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ABVP protests against Prof. Saibaba’s rejoining, DUTA condemns move

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Ram Lal Anand Professor G.N. Saibaba, who was suspended from the university, following his arrest by Maharashtra Police in 2014 for alleged maoist links, recently became a centre of attack after his visit to the college. The English professor, who is out on bail, went to the college to submit a letter where he allegedly became a target of anger and protest by members of ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad).

While Professor Saibaba might be hopeful of a fresh start, his request for reinstatement has invited mixed reactions. A group of students, led by the members of the ABVP, strongly oppose the professor’s rejoining unless he is cleared of all the charges by the court. Talking to us, ABVP’s Delhi State Secretary, Bharat Khatana, said, “Saibaba has been suspended by DU and despite that he is coming to the college and addressing students. We believe that unless he gets a clean chit from the court and the Governing Body (GB) of the college, he must not be allowed to enter the college premises.”

Despite the relentless protests and public bashing, DUTA strongly condemned the attack on Dr. Saibaba. DUTA President Nandita Narain, while emphasising on the lack of security for the professor, told us, “Had it not been for the protection given by some faculty members and hundreds of college students, Dr. Saibaba could have suffered grievous injury. The DUTA expresses grave concern that the college administration as well as the local police did not prevent this violent intrusion, even though similar incidents had taken place over the last few days. The DUTA appeals to the VC for his immediate intervention to prevent this breakdown of governance in this university maintained college.”

Sharing the same sentiment, Narendra Pande, Associate Professor from the Department of History and a colleague of Saibaba told us, ” There are two important things which we must keep in mind. One is that, rule of law must prevail and second that,any suspended employ has a right to approach his workplace. We met the chairman of the Governing Body of the college, Mr. R.M. Kohli today and he will soon foresee the situation himself. The Staff Association, which is the teacher’s collective body of the college, passed a resolution with consensus to expedite the functioning of the one—member committee which has been formed by the college to look into the issue.”

The Staff Association plan to impress upon the Chairman of the Governing Body as well as the Principal of the college to take steps in order to stop the breakdown of normal functioning of the college and the creation of a conducive and safe environment for teaching. The Supreme Court had earlier this month granted the professor bail on the pretext that Maharashtra government had been “extremely unfair” to him.

To recall the important twists and turns of the case, read our timeline of Saibaba’s case here. 

Image credits: www.thehindu.com 

Riya Chhibber

[email protected] 

 

 

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Dean assures appropriate action to students crying foul over results

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By Bismee Taskin Islam

th semester, in which 57 students failed sociology out of a total of 60 in Shivaji College. Not just in Shivaji, many off campus colleges such as Keshav Mahavidyala, Rajdhani College and Lakshmi Bai College have reported a similar result. 102 students out of 120 in Lakshmi Bai College and 20 out of 25 students in Keshav Mahavidlaya failed Sociology, all of whom had opted for it as their interdisciplinary course or CDC. This result from the University is being claimed to be erroneous, which will affect the aggregate of the final year students, who want to pursue higher studies after graduation, adversely. But as much as a shock it was for the students, they have decided to call for action and not helplessly accept a glitch in their results. As a result, there was a mass protest outside the office of the Dean,  Students’ Welfare, Professor J.M. Khurana on Monday, the 29th of June. It started at 9 in the morning and went on till at noon, when a few student delegates were called inside. A student delegate from Shivaji College, Bismee, said, “This result is a reckless mistake from the University and we only want the marks that we truly deserve in the subject. We have filed a written petition with the Dean’s office to revise our results and give us an answer at the earliest.” When asked about the behaviour of the authorities towards the issue, another student, Mitali told us that they were “indifferent” towards their plight. So far there has only been a bleak response, though it has not dampened the spirits of the protesters and there will be protests everyday till a clear decision has been reached. Bismee, one of the organisers of the protest, told DU Beat that he met the Dean of Students’ Welfare, who assured appropriate action over the issue. The students representatives are expected to meet the Dean again tomorrow. A major cause of such protest and unrest among students is that many of the affected students plan on getting a higher education, and such low marks are harmful for their aggregate score of all semesters. Ironically, students who have Sociology as their major have been marked well, and so it appears that a careless approach has been adopted for the students who opted for Sociology as their interdisciplinary course. Further, all the affected students have so far scored well in other subjects and have had 60% and above aggregate in all the preceding semesters. This fact has also fueled the rage around the University’s result and shocked many.   Image credits: Bismee Taskin Islam]]>

