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Dinesh Singh

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If Mr. Dinesh Singh were a Pokémon, he would surely be from the same family as the cumbersome and exponentially lazy Slowpoke. Like his far cuter counterpart, the Vice Chancellor of Delhi University took a while to wake up and realize that he was digging his own grave by not paying heed to any of the furious questions hurtled at him by the agitated youth studying in the capital. With issues such as safety, accommodation, and elections hanging by an incredibly thin thread, Dinesh Singh finally took matters into his own, highly slippery hands and addressed the students on 1st September.

If replying to tricky questions was an art, none could have been better than our beloved Vice Chancellor. Every controversial question was tackled with a diplomatic smile and a not-so-subtle subject change. Since safety was of utmost importance, girls were promised a hostel with free travel facilities as well as the installation of CCTV’s all around the campus. Looks like programmes such as Big Boss are not enough to satisfy the TRP-hungry show producers and their equally bored audience. Next in line is a peek into the lives of the young and frustrated DU Students.

With some great ideas in the pipeline, such as mobile canteens and easy access to Wi-Fi, it is quite a shame that this pipe is similar to Delhi’s sewage line constructed during the colonial times; untouched and never to be modified. Dinesh Singh was obviously daydreaming when he announced that disabled-friendly modes of transport would be provided in the form of DTCs and Metros, forgetting that the college campus itself would still be a nightmare for those facing difficulties. He also seems to have taken Dalrymple’s description of Delhi as the city of Djinns quite seriously, with his strong belief in an invisible hostel that has already been magically constructed for girls in South Campus, in a location that shows it is still clearly under-construction.

If I were bestowed with the honor of being made the Vice Chancellor of DU, I would dye my hair and get a face-lift to make sure my dynamic audience has its eyes glued on me instead of snoring at the back. Then the words that come out all airbrushed from my lips might as well be ignored. While mentioning the proposition that the football teams in DU would be getting a special training in New Zealand, I wouldn’t add the extra advantage being offered to the women’s soccer team being sent free of cost. This hidden information exists for the sole reason that, brilliant though the opportunity sounds, Dinesh Singh conveniently forgot to mention that the facilities for women’s soccer are relatively new and still under development in many colleges. So unless there was a secret agreement between New Zealand and India regarding the exchange of their excess population of sheep in return for female textile workers disguised in soccer cleats and sweat absorbing shorts, It is hard to see how this would boost the morale of rising sport stars without motivating them to train first.

My humble request to our Vice Chancellor would be for him to invest in an expensive hearing aid, so that his ears don’t fail him when questions regarding various important issues are shot at him. However, if I were in his place I would definitely arm myself with a shield, just in case one well-aimed arrow leaves me struggling to form coherent sentences.

 

 

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Kirorimal College

KMC Professors Agitated over Showcause Notices

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The struggle by Kirori Mal College’s students and teachers against the VC and KMC Chairman Baleshwar Rai; and in support of their suspended principal, Dr. Bhim Sen Singh has developed into extensive protest marches and dharnas. The KMC Teachers’ Association has been staging a dharna for two days to oppose the functioning and “authoritarian decision making” of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dinesh Singh. The association issued a statement on Thursday, lamenting the manner in which Prof. Dinesh Singh has been handling the protests and especially showcause of two teachers. They also demanded for an autonomous and impartial body that would decide on the whole suspension issue.

“The DUTA executive condemns the autocratic manner in which the university administration has attacked teachers’ rights to protest, as evident in the case of the letters of the university registrar of 1st August 2012 and, subsequently of the acting Principal of Kirori Mal College to the teachers, denying the right of casual leave,” reads the official statement issued by KMC. DUTA has demanded for withdrawal of the showcause notices against post-holders of the staff-association. It further states the “attack on the staff association is an attack on DUTA. Therefore, DUTA demands immediate withdrawal of showcause notices against office-bearers of the staff association. DUTA shall not tolerate this continuous attack on our right to protest and will resort to direct action unless the letters are withdrawn.”

On being asked the acting Principal Dr. S.P Gupta about the showcause notices that were issued, he said that he had no idea about how all this happened and he did what he was directed to do by the VC. He never meant to suppress and undermine the rights of the Teachers’ Association.

