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A Horror Tale of Major Human Error in DU Results

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As the results are out, nightmarish stories of students scoring a zero on their mark-sheets emerge. The question remains- are such major human errors forgivable?

Over the years, the checking and rechecking process at the Delhi University (DU) for its semester exams has been a subject of great disappointment. This year too, stories of some major discrepancies between the marks expected by the students and the marks they have scored have arisen, but the most shocking is the story of nine girls scoring an absolute zero in their fifth semester.

On 22nd January, 2019 the results for 3rd year students of BA (Honours) History were declared. Nine girls from Jesus and Mary College scored a zero in their transcripts in the paper named ‘Modern Europe’. The girls have consecutive roll numbers, and sit consecutively in the examination hall as well.

One of the students told DU Beat- “Firstly, it’s almost next to impossible to score a zero in a theory subject; it’s only possible if you leave the whole answer sheet blank. Secondly, it’s the fifth semester for those girls; they can’t afford to have this major discrepancy in their transcripts. Girls have to apply for higher studies, some aspire to go out of India, and deadlines are approaching really fast.” Similar stories have also been heard from Human Resource Management (HRM) courses at the College of Vocational Studies and in the History Departments of Maitreyi College and Dyal Singh College. Two History students from St. Stephen’s College also got a zero in their mark-sheet.

When asked for a comment, the administration and authorities did not respond to DU Beat. Such scores in a student’s mark-sheets are a blot on their already uncertain future, and undoubtedly do not help with their forthcoming endeavours. The revaluation procedure at Delhi University is a challenge in itself. Some call it a money-minting process which takes half a semester to revalue and recheck mark-sheets, and has an overly underwhelming response. Ms. Maya John, a Professor at the History Department of JMC was of the view that, “It is extremely unfortunate that over the years, the exam reforms have only lead to a rise in the revaluation costs.”

The Professor went on to clarify that at the moment, teachers and departments have encouraged students who scored low and were expecting higher marks, to send representatives from their respective colleges and departments. The Department of History, North Campus, and the South Campus branches have been informed of the same. She also added, “It is extremely crucial that an impartial enquiry is held into this matter since it is largely unfair for all those and have been coerced to spend thousands on revaluation fee.”

In order to prevent an unjustified and undeserved backlog, a fast-track result of the aforementioned procedure is integral.

Such technical glitches are plausible, but their quantity has increased over the years. These errors not only show the University in a bad light, but also disturb mental and physical peace of many students and their families. Being the foundations of education, it’s high time that these institutions take necessary steps in ensuring correct and timely checking and rechecking of answer sheets, to prevent losses in the students’ future endeavours.

Image Credits: Collegedunia

Sakshi Arora

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Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

Regal Desolation – A Walk Through the Tughlaqabad Fort

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There is an amusing profundity in desolation – something delicate and yet powerful, something that brings time to its greatest form of destruction.

In ‘Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments,’ Shakespeare muses on an all-empowering force of time and much more. It is truly awakening; the realisation of how time is most supreme. It is argued that material objects do not weather well against the tests of time. Indeed, it requires to be asked, what truly stands these tremulous tests? Art remains a symbol, a story, an emotion; something that is passed down to generations, the authenticity of which remains to an extent, even after decades of discourse. Tughlaqabad Fort is a place that is more a narrative. Even in its ruins, it speaks.

Built on a hillock in the southern portion of Delhi, surprisingly, the expansive fort was built in merely 4 years, from 1321-1325. The construction of the fort is the tale of classic karma. Ghazi Malik (later self-styled as Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq) was mocked for his suggestion to built a fort in southern parts of Delhi, by his predecessor, a Khalji king. Overthrowing the same king in 1321, Tughlaq Dynasty was established by Ghazi Malik. This fort was more of a declaration of Tughlaq’s overtaking the power. In all his glory, Ghazi Malik summoned all labourers in Delhi to work on his fort. Now, this incensed another labour-demanding saint, Nizamuddin Auliya because of the simple reason that the construction of his own baoli (well) had to be put on hold. Nizamuddin cursed the fort – Ya rahey ujjar, ya basey Gujjar – which translates to “either remain uninhabited or housing Gujjars.” Unsurprisingly, after the fall of the Sultanate, Gujjars of the area captured the Qila and till date Tughlaqabad Village is situated in it.

