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Death of Democracy? Protests at Hindu College as Multiple Student Union Nominations Rejected

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Hindu College

Chaos arose at Hindu College as multiple candidate nominations were rejected for the ongoing Student Union elections. Students are protesting to demand an answer from the administration for the same.

Protests are ongoing at Hindu College amidst its Student Union election procedure, where hundreds of students have staged a hunger strike. This has come as a result of the cancellation of over 30 nominations for the posts of Prime Minister and members of the Central Council at the College, without any explanation from the Principal. The students are demanding transparency from the administration, which has reportedly failed to provide any answers yet.

On September 15, the College released the final list of contesting candidates for the concerned positions. For the post of Prime Minister, only two candidates have been selected. While there are two seats for members of the Central Council, only one candidate has made the list, leaving one seat vacant.

During the nominations, scrutiny did not take place under a witness, and neither is there any video proof to rely on. The selection process has been very arbitrary and the candidates who applied have not been given any updates regarding the reason behind their rejection.

-SFI Hindu via Instagram

The situation is being referred to as “an attack on democracy” by the students, who describe this as the administration’s way of unfairly choosing candidates in order to have more control over the activities of the Student Union.

Posters Circulated on Social Media to Call for Protests in Hindu College
Posters Circulated on Social Media to Call for Protests in Hindu College

On the 15th, protests commenced on the campus. Posters regarding a demonstration outside the principal’s office were spread on social media, and circulating videos showed student activists entering classrooms to talk about the issue.

When we approached the administration to enquire about the rejected nominations, we were told that the principal is on leave and the office shall remain closed. We will be on a hunger strike until we receive an answer from the administration.

-Manoj Jangir, a student whose PM nomination remains cancelled.

Police forces were later deployed on and around campus, where protesters were present. In an interview covered by ‘Delhi Uptodate’, protestors claimed they were baton-charged and said their hunger strike would continue until a justification for cancelled candidatures is received from the Principal.

As of September 16, the situation remains similar. Most classes stood suspended in light of the ongoing protests.

Read also: Protesters Demand Suspension of DRC Principal Dr Savita Roy 

Featured image credits: CNBC News

Arshiya Pathania
[email protected]

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Aina Singh, St. Stephen’s College shares her thoughts on being announced President of college SUS

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This year, St. Stephen’s College did not see the riot of fervent election campaigns or the heated debates at the legendary ‘Open Court.’ When an announcement on the notice board declared Aina Singh of 3rd year, English Honours, as being chosen the President of the Students’ Union Society (SUS) of St. Stephen’s College unopposed, most Stephanians wondered if it might be a prank by the notorious Wodehouse Society of the college. An official declaration made by the Principal cleared the air. Of the five candidates standing for the position of President, four had been disqualified on the basis of having inadequate attendance, leaving Aina as the only eligible candidate. In our conversation with Aina, we find out what’s going on in her mind as she takes on this responsibility.

What are your thoughts about the circumstances under which you have been chosen?

Like most other people, I initially thought this was a prank. Being the only valid candidate was not something I expected as I didn’t even have a campaign for the elections. All I wanted to do was give the voters another alternative to the candidates who were already standing. But as the news is sinking in, it seems strangely satisfying. It feels like an opportunity has been served to me on a platter without me having to fight for it. What scares me the most right now is the resentment and anxiety of the student body since I have not been elected by them. My most daunting responsibility would be to convince the students that the SUS is not unstable just because it isn’t elected.

How do you feel about being the second female SUS President in the history of St. Stephen’s College?

It is important for women to take up posts from where they can make a difference and fight patriarchy in the country. Representation of women is highly significant and much needed. But being a woman President of the SUS is not the be all and end all. That in itself will not solve any problems.

What are the ideas on your agenda for the year?

I hope to focus on sanitation as well as inclusiveness of karamcharis working in college, the differently-abled and women. I also hope to start a conversation on trans-gender students and how they might be included in the life of the college. We, as a college, need to have a conversation about issues such as allotment of residence blocks to trans-gender students. I know my emphasis on equality sounds ambitious, but we will try.

With regard to leadership positions, Aina says that she has never been a part of Students’ Union earlier. “But as long as the ideology is sorted in your head, go ahead, do what you have to do and ignore popular opinion which is usually wrong and unfair,” she signs off.

Image Credits: ststephens.edu

Abhinaya Harigovind

[email protected]

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Campus Central

'The People Tree' at St. Stephens College

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Udit Bhatia (President, Students’ Academic Council) communicated to the students saying that this was their speaking space, because according to him, “we always talk about each other, but hardly ever talk to each other”. At first the students were hesitant to begin. Probably they were contemplating the limits to what all they could discuss here, unaware of the fact that this was one place where anything could be discussed, and it is exactly this potency of ‘no limitations at all’ that granted this discussion a power like no other. The issues which were raised in the discussion were extremely thought provoking. Listing them one by one, the first was regarding the method of induction of students into various college societies. What many people wished to convey was that everyone desirous to join a society needs to be included in it. Once they are a part of the society they need to be rigorously trained by their seniors and final induction should be done depending on whoever has progressed most from the training. However this was soon followed by a dissenting rebuttal which opinion-ed that the widespread training programme was not possible and went on to further uphold the ongoing system. The second issue was regarding the criteria for allocation of hostel residence to students. A couple of students felt that the criteria was unfair and too tough on most of them. But it was accompanied by conflicting opinions as well. The issue which caught everyone’s attention and was unanimously applauded, expressed disapproval of the separate lists which come out during college selections. The names of those who are selected through the general category and the names of those who qualify through the reserved category are stated separately. According to them, this defeats the whole purpose of reservation, which is to instil a sense of oneness among the students, while what separate lists actually do, is create a divide in the minds of students, even before they enter college. A divide which makes them aware of ‘whose entered how’ and a divide which takes expression in the form of the occasional remarks in class, for example, ‘mainey tera naam dekha tha list main,tu toh reserved category se aaya hai’ (I saw your name on a separate list, and I’m well aware of the fact that you come from the reserved category). The discussion later on revolved around extraordinary, with a compelling voice talking about the need for Stephanians to stop pretending to be the ‘elitist of them all’ and accepting the fact that most of the time people from other institutions do land up being better than them. And that they shouldn’t restrict their learning by pretending to know it all. Surprisingly this was the one voice which was followed by consentient approval and the classic ‘amen to that’. The subsequent issue was even more stirring. This voice wished to convey that no one is ever completely apolitical. One only pretends to be apolitical in the veil of apathy. And this epidemic can only be sniffed out of the general sensibility by an initiative taken by the students union to create a ‘thinking and speaking’ space for everyone, so that the voices of those who are more vigilant can help change the mindsets of the so-called apolitical category of people. After some heated discourse, the axis of the whole dialogue shifted towards the way the decisions are taken in the college, with a complaint against the name of the college fest being changed from ‘Harmony’ to ‘Winter Fest’ without there being any voting for the same. The seventh issue focussed on gathering support for putting forward a plea to the college management to allow entry to the Andrews Court. The whole discussion was interspersed with lighter talks as well, with a foreign student sharing his experiences in Stephens. There was even a ‘kebab and chicken’ discussion The whole concept of ‘People Tree’ should be propagated in as many colleges as possible and one can only hope it proves as flawless as the inspiration behind it. Mannat Sandhu [email protected]]]>

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Campus Central

‘The People Tree’ at St. Stephens College

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‘THE PEOPLE TREE, we have no branch’. These were the words written on the piece of paper put up on the dhaba tree right opposite to the Stephens cafeteria on Friday at 1pm. Amidst the clamour of the teachers staff protesting against the principal, the security being tightened as a consequence of the governing body meeting being held on campus and the gentle winds around the cafeteria carrying the aroma of coffee, a group of students from St. Stephens gathered to have what they described as ‘a larger private discussion’. A group of about 40 people assembled under the Dhaba Tree, took turns to stand up on the stone mounting around the tree to give voice to their opinions on a wide array of issues.

Udit Bhatia (President, Students’ Academic Council) communicated to the students saying that this was their speaking space, because according to him, “we always talk about each other, but hardly ever talk to each other”. At first the students were hesitant to begin. Probably they were contemplating the limits to what all they could discuss here, unaware of the fact that this was one place where anything could be discussed, and it is exactly this potency of ‘no limitations at all’ that granted this discussion a power like no other.

The issues which were raised in the discussion were extremely thought provoking. Listing them one by one, the first was regarding the method of induction of students into various college societies. What many people wished to convey was that everyone desirous to join a society needs to be included in it. Once they are a part of the society they need to be rigorously trained by their seniors and final induction should be done depending on whoever has progressed most from the training. However this was soon followed by a dissenting rebuttal which opinion-ed that the widespread training programme was not possible and went on to further uphold the ongoing system.

The second issue was regarding the criteria for allocation of hostel residence to students. A couple of students felt that the criteria was unfair and too tough on most of them. But it was accompanied by conflicting opinions as well.

The issue which caught everyone’s attention and was unanimously applauded, expressed disapproval of the separate lists which come out during college selections. The names of those who are selected through the general category and the names of those who qualify through the reserved category are stated separately. According to them, this defeats the whole purpose of reservation, which is to instil a sense of oneness among the students, while what separate lists actually do, is create a divide in the minds of students, even before they enter college. A divide which makes them aware of ‘whose entered how’ and a divide which takes expression in the form of the occasional remarks in class, for example, ‘mainey tera naam dekha tha list main,tu toh reserved category se aaya hai’ (I saw your name on a separate list, and I’m well aware of the fact that you come from the reserved category).

The discussion later on revolved around extraordinary, with a compelling voice talking about the need for Stephanians to stop pretending to be the ‘elitist of them all’ and accepting the fact that most of the time people from other institutions do land up being better than them. And that they shouldn’t restrict their learning by pretending to know it all. Surprisingly this was the one voice which was followed by consentient approval and the classic ‘amen to that’.

The subsequent issue was even more stirring. This voice wished to convey that no one is ever completely apolitical. One only pretends to be apolitical in the veil of apathy. And this epidemic can only be sniffed out of the general sensibility by an initiative taken by the students union to create a ‘thinking and speaking’ space for everyone, so that the voices of those who are more vigilant can help change the mindsets of the so-called apolitical category of people.

After some heated discourse, the axis of the whole dialogue shifted towards the way the decisions are taken in the college, with a complaint against the name of the college fest being changed from ‘Harmony’ to ‘Winter Fest’ without there being any voting for the same. The seventh issue focussed on gathering support for putting forward a plea to the college management to allow entry to the Andrews Court. The whole discussion was interspersed with lighter talks as well, with a foreign student sharing his experiences in Stephens. There was even a ‘kebab and chicken’ discussion

The whole concept of ‘People Tree’ should be propagated in as many colleges as possible and one can only hope it proves as flawless as the inspiration behind it.

Mannat Sandhu
[email protected]

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