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DUTA conducts Jashn-e-Azadi against university authorities

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Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) conducted their cultural protest, Jashn-e-Azadi, on 27th March in front of the Kirori Mal College hostel gate against the rising instances of ‘totalitarian misgovernance’ by the University authorities. The stage was opened by a speech by DUTA president, Nandita Narain, who called out the authorities on the recent passage of the code of conduct which, she said, is meant to crush any dissenting voice in the university. She also pointed out the one-year MA course will only lead to further degradation of the academic standards of the university, which is already reeling under the affects of Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP). Other points of concerns were FYUP itself, the second term of office of the VC and immediate filling of vacant posts in the faculty.

Artists followed her speech with their own forms of protests on stage. While former Indian Ocean member Sushmit Sen performed with his band, Sushmit Sen Chronicles, belling out one fusion number after another, folk artist Ratan Gambhir talked about the increasing commercialisation of education. Narain brought the evening to an end by again calling out for the urgent need to group and protest against the increasingly draconian nature of the university governance. She said that culture is one of the sharpest ways of protest and Jashn-e-Azadi was only one in a line of similar events, pointing to the cricket match which was played after the protest march on 14th February. She ended by saying, “Jab jab andhakar ka samay ayega, tab tab hum andhakar key bare mein bolengein, gaayengein”.

Featured Image Credit: Iresh Gupta for DU Beat

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Students and teachers continue protests against FYUP

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The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) in association with various students’  groups conducted a Protest March to the Parliament demanding a roll-back of the FYUP on the 18th of February. The DUTA had organized this March along with various students’ organisations including All India Students’ Association (AISA), All India Democratic Students’ Organization (AIDSO), Democratic Students’ Union (DSU), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Federation (AISF), and the students’ wing of Aam Aadmi Party – CYSS.

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In what was labelled as a March towards Parliament, students and teachers marched from outside Zakir Husain College to the Parliament Street where they were joined by MPs, leaders of political parties, trade unions, women’s organizations and civil society bodies. Political leaders including Manish Sisodia and Ashutosh (AAP), Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), OP Kohli (BJP), Tarun Kumar Mandal (SUCI-Communist), Udit Raj (SC/ST Federation), DP Tripathi (NCP), Kavita Krishnan (CPI-ML and AIPWA), Jagmati Sangwan (AIDWA) and Iqbal Singh Sindhu (AIFUCTO), All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRTE) joined the procession at Parliament Street. The March culminated in a massive Public Meeting next to the Parliament Street police Barricades.

The marchers not only demanded a roll-back of the FYUP but also a reversal of the education policies’ thrust towards commercialization and PPP model. Removal of VC Dinesh Singh and condemnation of the Government’s decision to award him with a Padma Shri after allowing him to destroy Delhi University were also put forward in the form of slogans and handbills distributed to the public.

Manish Sisodia addressed the issue of commercialization of education and large-scale contractualization in teaching jobs. He also criticized the DU VC’s disregard of all democratic norms and processes, as was recently evident in the controversy over the formation of Governing Bodies in the Delhi Government colleges. He underlined the need to build popular resistance against the Government’s commercialization agenda in Education and expressed the AAP’s commitment to fighting against FYUP.

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Women’s organization leaders Kavita Krishnan, Jagmati Sangwan and Ritu Kaushik (AIMSS) expressed their opposition to the FYUP by stating that it would keep the large majority of girls and young women from poorer families out of good jobs and higher studies that are the only guarantee against the conservative pressure of Khap Panchayats and the patriarchal family structures.

DUTA President Nandita Narain expressed the DUTA’s resolve to continue the struggle with greater intensity till the principal demands of the teachers and students are met. She warned the Government that its indifference to the plight of the Delhi University community would cost it heavily in the General Elections as the destruction of a Central university like DU is going to alienate the masses and turn them against any party in power that imposes anti-people measures under the garb of reforms. She attributed this indifference as a factor in the Congress Party’s heavy defeat in the last Assembly elections. She appealed to all sections of the public to join the struggle against FYUP and the policies which undermine the future of students and teachers in higher education.

In a similar protest, on 15th February, AISA led a march to UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi’s house to protest against the new format of UPSC exams and Delhi University’s four year undergraduate programme.

