Slider Archives - Page 2 of 40 - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

Arts & Culture

World Teachers’ Day 2026: Dr Neha Jingala

By DU Beat October 3, 2026

On this World Teachers’ Day, DU Beat sits down with Dr Neha Jingala, a faculty member in the Department of Journalism at the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, University of Delhi. From navigating the corridors of DU as a student to returning to them as a teacher, she reflects on the classrooms that shaped her, the lessons she carried forward, and what it means to watch a new generation of students find their own place in the university she once called her own.

Rahul: Just to start us off here, could you take us back to the day you first walked through the gates of your college as a student? What were you feeling, and what were you hoping for?

Dr Neha: I can still recall the very first day I walked through the gates of DCAC, completely fresh out of school. I remember feeling as though my heart would fall out of my chest, while also being excited about the possibility of a new beginning. There was a sense of apprehension because everything was unfamiliar, but at the same time, there were aspirations in my eyes and a great deal of curiosity about what lay ahead.

As a journalism student, I was keen to understand everything around me. The city, the world, people, and, most importantly, how stories are found and told. I hoped college would give me the confidence, knowledge, and exposure to turn that curiosity into something meaningful and substantial.

Rahul: Do you remember the first person you met in college? And was there a person, a teacher, a friend, or even a moment that made you feel that you belonged there?

Dr Neha: I distinctly remember attending my first class at 8:30 am with Mr Sunny Thomas, a seasoned journalist who taught us Writing for the Media. His lectures went beyond the basic principles of writing. He spoke about what made a successful journalist. The curiosity, discipline, observation, sensitivity, and, above all, a sense of responsibility towards the profession and the people we report on.

Those early classes made journalism feel real to me. They helped me understand that journalism was not simply about writing well, but about being curious, asking the right questions, and understanding the world around you. In many ways, those classes gave me an early sense that I had chosen the right path.

Rahul: How was teaching on your first day?

Dr Neha: My first day of teaching felt surprisingly similar to my first day as a student. I was both apprehensive and excited. There was the natural nervousness that comes with entering a classroom from the other side for the first time.

However, as soon as I began interacting with the students, those worries gradually faded. Their curiosity, energy, and willingness to participate made me feel comfortable. Very soon, the nervousness gave way to a sense of connection and confidence. It also made me realise that, although the role had changed, the classroom could still be a space where I was learning and discovering things with my students.

Rahul: What part of DU feels the same as when you were here, even after all these years?

Dr Neha: The students are still just as wonderful. They are enthusiastic, ambitious, and inquisitive. They want to make the most of the opportunities available to them, ask questions, and explore as much as they can during their time at the university.

The excitement of college life, the friendships that are built, the conversations and chit-chat in the corridors, and the desire to do something meaningful at DU all still feel very familiar to me. In many ways, it is this youthful energy that keeps the spirit of the university unchanged, even as the institution itself continues to evolve.

Rahul: Is there any course that you learnt during your time here that you now get to teach? How has that journey been?

Dr Neha: Yes, I studied Print Journalism as a student, and today I get the opportunity to teach it as well. It has been an interesting journey because I now find myself teaching something I once learnt as a student myself.

The fundamental principles we were taught. The accuracy, clarity, verification, structure, and the importance of good reporting remain the foundation of print journalism. However, the field itself has changed tremendously over the years. Technology and digital media, particularly social media, have transformed the way news is gathered, produced, distributed, and consumed.

So, while the principles remain largely the same, teaching print journalism today is very different from what it was when I was a student. In that sense, it has been fascinating to come back to the same subject from the other side of the classroom.

Rahul: What was that one moment in your teaching career, like an epiphany, that made you realise that “yes, this is why I became a professor”?

Dr Neha: I don’t think there has been just one such moment. For me, it has been a series of small moments over the years. Every time I see a student grow, find their confidence, overcome their inhibitions, and go on to do something meaningful, I feel that I am in the right place, doing the right job.

There is a particular sense of satisfaction in watching a student grow not just academically, but also into a more confident, responsible, and thoughtful individual. Seeing that transformation makes all the effort worthwhile. Those moments, rather than one particular incident, are what continue to motivate me as a teacher.

Rahul: Has a student ever taught you something about the subject or maybe about life?

Dr Neha: Teaching is a two-way street. Yes, I enter the classroom as the teacher, but I learn from my students all the time. They bring fresh ideas, different points of view, new trends, and entirely different ways of looking at the world. Sometimes, those perspectives make me pause and rethink my own understanding or opinion.

This is particularly true of journalism because the media landscape is constantly changing. Students often have a very different understanding of how young audiences consume information, how platforms are evolving, and how new forms of storytelling are emerging.

In that sense, every classroom becomes an exchange. I may enter with something to teach, but I often leave having learnt something myself.

