THE SHANTEA TIMES ISSUE II, ELECTION SPECIAL THE … · scenario of our class was really bad as the...

THE SHANTEA TIMES

She saw a grey building further down the road.

Skeptical about the new place, she stepped in as

the gates opened. Her father gave her a

reassuring smile, as he held her hand. It was

going to be her home for the next five years and

as she scrutinized the building, the flooring, the

people and everything around her, she began to

get a weird feel. Something was different.˝

But, what she did not know, She wasn't the only

one. There were others, who shared the same

feeling. Another hundred who'd left home and

come so far.˝

There's something serene about the lake, the tea

stall, the trees. There's something friendly about

the football field, the cricket pitch, the basketball

courts, the badminton courts and obviously the

two hostels: where most friendships originate,

inculcate and even die. There's something

awestrucking about the parliamentary structure

of the main block, the green amphitheater, the

new building. There's some soul in the cafeteria,

the lakeside stairs, the picnic spots and even the

main roads. ˝

Hence, Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The

rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the

square holes. The ones who see things

differently.˝

ISSUE II, ELECTION SPECIAL

THE SHANTEA TIMES ISSUE II, ELECTION SPECIAL

Leaving behind home, dad, friends and her city

was hard. Here she was a complete stranger. Lost

in a world of her own. As she left for her new

journey, someone said to her "When you find a

friend, hang on."

Two years down the line, she looked back to see

what she gained. Surprisingly, she got a number

of people she could count upon. Some had been

there from the beginning, and some came in

later. But all of them, made her feel special.

There were kids, mature adults and some

exactly like her - indecisive. There were times

when everyone fought with everyone. There were

times when they all laughed together and cried

together. With every incident, the bonds only

strengthened and there was no looking back. ˝

The Grey building had changed colour, it was

now brown. Did people change the same way? she

thought as she sat by the lakeside. They did, she

realized. But it wasn't always bad. We changed

for good. Strong. Confident. Smart. Some ass

kicking individuals.˝

With this, I welcome you to the second edition of

our newsletter. For days now, Shanti has been

bubbling with proposed candidates, the glowing

faces of elected members and the talks of a

rainbow just discovered, a regained faith in the

sunlight and a new found tide to change. This

new addition to our chai, is what this edition of

Shantea is all about.

Everywhere and with everyday, they grow,

individually and together and forever they'll be

indebted to each other for that. It is the people

around who make all the difference in the world,

it is them to who we owe what we learn, for we

may not be perfect,but there is something in this

place that drives us to that. About the only thing

you can't do is ignore them. Because they change

things. They push the human race forward. ˝

NOW TRENDING (O RLY?) Ananya Mahapatra Diwas !Ananya Mahapatra Diwas was celebrated to felicitate the help staff of our University. The same persons, who keep our rooms clean, guard us day and night and the ones who ensure our daily meals. As a token of appreciation, slippers, sweaters and lunch boxes were given to them. The clean-tech staff isn't given food at our mess. The food for our security staff is rationed and not forgetting the humiliating condition in which the guards of our University sleep. They do this while working 2-3 shifts inside and outside the campus. The relative conditions of our Mess staff have improved since the last Ananya Mahapatra Divas, where we highlighted their abysmal living conditions. We believe there is a huge scope of improvement in the working conditions of our support staff. We will try and create avenues for helping them. Ideas regarding the same are invited.˝

!Janmashtami !

!

“It was a very political atmosphere. The scenario of our class was really bad as the guys had unity amongst themselves and the girls had none. All of the girls wanted to win which had a detrimental result as 12 guys won and only 1 girl was elected as the class representatives from our class. Hazra Sir who was conducting elections in our class also made a sarcastic remark after seeing the situation.”

-Shrivalli Ghosh (Sem I)

!“The elections were very mismanaged. The people here didn’t vote on the basis of merit but on the basis of popularity. The people who have bigger friends circle and who are authoritative had an edge over he elections. Further I expect that after the new SBA, red tapism be avoided.”

