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On 4 November 2023, Ramjas College students gathered to protest against the ad-hoc crisis in the college’s English department, expressing concern over the displacement of 8 out of 10 ad hoc professors. Their collective demand echoes a call for transparency, academic stability, and integrity within the educational framework.

In a resolute display of solidarity, students from Ramjas College’s English Department organised a gathering to protest against the displacement of 8/10 ad hoc professors of the department on Monday, 4 November, 2023. Gathering in the Eco Lawns of the college, the rally circled the campus, culminating in a demonstration at the Principal’s Office. The college administration responded by summoning police forces to contain the protest. The protest garnered support from students from various departments of Ramjas College and was endorsed by student organisations such as the Student Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students Association (AISA).

In a post shared by the Instagram handle Ramjas Reading Room, the protest called upon immediate action to address the following:

  1. Halt Unjust Displacements
  2. Preserve Academic Integrity
  3. Prioritize Faculty Well-Being

Vociferous slogans and heartfelt messages were raised during the protest as student were overcome with anger and anguish amid the state of things.  A student from Ramjas’ English Department, who wishes to stay anonymous, shared,

The English Department has been one of the most active departments in Ramjas. For most of these professors, teaching, while being a passion, is also a source of sustenance. They are still processing the grief of what has happened.

The protest is being held against the backdrop of the displacement of ad hoc professors from departments across colleges at Delhi University. In Ramjas College, the first department affected by this issue was the Zoology Department last year. Many have alleged that the process of interviewing, retention, and displacement of ad hoc professors is opaque, leading to highly qualified and experienced professors losing their jobs.

Utilising platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram, students of Ramjas College effectively mobilised support by urging their peers and even past alumni who are working across the globe to join the cause. The protest featured images of these iconic figures, such as Tagore and Gandhi, and included books taught by the displaced teachers. The student political groups that had joined submitted a memorandum seeking transparency in the interview process and the retention of ad hoc professors.

According to our sources, the college has made no response to the students’ demands as of yet. Expressing their state of despair and hopelessness at the system, a final year student from the English Department, commented, 

We have lost that last sense of connection with the department. It has become a foreign space for us; the college is a necropolis. How will we ever go back to Room No. 12, the department room? The displaced professors have shared our paintings and poems on their Instagram posts and stories. But we only know what we have lost.

Read also: Faculty Displacement at IPCW: Impact on Students and Academic Integrity

Featured Image Credits:  Aaryan Marcha, student at Ramjas College

Injeella Himani
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On March 19 2023, the last day of the DU Lit Fest, SFI workers gathered to protest against a speaker session with Dr. Subramanian Swamy and were allegedly physically attacked by unidentified persons.

The Delhi University Literature Festival, organised on Ramjas College grounds from March 17–19, has been subject to a series of allegations by organisations such as Students’ Federation of India and the All India Students’ Association, with the latter accusing the event of holding right-wing political affiliations. On March 19 2023, a protest by SFI during a speaker session with Dr. Subramanian Swamy was shut down by the beating and manhandling of the protestors by assailants, who the SFI alleged are affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

“On 19, we decided to show our dissent with placards, and as soon as we marched towards the stage—we were some 20-25 activists—first the organising team members tried to stop us. After 10–15 seconds, almost 40–45 people, who may be students or may not be students, I don’t know what student wing they were affiliated to, but they were affiliated to RSS — for sure I know that — started chanting slogans like ‘Jai Shree Ram’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ and started pushing and beating us. They beat 5–6 of our activists pretty badly, including me, and pushed us outside the college gates. The security did not do anything. What was shocking for us was that a professor of Ramjas College itself, Chemistry Department, also started to beat us.”

Abhishek, SFI DU Convenor

In a press release, SFI alleged that the assailants “hurled abusive remarks on the students” and “physically pushed the female students”. Referring to the security officials as “mute spectators”, they accused them of not trying to stop the alleged attackers. SFI further described the program as “a PR event for BJP under the garb of a Literature Fest”, and alleged the use of “cheap tactics involving muscle power to silence them (the protesting students).”