Rahul: There’s a common notion among professors that the batches each year are declining in quality, especially post-CUET. Do you feel the same? How do you think we, as students, can challenge that perception?

Dr Neha: I don’t think the quality of students is diminishing. Students today exhibit a high level of confidence and awareness; they bring new perspectives and experiences into the classroom. The best way for students to challenge such a perception is through their work. Stay curious, participate actively, ask questions, be proactive, and make the most of the opportunities available to you. Be willing to learn beyond the syllabus and engage seriously with the world around you.

Rahul: In all these years of having been a student of Delhi University and currently teaching here, what’s that one thing that you wish would never have changed, and one thing you’re glad has changed?

Dr Neha: One thing I hope never changes is the sense of community and the enthusiasm that students bring to university life. The friendships, conversations, debates, disagreements, and the sheer energy of being a student are what make DU special. I hope that spirit continues regardless of how much the university changes with time.

One thing I am glad has changed is the amount of exposure available to students today. Students now have access to many more opportunities, platforms, internships, experiences, and avenues of learning beyond the classroom. They can explore different interests and gain practical experience much earlier, and I think that makes a significant difference to their overall education.

Rahul: If you could sit beside your past student self for five minutes, what would you tell them?

Dr Neha: I would tell my younger self not to stress over everything and to have more confidence in myself. I spent a lot of time worrying about whether I was good enough, whether I was making the right choices, and whether things would work out the way I wanted them to.

I would tell myself to enjoy the journey a little more, take risks, learn from failures, and not be afraid of uncertainty. Not everything has to make sense immediately. There will be moments when you feel lost or unsure, but with time, many things do fall into place. I would simply tell myself to trust the process a little more.

Rahul: This World Teachers’ Day, is there anyone you’d like to thank, maybe a teacher of your own or someone who’s taught you something about life?

Dr Neha: It is difficult to mention just one teacher because I have been fortunate to come across many wonderful teachers during my school years and higher education. Each of them, in their own way, encouraged me, guided me, and helped shape the person I eventually became. They taught me not only through their subjects, but also through their faith in their students, their advice, and the goals they encouraged us to achieve for ourselves. I will always be grateful to them for that.

So, on this World Teachers’ Day, I would like to thank all the teachers who have been part of my journey and have contributed, in one way or another, to shaping the person I am today.

Dr Neha Jingala
Head of the Department, Department of Journalism
Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, University of Delhi

Interview conducted by
Rahul Kumar
[email protected]

Image Credits: Design Team, DU Beat

Keep Reading

DUB News

DU Quietly Drops Credit Requirement for 2025-26 Batch, Teachers Ask Why

By DU Beat October 3, 2026

Delhi University’s (DU) Controller of Examinations issued a notification this week exempting students of the 2025-26 batch from the credit requirement of earning 28 credits out of 44 for promotion to the next year. The notification says the decision has been taken with approval of the competent authority and that all other provisions remain unchanged. It does not say why.

The 28-credit requirement was introduced under DU’s National Education Policy-based Undergraduate Curriculum Framework, which mandates seven papers per semester. Under the framework, a student had to pass 28 of the 44 total credits from the first two semesters to move into the second year. That bar has now been removed for one batch.

The move has drawn immediate pushback from teachers. Abha Dev Habib, secretary of the Delhi University Teachers’ Federation and associate professor at Miranda House, said the university changed the passing criteria without explaining what circumstances made it necessary. She said,

“Passing criteria for a specific batch (2025-26) are being relaxed without explaining which circumstances, hardships or systemic failure warrant such a change,”

She also pointed to a timing problem. Third semester classes began on 28 July. Results from the first-year examinations were still being declared through August. That means students entered their third semester before it was even clear how many had cleared the promotion bar, and the rule has now been changed after the fact.

Rudrashish Chakraborty, treasurer of the Delhi University Teachers’ Federation and associate professor of English at Kirori Mal College, alleged that the notification reflected incompetence in managing the growing number of papers under NEP and raised questions over whether the relaxation could benefit someone with political connections. The university has not responded to either allegation.

This is not the first time DU has quietly eased promotion rules mid-cycle. In November 2025, it decided to promote all 11,000 students in the 2024-25 postgraduate batch, including those who had failed or not appeared for exams, as a one-time measure tied to a curriculum change. The pattern of one-time exemptions, issued without public explanation and after students have already moved into the next semester, is what teachers say is doing the most damage.

Habib further says that

“Transparency and stability of the examination system are an important aspect for a good university. DU is being systemically damaged.”

Image source: flickr.com

Abhishek Goverdhan
[email protected]

Keep Reading

Campus Central

‘Hum Auratein Azaad Hai’: DU Students March to Reclaim Public Spaces

By DU Beat September 26, 2026

A solidarity march demanding safer public spaces for women and gender minorities was held across South Delhi on September 25, with students from Delhi University colleges taking to the streets following the gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl in Astha Kunj Park.