 

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The perimeter of the entire complex including the palace and citadel would be more than 6 kilometres, enclosing an area of about 130 hectares – making it a sizable medieval city.

The moment you enter the place, a sudden vibe of ancient royalty envelopes you. The passage is hard stone and on both sides with greens and a lake choking with weeds and plants. The high stone walls and parapets are exuberant to witness. Almost everywhere you will witness eloquent architecture, now in ruins. The decapitated walls and crippled archways seem to talk of the ruinous nature of time. But the stone is hard nonetheless. Despite being a preserved historic site, it is somehow aching to see the desolation. Labourers are always working under the government’s scheme, but the area is too big to replicate the structures completely. Hence, some parts of the fortress have become inaccessible, overgrown with vegetation.

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As for the resilient structures that remain true and standing, some will have you asking for more. One particular example of such a place is a secluded path, leading to an unimaginably surreal place – stone steps leading up to a huge arch. Entering this arch, you witness a green heaven. It is a huge forest of shrubs and trees here and there. Far across this forestry, the vision traces the primal evidences of civilisation that soon begins to develop into high rise buildings and busy roads. A seclusion inhabits this place, a beautiful peace.

Coming down to lower grounds, there is a well that has an immensely green tree that stands alone in the darkness. Going on and around, the topmost peak from the northern gate again takes you back to you a scintillating view of the life around this desolation, within and without.

Ghias-ud-Din Tughlaq’s Mausoleum is the highlight of this place. The actual mausoleum is made up of a single-domed square tomb (8 m x8 m) with sloping walls crowned by parapets. The edifice is topped by an elegant dome resting on an octagonal drum that is covered with white slabs of marble and slate. As beautiful as it is on the outside, the serene sadness of it hits you too. Under the dome, inside the mausoleum are three graves – The central one belongs to Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq and the other two are believed to be those of his wife and his son and successor Muhammad bin Tughlaq.

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As is with every other fortress of ignored historical importance, this fortress has its humanly imposed downsides. It is saddening to see how people have found their voices and expressions on the walls of Tughlaqabad Fort. But that is just the way we go about our historical architecture; it is felt that it must have the people’s impressions too.

 

But some might find these engravings worthy for the love that they symbolise. The locals around have the liberty to find breaches in the anyway languid security, so many places are filled with domestic and bovine wastes.

A little remote, but worth a visit, Tughlaqabad Fort is a place that will capture you with its ever-present calmness. A place for the unconventional adventurers, this fortress is a delight in desolation.

 

Image Credits: Kartik Chauhan for DU Beat.

Kartik Chauhan
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Uncategorized

The Evolution of Chocolate

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“Research tells us that fourteen out of ten individuals like chocolates.” – Sandra Boynton

American humorist, Sandra Boynton is not wrong when she talks about the statistics with reference to chocolate lovers. I mean, who would dedicate an entire day (7th July) in celebration of something if they did not feel an immense amount of love for its existence? This rich, smooth, and creamy invention is easily one of mankind’s most versatile and delicious foods to exist. Dark, white, milk, and everything in between, there’s something for everyone.

However, what we now know strictly as a delicious food item, actually had a more important function to serve upon its inception. It all started back in Mesoamerica where cacao (the plant from which chocolate is made) was so precious that it was actually used as a currency! We honestly aren’t even surprised. Given the freedom, I too would love a world where peace prevailed and world trade flourished on cacao seeds. However, before this seed was converted into the delicious sweet treat, it went through a series of experimentation as both drinks and dishes to become what it is today. Its earliest use was in drinks made out of spices and sometimes even corn puree. Not the ideal combination, but practice does make perfect after all.

Deemed as an aphrodisiac, the substance was and continues to be believed to increase libido, thus making it a popular contributor to consumerism, among couples both young and old.