AISA has been condemning FYUP for a long time now and is demanding a full rollback. The student’s party had already made its stand clear on the same during the Delhi University union polls, adhering to which they have been carrying protest marches along with ABVP and DUTA in the recent past.

According to sources, due to the unavailability of UPA chairperson Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the party led its march to All India Congress Committee’s Office where they met Mr. Janardan Dwivedi, senior leader of Indian National Congress who further deputed the case to Mr. Shakeel Ahmed, senior spokesperson of INC. Mr. Dwivedi, though ensured the protesters that their demands would be looked into and action would be taken.

DUTA and students organisations also conducted protests against Antardhvani the previous week, condemning the nature of FYUP promotion embedded in all activities of the cultural fest.

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DUTA protests against the misuse of Antardhvani

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Delhi University Teacher’s Association organized a protest cum cricket match on the 14th of this month outside the Vice Chancellor’s office, to raise its voice against misuse of Antardhvani- the annual cultural festival of Delhi University, by the VC and his administration. The march which started around 11 a.m., quickly transforming into a cricket match, was one of a kind.
Even the incessant rain couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of teachers and students alike who gathered in large numbers shouting slogans and supporting one team or the other. They protested against the VC’s anarchy, because according to them, the VC has been using Antardhvani for his own designs, forcing principals of different colleges to make their teachers and students attend the fest.

One of the teachers pointed out that the lack of sports in the current year shows how the VC is not opening the sports fields to teachers and students but using it only for his personal purposes. They said that these fields are public property and VC has no power to stop them from utilizing it. The DUTA demanded that the University stadia that were renovated during the CWG should be thrown open for the use of students and teachers. They also addressed the issue of FYUP and stated how the four year course could still be converted into three year graduation and last year could be optional for those who want internships. “We had initially planned to play against the VC, wanting to beat all the shady people on their team but he hasn’t even been talking to us let alone turning up for this match, so we played against the students”, said Nandita Narain, the President of DUTA sarcastically. “We also want FYUP to be rolled back for the current batch but I don’t see this happening because our VC is all about the Padma Shri award”, said another member of DUTA.

All in all the protest march was yet another attempt of DUTA to bring a change in the continuously deteriorating conditions of the University. The cricket match with its satirical commentary in the pouring rain, showed how determined they are in their cause to do away with VC’s high handedness.

Similar protests were also carried out by various students’ groups, in the past week. Reiterating the misuse of the fest to promote FYUP and asking for its rollback, the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) along with members of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and All India Students Association (AISA) have been up in arms against the Vice Chancellor.

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Delhi University students stand up against racism

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Following the killing of Nido Tania, the harassment of the two girls from Manipur and the Khirkee incident, a protest march was organised in North Campus on 3rd February by a group of teachers and students to raise their voices against the recent examples of racism in the city. Protesters assembled at the Vishwavidyalaya metro station before starting their march which ended at the University Undergraduate Hostel for Girls. Led by leftist student groups such as National Socialist Initiative (NSI) and All India Students’ Association (AISA), the protest witnessed slogans of “racism down down!” and “nasalwadi ho barbaad!” filling the roads. Police accompanied the protesters all throughout the march, who paused in front of the Mukherjee Nagar police station to voice their opinions regarding the police’s alleged initial reaction concerning Tania and the shopkeeper where it was alleged that he was beaten up a second time by the police and a compromise was forced out.

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Students protesting in GTB Nagar on Tuesday. | Image Credit: Sidhant R. Seth

People from the assembled crowd of protesters at the Undergraduate Hostel gave voice to their take on the issue. While students of Northeastern origins recounted their personal encounters with the city’s distaste for the different looking, others asked for stricter anti-racism laws. The issue of the persistent racist attitude against the African students studying at the University and living in the areas surrounding North Campus was also talked about. An appeal was made to include others suffering from racism within the same fold and to not make it an issue limited to Northeastern students only. Tackling racism as a menace which affects different groups of people in different and yet similar ways was agreed upon as the only way to move forward.

Similar protests were also seen the next day on 4th February, with students protesting in GTB Nagar.

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DUTA to hold ‘cluster dharnas’ against FYUP and more

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In the wake of some recent policies undertaken at the university Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) proposes to organise ‘Cluster Dharnas’ at various colleges of Delhi University.