The march remained largely decentralised and student-led with no formal affiliation to any political party. Members of the Collective were, however, also seen participating in the protest. Coordination and communication were primarily carried out through multiple WhatsApp groups.

Students from various Delhi University colleges, along with those from institutions like AIIMS and IIT Delhi, joined the demonstration. The march began near Gargi College and proceeded towards Kamala Nehru College, with protesters raising concerns over women’s safety, inadequate infrastructure and restrictions on women’s access to public spaces. Reports from the protest noted demands for better lighting, security infrastructure and accountability around areas frequently used by students.

Hindustan Times spoke to a student and revealed how they were publicly recorded in a metro, raising questions around privacy and safety. The demonstration unfolded in multiple stages. Students first marched on the road before moving to DDA’s Arun Jaitley Park for a public meeting, where participants discussed the demands being raised by the protest. The gathering later resumed as a night march at around 7 pm, with students returning to the streets as an act of reclaiming public spaces after dark.

The protesters opposed measures that restrict women’s movement in the name of safety. A major point of contention was the reported move to restrict access to parks after sunset, which protesters argued places the responsibility for preventing sexual violence on women rather than addressing perpetrators, policing and inadequate public infrastructure. Moneycontrol reported that protesters also criticised restrictions on women’s access to parks and called for stronger institutional accountability.

The march also expanded the conversation beyond rape to everyday forms of gender-based harassment. Protesters raised concerns about stalking, inappropriate recording of women in public spaces and the lack of adequate lighting and security around college-adjacent areas.

At the public meeting, participants released the “Hum Auratein Azaad Hai Declaration”, a ten-point charter outlining their demands. The declaration calls for street lighting in roads, parks and public spaces, particularly around universities, slums and industrial areas; improved public transportation, including more DTC and shuttle buses and metro passes for women; and functional public toilets and menstrual-health facilities for women and gender minorities.

Speaking to DU Beat, another student emphasised the need to build collective solidarity beyond Delhi University, arguing that the movement should extend to central universities like IITs and AIIMs across the country. “For collective solidarity, this cannot remain limited to Delhi University. Students from central universities across the country should be brought into the movement so that the demand for women’s safety and the right to public spaces becomes a nationwide struggle.”

Beyond immediate security measures, the declaration places women’s safety within wider questions of economic and social freedom. It calls for more hostels and scholarships for women students, greater opportunities for women in STEM and professional fields, equal pay, and investment in public infrastructure such as anganwadis, creches, maternity homes, community kitchens and laundries.

The charter also addresses the treatment of women care workers, calling for recognition and dignity for workers in anganwadis, sanitation, hospitals and domestic work. It further raises concerns over the treatment of sexual violence as a matter of community “izzat” and demands greater accountability for public officials accused of sexual harassment.

Similar marches are scheduled to happen across Delhi University colleges. The protest thus connected the immediate demand for safer streets with a broader demand for women’s freedom to occupy public spaces without restrictions.

Image Credits: Satakshi for DU Beat

Tarunima Tayal

[email protected]

Keep Reading

News

Fire Broke out at Gautam Nagar PG; Resident Alleges Safety Lapses

By DU Beat September 24, 2026

A gas cylinder leak reportedly caused a fire on the fourth floor of Gupta Niwas PG in Gautam Nagar, while a resident alleged fire safety lapses and the removal of videos.

A fire reportedly broke out on the fourth floor of Gupta Niwas paying guest (PG) accommodation in Gautam Nagar, Delhi, on 23 September, following a suspected gas cylinder leak.

According to a resident who spoke to DU Beat on condition of anonymity, the incident occurred between 9 and 10 am. The cause of the fire has not been officially confirmed, and it remains unclear whether anyone was injured. Workers may have been hurt, though this could not be independently verified.

There were allegedly no fire extinguishers near the cooking area, while the building reportedly lacks fire alarms and a proper fire exit. The only rear gate is also allegedly kept closed. It is unclear whether the police were called.

Videos of the fire were recorded by residents of a nearby PG accommodation. The footage was allegedly later removed, with people reportedly being asked to delete it, while burn marks in the affected area had already been painted over.

The warden reportedly did not mention the fire when asked about the incident, while parents of residents were said to have called the PG in large numbers afterwards. The resident expressed concern that the cylinder could have exploded and that the fire could have been far worse in a six-storey building, calling for basic safety measures to be put in place.

Two electrical faults were also reportedly noticed in the days preceding the fire. Burnt wires were allegedly spotted in electrical boards at around 11:45 pm on 21st September and fixed by 2 am. A similar incident reportedly occurred the following day.

At the time of publication, no statement from the PG management, the Delhi Fire Service or the police had been made available.