The organising team of the DU Lit Fest has hit back at these allegations, stating that the event was “not politically motivated in any way” and was merely an expression of ideas which “did not belong to the political left.”

A volunteer and member of the organising team for the DU Lit Fest, who wished to remain anonymous, felt that the claims were “exaggerated” and “twisted into a narrative”.

Being a part of the organising team, I never felt that any political ideology or political party inspired us. Students, not just from DU, from various colleges and institutions, were very excited and joined. A lot of the authors that came to DU Lit Fest were the ones who had come to Bharat Book Club, which comes under Historical India, for their book launches. You will hear that they are rightists and all, but if you would’ve actually gone to the book stalls, you would find books from various ideologies and various authors.

– Anonymous volunteer at the DU Lit Fest

A student who volunteered at the Festival told us that it was but natural for the organisers to try to stop a “screaming” protest, even a peaceful one, at a large-scale event they had worked very hard to organise.

Similar sentiments were echoed on social media channels, where the apparent and presumed fest organisers called SFI’s videos “full of misinformation and misleading statements”, referring to the diversity in the rest of the talk sessions and the hard work put in by students behind the event.

Read also: AISA Organises People’s Literature Festival, Condemns DU Lit Fest as ‘BJP-RSS Propaganda’

Featured Image Credits: DU Beat

Sanika Singh
[email protected]

The Staff Association of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) protested against the circular which directed colleges to appoint guest teachers against full time vacancies.

The Staff Association of the University of Delhi’s Shri Ram College of Commerce held a protest against a circular dated 28th August 2019 issued by the Assistant Registrar of the University which directs the appointment of guest teachers against full time vacancies.

On the appeal of the SRCC Staff Association, students joined the teachers in large numbers outside the college and they marched towards the Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi’s office to submit a memorandum.

“Guest teachers are paid on per lecture basis only for lectures held and that too subject to a ceiling on payment / number of lectures in a week. This is unjust for young talent aspiring to become a teacher and shows a lack of concern for teaching-learning”, the staff association said.

They further added that the circular “is unmindful of the co-curricular and extra-curricular activities as well as various institutional activities in which full-time teachers participate.”

Calling the circular “unwarranted”, they further highlighted how it has caused uncertainty and distress among different colleges due to varied interpretations.

The Varsity had been filling the vacancies using ad-hoc teachers currently who are given fixed monthly stipends and are hired on a four months contractual basis. Most of these teachers are working for over a decade and are awaiting permanent recruitment as they are currently not entitled to the benefits of permanent faculty members.

Elaborating upon the uncertainty looming over these ad-hoc teachers, the statement said that “uncertainty exists as to whether or not the existing teachers working in ad-hoc will be renews in the same capacity in a few days time when the term of their current appointment ends.”

The Staff Association of Ramjas College extended their support to the SRCC Staff Association and said, “Ramjas College has perhaps the largest number of non-permanent teachers, some of them working for more than 10-15 years. We share your pain and imminent fear.”

WhatsApp Image 2019-11-09 at 9.58.29 PM
Image Credits: Ramjas Staff Association       Image Caption: The Ramjas Staff Association release a Press Release in solidarity with the SRCC protest.

The memorandum was submitted to the Proctor, University of Delhi as the VC was unable to meet the college’s representative. The proctor assured the protesting teachers that the existing ad-hocs will not be replaced.

 

Feature image Credits: SRCC Staff Association

Shreya Agrawal

[email protected]

 

Colleges may be famous for varied things. It can be the mouth-watering food at the cafe, famous alumni like Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bacchan, a Parliament or something really bizarre like a tree! But, one of the oldest colleges in University Of Delhi, Ramjas college stands out for its Gamchas!

 

Many Ramjas students can be seen sporting a Gamcha with T- shirts and shirts on, which seem really odd and out of place to some eyes, however it is indicative of the mixing of Western and Indian cultures representing the melting point of all ends- a typical attribute of the North Campus. Other live examples of this can also be seen in Nukkad Nataks wherein participants usually wear Kurta and Jeans. This “Gamcha” style has somewhat contributed to creating a distinct identity of Ramjas students and at the same time has given rise to a whole bunch of Gamcha– Ramjas memes.