DUTA has raised the slogan ‘FYUP Roll Back, DU VC Go Back’ in a recent poster issued by them for the dharnas. It puts forward the demand for implementing the Honours Degree in 3 years for the current students of the Four Year Program. DUTA also wants to insist on filling up of teaching positions which lies vacant as of now in the university. Apart from this, DUTA intends to raise the issues of correct implementation of 200 point roster, withdrawal of screening criteria at the entry level of assistant professor and selection committees as mandated by the UGC regulations in the ‘cluster dharnas’.

The schedule of these cluster dharnas at different colleges in Delhi University is as follows:

16 January 2014

Thursday

Aditi Mahavidyalaya, SSN College, KNC, Gargi College, IHE, LSR

17 January 2014

Friday

DBC, ANDC, Ramanujan College, PGDAV(M&E), CVS, SBSC(M&E),

SAC(M&E)

18 January 2014

Saturday

MH, LBC, HRC, Ramjas College, SGTB Khalsa, Satyawati(M&E), SOL

20 January 2014

Monday

ZHDC, MSC, DSC(M&E), LIC, ZHC(E), ARSD, MLN(M&E), RLA(M&E), SVC,DCAC, Maitreyi College, JMC

21 January 2014

Tuesday

Kirorimal College, Hindu College, Daulat Ram, IP, SRCC, Departments

JDM, Kalindi College, DDU, SGND Khalsa College, Bhariti College

22 January 2014

Wednesday

MAC, Vivekanand College, Shyamlal College(M&E), SSCBS, SRCAS, MV College of Education, BRAC, Rajdhani College, Shivaji College, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, SGGS College of Commerce, SPM, Bhagini Nivedita

“These cluster dharnas have been organised with the objective to contact everyone in Delhi University personally by visiting different colleges. Decentralisation of dharnas would help us to get the problems solved more effectively. Delhi University is a very vast institution and therefore it is essential we get in touch with most of the students and teachers for better redressal of issues concerning the university”, said Anita Ghosh, Joint Secretary of Delhi University Teacher’s Organisation.

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5 Steps to Become the Flag Waving DU Hipster Student Activist

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1. Get the kurta right

Before you decide on the issues(s) you want to start hunger strikes on, you must get the look right to compliment your now-future leaner physique. Look into your father’s closet and find the oldest kurta that you can find. If your father is the only-shirt-pants wearing bourgeoisie, don’t worry, FabIndia will come to your rescue. Sources tell us that the brand was formed to supply DU-JNU student activists with socialist-chic clothing which can also be worn for their Pammi Aunty’s Diwali parties. Step it up with the thickest nerdy glass that you can find, regardless of your need for glasses. More accessorising opportunities come with the winter, when Nehru jackets and shawls become the ‘It Things’ to have. It goes without saying, a jhola is a must.

Tip: While kurtas are mostly unisex, lady activists can also wear khadi saris, monotone or tribal prints, at seminars and other occasions of importance where you might get photographed. Male activists can try cross dressing to up their game.

2. Networking at D School

Now, as a rule every student activist worth their swadeshi salt hangs out at D School. Transcending the North Campus-South Campus divide, D School is the K Nags and Satyaniketan for students with enlightened views. Now as activists, you must network with others of your community to know about the new cool issue to raise your voice for. And what better place than D School! Though it was established as a premier institute for studying Economics, actual students of the school are hard to find with students from all over encroaching their habitat. A burgeoning issue amongst actual D School students is the ‘Gair D Schooli Chatra Bhagao Andolan’, which as a defender of the secular public space, you must oppose.

Tip: Brownie points to you for hanging out at the JNU campus at times. Try to regularly post pictures of you with your JNU/media/professor friends on Facebook to let others know that your network is wide and radical.

3. Deciding on Your Issues

With the look right and the networking done, now you can decide on the movements you can lend your support to. Try to listen in on what is bothering your senior activists and try nodding your head to them. You might not understand them much initially but a quick Google search later will take care of it. Try keeping up with the news. Immediately make an account on change.org and sign petition after petition without any discrimination. Keep only a couple of issues as your primary ones but you can always make your presence felt in others. But try not to take up all the issues as your projects as this will only cause people to take you less seriously.

Tip: Read up on gender, sexuality, poverty, Kashmir and Israel. Your ability to quote case studies will decide your position in the hierarchy.