Image Caption: Gupta Niwas PG in Gautam Nagar in flames of the fire reported on 23 September.

Image Credits: Anonymous

Vidhi Ramchandani

[email protected]

Keep Reading

Campus Central

DU Women’s Colleges Call for Solidarity March to Reclaim the Streets; Hundreds of Women Take Part

By DU Beat September 23, 2026

The back gate area of Lady Shri Ram College For Women, DU, bustled with slogans of “Azaadi” on the evening of 23rd September, with hundreds of women joining the solidarity march that was organised to raise concerns about women’s safety following the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old minor near Aastha Kunj earlier this week.

Around 4PM, on the evening of 23rd September, hundreds of women students from various DU colleges like LSR and Gargi gathered at National Park, near the back gate of Lady Shri Ram College For Women, DU, to lead a solidarity march, raising their voices about concerns of women’s safety in the national capital of the country, especially in and around Delhi University colleges.

Despite several media channels portraying this as a solidarity march organised and participated in only by LSR students, several students present at the march have denied such claims.

“To clarify, this is not an LSR issue; this is an all-women, all-DU issue,” says a student present at the march. “When a curfew is established, it only stops women from going out; it doesn’t hinder the men from committing heinous crimes, like rape,” she further states.

Female students and faculty members from across DU Colleges join the solidarity march

The march was joined in by hundreds of women from multiple DU colleges, making it successful in raising collective concerns about inadequate CCTV surveillance and patrolling in the area, as students state that security concerns had persisted long before the recent incident. Demanding the same, chants of “Azaadi” and “Inquilab Zindabaad” filled the premises of National Park and Moolchand.

Police cars, along with abundant police forces, covered the entire area, ensuring the march remained peaceful and didn’t turn into a public disruption. However, these same police forces were also seen to stop for deliberations and negotiations with the student body regarding which path the march should take or till where they should be allowed to move forward. Despite this, the march did not come to a halt for once.

Police manned with guns observed patrolling the solidarity march

This all-women’s march saw students raising slogans and carrying posters highlighting the need for better security infrastructure around the college and its adjoining areas, as yet another rape incident brought the longstanding demand for women’s safety into focus. The posters that were carried by the students highlighted slogans like, “Moral policing women will not stop rape” and “A woman’s body isn’t a battleground for your power.”

This march is an attempt to reclaim the spaces that are overpowered by men and patriarchal people who have normalised violence against women,”

says a faculty member from LSR who also actively took part in the march.

The march, upon reaching the Pink Booth, which was inaugurated earlier this year in hopes of securing safety for women travelling by the roads nearby leading to Moolchand Metro Station, was met with a long-lasting discussion going back and forth between a few people from the march and the police forces. The spirit of the march was intact, however, as most of the students were seen to sit down, continuing with their loud, energetic chants.

The Pink Booth, though established to make women feel safer, has received heavy scrutiny from students of nearby colleges, especially LSR, ever since its establishment. The concern of the booth being mostly empty has remained a recurring complaint.

The solidarity march however, wasn’t limited just to the students of the nearby colleges. Student organisations like SFI and AISA also joined the march, while parties like ABVP were spotted at the Amar Colony Police Station spreading pamphlets to the police in an attempt to spread awareness.

Line of students spotted demanding basic security and raising concern for women’s safety

This inciting incident comes within days of sexual violence in Bihar’s Jamui district, where two juveniles were hounded by a group of masked men who tried to abduct and molest the girl on camera. NCRB data shows increasing incidents of violence against women, with a crime reported every 71 seconds.

Less than a third of cases reported result in convictions. Despite claims of “Encounter Justice” by many Chief Ministers from the BJP, including Adityanath (UP), Hemanta (Assam), Samrat Chaudhary (Bihar) and Suvendhu Adhikari (WB)—the police being ordered to shoot perpetrators before proving their guilt in courts—the rising numbers show that this has not stopped crimes against women. In fact, the majority of reported crimes are by people known to the survivor. The current regime has also famously celebrated powerful men involved in sexual violence, from Brijbhushan Singh to rapists at Kathua – Unnao – Hathras and IIT BHU, even garlanding Bilkis Bano’s rapists.

The institutional shortcomings are starkly evident in the recurring campus violence and administrative failures in DU. The reinstatement of a professor found guilty of sexual harassment at Ramjas College in 2025, the routine normalization of sexual harassment during college fests at women’s colleges, systemic harassment allegations at Bharati College in 2018, and the aggressive hooliganism and harassment targeting women during DUSU elections reiterate how unsafe university spaces remain for women and gender minorities.

As one of the posters said, “It’s not my fault I crave the night air; it’s your fault you crave taking it away from me.”

