LSR’s Hindi Debsoc held its Annual Hindi Parliamentary Debate informally outside the college after it got cancelled by the administration a few hours before the scheduled time of the event.
Tarkvyuh, the Annual Parliamentary Debate organized by Vaktritva, the Hindi Debating Society of Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) was all set to take place on 18thand 19thFebruary 2020, when it was cancelled by the administration, on the night of 17thFebruary 2020.
The team hosted the event in an informal manner outside the college premises. While the preliminary rounds of the competition were held in Lodhi Garden near the college, the quarters, semifinal and final rounds took place at the LSR back gate. In a WhatsApp forward being circulated within the college groups, Vaktritva, the Hindi Debating Society stated reasons for the same. It says that they had to conduct the event in such a way to avoid compromising with their debating space.
According to the text, the administration had asked them to put the college teachers as judges instead of the adjudicators that they had chosen. The coordinators tried to explain that subject specific knowledge is not the only criteria of judgement in a parliamentary debate and that adjudication requires training and experience. However, the administration was adamant on their demand and the only alternative provided to the organizers was to cancel their event. The team mentions, “In a space which is for debate, discussions and exchange of ideas with students, accepting these arbitrary options without proper reasoning did not seem right to us.”
Allegedly the administration wanted to have scrutiny over the kind of motions being debated upon and when the event was taking place unofficially, representatives of the administration had forced the students to take down the name of the college or society citing copyright issues. Such interference is threatening to the liberal spaces that any educational institution upholds and the intentions seem tyrannical.
The coordinators and the members of Vaktritva have refused to offer any comments to DU Beat at this point, citing discomfort for the same. DU Beat reached out to the administration for their statement, but is yet to receive an official response from their end. This report will be updated as and when the parties comment.
Image Credits: Lady Shri Ram College for Women Website