-Purvi Lhila (Sem III)

!“I think they were something which was needed for the college to have adequate student representation in important affairs and hope that elections happen regular ly henceforth"

-Tejas Mundley (Sem III)

!“While the elections will finally result in a politically conscious student body, it has managed to fracture relationships and expose the ugly sides of every power hungry individual on campus”

- Gokul Gopakumar (Sem III)


Celebrated with fun and frolic, the students of HNLU witnessed yet another fantastic Dahi Handi celebration. This festival is celebrated usually by making a human pyramid and breaking the earthen

pots filled with curd. The boys' hostel witnessed such

a pyramid. Also, the basketball court was decorated with many painted pots by a handful number of volunteers without whom the work would have been impossible. Boys and girls blind-folded were trying to break the matkas with a stick. The dhol gang added to the festive mood and the students were at their best.˝

!Ganesh Chaturthi

The Visarjan started at 11 am and it extended till 2 pm. People gathered in tremendous numbers irrespective of the scorching heat to pray and cherish the birth of Lord Ganesha. Though the number of students in the hostel was a handful, most of them made it to the celebrations. It was a bliss to see people of all religion coming together to share the warmth of oneness. The idea of festivals is to bring everybody together to forget the differences and to share the goodness of scriptures to all. The ladoos were the highlight of the event and yes we love sweets.˝

Teacher’s Day

“64 acres campus is all you need to witness the most crazy political scenario ever.”

- Romit Raj (Sem III)

!“Elections this time were pretty shallow. People took risks on their relationships and friendships on these baseless elections wherein after 2-3 months people will not even remember who won from the class. There was too much of politics. I had to be a part of this politics as being diplomatic is the only way to survive here. I am happy that the President and Vice President are from diverse fields and if right amount of authority and responsibility given to them, they could do really well.”

- Samiksha Singh (Sem III)

!"I'm really happy that they happened

and the elected members are doing really well as is evident from the improvement in the mess food, and now the LnD week."

-Vaibhav Sharma (Sem III)

!"These elections upheld the true values

of democracy and projected the practical facets and aspects of a democratic election"

Abhinav Hansa, 1st year

!


The teacher’s day celebrations at the Hidayatullah National Law University were held on 8th September, 2015. Like the usual tradition, the first years have indeed put in a lot of effort and time to make this day look blissful. The day started with the cake cutting by our honorable Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Sukhpal Singh. The Cultural activities kick started and various forms of performances like dance, singing, poetry, group singing and band performances made the audience sit back, relax and enjoy the evening. The highlight of the day was the street play group who blew the stage with their explosive social theme based on humanity. The day was filled with entertaining performances and it was a good opportunity for the first years to display their talent to the rest of the college.

noor…OP-ED

Realistic Idealism: Roald Dahl -PRAGYA SINGH

!Wonka: "Don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted."Charlie Bucket: "What happened?"Mr. Wonka: "He lived happily ever after.”˝Mr. Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ˝!Roald Dahl has been enlisted as one of the greatest children’s authors of the 20th century. Roald Dahl stands out in the sea of dream weaving stories, because of his unabashed, unapologetic approach towards addressing the gross, dirty and extremely natural sensibilities children possess. His works are essentially representative of a bipartite division between Modernism and Post Modernism- so says Wikipedia. But really, understanding literary movements is not a cause enough to pick up Matilda or The BFG. There is such a grotesque exterior in his writing, and he seems to be rather deliberate with this grotesque-ness. He in all earnestness tells us repeatedly that ‘Yes, human beings are a little disgusting in their ways’. There are BAD and GOOD adults everywhere. In his techniques of awe inducements he makes peaches massive and good boys turn into mice. Appearances constantly change. This change induces amazement. But the consistency in interior goodness leads to a happy ending. ˝

!

!


transformations. Some will be trivial and others tumultuous, but in the end they’ll know that if there is something that will remain constant, it is empathy- whichever version of it is generated under the given circumstances. His unsentimental approach trivializes dark material truths. While the things he is creating an awareness of (giants, cruel mothers etc.) may be damaging truths for the sensitive minds, his trivialization of these truths in a humorous fashion signals to the kids that such things are waiting for them out there in the real world. One of the most important reasons to read Dahl is that he does not underestimate his readers. He does not consider children too foolish to understand Telekinesis. Also, he propels kids into understanding, that you can work your way around things to turn the debilitating circumstances in your favor. Yes, he is a bit too violent at times. His light hearted presentation of depressing violence accustoms readers to this violence. ˝

Isn’t this exactly what we want our children to grow up to understand? They are going to have to see through so many changes and

Children’s literature happens to undoubtedly be one of the most challenging genres to select from and read. This challenge posed, is particularly daunting not only due to the availability of an ever multiplying variety in the collections of works, but also due to the fact that the onus of creating an initial ‘ideology’ for the child is in the hands of the adult. The impressionable age at which most children’s books are consumed is one of the most vulnerable mental phases in a human being’s life. By choosing some sugar-coated fairytale, an identity crisis on a sub-conscious level is what we eventually end up pushing our children into when they deal with the grimy little shit that life really is. ˝