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4. Learn to talk Much without saying Anything and understanding Everything

Remember the time when the darling of your hipster circle was talking about something and all except you were nodding their heads? Then you did not read the previous point closely. Nod your head to everything; that is the single most important thing you can and should learn. The ability to let people believe that you know more than they ever can is necessary for you to leave any kind of impression. One of the ways is nodding along but a greater method is to actually talk a lot and mean nonsense. Engineered by Literature students to pass their exams, it has now been adopted by the larger artsy population as one of the languages they are fluent in. Learn to speak in paradoxes as soon as you can or you will remain in the training period for longer than you need to.

Tip: Take a recorder along the next time you go to a talk, which should ideally happen weekly, and listen and try to replicate the way the speakers were speaking there. Remember, practice is the only way.

talking-vampire

5. Learn how to belittle others because of their choices

While ‘Right to Choose’ and ‘Right to Express’ are one of the rights you must bring in any conversation and defend them whenever they are in danger, you must learn the proper way to judge people on their choices and letting them know that. Notice your classmates hanging out at Starbucks? Call them enabler of the war on Palestine. See them reading Chetan Bhagat and/or Durjoy Datta? Call their literary taste trashy and low. See them eating McSpicy Burger? Call them sell-outs to Multinational Corporations. See them parading their spoilt asses around in branded clothes? Scream BURGEOISIE! This may lead to multiple ‘unfriending’ on Facebook and subsequent stoning of your popularity in your college, but who cares about those merchant-minded dimwits when you can get popular in D School? This skill to belittle others will also come in handy later when you get promoted in the corporate world you joined right after college and want to make the minions know who the boss is now. Then you would also need to quash those two rights of your juniors mentioned above.

Tip: While still learning the ropes of the game, your senior activists may call out on the still lingering signs of your middle class upbringing at times. Don’t lose your patience and tell them “thank you, you are helping me mould my consciousness into the example of enlightened perfection that you project.”

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P.S.: The author is only half serious and would still like to enjoy his Keema Dosa and Iced Tea at D School.

Image courtesy: quickmeme.com, tumblr.com, thehindu.com

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AISF protests against FYUP in Delhi University

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Yet another protest against the newly introduced Four Year Undergraduate Programme took place at North Campus on Wednesday, 7th August by AISF or the All India Students Federation.  The dharna started out from the Arts Faculty and marched till the Vice Chancellor’s residence, and also commenced a public meeting later.

The protest had participants from across the university – from students to teachers to administrative staff. Their motive was to question the very existence of the FYUP and its implementation by boycotting classes. The main questions they addressed covered several problems of the FYUP that its critics have been citing since last year – from promises of BTech degrees and Laptops to compulsory non honours courses. AISF also raised a major question on the integrity of Delhi University Students Union, dominated mainly by members of the ABVP and NSUI, which has largely remained silent on issues relating to the FYUP.

The protests marked exactly two weeks of the commencement of the new system, and seemed to have impacted the University administration in a manner that seemed relatively stronger than some of the protests before this. It’s level of participation, infact, is reflective of the fact that many in the University can’t see the benefits of the FYUP that the University officials initially promised.

Image Credit: Priyam

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VC cuts off power supply during film screening, DUTA protests

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Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) along with the support of some students, decided to screen ‘The Great Dictator’, a Charlie Chaplin movie, on 9th November. This movie was being aired outside the Vice Chancellor’s office as a satire on Delhi University and it was to be followed by a debate on the current situation. However, within the first five minutes the power supply was cut off on the VC’s order. When the protestors tried finding an alternate source of power, this was also disrupted immediately as the power supply for the entire block outside the VC’s office and DUTA’s protest area was disconnected.

The actions of the VC led to nearly 25 students and the DUTA sleeping outside the VC Dinesh Singh’s office to show their anger and resentment for not being allowed to watch the Charlie Chaplin movie. Angry slogans were chanted outside his house, yet he didn’t appear to address the party gathered outside. Around 12:30 pm the next day, students and teachers held a meeting where they demanded a public apology from the VC.

In response to the protest, the registrar of Delhi University released a statement on Saturday, 10th of November, stating that the University regretted the complete disregard of the students and teachers who directly tapped power from exposed high-tension wires for screening their movie when the power supply was cut off initially. The statement also mentioned the fact that legal action will be taken against the offenders if such action continues. However, none of these threats seem to deter the determined DUTA and its student supporters as they promise to continue protesting until their issues are addressed.  

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