The question still remains: how and where it started its journey into the world of dessert. The first time cacao adopted its sweet form was with its arrival in Europe, for which we can thank Christopher Columbus. Sugar was added to cacao as well as to the romantic idea that this substance, this manna from heaven, with its magical powers, would give you power over women. Despite this myth being completely false, cacao drinks still continued to be served in gold cups and worshipped as a sinful indulgence that everyone should partake in. Interestingly enough, the Catholic Church of the time did attempt to label cacao and the popular frothed chocolate made from it, as “daemonic Diablo” or in simpler terms, pure evil and associated with Satan himself. This failed miserably and people refused to submit to the church and continued enjoying their cacao, either sugared or spiced.

Then came along the momentous movement of Industrialisation, the dark and light of all mankind, during which it took on its famous shape as a chocolate bar. There was no looking back after that. We now live in world of all kinds, shapes, sizes, and brands of chocolate to satiate even the toughest of taste buds. While Companies like Hershey’s made their mark in the United States, the classic Dairy Milk chocolates revolutionised the Indian market for chocolate along with Nestle, making it India’s most popular chocolate brand.

No matter what the age or location the chocolate had, it does and always will continue to dominate the hearts and minds of millions across the world.

 

Feature Image Credits: Kaedeen

Meher Gill

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Arts & Culture

History Deleted from the ‘Books’ Akin to History Deleted from the ‘Minds?’

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The recent decision by the Maharashtra State Education Board to exclude Mughal history for classes VII and IX and focus on the Marathas and Shivaji has brought to fore various discourses on the way education shapes the young minds.

While attending one of my History classes this semester, my professor gave me the examples of the ‘education agenda’ being propagated by the Arya Samaj and the Christian Missionaries during the Indian National Movement. This was done for the ‘upliftment’ of Indian women (which is again debatable) – how both of them gave their own versions of ‘an ideal woman,’ remaining centric to the idea of how to evolve women into ‘good wives and good mothers.’ But, there was a slight difference in their respective definitions of the ideal woman; the Arya Samaj focussed on the formation of an ‘ideal Hindu woman’ and the missionaries were keen on transforming the Indian women into the ideal ‘Victorian woman’ model. So, through their ways of teaching mechanisms and syllabi, both of them promulgated their own ideologies. This also sheds light on the very recent changes happening across the country – be it the renaming of the iconic Mughalsarai railway station near Varanasi as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Akbar Road as Maharana Pratap Singh Road in New Delhi, or the placement of a tank at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Renaming iconic places, changing names of roads, and forcing cultural nationalism in educational institutions – all this points to a basic fact of how minds can be ‘hegemonised’ tacitly, and the best way to achieve this is to tamper with the school syllabus. The textbooks of classes VII and IX will now no longer include descriptions about the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, or the Red Fort built by the Mughals in India; there will be no mention of the Rupaiya that was first introduced by Afghan traders or the first woman to rule Delhi – Razia Sultan – along with the summarisation of Akbar’s rule being concentrated in three lines in the revised textbooks. The books have detailed ilk on the Bofors scam, Emergency period, struggles of Maratha rulers with Aurangzeb, and the portrayal of the medieval Indian history as being dominated by the Hindu Samrajya, which is broadly a skewed version.

Dr. Sadanand More, chairman of the History subject committee of the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, justified the revision by saying it was relevant for students in Maharashtra. He says, ”The Central Boards have very little mention of our state Maharashtra, so what’s wrong in that?”  Some people have validated a very substantive argument that Mughal history is not medieval history in India, and North Indian Mughal history overshadows the Ahom Kings of Assam, the Gonds of Garha Katanga, Deccani paintings and muraqqas in Bijapur (present day- Karnataka), Zamorin or the Hindu ruler of Calicut (Kozhikodhe), the Sangam literature, Bhakti, and Vaishnavite movements, etc. Lessening of Mughal history in school textbooks is maybe a better idea rather than its complete omission to make the students aware of the rest of the subcontinental heritage.

