. Covering themes like culture, light, and symmetry, the exhibit was a vision for the eyes. Vivre also organised an On The Spot Photography Competition and a Film-making Competition with a unique one-minute movie-making concept. The results for both the events are awaited.
Manthan, Hindu College’s Quiz Society organised it’s quiz competition on the theme India. A team comprising of Kanika Yadav, from Miranda House College, and Ashish Singh, from Ramjas College, emerged as the winners of the competition. Abhishek Paliwal, from Ramjas College and Adil Jacob, from Jamia Milia Islamia University comprised the team coming second.
Day 2 of Mecca came to an end with Papon’s musically enchanting performance, opened by the band “Shadow and Light”, powered by Redbull Music India. Papon captivated the audience with his Assamese songs that won the crowd over, as everyone performed their own versions of Bihu. The crowd enjoyed his melodious tunes when he sang some of his famous songs like ‘Itti si khushi’ and ‘Moh moh ke dhaage’. The crowd was managed well and saw no ill behaviour.

However, once during the concert, Papon mentioned, “Believe in yourself, and not everything that you see on the internet.”

There had been some conflict about Papon performing at Mecca. The alleged accusations against him that had defiled his creative image, went on to trigger questions among the audience whether it was entirely justified to participate and indulge. As observed by us, the audience had conflicting views about the issue. Some of them felt that the alleged accusations could be overlooked. However, many others were of a more strict bent of mind. Despite the wonderful performance by Papon, it could not entirely remiss the stigma attached to him due to some allegations. The idea remained that even in this conflict of art and the artist, we must maintain a sensical sensitivity about the issue.

Kartik Chauhan 

[email protected] 

Sakshi Arora

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Shivani Dandhwal 

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A Detailed Account of Hindu College’s V-Tree Pooja Row

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Hailstones and rain weren’t enough to dent the spirits of the protestors and the supporters of the ‘Virgin Tree Pooja’ in their respective efforts to advocate their causes.

The Hindu College’s ‘ritual’ or ‘tradition’ of worshipping the Virgin Tree aka V-tree every Valentine’s Day in hopes of losing one’s virginity was met with huge protests this year. Women’s Development Cells and gender forums of colleges across Delhi University stood in solidarity against the tradition, which is widely held as being sexist. This year there were slight modifications to the ceremony – instead of posters of one male and one female celebrity, a poster of a married couple of Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma was put up, along with a poster that read ‘love has no gender’.

The hostel union modified the ceremony by using new posters.
The hostel union modified the ceremony by using new posters.

On the eve of Valentine’s Day, Pinjra Tod protested against the ceremony, demanding its cancellation this year. Protesters from various student organisations and Pinjra Tod gathered at and tried entering from gate number four of the college. The group was met with resistance and counter-sloganeering from the Hindu College boys’ hostel. Both parties claimed to have received threats from each other.

Around midnight, the residents of the girls’ hostel managed to break the curfew and joined the protest against the tradition. According to a Facebook post by Pinjra Tod, Dr Anju Srivastava, the Principal of the college, attempted to enter the college premises around 3 a.m.; she later congratulated the residents of the boys’ hostel for ‘keeping the tradition alive’ while threatening the residents of the women’s hostel for breaking the curfew.  Police present at the time of the incident tried controlling the situation.

Police was present even at the night of Valentine's Day eve, when the first round of protests began.
Police was present even at the night of Valentine’s Day eve, when the first round of protests began.

The first round of the ritual was conducted at 6 a.m. on 14th of February fearing backlash and protests later. As the hours passed and the weather turned worse, Hindu College saw dissenters and supporters gathering around the Virgin Tree. The Hindu College Progressive Front (HCPF) got in a heated argument with members from the boys hostel. Students from Pinjra Tod and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) also turned up in protest. Clashing slogans of ‘azadi’, ‘puja ho ke rahegi!’, ‘nahi sahenge’ echoed through the college.

The views of the crowds were split. On one hand there were clear advocates of the pooja, while on the other there were fierce protestors. Even among those who were opposed  to the pooja, some didn’t appreciate the involvement of non-Hinduite protestors, while others objected to the manner in which the protests turned out to be.

Student bodies like Pinjra Tod and SFI were a part of the protest.
Student bodies like Pinjra Tod and SFI were a part of the protest.

The aarti was performed in a hurry while some men encircled the tree, preventing any protesters from barging in as the Mr. Fresher of the hostel, Shaurya Pratap Singh  performed the rituals. “This V-Tree pooja became the grandest in the history of Hindu College”, said Shaurya Pratap Singh, the boys’ hostel Mr Fresher who did the pooja. “We decided to modify the pooja, but despite us cooperating, Pinjra Tod came last night and started sloganeering,” he said. Singh alleged that some students from the boys’ hostel who were defending the pooja were “beaten up” and “harassed”. Allegations of intimidation and confrontation were mutual between the opposing parties. Instances of fist fights were also seen during the ritual.