Roald Dahl works on archetypes, just like the evil queen and the charming prince. However, unlike these archetypes, his, are not prone to obligations due to the category of the archetype they fall into. Anybody and everybody can act out of character in Dahl’s world. Dahl unashamedly embraces the unpredictability and uniqueness in human nature, be it the ‘good’ or the ‘bad’ ones. No qualities are attributed to individuals based on the group they fall into. Isn’t this exact eradication of stereotyping what we seek to attain in the ideal citizens we want to mould our children into?˝

Wait a minute, but what in the world is the utility of children’s literature in your life? Why should you put down *whatever the heck you’re reading* and pick up Matilda or BFG? Because somewhere along the road of “adulthood” we have forgotten what true valor is. We have forgotten what it means to be truthful and kind and truly good. We have forgotten the life lessons that these so called “fairytales” held in them. We have pushed them so far into our brains that, maybe we need to read the good old classics again to understand the basic difference between good and bad, moral and immoral.˝

The Missing Sphere -SANJEEV MENON

T h e H i d a y a t u l l a h N a t i o n a l L a w University that I first walked into was a shabby piece of undeveloped and isolated lump, mounted uncannily by three or four concrete structures spaced quite far apart. The only facet of it that amazed me was the majestic size of Parliament-like Academic Block standing there quite royally in the midst of sand and weed. There were no roads, no boundary walls (I in fact presumed the Lake and surrounding lands to be part of the College) and dilapidating were the walls whose paint was fading away and being replaced by patches of green and black (Which hardly went along with the blue and white with which the walls were originally painted). ˝

Life in the College over the first month or so was quite active- there were the ragging s e s s i o n s , t h e s o c i a l i z i n g a n d t h e wanderings as a part of the eager and enthusiastic effort of learning the place and its surrounding. And then the activity and fun dropped quite remarkably; life slowly turned into a grinding monotony. ˝

T h e H i d a y a t u l l a h N a t i o n a l L a w University of today has come a long way forward from my first month. The campus is quite briskly in the path of turning into a concrete jungle with about 10-15 buildings already in place and a couple being added every Semester. Buildings dazzle with shiny and bright new paint (except for the New-boys hostel which is exclusively for the first years. Poor Kids!!). There are Roads, Grounds for Cricket, football, basketball and tennis, a drainage system and plenty of other essentials; all of which contributing to the decent


infrastructure the University can currently boast o f quite proudly . Besides the infrastructure, we have active cultural, debating, quizzing and sports groups that regularly organize events and leagues, through which the University witnesses immense activity on a daily basis. ˝

While the positive changes are quite heartily welcomed, they can’t be grounds to turn a blind eye and not act upon the negative ones. While there can a whole bunch of them that can be listed, it’s one specific change that’s worrying me the most and will thereby be the focus of my exposition. ˝

Three years before I joined, the University saw a strike held by the student body which resulted in the resignation of a Vice-Chancellor and eventually the change of campus to the location it’s currently housed at. Some of the major proponents and participants of that Strike were in the advanced years of their law course at the time I joined. Because of their presence, their experience and the culture they’d inducted through their years in the College, the

presence of strong and vibrant political traditions in the student body could be felt. ˝

The last elections to the student body was held in 2012; after the academic year of 2012-2013, the student body has been dysfunctional, with certain students (backed by good-intentions and motivated by functional needs) having taken up the responsibility of performing certain fundamental funct ions tradi t ional ly performed by members of the Student Body (representing the students and student-interests in the administration, undertaking m o o t c o u r t c o m p e t i t i o n s r e l a t e d responsibility etc.). I will refrain from going into the causes or hinting at possible underlying ulterior motives behind the dismantling of the Student Body, but I will mention that this lack of a Student Body has lead to the weakening of the voice of students, an absence in platforms to hear and attend to students’ needs and concerns and a collapse in the United Front of the Students or the possibility for its revival and existence. ˝

The need for a Students’ Body

Students of a University, form a separate group with rights and interests and duties and responsibilities attaching to the group as a whole. They’re identified as a single body and that body consisting of the entire Student Population, is a major consideration in the policy formulating and decision-making process of the University as their rights and duties, in some way or the other, get affected through them. In fact, since the primary purpose of the University itself is for the benefit of that body, any such policy or decision is being made with a final aim of benefiting the students.˝

!


