The Intra British Parliamentary Debate Tournament, organized by the Debate Society was conducted over the course of two days i.e. 19th and 20th January 2019. The aim of the Tournament was to train students in the British Parliamentary format so as to enable them to not only gain knowledge of this particular style of debating, but also enable them to compete in national level tournaments being conducted in this format.
The Tournament followed the British Parliamentary Format of debating. Each round consists of 4 teams of two speakers each competing against each other, with a parallel adjudication competition. There were a total of 3 preliminary rounds conducted, with 4 teams qualifying to the Final round of the Tournament.
The Tournament witnessed enthusiastic participation from the students of the School of Law as well as Anil Surendra Modi School of Commerce. Abhishek Gore, a 4th year IIT Bombay student and an established debater in the Mumbai circuit was the Core Adjudicator for the tournament who added great value to it. He conducted an extensive debate orientation on the first day and answered the queries of the students. His stellar debating credentials ensured an excellent quality of adjudication and well thought out motions throughout the tournament. The students were encouraged by his valuable feedback and training session.
The first day of the Tournament witnessed two intense rounds of debating, with the third preliminary round and the Finals being conducted on the second day. The quality of motions being discussed spanned diverse fields and were thoroughly enjoyed by the students. After an intense final round between the top four teams of the Tournament, Chinmaya Mohan of SY BALLB and Miheer Jain of FY BBALLBB were declared as the winners of Intra BPD 2019. The Best Adjudicator at the Tournament was Aarushi Mehta of FY BBALLB. Chinmaya Mohan was also adjudged the Best Speaker for the Tournament.
Intra British Parliamentary Debate Tournament
ANHAD
Discussion on 2019 Lok Sabha Elections; as a consequence of recent Vidhan Sabha Elections
The discussion saw variety of opinion with different and variety of perspective discussed at this session. The session saw why the present ruling government at the centre saw a whooping defeat in the recently conducted state elections. The discussion saw how there was revival of the lost lustre of having a strong opposition party, and also can Congress pose a challenge to the wave of B.J.P led N.D.A government, whom fortress before these recently conducted election in the Hindi belt, was considered to be a vantage point of the B.J.P. There was discussion that how these state election loss by the B.J.P is also a moment of little bit of relief as they gave a strong fight to the Congress despite ruling for past fifteen years in Madhya Pradesh. The Rajasthan despite having the trend of usurping the government every alternate election was also seen that B.J.P gave a tough fight to the confident congress to cross the majority mark with ease. What came as a shock for B.J.P ruled government was the election held in Chhattisgarh, where B.J.P lost the fort despite its captain Mr. Raman Singh had a clean image and was popular for developmental based policies. What was discussed that nothing is permanent in politics, not even charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2019 elections would not be cakewalk for B.J.P led N.D.A government because of their rather experimental policies in a very unstable market and the rise of violent measures in the present government.
It was discussed that when any government fails to deliver its promises they try to give freebies to the voting population so as to allay their feelings, divert them of the real issues and polarising voters on the basis of communal sentiments. Thus it is the masses duty to preserve the democracy so that it stands true to its soul.
No doubt the charismatic personality of Prime Minister Narendra Modi still highly prevails over every other leader in the country, but the Government need to understand its pitfall and the falling alliance which may prove to be futile for the Centre government. For Congress the biggest gain is revival of an image as a strong opposition for the better democracy and it needs to understand that there is a Congress which lives in the hearts of its volunteers and not just a Gandhi family.
ANHAD – "MIND THE GAP"
Anhad Session on "Please Mind the Gap” Scheduled on 29 January 2019 for KPMSOL Students. How often is it that we have the opportunity to listen to the ordeals someone who is fundamentally different from ourselves, and yet just the same as each of us? It was on 29th January that such an opportunity was presented to us by Mitali Trivedi and Gagandeep Singh, when they collaborated with Anhad to show us their out-of-the-box documentary: MIND THE GAP.
The documentary was about a Trans Man, Anshuman. It depicted his daily encounters with strangers in the Delhi Metro and also gave personal sketch of his feelings, ambitions and desires directly from his mouth, and in his own words. We learned new things from two perspectives: first, how people perceive Anshuman; and second, how Anshuman perceives these people and himself.
While people were mostly curious to know Anshuman's gender or were dismissive of him, Anshuman gave little importance to their opinions. He wanted to fit into society, but not at the cost of letting go of his individuality. And although he would seldom compromise with this tenet of his, he relished the feeling of being referred to as ‘bhai’, by strangers and preferred keeping the mask on to avoid embarrassment to them.
Small routine things like using public washrooms or getting inside the ladies’ coach, even talking to people on the phone were pinching struggles - with no available solution and no silver lining. From the parliament to the people, the entire society seems deaf to marginalised voices.
He felt a sense of comfort with people like himself, who weren't cis gendered, since they would not constantly judge him. It was due to his encounter with one such person in the metro, that he learned a great deal about his own self.
The documentary was followed by an intensive discussion on the rights of the LGTBQ community, the trans people, and the Transgenders bill. All queries were answered by the presenters with great interest and involvement.
The session was a success on multiple grounds: awareness, deliberation and most importantly, sensitisation.
Anhad: 'Discussing the Sabrimala controversy'
The Sabrimala issue never fails to incite passions and bring out inner reflections. This was precisely how this session of Anhad: ‘Discussing the Sabrimala controversy’ was like. The discussion was as open ended and inclusive as the topic itself.
The arguments of those dissatisfied with the status quo, went from constitutional morality advising non-interference of the State into religion: ‘When article 25 is exercised reasonably, reasonable restrictions on article 14&15 are necessary for religious freedom to exist in true sense’, to arguments about the myth of ‘Lord Ayappa being a bachelor God committed to his lover, who sits in perpetual wait for him outside his Shrine’, being an essential part of the Ayyapan belief - thus barring entry of fertile women inside the Sanctum Sanctorum.
On the flipside, challenging these arguments were views of gender justice and women empowerment. Brahmanisation of Hindu religion and its customs is what corrupts Hindu society: was the god of misogynistic views, or are the archaic and misogynistic ‘managers’ of the Lord creating these norms to achieve their interests of keeping Hindu society patriarchal till eternity? In the modern State, reform of discriminatory practices should be the precedent the courts must set and the civil society must support: for our past has always been patriarchal and irrational, thus roots for a better future can only grow after those of the dark past have been uprooted.
As the issue is set to again become sub-judice in light of the review petitions being accepted by the Apex Court, this issue becomes extremely pertinent, retuning to life right before the Lok Sabha elections. Is it an issue of gender justice and religious freedom or an isolated hill top temple unnecessarily being used as tool for communal polarization before the elections? Is it a question of women’s rights or is it a hyped-up controversy to divert public attention and discourse?
Since we are not a 9pm TV show, we leave it to you to decide.
The participation from School of Liberal was deeply appreciated. Anhad discussions are a melting pot differing views and opinions. Our diversity is our strength, and our inclusivity is the soul of our indestructibility, kyonki sanvaad ki ruh zinda rehni chahiye. Cheers!
Inset of Anhad session