Speaking to my professors and friends from the History department of DU, finally, this brings us to a major thought-provoking question that I asked in the beginning – if you delete history from books, do you really think that you can alter the minds of the people? Of course, the Mughal history remains as relevant in books as in memoirs, archives, museums, architecture and most importantly, people’s memories. The agenda probes a question regarding the way along which we want to lead the young minds – through a tapered ideological strand of thought or a broad-minded, wholesome, and neutral education?

 

Feature Image Credits: Google

 

Oorja Tapan

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Arts & Culture

Blurring the lines: Mythology and History

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In Greek, idein means ‘to see’ and to eidenai means ‘to know.’ Mythology is a collection of tales that explain the past; these may have a basis in fact but are also embroidered to explain the present. History is an attempt to uncover and create a factual account of the past. The word ‘myth’ itself comes from the Greek ‘mythos,’ which originally meant ‘speech’ or ‘discourse,’ but which later came to mean ‘fable’ or ‘legend.’ Myths in the present world are defined as a story of forgotten or vague origin, basically religious or supernatural in nature, which seek to explain or rationalize one or more aspects of the world or society. Some myths describe actual historical events but have been embellished and refashioned by various storytellers over time, making it impossible to tell what happened. In this last aspect, myths have a legendary and historical nature. This is a classic myth: to give the moral that you must persevere in the face of adversity.

There are several epics which point to many events of past. And then there are the Holy Books which incorporates teachings in metaphors which evidently are referred to as mythological encounters. Here are a few instrumental ways for distinguishing between Mythology and History:

  1. Human History– When we say history in an academic sense, it is referred to as Human history, the documentation of Human civilisation. It does not cover the history of deities like Indra, Zeus, etc. and demons like Ravana, etc. Epics contain both Human history along with the history of both deities and demons. People don’t accept the history of deities and demons as the natural evolution of civilisation. Those are considered as a part of the mythology.
  2. Earthly events– History documents social, political, economic, cultural events or protocols present in past civilisations on earth, and does not cover the supra-cosmic events occurred in heaven or hell. Whereas, the Indian epics contain past events occurred on earth as well as from heaven and hell. Those are considered as mythology because it does not fit into normal human perception.
  3. Teachings– The purpose of history is to document the past events without any interpretation. For example, King Ashoka killed all in Kalinga, converted to Buddhism, and spread Buddhism throughout the world. However, history does not extend to incorporate Buddha’s teaching, because teaching is an interpretation to be covered in another stream of knowledge.
  4. Consistency– In any stream of knowledge, consistency is a challenge. Historical events are studied keeping the sequence of events, possibly with a period. Also, information should be consistent across all authors or books, so rational mind considers those as mythology.
  5. Miracles– History covers incidents. It does not cover accidental miraculous events. People do not accept these because there is no such scientific explanation of these events. We need to remove all supernatural events, characters from these two books, to be considered as history.
  6. Authenticity– Any stream of knowledge must be authentic, including History. For example, the existence of Buddha is known from various stone images, and writings present on stone. Writings from stones, discoveries from various monuments, the study of metals, soils give clues about the past.

It is in this backdrop that the struggle to place mythological creations on a par with history or objective truth is best understood, for any concession to the imaginary nature of mythology relegates it to an inferior status.

 

‘Pegasus in ancient art,’ Pegasus is an ancient horse-like creature that could fly. But we find its records from stone carvings which are accounted in history.
‘Pegasus in ancient art,’ Pegasus is an ancient horse-like creature that could fly. But we find its records from stone carvings which are accounted in history.

 

Image credits: sabrangindia.com

 

Radhika Boruah

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Your Beat

Changing The Course Of History: Who Won The Battle Of Haldighati?

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Recently, Mohanlal Gupta, a BJP MLA from Jaipur’s Kishanpole constituency, proposed that the historical Battle of Haldighati(1576)be “amended” in Rajasthan University’s history textbooks. Contrary to the popular notion held by historians that the war was won by Akbar, Gupta proposes that it was Maharana Pratap who won it instead, and that the textbooks should reflect the “facts”. Sadly, this is not a Bazinga. This could very well become reality for the students.