W h e r e t h e r i g h t s a n d obligations of Students are being discussed, it is quint-essential that the Students’ be represented. It is for this reason that Institutions have Students’ Body. The idea of an administrative b o d y i n a d e m o c r a t i c country making decisions that affect the rights and interests of an entire group without consulting them or making them a part of the decision making process takes my mind to a zoo, where the zoo authority makes decides on the food a n d s h e l t e r o f l i v i n g inmates, without their consent, although many such decisions maybe made for the betterment of the animals and the society as a whole. As the Students of t h e U n i v e r s i t y a r e n ’ t animals who belong to the zoo or forests, are free living beings who aren’t being contained for any wrongs done by them like convicted criminals and are in-fact in an institution whose status as a premier institution largely depends on their benefit and development, the students must play a fair role in the policy and decision making process of the University and must have a reasonable platform to consider and address

them, along with other concerns of theirs. ˝

I addressed the issue of r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n t h e U n i v e r s i t y ’ s d e c i s i o n m a k i n g p r o c e s s f i r s t because the same can solve a lot of problems that the Students currently face. ˝

Another important cause for the need of a Students’ body is the necessity for a United Front for the students. W h i l e t h e r e m a y b e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n students over individual issues, a platform to discuss them and a body receiving the support of the entire Student Population would strengthen the Students’ cause, interests and power. The students would then be a force to reckon with and therefore their demands and interests would necessarily have to be considered by higher authorities.˝

Further, with a powerful Students’ body moves can be taken for the cause of t r a n s p a r e n c y a n d a c c o u n t a b i l i t y i n t h e administrative process. Student bodies are supplied with a lot of essential information and are further empowered by the students to fetch for information and in light of the backing of the entire Student Population, it

becomes hard to deny the demand for information when asked by the Students’ Body. ˝

All of the above causes would be able to see their effectual end due to the possibility of collective action involving the whole of the Student Population. T h e l a c k a t h r e a t o f collective action involving the whole of the Student Population is what has emboldened certain heads to function the way they have. The lack of a Student Body or a United Front of the S t u d e n t s m a k e s i t impossible to orchestrate mass collective acts, as such a body/front is required for the mobilization related to and organization of any such collective acts. And due to the impossibility of such collective action, it becomes easy to take arbitrary action and follow that up with the quelling of individuals and small groups.˝

Suppose there is no mess food served to the students on one random day. Some will complain, a few others will end up wasting their energies in yelling or in a verbal a l tercat ion and everyone who can afford it will buy food from some other source. The next day,


food will be served at the mess, things will get back to normal and soon people will forget about that one odd day. Consider this turning into a regular affair, where the mess refuses to serve food every second or third day. The frustrations will lead to a small group ending up with a verbal altercation with a powerful authority. The members of the small g r o u p w i l l r e c e i v e a suspension and soon, the Student Population will accept that phenomenon as a part of their lives in the University, crib about it frequently and live on and all of this with the powerful a u t h o r i t y h o l d i n g a n d maintaining a humane face and reason the entire while (even if the same might be hard to buy). This is just a p o s s i b i l i t y a n d t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f i t s consequences formulated within the four walls of my mind. This might not be an exact match with reality. But anyone and everyone who’s observed or been exposed to the functioning of the University over the last couple of years, can use this example as an analogy to many things that’ve actually occurred and would further be able to imagine many other examples of the

injustices being meted out or looming large at the b r i n k o f t h e d o o r s t e p towards the future and the helplessness of the students facing them. The situation would be totally different with a powerful Students’ B o d y m o n i t o r i n g t h e f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e University and working for the benefit of the Students. There would be discussions with concerned authorities, wherein the presence of the r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e Students would be taken seriously. On the failure of Justice, there is always the t h r e a t o f l e g a l a n d reasonable collective action. ˝

A n o t h e r n e e d f o r a Students’ body is that only with its presence can a legitimate and practical claim for transfer of certain powers of the University to the Students be made. This is because there would be a real and functioning body taking the responsibility and thereby the rights and duties of any such transfer would vest upon a specific and identified individual or set of individuals whose claim to such power cannot be questioned. ˝

Finally, if the Student P o p u l a t i o n h a s t o b e represented outside the

University, a Student Body a n d S t u d e n t ’ s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a r e necessarily required. A representative would gain legitimacy in the eyes of anyone outside the College only if he belongs to the Students’ body as such membership to the body is viewed as (in fact is) the a u t h o r i z a t i o n o f s u c h representative to act on behalf of and for the benefit o f t h e e n t i r e S t u d e n t Population.˝

I’ve listed out a number of reasons for why we (or r a t h e r u n i v e r s i t i e s generally) require an active and functioning students’ body. There might be many more- but these appear to me to be the most pertinent for Hidayatullah National Law University at this point and I believe establish why it’s imminent that we have a Representative body for the Student Population.˝

Possible Future Courses of Action

Firstly, I believe, we must bring

back the practice of conducting

and attending General Body

Meetings (meetings of the entire

Student Population). A constant

organization of the same would

by itself substantially give the


Students’ Collective far wider powers and would also lead to authorities lending a far larger ear to the students than they do now. ˝

Demands for conducting a Student Body election must be vehemently pressed from various quarters of the Student Population. The Student Population could meet at a General Body Meeting to decide on a deadline within which the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c a n b e d e m a n d e d t o c o n d u c t elections to the Student B o d y a n d p l a n s a n d arrangement for fair and neutral informal elections for representatives can be made in preparation for the contingency of the failure of the authorities to conduct elections.˝

Once there is a set of representatives elected by the students, even if the same happens to be through an informal election and thereby the representatives d o n ’ t e n j o y o f f i c i a l r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e University, they would continue to remain the r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e students and there would s t i l l b e t h e t h r e a t o f collective action.˝

Finally, It would be a great step if a portion of this n e w s l e t t e r c o u l d b e dedicated to college policy and politics related subjects a n d a l s o t o w a r d s t h e creation of a platform through which student concerns and issues can be raised. Journalism is a very powerful tool to bring about positive and revolutionary changes in a given society. It’s very pleasing to see the University stepping into the foray of its own Journalistic space. Hope it contributes to the growth of the University and the benefit of the Students of today and tomorrow.˝

Amarkantak - Life Unseen By Many

-SANJAY SUGUMARAN

!!!!!In haste, we set to touch the woods and take a shower

An unplanned ride it was, to taste the disappearing mother

Reached to dwell by a movable so ancient

What a bliss it is to swell in the fragrance of winter

Teardrops of love, flow so pure and calm

Our dirt we cleanse, with no soap but the force

Narmada they said, in devotion and faith overwhelm

Concrete souls we were, till she dissolved our pride

!Look, ‘O’ works of our men of art and knowledge

Weak we appear with no hands of stone and brain so manual

Such pleasure she gave by revealing her pure self from above

Our eyes wandered and broke our stagnant desires

!Then we breathed the smell of joy and slumber

The rains have brought our stay to recognize our concrete self

Moved we there to return to the plastics we made

Slept so sound in the temple of dwell we paid

!Early we rise to see the dwell of our declining tigers

Stuck inside with no way to recognize our race

Like a savior came another movable so ancient

Carried our souls with oil to feed what we made

Approached to a city so similar but new

Left we to the closest of way to smell home

The rails then smoked its first cigarette

We cried to wave back to our race so concrete.


BEEN THERE, WON THAT1.What was the motivation behind standing for the presidency?

I would start by saying, thanks a lot. I’m humbled. First interview you see. My mother would be very happy. Although I doubt if it would be safe to me to let her read the rest of your publication.˝

The motivation for standing behind the Presidency was obviously the fact that now Sharma ji gives me unlimited credit. I mean what else but the perks. I hope the same courtesy is extended by all shopkeepers on Campus ! I hope to have a very satisfactory six months ! And it’s good to have the President on your side!˝

On a more serious note, I have always liked building, starting, running stuff. Making plans, putting things into action. It’s part of the entrepreneurial mentality (I come from a family of entrepreneurs) !˝

I had attended every single General Body Meeting since my first year (between mooting and that, I didn’t do much else), and one thing I saw was that a group of people, suddenly acquire a mob mentality and become stupid ! I always thought I would bring some common sense into the office !˝

Cut the crap you know, and the flowery English – The hegemonistic plurality of autistic policy sorts – I mean people at both ends of the spectrum are dangerous – too educated and too illiterate. Both hold their personal ideas in the highest esteem, and are unwilling to learn. I think that way being mediocre has been useful for me - It brings a certain sense of humility and receptiveness.˝

The bigger aim was getting a common man in office ! I am as common as the commonest of people here ! Drunk, disorganized and directionless :p˝

These were the principal motivations !˝

And the office – The previous Presidents have already given me numerous ideas on what you can do with the office !˝

Ye Uperwara ki netagiri nahi, these are high end politics of a law school, they know how to make and break the law people. Hence, they will be wise in their choices! A star debater, a renowned mooter and our super senior, Subhro Sengupta has always been someone you can turn to for help. You can count on him to teach you how to make memorials and how to excel at debating. Here's our President, the man who through his excellent orator skills won the hearts of many and won the SBA elections.


2. It's been one month since your victory, how far has the motivation materialised and the road ahead?

The motivation has materialized to a certain extent ! Life is living hell. My girlfriend wants to leave me – says the only thing is discuss is the ratio between number of classes attended and number of classes that were held and does it meet the 65% requirement as per Part IV of the BCI Rules. So that’s that.˝

Otherwise, we have had some breakthroughs. Like the Alumni Social Network: We are getting one just like NLIU has – You can have communities by the Batch, post jobs and internships even use it for fundraising. We got it from the same people as IIT Madras and NLIU (check nliualumni.com for a better idea). We are working together with the Alumni Association on this. And this can be a big break through considering it is the alumni that has a big role to play in taking the University forward.˝

We have an SBA website coming up – Siddharth Chauhan (This dude was one of the first Parliamentary Debators in this country to go to the Asian Championships. Vice-Prez at NLSIU. Prof. at NLSIU. Now teaches at NALSAR) has promised to write for the first edition. Alumni will be writing. The idea is to make the HNLU brand bigger by association with some very very good people.˝

And there is a lot more to be done. When I say lot more, it’s really a lot. My presence on social networks has been reduced a lot nowadays due to this lack of time :p˝

3. It's been two years since the last election, how much do you think the gap has that impacted Elections 2015?

Its surely became damn competitive! Ask my campaign managers! It took them a full 6 hours to handle the damn thing :p˝

The gap is in a way very positive. There is no hangover and no preset rules. I am actually very hopeful with every new batch which comes in nowadays because they are adding to the culture day in and day out. You have a Debsoc running, you have people running clubs – what better to cite than Shantea Times itself. This is part of the new culture, which is sweeping the University, and that is very positive. A very recent example would be the street play I saw on Teachers day. Very inspiring. Some of these people are so talented at their age compared to us, I mean it’s not even funny. Makes you seriously think about what you have done with your time.˝

I feel this gap was necessary. Now we have people with a fresh mind with a new way of doing things, who do not have pre-conceived notions about running things. Some of the committees like SEB, Finance, DISCOM etc. had become defunct. Now they are under the leadership of very able people who I personally believe will set a new precedent in terms of running the committees.˝

And this is all a part of evolutionary change. E.g. On the first day itself the DISCOM cannot replace the Proctorial Board or the SEB cannot come up with the Harvard Law Review. They will start the work and set a standard, and things will gradually go forward from there. The most important part is starting the work with discipline, and keeping the continuity.˝

The Vice-President is a fresh breath of air this time ! I am over-shadowed by his swag, but that’s fine J I think Sanjay brings a much needed knowledge of what the people want, to the table, and that is something that will take us forward.˝


4. What is your take on relationships pre and post-elections?

Mine surely has gone down the drain. I can hardly give her any time :p˝

5. Three things that you'd like to change about how the elections happened?

(i) Having an election every year :p That is the first one.˝

and lead things. Otherwise your dissent sort of becomes hypocritical.˝

(iii) Have a Presidential Debate ahead of the elections. Self-important idiots arguing is always fun !˝

1. From aspiring to be Convener ,Cultural Committee to Vice President, SBA, what and how much has changed? To be honest, I am really confused with the word

The first time you hear music created through someone's mouth, you'll be enthralled. And if it is Sanjay Sugumaran, ladies and gentlemen, you will see him do a lot more, he's always all over the place, organizing, participating in his humble mode, not claiming credit for any of it. He's a member of the Shanteam and also co-founder! (and he didn't pay anything to us to write such good things, but we do demand a treat). Here's him, candid for the very first time as the Vice President of the SBA of HNLU.


I think on a personal level things do get affected, I mean people do get angry with you and say all sorts of mean stuff. But you get used to it. I used to get furious earlier, but I called home and told them yesterday and they laughed at my face. “You have pissed off a bunch of Lawyers my son…..They will take on you for every word you ever said”. So that’s there.˝

On the other hand as a President, the office is relationship neutral. I mean you ask us questions or ask us to do something and we do it. And we try to do it to the best of our abilities.˝

The point being: It does not matter if you are friends with Subhro Sengupta or not; The President’s office is without hatred or love and bound to work towards anything that brings greater good towards the student community in the University.˝

Otherwise I get 10 emails a day which stop short of putting my forefathers into the genus Pig. But that’s okay. The amount of time people take out to do this is seriously hilarious.˝

(ii) More people should care, and not because some Bhaiyya asked you to. More because you give a damn about what’s happening around you. If you have a problem with a person who you think is an idiot, and is in power, please change that

change. Yes, I’ve been a part of the Cultural Committee right from the beginning and aspiring to be a convener was something—-˝

!2. "Singer, Rapper, Composer, Ladies Man..." And now Vice President, what do you have in store for us?

Haha. You know how books were used as a medium to express one’s stand to arbitrary domination. I choose music to play my sword.˝I don’t know about the ladies though, where did that come from?:P :P˝ ˝Regarding the app store:˝First of all, the SBA Constitution must be completed and pushed for approval.˝Half the problems of various committees will ease away if we have a constant amount sanctioned every semester as the Student Union fund. We don’t have to hope anymore for funds but prepare the budget as per the total amount split accordingly to various committees.˝Also, we need to press for a Recruiting Officer to handle all recruitment related issues.˝ ˝I would not want to publish the whole list of proposals right now. The work will start and you’ll be updated with a list of successful and unsuccessful proposals.˝Everything will change slow but let the timer start now!˝

3. How privileged do you feel to be a part of the Shanteam?˝I am really happy to be a part of a neutral team working for the betterment of the college. Though my contributions are not plentiful, I would be proud to say that we work free from any influence and this is a sign of freedom. Someday the newsletter will reach the masses and make a big difference. As refreshing it may sound, the news is as hot as a cup of tea in Shanti Nagar. Also, I hope the juniors contribute and be a propelling force for the newsletter.˝!Thank You for giving me an opportunity to be interviewed. Work is pending and I've delayed it myself. I will resume office soon and apologies for the delay.


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—that could give an official stand in doing what I did. The field of culture and fine arts has always played an important role in my life. I’ve always wanted to create an atmosphere where one forgets his identity and starts making a common one where there is maximum interaction and minimum differentiation. Well, in that case it was just one part of me exercising its function. ˝ ˝I always believed that if you want something to change, rise up and show your stand. My school and Pre-University days have shattered the idealistic life I’ve lived and killed my sense of fear against the oppressors. I stood up then and I will when I have to. The clock struck hard and I woke up. I witnessed the whole college dissolve being one and I found the need to be the glue.˝ ˝Finding no need to campaign for weeks, I stood for the Elections as one of you to be the voice of all of you. I was disappointed the last elections when promises were made and nothing fulfilled. I was that concerned student who expected something to happen. Sometimes I wondered if someone would come to change our mindset. My thoughts brought me to one conclusion-to show my stand against pointless promises and someday, we would win. I was shocked to see that it worked sooner than I expected.˝ ˝The only change you will see is that the word ‘I’ will transform to be ‘We’ and we will be working together to make our lives better in our University.˝

ALUMI-NATI

The journey of life has several chapters. And once you've spent five years living one single chapter, you're attached to it crazy. Although they, graduated this year, these aluminati, keep coming back with their advices and love for us. Certainly then, how could they forget something as important as the elections. Look what they've got to say!

!-PRASOON AGRAWAL !

!-HARSHA NAGRAJ

“A strong, efficient, effective and proactive student body leads to overall development of the institution. Student body elections play a vital role by providing appropriate forum to the students. It’s a g r e a t e r d e g r e e o f responsibilities to promote unity and cooperation in the entire student fraternity.”


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Election according to me is the life line of the student body in the

entered the college in 2010, within a very narrow span of time elections were held and the atmosphere during the pre election period was as good as it

college. I still

remember when we

used to be, during the real one.˝

The most interesting and surprising part of the elections of our

college was during the 2012 elections, for counting the votes and to maintain the transparency two volunteers from the student body were asked to come down to the counting room by the election committee panel, so that the counting will be done in front of them.˝

I really missed this atmosphere during the last two years of

my college life, because of the hypocritical mindset of

our administration.˝

At last I became happy when I heard that elections did happen

this time and a new SBA is constituted. All i want to say is that

amidst all these things elections also help the law students in

knowing about the public relation prospect of a lawyer's life which is the not the most important but certainly not the least important part of his life.˝

" There has always been a feeling of animosity left behind after elections. So unless you have vanquished group politics and self interests there is no point in conducting elections. SBA elections are not vital provided there would be a fair and structured evaluation method of selection by a committee of students(previous office bearers) and teachers for the respective committees. The problem arises by virtue of the elected being unaware that they have obligated themselves into a fiduciary duty.”˝

!-SAURABH CHOUDHARY


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Student body elections are important for the democratic structure of the University,˝works as pressure group for the poor administration. It provides opportunity toimprove various issues for the interest of the students and for the betterment of theinstitution. So, YES it is necessary.˝The SBA elections in HNLU are different from student union elections of traditional˝universities. Having status of autonomous university we are governed by our own˝constitution which empowers students and the elected representatives in effective˝manner. Being law students we must know how to address our issues before the˝appropriate authority with the help of supportive arguments, reasonable grounds,˝convincing skills and by avoiding unhealthy practices. The institution is not run˝single handedly either by the administration or students but it is about joint efforts˝and positive approach.˝T h e 1 4 c o m m i t t e e s a r e undertaken with the task to invite views and opinions of the˝

students and to take up all the issues and demands to the concerned authority in˝the administration under the leadership of President and Vice President. The˝President, Vice President and the respective committees are duty bound to address˝students’ problems and follow u p t h e s a m e u n t i l i t i s resolved. But at the same time˝we must understand that the S B A m e m b e r s a r e m e r e representatives, and not the˝d e c i d i n g a u t h o r i t y o r administration. Instead of b l a m i n g e l e c t e d representatives we˝need to cooperate with them. The 800+ students are the voice of their˝representatives. If every single representative does his/her part honestly, things˝will definitely get better in e v e r y a s p e c t . I n t h e democratic structure healthy˝criticism is also important, it works as mirror, a feedback system. It must be taken˝c a r e t h a t t h e i n t e r n a l problems of the student body must be sorted out in the˝G e n e r a l B o d y M e e t i n g s , within the students only, and not through Police, Media or˝any High Level Authorities etc. If any such events occur or not, comes out in public,˝it raises a question on the dignity and reputation of our university.˝I d o n ’ t u n d e r s t a n d w h y election speeches are focused specially on food, internet,˝infrastructure and faculties, t h o u g h t h e s e a r e b a s i c concern but practically it can be˝

improved by the determined administration, not by the words of any contesting˝candidate. If we look at all the premier institutions, no one does guarantee on these˝things, except candidates contesting elections in our revered HNLU. There are ˝important concerns, such as alumni association, student welfare funds, active legal˝aid cell, tie-ups with top i n s t i t u t i o n s , n a t i o n a l conclave, writ petition on important˝l e g a l i s s u e s , a c a d e m i c oriented meeting with faculty members, regular weekend˝guest lectures, dumping zone for waste disposal, rain water harvesting system,˝w a t e r f i l t e r s y s t e m , permanent medical facilities, tuck shop etc. The student body˝m u s t u n d e r s t a n d t h e difference between reasonable promises and fake promises,˝healthy politics and dirty politics, words and works.˝T h e w o r l d r e n o w n e d achievements of HNLU, bears testimony to the multiple skills,˝t a l e n t a n d f l a i r o f o u r students. It has produced good leaders, solicitors, corporate˝bigwigs, entrepreneurs and many more to be produced in future. We must cooperate˝with each other; channelize our efforts towards right direction, with the hope of˝positive outcome to make this institution and ourselves proud.˝

GREEN ROOM

TARKEEBEIN !This essentially is our PIL column. Everyone is aggrieved something or the other, and hence we give you a platform to let our all your college related sorrows. The link to the Google form, to anonymously send in your grievances is on our Facebook page, the Shantea Times. Please like the page to stay tuned about updates.˝!In addition, we profusely apologize for the delay of this edition (especially Subhro Sir) but we hope you enjoyed it!


Thank you for taking out time and reading our second edition. We will be more than happy, to welcome more people into our team. All you have to do is, send us a mail at [email protected]. !Any suggestions, feedback and criticism is also welcome. !Do write to us!

THE SHANTEAMTHE SHANTEA TIMES ISSUE II, ELECTION SPECIAL

THE SHANTEA TIMES ISSUE II, ELECTION SPECIAL THE … · scenario of our class was really bad as the...

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