All the teachers and students now require a permission slip to meet the new acting Principal in his office and entry without permission won’t be allowed. Students have not been attending classes as they have been active along with the teachers to stage protests and dharnas. A few students from the hostel were summoned and asked to end their protests and dharnas. There is agitation among students and teachers because the results of some of the university courses have still not been declared, the University recently announced some new fundamentally flawed Meta Courses, the M.A admissions are still not complete (the examinations being in November); and VC Singh is trying to focus on other trivial things like issuing showcause notices to teachers for no rhyme or reason.

 

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Bazinga

Bazinga

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Picture source: hostels247

The students of a boarding school in North Delhi were in for a surprise this Monday when a group of monkeys decided to settle down on the third floor of the boys’ hostel. The students residing in the same building claim that the monkeys had driven out the earlier occupants living on that floor. Incidentally, the floor was occupied by a group of students who caused a lot of inconvenience to their neighbours by partying with loud music at ungodly hours in the night and driving around the campus at high speeds, despite strict rules against the possession of personal vehicles.

When the displaced students were asked to comment, the only response they had to offer was a furious scratching of their heads, while one of them went to the extent of stuffing 5 bananas into his mouth in one go. According to the one of resident teachers, who also happens to be a part-time veterinarian, the monkeys are descendants from a certain clan called ‘Magica Lemuria’ that belongs to the lost enchanted forests of Enid. He claimed that this could be predicted by the length of their fingernails, the peace sign tattooed on their thigh and the way they lick the fur on their head into a particular shape, consisting of a sideways parting. As for the rest of the student community, the relief in the air is palpable as they now enjoy an undisturbed sleep, occasionally broken by the sound of branches breaking and clothes falling from a height.

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Campus Central

Stranded in Powerless Delhi

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Picture source: Reuters   As the sun rose over the country this morning, a large part of North India found itself in the middle of the worst power outage in ten years. Citizens of New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir were left with with no power supply in their homes to carry out day to day activities. Majority of the nation was especially brought to a standstill as all other activities halted due to lack of electricity. Inter- state transport, water supply and public transport faced the brunt of this power cut. In New Delhi, the metro services suffered as stations were locked out and people were left stranded. Looking closely at the plight of DU Students, as the Delhi Metro (an impetus for commuting) had come to an abrupt halt- students had to rely on over- crowded busses, auto rickshaws or cars on Delhi roads, which already happened to be clogged with traffic. Adding to their misery, once the students did make the perilous journey to college they discovered that classes had either been cancelled or postponed. “It was horrible, in fact horrible is an understatement. We were squished in the over crowded bus, a friend of mine was on the verge of crying. We had to get off halfway and take an auto- only to find out that classes had been cancelled.” said Riya Anna Kuruvilla, a first year student from Hindu college who had to travel from Dwarka to North Campus. “I took the metro for granted as I used to travel by it since day one, today I had to take a bus. Being new to this route it was tough for me, but owing to the power cut, I could discover an alternate way of commuting!” Shreya Mudgil, a first year English Hons. student from Bharti College added. Thanks to the prowess of the authorities most of the electricity supply did return soon bringing life back to normal; however the morning was a bit of a jolt to the whole of North India. Deepali Datta a first year student from LSR made an uncanny observation she said, “An interesting side of Delhi emerged today as everybody became everybody’s Google Map, people gave way to pedestrians despite faulty traffic lights. Some students like me, did miss out on the attendance for the first lecture, but the lesson learnt was worth it, nothing can stop a city like Delhi. One grid collapsed but another emerged- the People’s Grid.” A pat on the back to all Delhiites- students, parents, office goers alike- who did made it to their respective duties on time and did not abort any of the city’s activities! And DU students who did manage to get the whole day’s attendance deserve special mention here, don’t they?   Anugrah Gopinath [email protected]]]>

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Campus Central

Defining the To and Fro of Delhi University

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Rickshaws are a common sight at North Campus
The shining ray of hope is, of course, the jam-packed metro service. For all the students situated far away in their northern abode, Vishvavidyalaya station on the yellow line is the portal leading them away from the inconvenience of having to search for a way to get to North campus. Outside the station, hoards of cycle rickshaws stand, waiting to take you to your respective colleges. Shouts of “Rs. 20 only” being interrupted by another enthusiastic rickshaw wala rushing forward to offer you deals such as “Do Savari, Rs. 15” is a promising indication that you can get to your college on time for that dreaded first lesson. Apart from rickshaws, North campus also has a shuttle bus that takes passengers from the Vishvavidyalaya metro station to certain colleges around campus, such as Kirori Mal, Hansraj, Law Faculty and Arts Faculty. It also stops close to Stephen’s, Hindu and Ramjas.
The South Campus is scattered across various parts of Delhi, thus getting to these colleges might require the use of multiple forms of transportation. The good old metro always comes in handy, especially for students living at a distance, such as those in Gurgaon, Noida and the rest of the NCR. For colleges like JMC, getting off at the Race course station on the yellow line is the most feasible option, while its neighbour Venky prefers the AIIMS station as the college is down one straight road. With a little bit of bargaining, one can easily get an auto from any of these stations for 40-50 bucks. For colleges like Kamala Nehru and Gargi, Green Park station is a mere Rs. 25-30 ride away. LSR has Moolchand metro station on the purple line strategically placed behind it, leading to a brisk 7-8 minute walk to the main gate of the college. As for those who are unable to walk or simply lazy, there is no dearth of cycle rickshaws and autos. Bus routes ply all across Delhi too. For example, LSR has a BRT station right opposite its main gate. Various other south campus colleges are also easily accessible by many bus routes, mostly DTC. Bus, metro, auto, or your own vehicle, transportation in Delhi is easy and accessible. Moreover, it gives you a great opportunity to practice your haggling skills before you hit the famous Sarojini, Lajpat and Kamla Nagar markets. So hop on board and savour a memorable ride through your college years!  ]]>

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News

Tibetan DU Students arrested for protesting outside Chinese Embassy

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48 Tibetan students of Delhi University were arrested and sent in custody to Tihar Jail for protesting in front of the Chinese Embassy in Chanakya Puri . The protest was aimed at condemning the human rights violation and Chinese crackdown on Tibetans and culture and religious repression in Tibet.

The 48 students including 19 boys and 29 girls gathered to protest at around 11am on 16th February. The protest lasted for 20 minutes. During the protest, the police carried out a lathi charge, because of which many students got beaten up and one girl was injured and had to be hospitalized. They were all arrested and sent to the Chanakya Puri Police station and around 7pm, they were sent to Tihar Jail. They were released only on the evening of 18th February.

There have been 25 self-immolations since 2009 in Tibet, and most of them wereteenagers. They torched their bodies for the freedom of the Tibetan people and the independence of Tibet (as some of the self-immolators expressly stated). “Even the call by most of the self-immolators for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet must be interpreted as a call for the restoration of an independent Tibet, as the Dalai Lama”, says a Tibetan student in the University.

“The recent self-immolations are a sign of the frustration and outburst of resentment that the Tibetans have suppressed in their heart for more than 50 long years against Chinese communist regime. And the DU students who protested in front of the Chinese embassy wanted to bring forth the message that enough is enough and that the Communist government should stop their inhumane actions which compels the innocent Tibetans back in Tibet to take such drastic steps. It’s a grave time in Tibet and the whole world needs to be awared of the current situation in Tibet. Right now Tibetan parts of China have been put under even tighter security than normal ahead of the Tibetan new year, which falls on February 22nd. Free Tibet”, says Rinzin Choedon, a DU student and coordinator of Delhi Chapter of the Students for a free Tibet.

Students for a Free Tibet, Delhi is a Delhi based network of students working in solidarity with the Tibetans in their struggle for freedom.

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News

Fest triggers stampede at Ramjas

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Friday, February 10, 2012. This date will be marked as one of the darkest pages in the history of  DU. In an incident that is nothing short of frightening, a terrible stampede at Ramjas College injured several students. The college was hosting its annual fest and a certain singer, who goes by the name of Honey Singh, was to perform there at 6.30pm.

At 4pm, the traffic intersection between Delhi School of Economics and Ramjas was in a state of complete chaos with police vans speeding towards Ramjas from all sides. The rumours and panic that spread among the students who were on the road at that time, did little to help the already grave situation. The speculations soon became wild and reached all the way to Vishwavidyalaya metro station where stories of a possible death were doing the rounds.

Fortunately, there have been no reports to indicate that any lives were lost. However, a girl (rumoured to be a student of Dyal Singh College) allegedly fell in the stampede and was so severely injured by the rushing crowd that she had to be admitted to a hospital and is still in ICU. “ It was a nightmare, there is no other way to explain it. I regretted going there so badly that I was almost in tears,” said a student on the condition of anonymity.

The college authorities are underplaying the incident because the blame for the entire fiasco is being pinned on them. Students were initially entering one by one in an orderly fashion when the college decided to throw the gates open to make their job simpler. “ We decided to open the gates at 3pm because a very large crowd had already gathered by then. A girl felt slightly uncomfortable and was rushed to a hospital,” said the Principal of the college.

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Campus Central

Students petition against semester system

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Agonized by the conditions imposed by the semester system, a group of third year students of University have initiated an online petition to protest against the system. The campaign was started by two DU students, Ankita Rastogi and Shefail Saini.

The demands written in the petition include: Continue the system of re-evaluation and rechecking of exam papers; Any academic reform should start from evaluation of the existing annual system, its benefits and weaknesses and to devise a system which specifically redresses those weaknesses, Keeping the interest of students and teachers in mind. Whether the solution will emerge from within the annual system or a different one (semester/trimester etc) cannot be pre-decided; Ensure a sustained improvement in infrastructure and share the details with teachers and students and show transparency; Improve infrastructure and student teacher relationships to ensure that dreams of lakhs of students who come to DU every year and create an efficient education system in the varsity.

The petition, compiled and posted on the internet just before the first semester exams kicked off, has received about 107 signatures so far. The number might be small but the students behind it are still hopeful to get more support. Talking about the reason behind such a response of the students, Ankita Rastogi from SRCC, the student who’s leading the campaign, says, “The response from students has been decent considering their brief stay in the University. The petition was uploaded just before the first semester exam due to which students were not quite aware of it, post that there were holidays during which the petition got the bulk of its support. But then the first semester results doused the petition since the students were overwhelmed by their inflated marks. The results made the semesters so attractive to everyone that students under the annual mode regretted not being under the semester system, totally ignoring the cutthroat competition this is going to create amongst students. Besides, such inflation of marks indicates the foul play the university has indulged in to push through the semester system smoothly, how else can you explain 99% marks in Economics and that approximately 20% students in the University have secured above 95%? If we assume the checking has been efficient and correct, then why were the question-papers sub-standard?”

The fact that the petition has been compiled by a group of third year students who do not even have to bear the system sounds surprising. But that’s where they decided to take up the responsibility so that students don’t have to bear the brunt in their fifth semester. She states, “The reason why we consider it our responsibility to oppose a system we are not under is because we’re able to see that the University is getting away with all the illegalities it is involved in due to the fact that the student fraternity is unaware, fragmented and self-involved. The time by when all students will realize the ill effects of the system it might be too late to do anything. Therefore we consider it important to stir students out of their ignorance so as to create solidarity against a system that may not benefit them in their future. But the reason that made me prepare a petition before my exams was that perhaps by the time students begin having problems with this system they will be rendered absolutely helpless.”

“In their fifth semester, when students will be preparing for entrance exams, that will clash with their semester exams. Would they be able to sacrifice an entire semester in a system of such strong meritocracy? What will students do when in subsequent semesters the course load increases and they are not awarded marks generously and they don’t have the option of re-evaluation with them?”, she questions.

Their next step would be to officially submit the petition to the Vice Chancellor of the University, after they have gathered enough support. They also plan to file it in court if the University fails to deliver. “The whole objective of this petition is to roll back the system till the University brings in a well thought out, democratic and transparent semester system,” she adds.

 

Here’s the link to the online petition:

http://www.change.org/petitions/the-vice-chancellor-university-of-delhi-roll-back-the-semester-system

 

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Uncategorized

Rural fellowship ruling the roost

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With the whole campus shifting its focus to the global scenario: international internships, foreign exchange programmes, internships with MNCs et al doing the rounds, a rural fellowship programme is quick to turn a few heads and raise a curious eye.

Poultry and pastures are perhaps the first thing that would come to ones mind when asked to define the term ‘rural’. However,a rural fellowship and the projects associated with it venture much deeper. Rural fellowships give you a chance to explore as well as study rural India in actuality. Also, the fellows are given an opportunity to work on the various issues directly concerning the particular region assigned to them. These projects generally address a range of issues  from microfinance, education, health and sanitation to child labour and agriculture .

What makes this programme so unique from is that one gets a first hand experience: instead of working on the issue from the comfort of your air conditioned room like any other ordinary work, you will the get the opportunity to reside with your host NGO in the village itself and work and live with the people, like the people, and study the problems of rural economy upfront.

iVolunteer India, in partnership with Sir Ratan Tata’s Trust, selects up to 20 students every year to go for a youth fellowship programme for six weeks to villages across the  country. The primary aim of all the fellows is to help make a difference in rural India by virtue of their talent and education.  As part of this year’s recently held fellowship programme, students from all over the varsity including colleges like Kirori mal college, Sri Venkateswara College St. Stephens. ,worked on  a variety of projects such as child rights in Dehradun ,microfinance and livelihood, Shubhangi Shukla from Miranda House is still helping to promote art as a subject in the region of Kumaon where they children have never seen a set of crayons in their life. States Udisha Saklani, a second year student of St. Stephens who worked in on a water and sanitation project in Uttarakhand, “This exposure should be mandatory for every student, as it helps you both on a personal and professional level and sensitizes you towards bigger, more real issues that apparently sixty percent of our economy suffers from. This fellowship helped me become aware of the same.” Deepti Khera, a mass communication student from Mumbai worked in the village of Kolwan, Pune with autistic and schizophrenic people. “It was a life changing experience. I initially felt odd living with the special friends 24/7. I was also hit by an autistic person. But I realized how much more sensitive these special people are than us. “, she says. The fellowship also further inspired her to get into rural reporting. Also, her experience helped her gain admission in one of the top five mass communication institutes of India. Thus, one cannot deny that a rural fellowship does wonders for your CV., especially if seeking a scholarship in universities abroad.

For those dynamic ones ready to sample India for what it really is, rural fellowships are an excellent avenue providing a zing to your resume and an opportunity to do something meaningful with your time.

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Stephen’s Fee Melee

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Disputes abound over proposed Fee Hike

The College Governing Body of St. Stephen’s College ratified the recommendations of the College Finance Committee which suggested a 40%- 57% increase in the fees, with effect from the current academic session, 2009-10. This move by the governing body has met with stiff resistance from several students, who consider the steep hike highly unwarranted.

The students have chosen to make a visible protest against the hike in fees by sporting black arm bands. A Third year student of the college says, “The magnitude of the fee hike is the problem here. A 10-15% increase in the fees would have been reasonable, but a 50% fee hike is outrageous. This may not affect the majority of the students, but we also need to keep in mind the people who will be seriously affected. We have to consider the students who will not be able to pay the raised fees and so we must protest against this unfair step.”

However, some teachers choose to take a different stand on the issue. Mr. Shankaran, a professor in the college says, “Several colleges like Khalsa College and Sri Vivekananda College have external funding from their respective affiliated institutions. However, the church which we are affiliated to, the Church of North India, does not provide us with funds. We are running a huge deficit and the situation is so bad, that we do not have enough funds to maintain day-to-day activities. We need to increase the fee so that the college can run smoothly and the infrastructure of the college can be maintained.”

Several representatives of students have had meetings with the bursar and the principal in order to clarify the reasons behind the fee hike and request them to reduce the amount incremented. The Bursar, Mr. Raghunathan, has therefore circulated a written explanation among the students giving reasons as to why the fee hike is justified.

The circular says that the increase in the fee is required simply because over the years costs have gone up while the fee has remained unchanged. The circular cites the example of the increasing price of books for the library, thus necessitating an increase in the library fee. Costs of scientific equipment too have seen a rise, resulting in a hike in the ‘Science Facility fee’. The ‘Student Aid Fund’ to help needy students has also been augmented while a ‘Development fund’ has been set up to help in the acquisition of more lecture and tutorial rooms and better laboratory facilities. The ‘Residence Fund’ of the college which is used to pay for salaries of the garden staff, security staff and mess staff and which is not covered by the UGC grant is also suffering a deficit which needs to be addressed. Moreover, the college has to pay the arrears of salary according to the VI th Pay Commission’s recommendations.

All this results in the minimum anticipated deficit to be over Rs 45 Lakhs and the situation is only expected to worsen during the course of this academic session. Says the bursar, “If the University undergraduate tuition fee is raised to Rs 100 a month, you can either choose to look upon it as a more reasonable amount than the original laughably small sum of Rs 15 per month, or you can choose to see it as more than a 600% fee hike. So what one needs to think of is the resulting total, rather than the amount by which the fee has been increased.”

Some students agree with the bursar. A Second year student says, “I don’t mind the increase in the fee since DU fees are in any case ridiculously low and moreover most kids are easily capable of paying the new fee, even if it means making a tiny compromise in the shopping department.”

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