Politics has long been intertwined with history. Power decides which party should pick up the pen and dabble it in ink, in order to record the destiny of an era bygone. History has always belonged to the kings and queens, written and read from their perspective. This incident is no different. On one hand, it reflects the paranoid reaction of the establishment — an effort to sanitise and clear the textbooks of any ‘uncomfortable’ details or events from the past. There is a systematic effort to shun the students from asking too many questions or thinking too much. It is as scandalous a move as the decision to remove cartoons from CBSE’s class 10th NCERT books of Political Science, a few years ago, just because they proved to be offensive to a particular politician. Come to think of it, even CBCS’ system, with its truncated syllabus and semesters, does not allow the student enough time to grasp a thorough understanding of his or her course.

On the other hand, it also showcases how easily loyalties get transferred.If Tipu Sultan was till now, to historians at least, a just ruler who occasionally plundered and attacked a population only to expand his territory, the current regime portrays him as a straightforward political villain.The question historians pose is: “Didn’t the thirst for territorial expansion affect every ruler of the era, making Tipu no exception the case?” TipuJayanti celebrations in Karnataka have been politicised and mobilised around this issue, even creating a violent ruckus last year, with the BJP and RSS vehemently opposing the celebrations in the state.

When it comes to history, whom should we rely on? Whose perspective should we accept at face value and whose should we outwardly rejected? These are not apolitical questions in themselves. That said, however, the decision to make a choice should be left with the citizens. As the optimistic youth of the nation, students must not be cheated out of their freedom to make a choice based on reasoning. There should, in a democratic setup, be scope enough to face the negatives in history alongside the positives. The last decision must be arrived at by the youth itself.

Image credits:www.utoledo.edu

With inputs from The Times of India.

Deepannita Misra

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Cluster Innovation Centre

CIC hosts a talk on Oral History by Sohail Hashmi

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CIC

Amidst various kinds of literature that we come across, one of the least known is oral literature. This is a rich form of literature which contains stories, histories and traditions that are passed on across generations orally. This literature which is mostly prevalent among natives and tribal communities is dying a slow death in the present era. In an attempt to conserve this form of literature, the students of B.A. (Humanities and Social Sciences) are creating awareness on orality via several projects, workshops and lectures. As part of this initiative, Sohail Hashmi, an eminent historian, academician and film maker delivered a talk on ‘Delhi –Forgotten Histories and Imagined Histories’ in Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) on 6th October, 2016. This talk was a result of a collaborative effort by two ongoing projects in CIC, ‘Digital Repositories of Oral Stories’ and ‘Invisible Heritage: The historical gardens of Delhi’.

The talk began with Mr. Hashmi asking audience to separate mythology from history. He said, “In China there is a popular tale of a flying monkey. People tell this story to their children, but no one believes it to be real and in India, you all know who the flying monkey is”. He went ahead to dismiss some popular claims that is made by people of the ruling party at the centre and said “A quila in Delhi that is popularly known to be constructed by Prithviraj Chauhan, was actually never constructed by him.” He went ahead to prove his point by providing several evidences, one of them being that the plasters found on the wall did not exist at the time Prithviraj Chauhan ruled. Many other beliefs were dismissed by him among which several were from the book ‘Prithviraj Raso’ written by Chand Bardai, the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan.

He went ahead to deconstruct several popular beliefs of the Mughal period saying ‘Jodhabai was not the wife of Akbar but his mother.’ He then clarified that the historian who recorded the Mughal history of India confused Akbar’s mother for his wife. Several other references are found which prove that it was Harkha Bae, who was Akbar’s wife and not Jodha Bai.

Shipra, one of the students who attended the talk said “The lecture inspired us to question even some of our own beliefs. There are many things which we all believe blindly. As students we should question everything that we come across.” The talk ended with the audience asking questions about the concept of Charbagh, the legendary history of Saraswati River and the Iron Pillar at Sarnath, all of which were answered by him very eloquently.

Srivedant Kar

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Image Credits: Dushyant Yadav

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Hans Raj College

History lecture, quiz and debate for Samvat at Hans Raj

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The History Department of Hans Raj College organised Samvat – their annual department festival on 27th March. The festival that began at 12’o clock in the afternoon witnessed a history debate, history quiz and a keynote lecture along with other recreational activities and competitions.