New meme content is something people strive for. Now let’s address the elephant in the room, how long are we going to keep stretching that “Mature Bag” thing or the “JCB ki  khudai?” Although these Ramjas- Gamcha memes aren’t that popular, anyone who’s familiar with the students’ obsession with Gamcha would laugh his or her face off! But where does the meme hail from? So we got our detective coats on and went ahead to deconstruct the famous ‘Gamcha memes’

Now, if we have a parochial view, some may call it a stereotype or preconceived notion, or even take offence (Quora knows! *wink*) but that is actually not the case! What many of us fail to see is that DU’s talk of the town- Ramjas, gives you a canvas where every community and culture can splash their unique hues and colours!

Thanks to some of the students from Ramjas, we got to know that the “Gamcha” culture can be traced back to the historically huge diaspora of students who hail from Bihar and Haryana at Ramjas College, as well as the politically active nature of the college. Ramjas College known as a breeding ground has given our country many tall leaders and freedom fighters like Chaudhary Brahm Prakash (Freedom fighter and first Chief Minister of Delhi) and Sarup Singh (Former Member of Rajya Sabha and former Governor of Gujarat).

There is a deep connection between Indian politics and the Gamcha, because, well let’s get the preconceived notion for a bit, we generally have a set gamcha or Nehru coat for every political entity. Just as the universal dress of politicians and leaders in India is white sparkling and crisp Kurta-Payjama, it’s their colourful Gamcha (with a streak of their party colour) which denotes their political affiliations. Therefore, in this context it isn’t wrong to say that although leaders have come and gone over the decades, the Gamcha has retained its significance in the political attire and hopefully, it is here to stay.

 

Featured Image Credits: Instagram

 

Abhinandan Kaul

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Priyanshi Banerjee

priyanshi3011banerjee@gmail.com

The University of Delhi has released the fifth cut-off list today on the official website.

The admission under the DU 4th cut-off list ended ended on June 17th. The DU 5th cut-off list will be all about filling the seats in the reserved category in most colleges.

So far, the University has filled 67,419 seats out of the total 62,000. After the release of DU 5th cut-off, the admissions will take place from July 20, which will also be the first day for those who have already completed the admission process.

The candidates should note that this year, the university will notify just five cut-off lists.

Check this space for the latest updates on the fifth cut-off.

Click here to check the fifth cut-off list P.G.D.A.V. (E) College.

Click here to check the fifth cut-off list for Gargi College.

Click here to check the fifth cut-off list for Satyawati College.

Click here to check the fifth cut-off list for Shyam Lal College.

Click below to check the comprehensive fifth cut-off lists:

Arts & Commerce

Science

B.A. Programme

The young visionaries from across the nation showcased their innovative endeavours in the field of social entrepreneurship at Enactus National Symposium and Competition 2019.

The Enactus National Symposium and Competition 2019 was held at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi on 13th July. From a number of active Enactus chapters across the country, around 70 colleges applied for the championship out of which 30 colleges had the opportunity to compete and present their projects as contenders for the prestigious Enactus National Cup.
Enactus is a worldwide platform that facilitates an exchange between students and business leaders with an aim to create sustainable leadership for the future. Student groups in colleges are encouraged to work towards problems affecting the communities around them by the means of social entrepreneurship. Enactus opened its Indian chapter in 2008 and has since made headway into 108 institutions across the country. Every year these teams compete for the opportunity to represent India in the Enactus World Championship held in September.
The preliminary round of the competition saw the 30 teams being allotted to five different leagues. Presentations were held simultaneously at five halls. These halls were completely packed throughout as competitors and observing teams were earnestly listening to the presentations. Each team was permitted to present two of their successful projects to the judges; this was quickly followed by a thorough question and answer session.
The range of issues tackled by the participating teams was incredibly impressive. Going well beyond basic research, the teams sought to create projects which benefitted communities who are often overlooked. One such example was Project Oorja undertaken by Hindu College. The idea was to provide a sustainable and affordable source of electricity to street vendors who normally spend atleast INR 25 per day on electricity. The solution was solar powered lamps which was a one-time investment and promised durability for at least a period of five years. A lot of the projects displayed were also aimed at reusing the enormous amounts of waste that the consuming class generates. Projects that used waste tires as a sole for footwear and plastic waste as a filler component in pillows were also presented.