This march is not new, nor are the crimes against women. Today, the students of a central university do not feel safe around their own campus; tomorrow, we will hear headlines talking about another case where women do not feel safe inside the four walls of their own house. The perpetual oppression and violence against women have been continuing for centuries, yet the system fails them time and again, compelling them to take to the streets and reclaim spaces that were never supposed to be bound by any ownership.

Chandrani

[email protected]

Image Credits: Nibedita & Sheetal for DU Beat

Keep Reading

Campus Central

HCSA on Dharna; Teachers and Students Confront Hindu College’s Administration

By DU Beat September 23, 2026

The Hindu College Staff Association and students have been holding a dharna since 14th September 2026, demanding accountability from the college administration over alleged procedural violations in supernumerary admissions and a broader pattern of governance concerns.

DU Beat warmly acknowledges Scribe, the Literary Society of Hindu College, whose detailed documentation of the ongoing issue has been an invaluable reference in the reporting of this piece.

Since 14 September 2026, the Hindu College Staff Association (HCSA) and students have been sitting on a dharna on campus. The protest was triggered by alleged procedural violations in the supernumerary quota admission process in August. The association had passed a unanimous vote of No Confidence against Principal Prof. Anju Shrivastava, and in response, the Governing Body issued show-cause notices to three faculty members, including the HCSA President, Secretary and a senior faculty member. The HCSA’s demands include the withdrawal of these notices, accountability for the admissions irregularities, and adherence to statutory governance norms by the administration.

In supernumerary admissions through ECA and sports, the Bulletin of Information states that no single undergraduate programme must have more than 20% of the total supernumerary seats. However, according to Scribe, the Literary Society of Hindu College’s Substack, two courses, B.A. (Honours) Political Science and B.Com (Honours), exceeded the 20% statutory cap for a single course. The society also claims that once the TICs identified the aberration, there were procedural delays from both the Principal and the DU Dean of Admissions in rectifying the issue. The issue was credited to an algorithmic error, which the students claim is mathematically unfeasible. This has also raised questions amongst students as to whether similar irregularities may have occurred previously without detection.

On the final day of the college verification round for admissions, 14 August 2026, the Principal called for an urgent Council Meeting with the Staff Council Secretary, Dr Chandrachur Singh. The Staff Council Secretary proposed convening the next day, adducing statutes demanding a 24-hour formal notice before a meeting. Since the portal closed at 5 pm that day, the list was finalised in breach of the 20% limit. At approximately 7 pm on 14th August, a Google Meet link was circulated on the HCSA WhatsApp group by a faculty member without administrative standing, with around 50 faculty members contacted via private calls. The HCSA Secretary and Convener of Academic Affairs were reportedly not included. The consensus arrived at through this meeting was allegedly used to clear the disputed admission list.

On 18th August 2026, the HCSA convened a general body meeting attended by 80 to 85 members, representing permanent faculty across departments. The meeting concluded with a unanimous vote of no confidence against Principal Prof. Anju Shrivastava. Copies were submitted to the Vice-Chancellor, the Dean of Colleges, and Governing Body Chairman Mr T.C.A. Rangachari.

Chairman Rangachari allegedly publicly stated that he does not recognise the HCSA, a body that has existed for over seventy years. Show-cause notices were subsequently issued to three faculty members, including HCSA President Dr Ratan Lal, Secretary Dr Shankar Kumar, and senior faculty member Dr P.K. Vijayan, for alleged code of conduct violations.

The dharna has witnessed widespread participation, but the students have expressed feeling intimidated by the administration, with non-teaching staff holding up cameras in meetings meant for a dialogue between the Principal and the students.

“The dharna is going pretty strong, with many students coming up every day to support the cause. However, there seems to be a division in interest towards the protest, with many departments boycotting it. There have been alleged calls from the Administration to the parents of the students who are participating in the protest. There have been alleged claims that the professors of some departments are telling students not to take part in it. Nevertheless, the protest has brought forward several important issues, especially the tyrannical behaviour of the administration and the havoc it creates in students’ lives, and it indeed needs to be paid attention to,” a second-year student at Hindu College told DU Beat.

The admissions controversy has brought to the surface a longer-running dispute over governance at Hindu College. Under DU’s Ordinance XVIII, Clause 6(3), the Principal is required to function as “Principal-in-Council” on matters that fall within the Staff Council’s domain; meaning executive decisions on such matters cannot be taken unilaterally. Clause 6(e) of the same ordinance further mandates that the Principal implement all decisions of the Staff Council. According to the HCSA, these provisions have been routinely disregarded. The Staff Council Secretary has, by the association’s account, written over 100 letters to the Principal requesting compliance with statutory requirements, including the convening of mandatory semester meetings and the maintenance of signed minutes on record. The association alleges that these communications have gone largely unacknowledged.