The associated theme for the festival was ‘Time, Space, People and Culture.’ A photography exhibition was set up near the registration area for the visitors and participants who evaluated each photo on display. The exhibition showcased various pictures related to the above mentioned theme clicked by members of Pixels, the photography society of the college. Kartik Gupta was declared the winner for the exhibition with maximum number of visitor comments.

dr david zou
Dr. David Zou

Dr. David Zou, a professor at Department of History, Delhi University gave a lecture on ‘What is History’ in the conference room of the college. With Dr. Zou, Ms. Sharmila Srivastava, head of the history department of college led the session. He shared his personal experiences with famous personalities and also talked about print culture and literary culture. Shrishti Singh, a 3rd year history student who attended the lecture says, “The lecture was very informative and interactive. He talked about censorship of books which was the most interesting topic.”

kite1
Kite Flying

A history quiz was also conducted as part of the festival. The quiz revolved around both modern and ancient history and the questions covered historical events of various ages and timelines from all over the world. Conducted by members of the quiz society, the history quiz saw participation by 15 teams. The competition saw participants from the host college and cross college teams also took part. After the preliminary round, six teams moved on into the finals. Pratik Panda and Bishal Kumar from Hans Raj College and Kirori Mal College were declared the winners.

A history debate on the topic ‘This house will exempt all books and works of art from government bans’ was conducted. Debating societies from the university circuit participated in the competition. Ananya and Navjeet from the debating society of Miranda House were adjudged the winners for the debate. Ananya, depicting here views on the topic says, “The motion today was one which, no matter how many times it’s debated, can never lose it’s relevance, considering as historical precedents suggest that attempts at curtailing free expression are a recurring phenomenon.”

Apart from the main events at the workshop filler activities also attracted students. Pottery workshop was held in the college where students were seen making earthen wares with their own hands. Kite flying was also organised. Principal of the college, Dr. VK Khwatra exuberantly challenged other kite flyers and himself handled the manja well.

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Hindu College

Series of talks take students of Hindu College on a Journey of Delhi Through The Ages

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A brief talk on Delhi and the various characteristics of Delhi through the ages is what dominated the annual seminar organized by the History Department of Hindu College on Wednesday, 5th March 2014.

The seminar began with the teacher head of the Department Mr. Ahmad Hassan giving a brief introduction about the topic ‘Delhi Through the Ages’ and informed that the seminar was going to take place in a preceding order because of time differences. The eminent speakers invited by the college took the stage soon after and began the talk. The first speaker for the day was Prof. Amar Farooqui – a Delhi University graduate, Professor at Hans Raj College. He currently works with the Department of History and has many papers and books to his credit like ‘The Early Social Formations’- an important textbook for History students all around Delhi University. Prof. Farooqui, who talked about Modern Delhi, apologized to the audience because traditionally the seminar should have been Medieval Delhi moving to Modern Delhi and not the opposite but due to differences in the time schedule it had to be held in a preceding order, however, he said this would give a new and different perspective to the topic. Prof. Farooqui focused on the time period from 19th century to the eve of the First World War and talked about the changes in the layout of the city giving various examples about places in Delhi that the students could connect to.

Dr. Shama Mitra Chenoy, a teacher of History at Shivaji College and a graduate from Hindu College, walked next to the stage to talk about Medieval Delhi. Dr. Chenoy gave the talk through a PowerPoint presentation so that the students could easily understand and follow the talk. She focused on the physical space of Shahjahanabad, that is, Old Delhi around the 12th century. Her main aim was to give the students a general talk on Medieval Delhi to “familiarize them with the attractions that it had and continues to have”. With the help of pictures Dr. Chenoy tried to describe the “striking visual beauty of the city” and also provided an aerial view of the city with proper maps. Ending the talk and the seminar for the day she described Shahjahanabad as a “city like many others but still unlike the others”.

A gathering of almost 65-70 students attended the seminar and tried to understand the intricacies of Delhi through the ages. “The seminar was interesting especially because it was about Delhi and included places that we have visited or can visit”, said a student on his experiences about attending the same.

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