The final round of the competition kicked off with Mr Arun M Kumar, Chairman, Enactus India National Advisory Council and Chairman and CEO, KPMG India, addressing the competitors and emphasising that more and more young people are now thinking about making a difference through entrepreneurial action. Mr Devdip Purkayastha, President and Chief training officer of Enactus India commented on the importance of the Symposium as “a platform to reach out to leaders to maximise the power of an individual.”

The five finalists in each league category were:

League 1- Shri Ram College of Commerce

League 2- Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce

League 3- Delhi College of Arts and Commerce

League 4- Ramjas College

League 5- IIT Delhi

The judges’ oath was sworn in by Mr Arun Kumar,  post which each team got 12 minutes to present their story of innovation and social change.

Ramjas college presented their Projects Aarogya and TeleSwasthya based on affordable and accessible primary healthcare for the people who cannot afford the heavy expenditure on health facilities. The projects based in Hapur and Naggi district have impacted several beneficiaries by making affordable healthcare available to 70%  of the target population. Today, the project runs 24 health centres in Delhi-NCR and has seen a path-breaking success to empower the lives of many.

The second finalist to present their project was Delhi College of Arts and Commerce who presented their flagship projects Taleem and Sahas. Working for the education of the refugees in Shaheen Bagh and Shram Vihar, project Taleem aimed at solving the primary education crisis through their Taleem Centres. Project Sahas helps breast cancer survivors regain confidence post mastectomy by the use of cotton based breast prosthesis- “Canfe” developed by the team, and underprivileged women. It has developed an online platform where one can purchase mastectomy bras.

Shri Ram College of Commerce presented their projects Viraasat and Asbah. The former project helped the Thateras of Jhandiala Guru to improve the out-dated designs of their local craft and the latter brought in a water revolution in Haryana and Muzzafarnagar through the community filtration plant.

Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce showcased their e-commerce platform BOOK A PLANT which brought in an innovative idea to make a positive impact on the environment. The other project Kasthi was based on the idea to  convert a “Gaon” into a smart village.

The last finalist to present their project was IIT Delhi, who presented their first project Nirmalaya based on special pots for vermicomposting, which were further categorized as Sugriha and Ruchitra. Their second project Arth presented the idea of redefining rituals by manufacturing cowdung based logs for burning the funeral pyre.

Finally the nervous air entered the hall as the results made their way. Enactus Ramjas and Enactus LSR won the 77-seconds video-making challenge.

After a fierce and edgy competition of entrepreneurial action between the finalists, the results of the top three winners were announced. The home team, Enactus IIT Delhi lifted the prestigious National Champion trophy. The team would represent India for the Enactus World Cup at San Jose, California this September. Enactus Shri Ram College of Commerce and Enactus Ramjas College won the second and third position respectively.  

Feature Image Credits: Gauri Ramachandra for DU Beat.

Sriya Rane 

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Pragati Thapa

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The continuing problems related to admissions in the varsity have raised several questions on the functionality of the administration.

Student organisations Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Students Union of India (NSUI) of the University of Delhi (DU) have voiced their concerns and demonstrated against the DU Vice Chancellor regarding the difficulties faced by students during the time of admissions. The demonstation also sought to question the fee hike that has taken place for almost all courses in the University.

ABVP has voiced the concerns of the students by protesting at the Arts Faculty, addressing various issues related to admissions. The increment in college fees has been challenged along with irregularity in Sports Category admissions. Provision of admission by accepting undertaking, and introduction of EWS category in M. Phil/ PhD admissions has been requested. Importantly, inadequate arrangement in colleges for parents at the time of the admission process are some of the issues amongst other key issues that have been raised by the ABVP.

They (ABVP) has brought into the limelight how the admission staff in colleges who were admitting students to the first cut-off were not aware of the rules prescribed by the University. This caused problems in the smooth functioning during the admissions process. Admissions of students were also cancelled due to loopholes in the admission process.

Siddharth Yadav, the State Secretary of ABVP Delhi, said that if the demands are not met within the time period of ten days, then there will be more resolute protests against the administration.

DUSU President Shakti Singh also highlighted the issue of fee hike by saying, “There has been an arbitrary unaccounted fee increase in many DU colleges.” The issue Ramjas College’s fee hike has been previously reported on by DU Beat.

A memorandum to the Dean of Students Welfare had been submitted after the protest ended by the the ABVP delegation.

Attempts have been made by the student organisations so that the DU admission process does not become tedious and burdensome for the students. The true effects of the protests remain to be seen.

Feature Image Credits: Prateek Pankaj for DU Beat

Amrashree Mishra

[email protected]

 

The construction work in front of Ramjas college, which started a month ago to install sewage lines has been creating problems for the daily commuters. The roads were demolished in order to build proper sewage lines, and were hastily and temporarily repaired recently.  

This temporary and haphazard work done by the authorities is creating problems for the students and teachers alike. All the people suffering from breathing problems such as asthma find it difficult to breathe in the air, which is rife with dust particles. It not only aggravates their breathing, but also adversely affects their health.
Archit Singh, a student from the college suffering from asthma said, “I live in the hostel and I fear to go out of the college because the air is full of dust particles.”
Both asthmatic students and professors faced problems as they were unable to attend lectures resulting in huge loss to academics.

The road is not well-developed and is causing problems for the daily commuters. Veethi Khare, first year student of the college says, “I come to college on foot and the damaged footpath is run all over by the vehicles. This makes it quite difficult for the pedestrians to walk as they have no space left.”

It is also a major concern for the disabled people who face problems in crossing the road.
A PwD student Sumer Ram said, “The authorities are not making the road due to which so many PwD students refrain from coming to college. Blind students face problems in crossing the road.”

A student of Ramjas College, Udbhav Sharma wrote an application to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and highlighted the major concerns pertaining to this issue. He said, “Ramjas is a big college of Delhi University and such broken condition of road does not reflect good on the ambience of the college itself.” He also laid emphasis on the problems that the freshers will face, if the road is not constructed well within time.

 

 

Priya Sharma, a first year history student said, “It’s a shame that the administration has not shown any concern towards this. Even around this time, I didn’t come across any signs of improvement. The road is still in the same old condition. Moreover everybody is supposed to go from the main gate, I mean it’d be nice if they can allow people to enter from the other gates.”

Faculty members of the college appealed to the concerned authorities to take the requisite action. Talking to DU Beat, Principal Manoj Khanna questioned the Delhi Jalboard’s inefficiencies in completing the task on time.

Feature Image Credits: Ramjas College on Instagram (@ramjascollege)

Antriksha Pathania
[email protected]

The administration has put out a notice asking students to refrain from sending articles on political themes.

In a recent move by the Ramjas College administration, articles with political themes will not be accepted for the college magazine Anand Parvat but rather, students are encouraged to submit ‘generalised’ writings instead. A further notice was sent clarifying that students may send the article on any topic but, which stated that, “students should however take precautions that the Election Commission of India has issued certain guideline to give views on social media in light of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections”.

The move apparently comes after the February 2017 clashes in Ramjas which erupted after Umar Khalid was called for a seminar organised by the literary society and the department of English.  Repeated censorship and systemic silencing in Ramjas has been condemned by the students.

“I don’t understand how can academic space be divorced from the political and read in isolation, that too in a college like Ramjas, whose walls smell of resistance and dissent. I find it very immature and undemocratic on the part of the administration to issue such an arbitrary notice.” said Yash Chaudhary, a third year statistics student.

Dr. Vinita Chandra, an associate professor at the Department of English who was previously a faculty advisor to the student editorial board remarked that this was the first time in Ramjas’ history where the magazine was brought under the staff council, “the money for the college student magazine comes from the students…College magazines, like school magazines, are meant to provide students a platform to express their creativity and their ideas about college life and the world they live in. It is not meant to be an academic journal. An administration that thinks it needs to censor its students and is afraid of allowing them to speak is truly out of touch with young people and needs to look into the reasons for its mindset.” she added.

The drastic move has also brought about resistance from the students. The Students Federation of India (SFI) plans on organising a protest on the 18th of April, 2019 in the college premises against the administration. Resistance follows Ramjas in uproar on social media and posters in college as the administration remains mum on the move.

“Well, the kind of censorship being seen in a space like Ramjas only further reiterates that there isn’t a better time to serve your country by writing politically, and keep fascism at bay” said another student, who would like to remain anonymous.

According to a Hindustan Times report, magazine convenor G. Chilana said that he had received complaints from various departments about the notice. “We are not sidelining any department or subject. We just want students to write more on academic issues rather than about any political event or ideology which has no relevance for the magazine. They should understand this,” Chilana said.

 

Image Credits: DU Beat archives

Jaishree Kumar

[email protected]

Prof. Nivedita Menon and Zi- Us-Salam talked on the issue of Triple Talaq in Ramjas College on 28th  January 2019.

 

The Department of  Political Science, Ramjas College organised a talk on Triple Talaq on the 28th January 2019. The key speakers were Zia-Us-Salam, Associate Editor of Frontline, a literary and social commentator, and the author of  ‘Till Talaq Do Us Part’ and ‘Of Saffron Flags and Skullcaps’ and Prof. Nivedita Menon, a professor of political thought at Jawaharlal Nehru University was also one
The talk began with Zia-us-Salam clarifying the term Triple Talaq, and suggested the usage of the term ‘instant Triple Talaq’.  Salam further went on to elucidate on Islamic marriage laws, role of the women in Islamic marriages, and the eight forms of divorce in Islam. He quoted verses from the Quran with respect to the topics. He further added that the role of the media in spreading propaganda, and hate against the Muslims and Islamic beliefs has severely impacted the discourses on Islamic thoughts and teachings.
The discussion then stirred towards the legality of Triple Talaq in context with Muslim laws and the role of maulanas and imams in situations involving the same.“Most incidents of  Triple Talaq are eloquent examples of the failure of Muslim society to instill in its men the teachings of the Quran; instead, they end up relying on the Quran’s interpretation by local maulanas,” Salam said while quoting his  book, ‘Till Talaq Do Us Apart’.

Image Credits:Department of Political Science, Ramjas College
Image Credits:Department of Political Science, Ramjas College

Nivedita Menon asserted on the prevailing patriarchal atmosphere in the country, islamophobia in the context of  mob lynchings, cow-slaughter and ‘love jihad’. Menon brought up the correlation between patriarchy and organised religion. Menon remarked that Islam had been ‘hijacked by the maulanas’. She talked about how marriage laws differ in every religion. According to Hindu Marriage Laws, marriage is a sacrament between two people. Whereas, according to Muslim laws, marriage is a contract and the terms of the contract can be negotiated.

Keeping the Uniform Civil Code in mind, Menon pointed out that it has nothing to do with gender justice, but with a Hindu nationalist agenda. She defined marriage as a civil institution. A two way argument on how Triple Talaq is not given in script was discussed.

Image Credits: Department of Political Science, Ramjas College
Image Credits: Department of Political Science, Ramjas College

Menon discussed the position of the Muslim women in the society in respect the current political atmosphere. She said, “We need to stop sounding like the patriarchies we’re fighting.” Menon also spoke about adultery laws and the discrepancies in it. She mentioned the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan and their efforts as women’s rights organisation for the Muslim women who have been victims of instant Triple Talaq, and faced social ostracization as a result.
Both the speakers agreed on the current islamophobic atmosphere and the patriarchal structure of certain Muslim communities, and its influence on instant Triple Talaq.

 

Feature Image Credits:Department of Political Science, Ramjas College

Jaishree Kumar

[email protected]