New Delhi   

Girls steal the show at DU convocation

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 28. It was the so-called "weaker sex'' that dominated the 81st Annual Convocation of Delhi University here today as around 80 per cent of the prizes and medals awarded during the ceremony were won by them. And even as more than 350 Ph.D. degrees were awarded to the students during the function, there was some confusion near the gate as members of the Delhi University Teachers' Association held a silent protest.

Congratulating the students, the Chairman of the Kerala School Education Commission, U.R. Anantha Murthy, the chief guest for the occasion, said, "In my growing up, I have felt three passions or hungers. The first is hunger for equality, the second to move beyond narrow ritualistic religious practices and the third, paradoxically, modernity. But what makes the combination of these three hungers fascinating and profoundly creative is that the hunger for equality lies at the root of the other two hungers''.

However, expressing anxiety at the present situation, he added, "What we see today in globalising India is that while we may have got rid of the British rule, we seem to be more westernised now. The hunger for equality among the masses is today addressed through illusory populist measures by those in power or seeking power. The pursuit of the spiritual, as it manifests itself popularly, does not call for much striving or meditative self-examination. There will soon be two countries: the India of the Westernised English-speaking rich and the Bharat of the rural underprivileged poor''.

He also questioned the lack of theoretical and scholarly work written in Indian languages and encouraged the students to popularise the use of their mother tongue. "French, German and Italian sociologists and philosophers write in their own languages and still are broadly European and interact with each other. Why have we in India failed to do so,'' he questioned and added, "I do not say this with an linguistic chauvinism, but with a concern for the quality of thought, which is striped off the richness of our languages and of the personal and cultural associations encoded in the very texture of language''.

While it was a day of rejoicing for the students who were awarded their degrees, DUTA activists crowded around the gate in silent protest. Several members of the Academic Council also joined in the protest and could be seen carrying black badges inside the Convocation Hall. The confusion at the gate was compounded by the fact some parents accompanying their children for the ceremony could not be accommodated inside the Hall.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• MCD ready for Unit Area, says Commissioner
• Girls steal the show at DU convocation
• Kelkar panel leaves categorisation to MCD
• Gang involved in guns, drugs busted
• Customs take note of surge in saffron smuggling
• Stress on scientific investigation of accidents
• Calculate tax on your own
• Three held in cheating case
• Plan to enlarge scope of summary assessment scheme
• DU teachers hold silent demonstration
• Report on dietary intake of street kids
• BJP workers asked to gear up for polls
• Around The City
• Briefly
• In The Capital Today

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu