Slider Archives - Page 11 of 37 - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

Campus Central

Satyawati College Student Attacked on Campus; Legal Action Initiated

By DU Beat October 15, 2025

A student at Satyawati College was attacked with a wooden stick after refusing a caste slogan. The assailant was expelled, and an FIR under Section 308 was filed. However, there is dissatisfaction with the lack of security within the college premises.

On Monday, 13th October, a student from Satyawati College got beaten up by a fellow student within the college premises. The victim is a third-year student of Political Science. He was attending a society event, and after its completion, he was wrapping up the event and its arrangements; this is where he encountered a few students from the college who were recording a video. On getting accidentally recorded in the video, the students coerced him to say ‘Jai’ (caste name), to which he refused. After repeated exchanges of them forcing him to say the same, a person from the group snapped and hit him twice on his head using a wooden stick. The group, after committing the assault, immediately fled from the college.

The college staff took him to the hospital, where he got treated and sustained eight stitches. The friends and batchmates of the victim further reported about the incident to the Professors and Staff association, for which they received full support. It is alleged that those students had a history of committing unruly acts in the college where they got rusticated as well. However, it is also alleged that there is a faction of teachers, who give their support to these students because of ‘caste reasons’.

The college authorities, including the professors, the Proctoral Committee and the Principal, assured the students that effective disciplinary and legal action would be carried out against these students. On 14th October, the whole department of political science from across the years protested near the staff room to proceed with this matter urgently. Following which, the Staff Association had a meeting and expelled the student. The person who propagated violence and got expelled, Deepanshu Chauhan, is a habitual offender and has chargesheets filed against him in previous cases, but there was no strict action taken against him.

The notification of his expulsion stated that “As per the provisions laid down under Ordinance XV-B of the University of Delhi, which deals with Maintenance of Discipline among Students of the University, any act of violence, threat, or intimidation against a teacher, student, or any other member of the college community constitutes grave misconduct and warrants strict disciplinary action, including rustication or expulsion from the institution.”

The students, along with the teachers, held a march towards the DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) office to get immediate legal action against the offender. After deliberation an FIR was lodged against the student on the grounds of Section 308 (attempt to culpable homicide). The protestors received multiple threats from people who stated that they won’t shy away from assaulting other students as well.

Our source, who requested anonymity, quoted, “This incident raises a larger concern of student safety within the college premises; it further made the parents of the victim insecure about the potential dangers within the campus. Due to this large lapse, we will proceed to boycott the college for 2-3 weeks.”

Image Credits- Official Expulsion Order by the college, Satyawati College

Keep Reading

Campus Central

Students Allege Harassment Amid Backlash Over Palestine Solidarity Meet at SVC

By DU Beat October 14, 2025

AISA and Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Study Circle’s Palestine solidarity event at Sri Venkateswara College faced administrative backlash, with organisers allegedly harassed, threatened, and forced to sign undertakings by college authorities.

On 10th October All India Student’s Association organised a session with Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Study Circle in Sri Venkateswara College’s Rock Garden on the theme of ‘Marking Two Years of The Ongoing Genocide in Palestine’. The event was supposed to be a group discussion as well as poetry recitation in solidarity with Palestine. The college authorities, before the commencement of the session, allegedly called two of the organisers to their office. This incident is what the AISA states to be “harassment and an attempt to terrorise students.”

Witnesses claim that the authorities including the Principal and the Proctor first publicly scolded and humiliated the students in front of the whole college. Mr. Chetan, who is a professor at the Statistics department forcibly took students’ phones and made them unlock it without their consent impinging on their right to privacy. The students were allegedly made to share their contact details extensively. He made remarks of “Main tumhe ghar mein ghus ke marunga, dekhna tum” (“I’ll beat you up in your own house, you’ll see”) and “If you say any of this in class, I will shoot you.”

The Principal, Vajala Ravi, in response to this situation further allegedly warned the students with suspension and forced them to sign a written note stating that such sort of event wont be held again.

Image Credits- Instagram handle of AISA VENKY

Divyanshi Dusad

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Arts & Culture

DU Beat in Conversation with The Threshold by M.D. Pallavi and Bindhumalini

By DU Beat October 12, 2025

In this insightful conversation with DU Beat, artists M.D. Pallavi and Bindhumalini discuss Threshold—their collaborative project born from the 2017 “Under the Raintree” women’s festival—where music becomes a dialogue on gender, identity, and self-expression. Performing at the KNMA Music Festival, day 3 on October 11th, they explore women’s voices across time and culture. As they beautifully say, “a lamp on the doorsill sheds light both inside and outside”—a fitting metaphor for their art that bridges tradition and introspection.

DU Beat- You describe threshold as a musical conversation between two artists. First and foremost, how did this collaboration come about, and what does the idea of ‘Threshold’ mean to each one of you, especially in the context of music and your personal journeys?

Bindumalini – Threshold started with the specific women’s festival curated in Bangalore called the Under the Raintree Women’s Festival in 2017. Pallavi was asked by the main curator of this festival to curate the music section of this 3-day festival. The last day it was all about the duet. The curator had also put up a condition to Pallavi that apart from curating the whole festival, the music part, she also had to be one of the performers. That is when we collaborated for the first time, and Pallavi invited me, and our conversations could not be away from the context of women, which the whole festival was about, and from there, conversations started about gender and women. That’s the genesis of ‘Threshold’.

M.D. Pallavi: And Threshold, if I may continue with what Bindu said, there’s a poem that we picked from Lingama, who belonged to the 12th century, which talked about a lamp on the doorsill shedding light both inside and outside, and that’s what Sharana is also trying to achieve: to look both inside and outside. So that we thought was a very apt title for what we are also trying to do.

DU Beat- Gender is central to your performances. Could you share how your personal experience as women and artists influences the way you interpret or reimagine traditional or contemporary songs?

M.D. Pallavi- For a long time I was unaware about the lens of gender in my music or in the work that I was doing, but gradually, say in the last 15 years, I became more aware about the poetry of who it is written by, and I also became more aware over the years of how to see the delicate differences between the male and the female perspectives. And in this project we are particularly focusing on poems and songs written by women, and it has helped us understand in a way how different these poems are even though they are very similar to the ones written by men.

Bindhumalini: I would say in my house, it was my grandmother and mother who laid the path for me, and it was not like anybody was supporting them as such. My grandmother started her journey in music after the age of 45, and she saw in music an anchor which held her together through various aspects of life. So for me whatever I have received in terms of art from my house has been through women only. But as Pallavi said, even I was not told to look at things from a gendered way, from the lens of a woman as such. Slowly it started to come into my awareness, and then doing research and creating this project was an eye-opener in many senses.

DU Beat- So you are choosing the narratives and voices of women especially, which are unheard. How do you usually select these texts and poems, and when you started, how much time did it take to curate them?

MD Pallavi: Firstly, we started to look at stories of women who had sort of broken barriers in terms of music and came out into the world. And it could be about people lesser known or about people we knew but did not know about this side of them, and then we could also sort of just present them with the same text, similar kinds of poems, which disseminate the same ideas. We also try to draw parallels between songs and stories of women from different time periods and places. For example, will there be any similarities between the struggles of a woman from Morocco or a sex worker from Karnataka, or are there any parallels between La Ded in the 14th century saying something which is similar to what Mudupalini is saying in the 18th century in the court of Travancore? And we have a stone assembly found by researching for this.

DU Beat- I also wanted to know from both of you if you come from the same musical traditions or are trained in different musical traditions, and if yes, then how do you negotiate these differences in the musical vocabularies? Also, while performing together, do you seek to retain your individuality, or does that subsume itself under this larger project called ‘Threshold’?

Bindhumalini: Well, that’s interesting because, definitely, our individual trainings helped us in certain ways. At the same time, both of us are aware of the possibilities, the potentials and also the limitations. So if you see the threshold, a few things drive it. There is a Hindustani bandish that we perform, and in that case, if it’s a tradition-driven performance, then we try our best to do justice to that. But at the same time there is a complete freedom for self-expression, and mostly it is given by the energy that we establish and the emotion that we perform at that point. The third aspect is a bit tricky. We sometimes represent certain ethos of some musical traditions, but we are not really the practitioners of that at that specific moment, but we sing it, and in that moment it’s mostly us, but it may point at something. While we are being true to ourselves, at the same time we might also be hinting at something from which we are trying to draw it.

M.D. Pallavi- I would pretty much repeat what Bindu said. And the fact that both of us enjoyed doing experiments. And the fact that we both have learnt classical form, so there is a grammar that we both fall back on, but there are times when we are beginning the rules and presenting them, and then there are some points when we are being very loyal to our forms. And it is very difficult to find a collaborator who can co-conspire with you in all of this, and in that way we are both very lucky.

DU Beat – You will be performing at the KNMA Music Festival, and it is themed after ‘Voices of Diversity’. What does this diversity in music mean to you, and how do you see your work contributing to a larger dialogue about inclusivity in art?

M. D. Pallavi- When we talk of diversity, we need to see diversity of artists on stages, and a lot of the times what happens is that music festivals mostly repeat the same kind of artists. So I think it’s very important they look for diversity both in terms of performers and art. Also, while creating it, it is important to think of the experience one wants to give to the audience, and that’s why it’s also very important for festivals to be open to possibilities in terms of providing different experiences.

Bindhumalini: Let us take note of these curations mostly happening in the urban spaces, and the audience are also of a certain kind. My experience of diversity has definitely been in these kinds of spaces, but also what I have really enjoyed is when I had gone into rural India, and their diversity has a different shape. The experience is totally different when I go on yatras or in villages which are on the border of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and there are the kind of people who become your audience – from the children to the men and the women – and then it’s happening the whole night. Then there are local artists. That is what diversity looks like to me. I don’t know if this really answers the question, but I felt like sharing the experience.

Image credits- Banglore International Centre

Madhav Choudhary

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Campus Central

Delhi University Palestine Solidarity March Turns Violent Amid Alleged ABVP and Police Assaults

By DU Beat October 11, 2025

A Palestine solidarity march at Delhi University on October 9 turned violent after alleged assaults by ABVP members and police. Student groups including Fraternity, MSF, AISF, Disha, and ASA condemned the attacks, calling them acts of suppression and intolerance. Similar crackdowns on pro-Palestine protests have been reported across Indian campuses.

A joint march in solidarity with Palestine, organised by the Fraternity Movement and MSF (Muslim Student Federation), a student wing of IUML (Indian Union Muslim League), on Tuesday, 9th October, turned violent after alleged assaults by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the police.

The march, which began from Vijay Nagar at around 5 p.m. and was headed towards the Faculty of Arts, saw participation from student organisations including Fraternity Movement, MSF, AISF (All India Student Federation), Disha, and ASA (Ambedkar Student Association), along with several Delhi University students. The protest was held in Old Gupta Colony, and was described by participants as a peaceful demonstration before tensions erupted.

According to multiple protesters, members of ABVP, the student organisation affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), entered the march and began chanting slogans such as “Jai Shree Ram” and “Vande Mataram.” Protesters alleged that ABVP cadres threw eggs, pelted stones, and even struck a demonstrator with a helmet.

In a statement condemning the assault, Fraternity Movement claimed that ABVP members objected to the display of Palestinian flags. One protester recounted an exchange in which they were told,

“[J]handa lehrana hai toh idhar aao.” (If you want to wave the flag, come here.)

Several protestors accused Delhi Police, which was deployed to control the situation, of siding with ABVP. In a video recorded by Maktoob, a news organisation, the police were seen beating protestors, manhandling women and detained students. Many of the protesters who were women had stood in the front to ensure that violence wouldn’t erupt. A protester said,

“Instead of threatening or sending them (AVBP) away, they wanted to “control” the situation”

On October 9th at night, in a post by Fraternity Movement, the 8 detained students were released including 3 members Farhan Israil, Najwan, and Abdul Rashid of the Fraternity Movement.

Fraternity Movement, MSF and AISA have issued a statement condemning the attack on protesters by ABVP and the police. MSF and Fraternity Movement have labeled the attack as deeply intolerant and islamophobic. A statement by Fraternity Movement reads,

“This brutal suppression of a peaceful expression of solidarity with the people of Palestine exposes the deep intolerance and Islamophobia thriving within the institutions of this country.”

This incident follows a series of recent crackdowns on Palestine solidarity protests across India. On October 7, students at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad alleged that ABVP members disrupted their gathering condemning the genocide in Palestine, tore down posters, and verbally and physically assaulted participants. Earlier, on October 4, six activists were detained in Rohtak, Haryana, for organising a demonstration in support of Palestine.

This pattern of consistent disruptions of peaceful gatherings raises concerning questions on the ability to exercise ones’ fundamental right heralded by our constitution.

Image credits: Maktoob

Keep Reading

Arts & Culture

DU Beat in Conversation with Bhushan Kargaonkar, the Director of Lavani Ke Rang

By DU Beat October 11, 2025

Curated by T.M. Krishna, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) Music Festival, being held in Sunder Nursery from 9–12 October, brings together artists from the length and breadth of India. The theme, ‘Voices of Diversity’, carries KNMA’s spirit of making art more inclusive, accessible and a reflection of lived realities. The festival opened with ‘Lavani Ke Rang’, a dance-music-theatre production performed by traditional Bari artists directed by Bhushan Korgaonkar.

In this interview, we speak with the Director of ‘Lavani Ke Rang’ to understand the inspiration behind the production and the legacy of Lavani.

DU Beat: What is Lavani Ke Rang and what inspired you to create this production?

Bhushan Korgaonkar: Lavani Ke Rang is a theatre production. Now it can be categorised under dance also, music also or theatre. That’s the beauty of Lavani because it includes everything. Lavani Ke Rang is a production that is based on my book titled Sangeet Bari. I wrote this book in 2014 and it chronicles the real lives of traditional Lavani artists who come from matriarchal traditions. It also mentions various types of Lavani songs and the different ways in which Lavani used to be performed and what are the changes in the art form over the period of time. It’s all there in the book, and based on that, we have actually created more than two productions, and Lavani Ke Rang is one of the most successful productions, I would say. It’s a 90-minute production and the speciality of this, and all our productions, is that we work with these very artists. That’s the real charm because what has happened is that Lavani, as an art form, has gained some kind of popularity but not the artists—not the Khandaani artists who have lived these lives and who are living these lives. So, through our productions, we try and make them meet the audiences, the other non-traditional Lavani audiences. That’s what the production is all about. Also, when we started this production, when we started all our work, it was in the original language, that is, Marathi. But we realised that a lot of people who don’t understand Marathi are also very curious, and they used to come and attend our shows irrespective of the language barrier. In fact, because of their suggestion, we have also created these multilingual versions. So, Lavani Ke Rang narration is in Hindi. Although the Hindi has a Marathi flavour, but it’s in Hindi so that people who understand Hindi can also understand that. I also conduct lecture demonstration sessions, which are primarily in English. So, the narrative part of all our productions is either in Hindi or English, and the Lavani songs are in Marathi.

DU Beat: You have an award-winning book credited to your name, Sangeet Bari. So, what exactly is the Sangeet Bari style of Lavani and how does Lavani Ke Rang show that style?

Bhushan Korgaonkar: Sangeet Bari’s style of Lavani is the intimate experience of Lavani. It has a rich tradition of several years, several centuries and it is still continuing where artists from matriarchal communities dance to entertain men. That has been the traditional format. Now, there are two ways to look at it—that it’s extremely patriarchal and why should they do this? This is one way to look at it. Now the other way is to look at it from a holistic point of view where we can see the art, and then see if we can bring that art because the art is amazing. Their captivating performances are brilliant, but it’s just the linear equation that women dancing to entertain men is problematic. So, why not bring them to a platform where they can entertain everyone irrespective of their gender and preferences? So, that has been our effort. And also to add to this point, we have also introduced a transwoman—a transgender artist who also dresses up like a woman and they perform with us in this book.

DU Beat: Your book also talks about the lives of Lavani performers, their experiences and their narratives. So, how exactly does Lavani Ke Rang reflect that in its dance performances?

Bhushan Korgaonkar: We narrate their stories, and these are all real-life stories. We talk about their systems. So, your earlier question was, What is Sangeet Bari? So, Sangeet Bari is basically a centre. These are like performance centres situated in Maharashtra, which host different groups of dancers to come and perform. Rather, these are residential places. So, the artists, around 100–150, stay in that premise throughout. These are government-regulated centres. Each group, which is known as Sangeet Party, hosts around 10 girls and 5 men who play the musical instruments—there are two of them who are like helpers and three musical accompanists. So, this is the system. Every evening, there are public stage show performances and there are also private performances. So, a single man or a group of men can go and request for a private performance. Because it’s a closed-door performance, it is looked down upon in the society. But, because of this very reason, there has also evolved a different type of Lavani, which is the Baithakichi Lavani, which is similar to Thumri—where performers sit and sing, and do adakaari and perform. Along with this style, there are other types of Lavani songs also. All these different types are demonstrated in our show Lavani ke Rang.

DU Beat: Just to get it right, is the term you mentioned “Sangeet Party”?

Bhushan Korgaonkar: Yes, “Sangeet Party”. “Party” as in the English word—like a political party. So, “Sangeet Party”.

DU Beat: There is this common perception that people have nowadays that Lavani is just flashy, fast and sensational, dance numbers on TV and in movies; And there has been a lot of criticism around the same as well. So, how does Lavani Ke Rang challenge that? And how does it show that Lavani is so much more than that?

Bhushan Korgaonkar: Yeah, exactly. Glad you asked that question. Lavani, as I said, is gaining popularity. But the image that Lavani has or the kind of Lavani that we get to see is only this fast-paced and highly, I would say, acrobatic style of performance. Now, is it Lavani? The answer is yes. That is also Lavani. But is that the only thing Lavani is all about? The answer is no. There are so many other nuances and so many other styles. So, through our show, we show all—not all—but many of these different styles, which are very slow-paced, which use a mix of rhythm—it starts slow and then picks up, and then again, it slows down. So, we show all these different types and styles. We also show a type where a woman artist takes the character of a man, and she behaves like a man and performs. Different topics are also covered in Lavani Ke Rang. We try and show these topical, subject-based Lavanis.

DU Beat: What is your vision for Lavani Ke Rang? Where do you see it going in the future?

Bhushan Korgaonkar: We have already done a couple of foreign tours, and also nationally, we have performed at many festivals. But these, as I always say, are like very token recognitions. ‘Okay, we have a festival, you come and perform’—which is great for the form, for the artists, for everyone, and for the audiences also. But there has to be sustainability. Like, how these artists who have this talent and who have familiar traditions can sustain only on these shows, and don’t have to dance at those centres where everything is reduced—in the sense—where they don’t get enough respect that they deserve as artists. So, we are also trying to find an answer to this question. But, I think the more we do these types of shows… and we have also created various modules. In fact, I am at Studio Safdar right now, and I have an AV lecture on Lavani scheduled in an hour’s time—just because I was in Delhi, had a free day and Studio Safdar was kind enough to host me here. I have done and I’ll be doing this—these types of things…As much as possible, we’ll reach out to more and more people. Through that, through word of mouth, through recommendations, we get and take leads, and then, you know, things happen.

DU Beat: What message would you like to give the younger generation about why Lavani and other folk styles are important, and why they should be preserved today?

Bhushan Korgaonkar: I think if they come and watch these forms, not just Lavani Ke Rang, but also any other form, they will realise…and I can share our experience with the young generation—Gen Zs and everyone—that those who come, for whatever reason, they get hooked to it. They get glued to their seats and leave their phones for at least one or two hours, and they realise the importance and significance of this form. Because the form, although it’s ancient, talks about your sexuality and your desire in a very strong and a very, I would say, desirable way—in the sense, it comes in a very organic way. And also, I will just deviate a bit, but what happens with Lavani performances when they are performed by people who don’t have any Lavani background is that they get confused, and they do too many sexy movements. I mean, they try and exaggerate the sexiness, which kind of kills the performance because it makes it look very same. So, you can enjoy one at a time, but then if you keep on watching that, you’ll get bored. So, through Lavani Ke Rang or through all our shows, we try and showcase the range. The young generation, especially when they come, realises that this ancient art form has so much of freeness or the freedom of expression, and there are so many topics which the Lavani songs cover. The way our dancers interact with the audience, they (audience) realise the importance of live theatre and our folk tradition, where the audience is not a mere spectator, but a part and parcel of the entire performance, and they have to participate. A lot of them come and meet us and share their experience that ‘thanks to you, we were away from our phones for two hours’. I think that’s the biggest compliment we can get today.

Image Credits: KNMA Music Festival

Nasheta Zaidi

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Arts & Culture

New Safety Guidelines issued by DU Administration amid Festival Season

By DU Beat October 10, 2025

Delhi University, known for its vibrant fests and celebration of music, art, culture, and connections, has issued safety guidelines for campus events to ensure the safe and smooth conduct of college festivals during the festival season.

Delhi University, on Wednesday. issued a new advisory for “safe, smooth and orderly conduct of events and gatherings”. As part of the new framework, two liaison officers must be appointed by the University—one for the North Campus and one for the South Campus. Every college conducting an event is required to assign its own liaison officer for proper management and crowd control. The officer must be available at all times and share essential details of the event with the local police prior to its commencement.

Additionally , every event is required to have a first aid kit, a static ambulance, and fire safety measures in place within the college, hostel, or designated venue. Events should have separate entry and exit gates for VIPs and general attendees, with contingency routes planned.

CCTVs are mandated at gates, along with trained security guards and bouncers in sufficient numbers to ensure the safety of all participants. The advisory reiterates that the sole responsibility for the conduct and management of events rests with the respective college or institution.

“Delhi Police, as part of its mandate, is tasked with maintaining overall law and order and not providing security cover to private events.”

In addition, the advisory mandates social media transparency. It requires the colleges to provide detailed online notices specifying event timings, passes, traffic arrangements, and other logistics to avoid confusion.

This notice has been released following the security breaches and gate-crashing incidents at events that happened in Miranda House in 2022, as well as the harassment of students after walls were scaled at Indraprastha College for Women.

Delhi University officials have clarified that these measures are not intended to dampen the student experience but to create a secure, safe, and inclusive environment.

Featured Image source: Hindustan Times

Ananya Agarwal

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Campus Central

Protest Sparks in Delhi University Following Vice Chancellor’s Speech

By DU Beat October 9, 2025

DU students led out a demonstration on Monday in response to the recent assertion made by the Vice Chancellor in his YouTube video.

Delhi University witnessed a massive protest staged on Monday, 6th October 2025, by the students in response to the statement issued by the Vice Chancellor, Yogesh Singh. The issued remarks included labelling the student movements and activists such as Pinjra Tod and Professor Hany Babu as `Urban Naxal’. This assertion was seen to criminalise and defame the struggle for rights and freedom by the students.

The movement began from Gate No.4 along Chhatra Marg. Slogans and voices were raised in equal amounts, aiming to be heard and to claim campus democracy. The demonstration stayed united despite police deployment and the attempts of the campus guard to break up the group.

The remarks were criticised for being `anti-student’ and `anti-democratic’ by the Secretary of AISA DU, Anjali. She further added that the declaration of the student movements to be anti-national exposes the Vice Chancellor’s ideology to divide the nation and act against our interests. She also thought his remarks to be `contrary to the spirit of academic freedom’.

The students remained unified in the face of the attempts at intimidation made by the authorities and the force used by the guards. It was ensured that the protest took place as planned.

The words of the vice chancellor were seen as his venture to treat the University as his kingdom in the eyes of the students, which led this great wave of rebellion to take place by them.

The video consisting of the statement is from Yogesh Singh’s address at the event `Bharat Manthan 2025: Naxal Mukt Bharat — Ending Red Terror Under Modi’s Leadership’, released on 28th September.

Featured Image source: Instagram

Ananya Agarwal

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Campus Central

DU VC calls Arundhati Roy’s remarks ‘hate speech’ at Law Faculty event

By DU Beat October 9, 2025

Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh, at a Law Faculty event on hate speech, cited author Arundhati Roy’s past remarks on the Indian state as an example of divisive rhetoric, urging intellectuals to avoid such statements.

At an event on “Hate Speech and Electoral Politics in India” held at Delhi University’s Faculty of Law on 7th October, Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh cited author Arundhati Roy’s past remarks about the Indian state as an example of hate speech. The event, organised to explore how language shapes public opinion and political narratives, became notable for Singh’s strong comments on what he viewed as harmful rhetoric from public intellectuals.

Quoting from one of Roy’s older speeches, Singh referred to her statement describing India as a “perpetually upper-caste Hindu state” that has been “at war with its own people” since Independence. In her speech, Roy had listed conflicts in Kashmir, Manipur, Nagaland, Punjab, Goa, Telangana, and other regions as evidence of this claim.

Singh remarked these statements as a pure definition of hate speech. Adding that such comments “pollute children and citizens’ minds because these statements are made from a very selective perspective.”

He further stated that public figures and intellectuals should avoid such statements since they influence young people and shape the discourse in ways that can harm national unity.

Singh said that hate speech often emerges from the public’s own biases and attitudes. “Politicians think that if they make hate speech, they will get more votes. Is it their fault or ours?” he asked the audience, noting that electoral incentives play a major role in normalising such rhetoric.

“We all should keep in mind that politicians are the smartest people in the country. They know the pulse of the people. If they realise they will not get votes by making hate speech, they will stop making such speeches.”

Image Credits: News18

Juhi Bansal

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Arts & Culture

DU Beat in Conversation with Wild Wild Women (WWW)

By DU Beat October 8, 2025

“We want to talk about everything a woman goes through. We are here to make a community and make women feel heard.” An all-women hip-hop collective from Mumbai, Wild Wild Women (WWW), are set to perform at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art Music Fest on 9th October 2025. In a conversation with DU Beat, they talked about breaking stereotypes in a male-dominated industry. In the quest to create music that is rooted in lived experiences, community, and empowerment, WWW emerges as a voice of hope, aspirations, and revolution for women in Indian hip-hop.

The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art will inaugurate its Music Festival on October 9, 2025, a four-day celebration of India’s musical diversity, featuring ten exceptional artists from across the country. As part of this vibrant lineup, Wild Wild Women will take the stage on the opening day, and we had the opportunity to speak with the collective about their journey, music, and message before their live performance.

Question: ‘Wild Wild Women’ is definitely a name to remember. Can you tell us the story behind it, who came up with it and what inspired it?

Pratika: The name kind of resonates with us as people who love being wild and free. It didn’t come from anything specific; Krantinari and HashtagPreeti just kind of conjured it out of thin air, and it stuck. It always reminds me of the Wild Wild West in a way. And yeah, we’re from the west coast of India, so there’s that little connection too. But ‘Wild Wild Women’ just felt apt for us, not just a single ‘wild’, but ‘wild wild’ to really emphasise how free-spirited and bold we are!

Question: Hip hop has traditionally been a male-dominated field. What has the experience of breaking into the industry as an all-women collective been like? Have you encountered stereotyping, and if so, how have you navigated it?

MC Mahila: Hip-hop has always been a male-dominated industry, and it’s been that way for a long time. But this power we have as Wild Wild Women—when we come together—it just turns all those barriers into dust. We’ve seen people throw hate at us just because we started as an all-female crew. They were scared we’d flip the game… and we did flip the game. We pushed through all those outdated norms that said women can’t work together for long, that it won’t last. We’ve even had people comment on our bodies, saying we don’t fit in, that we’re ‘too big’ or whatever. But by ignoring all that negativity, we rose above it; we made more music, we stayed together, and we flipped the game. That’s exactly what our track ‘Game Flip’ is about; it’s our statement that we’re here, and we’re changing the game.

Question: Where do you see the hip hop scene in India heading? Artistically, what do you feel Wild Wild Women brings to the current scene?

#HashtagPreeti: The hip-hop scene is heading towards a really important milestone. A few years ago, or even before that, hip-hop was seen as something very male-dominated. If you thought of a rapper, you’d automatically picture a man. It was hard for people to imagine women in that space. Back then, a lot of male rappers only talked about parties, alcohol, girls, bling, and that whole luxurious lifestyle. But that’s not the full picture. Hip-hop actually comes from the grassroots—it’s about street culture, about real life. In India, hip-hop has brought attention to street artists and communities and to all the elements: skateboarding, beatboxing, graffiti, rap, and knowledge. Hip-hop is no longer just a sub-genre. It’s at the forefront now. It’s what people are listening to.

That’s where WWW comes in. We bring something that’s never been on the table before, something that was needed. We’re here to change the narrative that women can’t be rappers. But honestly, you can only really understand what WWW brings when you experience it in person. We’re not just five rappers on a stage. What we do makes people think about society, about gender, and about how they see women. I can’t put it into just a few words. You have to hear the lyrics. You have to watch the show.

Question: Wild Wild Women is often highlighted as an all-women collective with a focus on empowering women of all ages. Do you ever feel pressure to create art specifically with this purpose in mind? Does it ever feel limiting to your artistic expression?

HashtagPreeti: As Wild Wild Women, we’ve kept everything open for ourselves creatively. It’s not just about WWW; we each also work on and release our individual projects. But as a collective, we do stick to certain topics, because that’s our purpose. If no one else is going to talk about these issues, then we will. And it never feels like pressure. All our artistic expression finds its way into both our personal lives and our music.

Honestly, it takes a village to do what we do, especially in a country like India, where very few women and girls have a platform like this. We know how lucky we are to have this opportunity, and we don’t take it for granted. Also, we’re not limiting ourselves to just women empowerment as a theme. We’re experimenting and exploring a lot more; we want to talk about everything a woman goes through. We’re here to build a community, to make women feel seen and heard.

Question: What has been Wild Wild Women’s main inspiration in creating music? Are there any specific artists or voices that have been our go-tos?

JQueen: I’d say our biggest inspiration is Wild Wild Women itself. Even though we’re five female rappers, along with two breakdancers, a mural artist, and a skateboarder, all our goals are aligned; we know where we want to go, and we’re pushing to get there.

We’re not just rappers; we’re messengers of the people. Each of us is an individual artist with our own identity, but we always come together under one roof. We understand each other, we lift each other up, and we make sure everyone’s goals are supported. In the beginning, it wasn’t easy. Not everyone wanted to help us. But now, we’ve created our own space, and we’re killing it. And we always knew we would.

Right now, it’s India… But soon, it’s going to be international. Wild Wild Women is coming your way—so get ready to handle the heat!

Image Credits: Wild Wild Women

Anjali Paruvu and Anjali Kumari Jha

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Arts & Culture

JNU Establishes Animal Welfare Society

By DU Beat October 2, 2025

JNU, known for its extensive initiatives on creating environmental capacity building and livelihood practice, has approved another milestone, setting up a statutory body for creating animal welfare seeking to integrate compassion and sustainability.

JNU established an animal welfare society, a known initiative also adopted by Ashoka University, which possesses an Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) that supports an animal welfare club known as Team Pawsitive.

The initiative has been rolled out under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, in line with directives from the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission (UGC), and in keeping with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

This initiative includes an animal feeding zone, awareness campaigns, and teams to research animal law, ecology, and sustainability. This move is also getting attention in the wake of the recent order by the Supreme Court to not send the stray dogs to shelter homes. This will definitely help the varsity animals to get an ally in this precarious situation.

This initiative was accompanied by several dog bites reported earlier this year. Since the campus is surrounded by extreme forest canopy, it is likely that the animals from nearby Sanjay Van hop and reside here. The campus is spread out over 1,000 acres, accommodating several animals; while some students feed them, others feel scared.

Currently, the society will be chaired by associate dean of students, Professor Piyush Pratap Singh, and includes faculty members, staff members and external advisers such as animal-rights activists Gauri Mauekhi and PAWS Foundation’s Vipu Jain.

According to Vice Chancellor Pandit, the initiative is designed not only to encourage sustainability but also to embed animal welfare into the university’s academic and social environment,