The situation turned dangerous when some students tried grappling for one of the posters.
The situation turned dangerous when some students tried grappling for one of the posters.

Ananya Bhardwaj, who led the HCPF during the college parliamentary elections and was on the forefront of the day’s protest, said, “Today is a victory because just the symbolic act of men leaving a public space and going back to their private space is a victory today we reclaimed the public space”. Asked about what was the objective they wanted to achieve, she said, “We just had to create a fear in these men that you cannot lay claim to our bodies and lay claim to spaces which also belong to us, which we did.” Diya, a student representing Pinjra Tod told us about similar objectives, saying that the idea was to not let the pooja go unchallenged and uninterrupted. The Prime Minister of the college Parliament, Shreyash Mishra, commented that the original intention of the pooja was to break the taboo towards condoms, which he appreciated, along with the modifications brought in to the ceremony this time by the hostel union.

Moral victories were claimed by both sides. Both ended up celebrating by dancing to dhols and shouting slogans of their preference. The police stood on standby as students celebrated.

As the dust settled and normalcy is restored, a few questions still hang in the air. Does merely adding a rainbow heart to a sexist ritual make it acceptable? Do Hindu College boys’ hostel union claim to be truly progressive only because they include a “Love Guru” in addition to “Damdami Mata”, but stay absent when the girls’ hostel in their own college fights against curfew? Should a decade’s old unique ritual, that adds vibrancy and character to a place, be completely removed instead of being reformed? What modifications are needed and should be accepted? What can be the correct ways of protesting and initiating dialoge? Who decides what’s correct?

Image Credits:  Pinjra Tod, unknown sources, and Prateek Pankaj for DU Beat

Feature Image Credits: Prateek Pankaj for DU Beat

Jaishree Kumar
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Prateek Pankaj

[email protected]

 

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Hindu College

Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: Hinduites on the V-Tree Pooja

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The tradition of the ‘Virgin Tree pooja’ at Hindu College, wherein students pray in front of a tree on Valentine’s Day with the hope of losing their virginity, is viewed with diverse and opposing perspectives.

“I’m just young, rich, and tasteless,” says rapper Pusha T in the song ‘Runaway’. It might be an apt slogan for the tradition of the Virgin Tree (V-Tree) pooja at Hindu College. “Young” because maybe we’re the youth desperate to get laid; but also “tasteless” because maybe we recognise the problems with the tradition and go on regardless. “Rich” is slightly irrelevant here.

The tradition, which takes place at Valentine’s every year sees students worshipping the V-Tree. A female celebrity is chosen as the ‘Damdami Mai’ and the Mr. Fresher of the boys’ hostel, dressed as the pandit, does the pooja. Recently, the same has begun for the girls’ hostel also, wherein a ‘Love Guru’ is worshipped by the Ms. Fresher. Water filled condoms are hung on the tree, an aarti is sung, the water is showered on the crowd and a Holi-like celebration follows. Apparently, thou shall loseth thy V-card should thou showereth in the condometh watereth. Hindu 6:9, perhaps? Students view the pooja in a variety of ways. Defenders say that the motive is spreading awareness about safe sex. Others say that it’s patriarchal, misogynist, and excludes many. Yet others fall somewhere in between. “(The pooja) serves the purpose of spreading sexual awareness. It tries to do away with the taboo associated with sex,” says a second-year History Honours student. This was reiterated by Shubham Yadav, the Girls Students’ Welfare Minister. She said that while posters about AIDS awareness are also put up, the aarti is very demeaning.

This reasoning isn’t convincing to many.
Kareema Barry, a second-year English Honours student says that the inclusion of the male celebrity was only “tokenistic.” “What about transgenders? Aren’t we neglecting them? The solution is not to put their picture but to remove all of them,” says Sakshi Priya, Vice President of the college’s Women’s Development Cell while proposing a discussion on safe sex instead. Parakram Chauhan, a Philosophy Honours fresher comments on the “toxicity” behind the the pooja in terms of “seeing getting laid as some sort of prize or blessing.”

What are the freshers expecting?
One such expectation is to see a proper way of disposing of condoms, according to Mrinalinee Sharma of the History department. Khushi Gupta of the same department says “I want to see how they hang condoms after filling them with water, I’m very excited.” Parakram says he’s expecting “nothing at all.” However, a large chunk of them seems to be unaware of what the pooja is. Various students have protested against the tradition and some tell us that the crowds had declined last year. While Pinjra Tod’s article on the subject, which condemns the pooja as a contributor to “rape culture — which slut shames women who assert their sexuality,” is a bit overblown, not even the defenders deny that it could be made more inclusive and less demeaning.

Whether it’s a silly tradition or a serious issue, and whether it needs amendment or abolition, is for us to decide. We must ask if we’re just being tasteless, or something much more serious than that.