The midnight Google Meet of 14th August is cited by the HCSA as emblematic of this pattern: a meeting convened without statutory notice, bypassing the elected Secretary and Convener of Academic Affairs, and used to generate consent for a decision that the faculty body had not formally deliberated upon.

Students have voiced concerns about the campus environment alongside the faculty’s governance grievances. Annual fees and on-campus hostel charges, according to students, exceed what comparable private paying guest accommodations in the area cost.

Beyond fees, students allege a pattern of administrative overreach into routine aspects of campus life. Women’s washrooms are reportedly locked at 4:00 pm, despite classes running until 4:50 pm. Security personnel allegedly clear the lawns and library at the same hour, effectively restricting student access to common spaces before the academic day has ended.

More seriously, some faculty members have alleged that students have been deployed inside classrooms to covertly record lectures delivered by faculty members associated with the protest, including Dr Ratan Lal and Dr Shankar. The HCSA has described this as an attempt to surveil and intimidate dissenting voices within the institution.

Image Source: Scribe, the Literary Society of Hindu College

Rishika Jain

[email protected]

Keep Reading

DUB News

DUTA Takes Demands to LG, Classes Suspended Across 12 DU Colleges

By DU Beat September 22, 2026

DUTA will hold a Justice March on September 23 over teaching vacancies and the regularisation of long-serving ad-hoc faculty across 12 Delhi government-funded DU colleges.

Classes across 12 Delhi University colleges are expected to be suspended after 10 am on Wednesday, September 23, as the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) will hold a Justice March over the approval of teaching positions and the regularisation of long-serving temporary and ad-hoc faculty.

The march will begin at 10.30 am from Gate No. 1 of the University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Office and proceed towards the Lieutenant Governor’s House. DUTA plans to submit a petition to the Lieutenant Governor, taking its demands beyond the University campus and directly to the Delhi administration.

The association is demanding approval for teaching positions in the 12 Delhi government-funded colleges, along with the immediate initiation of the regularisation and absorption process for teachers who have served on temporary or ad hoc appointments for several years. According to DUTA, the vacancies and continued reliance on temporary appointments have remained a concern for the functioning of these colleges and their teaching staff. In May this year, DUTA raised similar concerns over delays in filling teaching and non-teaching positions across the 12 colleges.

The regularisation of ad hoc faculty has also previously been before the Delhi High Court. In July 2025, the Court ruled in favour of two ad-hoc Assistant Professors seeking regularisation, citing their prolonged service and the circumstances surrounding their appointments. The ruling forms part of the broader legal context around the employment status of teachers who have served for extended periods on temporary appointments.

With DUTA taking its demands to the LG House, Wednesday’s Justice March is set to bring renewed attention to the availability of teaching positions in the 12 colleges and the continued presence of temporary and ad-hoc faculty.

Ahana Dey

[email protected]

Image Source: India Today.com

Keep Reading

Campus Central

Delhi Police and Housing Association Flag 56 PGs in North Campus After Satya Niketan Collapse

By DU Beat September 19, 2026

Delhi Housing Association and Police flag and summon 56 PG owners in North Campus along with documents for security risks and safety hazards.

Post the collapse in Satya Niketan, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been proactive in striking out strict regulations for PGs and other forms of housing accommodations. Delhi Police have served notices to at least 56 paying guest (PG) accommodations in Kamla Nagar, Malka Ganj, and Bungalow Road, directing operators to submit building, fire, and safety records as part of an audit following the Satya Niketan building collapse.

These neighbourhoods are among the most populous student accommodation hubs near the north campus area in North Delhi. These notices were issued by the Roop Nagar Police Station, seeking sanctioned building plans and occupancy records.

According to police officers, this procedure is part of a wider exercise to identify unauthorised constructions, overcrowding and serious safety lapses across these student neighbourhoods. The action follows the collapse of a five-storey PG in Satya Niketan on September 6 that killed seven people, including five DU students.

According to a notice issued by the Station House Officer accessed by The Tribune, PG operators and owners have been asked to summon and present ownership and development records of their accommodations and valid clearances from civic agencies. These include the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Fire Service and Delhi Police.

The notices further seek details of fire-safety arrangements, including fire-safety certificates, firefighting equipment, emergency exits, staircases and escape routes. Under structural and fire safety requirements, police have sought a “valid fire safety certificate/fire NOC”, along with the “sanctioned building plan”, “site/floor plan” and “occupancy/completion certificate”. Operators have also been asked to submit the “latest structural safety/stability certificate, ALL WHEREVER APPLICABLE”.

Currently, the Delhi Police are reviewing and flagging unauthorised modifications and unchecked expansions in student living areas. The notice supports the permission for “any additional floor, basement, mezzanine, room, terrace or other portion being used for accommodation or any other commercial activity”.

For women’s safety, PG owners housing female students in North Campus have been asked to provide details of female caretakers. Where no female warden or caretaker is deployed, the notice requires owners or managers to submit a written declaration identifying the person responsible for safety, assistance and emergency response during each shift. The audit also covers security arrangements, with owners asked to provide details of CCTV cameras and security guards, as well as a “self-attested Xerox copy of the complete Visitor Register for the preceding 15 days”.

As per the notice, Delhi Police has warned that failure to comply with the current conditions could lead to seizure, and civic agencies might seal the accommodations instantly. A police officer familiar with the exercise claimed that a large majority of PG operators in the area lacked the required paperwork.

“About 95% of them do not have the required documents or are not compliant with safety norms. We are going case by case and deciding the course of action.”

The police exercise has carried out a separate pan-Delhi survey by the MCD. The civic body identified 52 dilapidated buildings operating as PGs on the first day of its survey and has so far identified 1,120 PG units housing 20,481 people.

The survey and flagging exercise being undertaken by the housing and security departments of Delhi illustrates the grave underdevelopment and lack of infrastructural wellness in student accommodations across the whole city. Thousands of students live with these fatal security risks every day. With the measures being taken by officials and the government’s promise to create accommodations for 10000 students of Delhi University, students and their potential may finally be relieved.

Image Credits: PTI

Rajarshi Ghosh

[email protected]

Keep Reading

DUB News

Satya Niketan Building Collapse: Seven Dead, Owner Arrested, Supreme Court to Examine Case

By DU Beat September 10, 2026

A five-storey PG, accommodating at least 50 students, collapsed in Satya Niketan on 6th September 2026. A cascade of arrests, demolitions, judicial proceedings, and institutional reckoning over the safety of student housing across the capital follows, with at least 7 people dead.

At around 1:30 pm on Sunday, 6th September 2026, a five-storey building at Property No. P-14, Satya Niketan, South-West Delhi collapsed. The building, operating as a boys’ accommodation under the name “Hostel Daze”, measured approximately 55 square yards and comprised a basement and four floors above ground level. Preliminary material placed before the Supreme Court indicates that construction-related work was being carried out in or around the basement at the time of the collapse, and reports of waterlogging in the basement had emerged immediately before the incident. Seven people died, and at least twelve were rescued and taken to hospital, including the AIIMS Trauma Centre and Safdarjung Hospital. AIIMS confirmed that of the ten patients received at the JPN Trauma Centre, four were dead on arrival, and one who was in a critical state later succumbed to injuries.

The Delhi Police registered an FIR at the South Campus Police Station under Sections 105, 290, and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The building’s owner, 81-year-old Hariram Gupta, along with his 75-year-old wife, Urmila Gupta, is under judicial custody. Their son, Mahesh Gupta, is under police custody. Five South Zone officers, including a Deputy Commissioner and four structural engineers, were suspended for negligence in oversight.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad held demonstrations outside MCD headquarters demanding mandatory structural safety audits for all student accommodations. Some students and family members alleged that the death toll had been underreported, though authorities did not publicly address this claim.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the government was working to draft a policy requiring buildings of a certain age to submit a structural audit report certifying their safety. Delhi Mayor Pravesh Wahi described the collapse as appearing, prima facie, to be an accident linked to negligence and likely substandard construction materials.

A city-wide order was also issued to seal unauthorised structures exceeding four storeys. Across Delhi, a crackdown followed: 24 properties were demolished and seven sealed as part of an MCD enforcement drive.

The matter reached the Supreme Court on 8th September. A bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice R. Mahadevan took up the case after Senior Advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha, Amicus Curiae in an ongoing matter concerning building bye-law violations across the country, sought an early hearing. Sinha’s status report noted that Satya Niketan had not been covered by the Supreme Court’s earlier inspection exercise. Sinha proposed extending the inspection exercise to PG accommodations, private hostels, and student housing establishments across Delhi, covering sanctioned building plans, basement alterations, fire-safety compliance, and structural safety. The Court indicated it may transfer to itself the PIL pending before the Delhi High Court, noting that the issues overlapped with its ongoing pan-India monitoring of building violations.

Separately, the National Human Rights Commission directed authorities to ensure adequate hostel facilities for Delhi University students in light of the incident, underscoring the wider concern that insufficient university-run accommodation pushes students towards unregulated private PGs.

Image Caption: The site of the Satya Niketan building collapse

Image Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap (sourced from The Hindu)

Rishika Jain
[email protected]

Keep Reading

Arts & Culture

When Did Doing Nothing Become So Difficult?

By DU Beat September 8, 2026

“We are less bored than our ancestors were, but we are more afraid of boredom.” ~Bertrand Russell

When was the last time you were truly bored?

Not bored for the three seconds it takes for a video to load, or bored enough to complain before opening Instagram. I mean the kind of boredom where there is genuinely nothing to do. No music playing, no conversation to have, no notifications to check, no screen to scroll through. Just time. For many of us, that kind of boredom has become almost unfamiliar.

The moment there is a gap in our day, we fill it. We scroll while waiting for class, put on music while travelling, watch something while eating, and reach for our phones when a conversation goes quiet. Even sleep has become something that needs background noise. Silence, once something we simply lived with, has become something we are quick to fill. But why?

The usual answer is that technology has shortened our attention spans. Our phones constantly offer us something new, and we have become accustomed to it. But that only explains how we escape boredom, not why we are so desperate to escape it.

We have become accustomed to filling every empty moment, often without questioning why. Perhaps the more interesting question is not why we get bored, but why being left alone with our thoughts can feel so uncomfortable.

The objective was never really to watch something. It was to avoid the feeling of having nothing to watch. But what exactly are we trying to escape when we run from boredom?

Boredom creates an unusual kind of empty space. Without something external demanding our attention, our own thoughts become harder to ignore. An argument with a friend, a pending assignment that you haven’t started working on, loneliness, uncertainty about the future, or maybe an embarrassing incident– basically, everything we regard as ‘overthinking’.

A 2024 study by Katy Y. Y. Tam and Michael Inzlicht revisits this paradox that despite having almost unlimited access to entertainment, people may actually be experiencing more boredom. According to the study, our attempts to escape boredom through digital media may sometimes be making it worse.

Across seven experiments involving 1,223 participants, Tam and Inzlicht found that boredom encouraged people to switch between videos and fast-forward through content. Participants expected this constant switching to make them less bored. Instead, switching often increased boredom while reducing attention, satisfaction and the sense that the content was meaningful.

We scroll because we are bored, but the constant search for something more interesting may be making it harder to become interested in anything at all. And now, we are stuck in a vicious cycle.

This is also evident in the way we consume short-form content. A video takes a few seconds too long to get to the point, so we swipe. The next one is not interesting enough, so we swipe again. Soon, we have moved through twenty pieces of content without really paying attention to any of them.

This does not mean that every person who checks their phone is secretly avoiding their feelings. Nor is distraction inherently harmful. Sometimes we simply want entertainment. But when every moment of silence is immediately filled, we lose the opportunity to find out what happens when we do not fill it.

A 2014 study published in Science explored this discomfort directly. Participants were asked to sit alone in a room for between 6 and 15 minutes with nothing to do except think. The researchers found that many participants struggled with the experience. In one experiment, some even chose to give themselves mild electric shocks rather than remain alone with their thoughts. The findings have since been debated and should not be reduced to the claim that people universally hate their own thoughts, but the study nevertheless demonstrated how difficult unstructured time can be for some people.There is, however, another side to boredom.

When there is nothing immediately demanding our attention, the mind can wander. In a 2014 study, psychologists Sandi Mann and Rebekah Cadman found that participants who completed boring activities subsequently performed better on certain creative tasks. The researchers suggested that daydreaming could partly explain the relationship between boredom and creativity.

Ironically, this is where boredom becomes interesting. It gives us time to observe.

We notice things differently when we are not constantly being given something to look at. A delayed Metro can become an opportunity to notice the people around us. A walk without headphones can make us aware of the sounds of the street. Sitting in a café without immediately reaching for our phones can make us notice the conversations happening around us.

Our phones have trained us to expect constant novelty. The next image is one swipe away. The next song is one tap away. The next video begins before we have even decided whether we want it. Digital media can divide attention and encourage us to keep searching for something more stimulating rather than remaining with what is already in front of us. Tam and Inzlicht’s broader 2024 review argues that digital media may contribute to boredom through divided attention, heightened expectations for stimulation and ineffective attempts to cope with boredom.

We often speak about the need to “pay attention” to art as though attention were simply a switch we could turn on. But attention is also a habit. The ability to notice a small detail in a painting, sit through a long scene or listen to someone without checking a notification depends, in part, on our willingness to stay when there is no immediate reward. A painting does not change every few seconds. A poem may require more than one reading. A slow film may ask us to wait before it gives us anything. A theatre performance demands that we sit in one place and remain present. Even a museum asks something increasingly difficult of us– to stand still and look.

The answer is not to romanticise boredom or declare phones the enemy or move away to the mountains and adopt the life of a monk. Digital entertainment can give us pleasure, connection and rest. The problem is the assumption that every empty moment needs to be filled.

Because some things can only be noticed when we stop looking for the next thing. Boredom is not the absence of attention.Maybe it is where attention begins.

And the next time the Metro is five minutes late, perhaps we could let those five minutes remain empty.

Not because there is nothing to do, but because there might finally be something to see.

Image Credits: Antonio Sortino & Alice Lagarde

Aarushi Chaubey

[email protected]

Keep Reading