Image Credits: DU Beat

Prateek Pankaj
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Arts & Culture

Security Arrangements at DU fests: the Staff’s Perspective

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The college fests bring with them large and often overly enthusiastic crowds, necessitating tight security measures. DU Beat looks at what the security staff themselves have to say about this.

“Fest ke samay zyada satark rehna padta hai” (we need to be more alert during fests), tells us a security guard at Hindu College, requesting anonymity. Naturally, a larger crowd makes checking more difficult. The gentleman tells us that while they recognise 90% of the regular college students, strict ID checks are the first step before allowing entry to anyone – outsiders or not. The same sentiments are reiterated by a female security guard at Hansraj College, also wishing to remain anonymous.

Mr Damodar Singh, a security guard at Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) tells us that since it is easier for troublemakers to enter colleges during the fests, the security has to exercise extra caution – switching their phones off is the first thing guards do. Talking unnecessarily to anyone has to be avoided, lest some slip in checking may happen.

Colleges make extra arrangements during fests, especially for maintaining order inside the premises. Bouncers are often present around the campuses to control any chaos. Yet, perhaps their effectiveness is up for question.

Mr Singh tells us that bouncers have an important role to play if chaos erupts; security guards can’t get aggressive in controlling the situation as they have to encounter the students regularly. “Hum bas pyaar se samjha sakte hain” (we can only deal with students softly), he remarks. The lady at Hansraj also tells us how guards sit at the gates while bouncers handle the situation inside.

On the other hand, the gentleman at Hindu, says, with a chuckle, “Hungama hota hai to bouncers bhaag lete hain” (the bouncers run away if chaos takes place) – stating that in such cases, the guards themselves need to control the situation.

While the guards admit that some students get rowdy and try jumping on stages during music performances, they don’t really agree to alleged cases of misbehaviour or lapse of security happening at the fests.

Some students allegedly managed to get alcohol and weed inside the barricades during Crossroads 2018. Mr Singh, however, maintains that beedi, cigarettes and alcohol are strictly banned.

As was reported by the Hindustan Times, the crowd stormed the barricades during singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh’s concert at Hansraj’s Confluence 2017. A stampede was caused following a gas leak, accompanied by the felling of a firework station that caused some electric shocks. The security guard at Hansraj, however, denied these claims.

According to an article in the Times of India, similar incidents of crowd rampage and breaking of barricades took place during singer Parmish Verma’s performance at Maitreyi College’s annual fest last year, forcing the gig to be stopped midway.

Regardless of whether the accountability for these incidents is acknowledged, the probability for security lapses remains high. Of course, the management and organisers need to be held accountable. However, with enthusiasm and excitement running high among overwhelming crowds, the responsibility also lies on the students to exercise precaution and alertness and to maintain civility in order to ensure a safer environment.

 

Featured Image credits: The Times of India

Prateek Pankaj
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Photo Story

The Fore Challengers of North Campus

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Every sport event is more than just a contest for the testing of physical fitness. Each player represents his or her own dedicated effort and expectations in the act of living their favourite sport. Stories of the following sports teams and societies go on to show just how passion drives human endeavor.

 

Image Credits:Surbhit Rastogi for DU Beat.
Image Credits: Surbhit Rastogi for DU Beat.

Winning their first match in an official tournament, the Girls’ Basketball Team of Hindu College defeated a presumptuous patriarchy. Being the first team of its kind in more than two decades, a team with minimum amenities, these self-trained ‘underdogs’ thrive on passionate interest and intoxicating energy for their game.

Image Credits: Surbhit Rastogi for DU Beat.
Image Credits: Surbhit Rastogi for DU Beat.

Championing the second most expensive sport, the Ramjas Archery Team has registered itself as a leading team in the varsity. The girls’ team has won gold for four consecutive years. Playing at the national and inter-college level, the team is expecting even brighter prospects in the upcoming Nationals; for which, two women archers of the team have already qualified.

 

Image Credits: Aakarsh Gupta for DU Beat.
Image Credits: Aakarsh Gupta for DU Beat.

Defined for its individuality, the game of Shooting tests every player’s talent to add up to the team’s overall performance. Four members of the team have been selected for the World University Trials. With the vision of representing India in Olympics, every shooter plays importantly for a sense of gratification and satisfaction. Hansraj College is known for its excellent produce of opportunities for these young shooters.

 

Image Credits: Aakarsh Gupta for DU Beat.
Image Credits: Aakarsh Gupta for DU Beat.

With the background score of players indulging in a game of Cricket, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College’s cricket team’s coach recounted countless achievements of the team. The team won Lala Raghubir Singh Tournament this season. Looking forward to a better and more rewarding season ahead, the team exudes dedication.

 

The housing of agile talent in University’s North Campus is only a fraction of the vast multitude of achievers and to-be olympians in the varsity. DU Beat wishes all of them luck.

Feature Image Credits: Surbhit Rastogi for DU Beat.

 

Kartik Chauhan

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Mahi Panchal

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Surbhit Rastogi

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Aakarsh Gupta

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