Chapters on Pakistan, China, Islam to be reworked as part of Delhi University syllabi rejig
While scrutinising the Geography syllabus, the committee recommended the removal of Unit 3—'Internal Conflicts and Problems of Nation Building'—from the Discipline Specific Elective (DSE) course Territorial Bases of Politics in India (Semester 1). The Social Geography DSE course (Semester 2) also faced objections, with the Chair advising caste-related topics, particularly the unit on 'Distribution of SC Population,' be de-emphasised, calling them 'controversial.' The DSE course on Vulnerability and Disaster was scrapped entirely.
In Urban Sociology, violence-focused units were flagged for removal—including work on Muharram processions in Mumbai, caste and nationalism in Chennai, and Dalit religion and resistance.
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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
‘Would sing to pass time, sometimes we debated': How a Rs 12 pass connected Delhi University students riding the U-Special
It was the year 1997. Every Tuesday morning, just before the bus stopped at Tilak Nagar in West Delhi, this group of Delhi University (DU) students would be ready. Crumpled notes and coins would pass from hand to hand — Rs 5 here, Rs 10 there — until they'd scraped together enough to buy a small box of prasad from the corner sweet shop. One of them would get off the bus and bring back the sweet and the box would be passed around carefully between rows as the vehicle resumed its journey. For these students travelling from Mundhela Khurd, a village at the Capital's edge, it was a weekly ritual aboard the long green DTC bus called the U-Special. For many years, it ferried thousands of students from the city's border villages to DU's North and South Campuses. By the early 2000s, its numbers started dwindling. And by 2013-14, these buses vanished. Amit Singh, now a faculty member at Shyamlal College and a member of the National Democratic Teachers Front (NDTF), was one of them. 'We were 12 or 13 from the same village. That Tuesday prasad was something to look forward to in a long commute.' He now teaches undergraduate students who arrive on scooters or take the Metro and may never have heard of the U-Special. But when Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced Tuesday that the U-Special buses would be reintroduced, it bought back memories for many like Amit. 'The buses used to start early around 7.30 am and reach the college at 9 am. By 3 pm, it would pick up students after class and drop them home,' says Rasal Singh, Principal of Ramanujan College and a former DU Students' Union (DUSU) vice-president (2000). The U-Special wasn't luxurious. There was no air conditioning, no cushioned seats. Sometimes, the windows wouldn't open; sometimes, they wouldn't shut and sometimes even the seats weren't intact. But for students from Delhi's villages, it was a lifeline. 'It wasn't just about money it was also about safety and routine,' says Rajesh Gautam, a faculty member at Ram Lal Anand College, who commuted daily from Bawana while pursuing his MPhil at Hindu College in the late '90s. 'Many girls started coming to DU because of the U-Special.' The service, Gautam recalls, wasn't just efficient, it was an ecosystem. 'New students would learn the ropes from seniors about which professor taught what subject… it would be like an informal orientation to DU. We would meet a lot of students… it was inspiring and would motivate us to move ahead. Everyone was very helpful back then.' On some routes, the boredom of long commutes would give way to something more musical. For instance, the route from Mundela Khurd to Najafgarh, Dwarka Mor, Tilak Nagar, Rajouri Garden took over an hour. 'Students would sing to pass time… One voice would start, and before long, the whole bus would be humming,' Amit recalls. Sometimes, it was antakshari. Other times, heated debates about campus issues. 'That bus was where many of us learnt a lot of things. Back then the bus pass used to be Rs 12 for about 3 months,' Amit laughs. For students like him, the U-Special did more than just connect homes to classrooms. It created friendships, sparked conversations, and gave structure to a phase of life that was often uncertain and ambitious in equal measure. The buses began vanishing quietly in the early 2000s. Some chalk it up to the rise of private vehicles and the Metro. Rasal was among those who fought to keep the service alive. 'By 2000, the number of buses had started falling. We were pushing hard to increase them,' he recalls. 'After the '91 economic reforms, privatisation kicked in. More students got two-wheelers. And slowly, the U-Special was deprioritised.' But nothing, he says, replaced it. 'The Metro helps, yes. But it doesn't reach everywhere. And it doesn't offer what the U-Special did — direct routes, familiar faces, a safe environment, especially for girls from the outer districts.' In 2015, there was a brief, politically charged attempt to revive the U-Special, led by Delhi's then Transport Minister Gopal Rai weeks before the DUSU election. This was the same year when the Aam Aadmi Party's erstwhile student wing, Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti, fought its first students' union election. But it fizzled out in weeks and students called it a gimmick to attract votes. In 2013, too, in an effort to expand the U-Special bus network, then Delhi Transport Minister Ramakant Goswami inaugurated three DU special routes from North Campus: Patel Chest to Shyam Lal College via Yamuna Vihar, Patel Chest to Najafgarh and Aditi College to Rithala Metro station. Rasal believes the current moment, with DU expanding its Four-Year Undergraduate Programme and pushing classes from 8 am to 8 pm, is the right time to bring the U-Special back. 'You can't stretch the academic day without making the commute safer and more reliable.'
Hans India
2 days ago
- Hans India
CM Rekha announces youth special bus for Delhi University
New Delhi: In a major push toward educational reform and student welfare, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated the newly built academic block of the Social Centre School in Maurice Nagar, affiliated with Delhi University. The occasion was marked by another significant announcement — the return of the once-popular 'U-Special' bus service, set to be reintroduced with modern upgrades for the city's student population. The chief minister said the long-discontinued service, which once served as a reliable mode of transport for college students, would now be reimagined with features such as air conditioning, LED lighting, and music systems. The aim is to offer students a safer, more comfortable, and dignified commute across the capital. Also unveiled during the event was a plan for deeper collaboration between Delhi University and government-run schools. Gupta proposed that selected schools be adopted by the university, allowing professors and students to regularly mentor schoolchildren. She encouraged university students to act as 'elder siblings' to those from underprivileged backgrounds, helping them overcome academic and social barriers. The chief minister praised the transformation of the Social Centre School, originally established in 1947 with a mission of social service. Today, it stands as a modern, four-storey institution with 21 smart classrooms and updated facilities. The school has now been granted formal recognition to offer education up to Class 12 -a step that Gupta called 'critical to expanding equitable access to quality learning.' She addressed a common public perception that remains a challenge in education policy. While many parents eagerly send their children to government colleges and universities, there's often hesitation when it comes to government schools. According to Gupta, this mindset stems from outdated assumptions about quality, which her administration is working to change. 'Our government schools are undergoing a transformation,' she said. 'We're not just improving buildings — we're raising standards to the point that parents will choose government schools over private ones without hesitation.' The event was attended by Education Minister Ashish Sood, Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh, Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh, local MLAs, senior education officials, and a large number of students and teachers. The chief minister closed her speech by reiterating her government's long-term commitment to educational equity, stating, 'We are building a future of excellence in education and in opportunity.' Apart from this, the revival of the 'U-Special' bus service brings back a key part of Delhi's public transport history. Introduced in the early 1970s by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), these student-only buses offered a convenient and low-cost commute to major university campuses across the city, especially Delhi University's North and South Campuses.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- New Indian Express
After entire class fails, HC issues notice to DU, college
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to Delhi University (DU) and Bhagini Nivedita College after a final-year BA student alleged that she and her entire class were wrongly marked as failed in a practical examination due to the alleged negligence of the concerned teacher and college administration. Justice Vikas Mahajan sought responses from both institutions while hearing a plea filed by the student challenging the 'arbitrary and unjust' awarding of an 'F' grade in the sixth-semester practical exam for the subject titled 'Children with Disability in India' in her sixth semester result for the academic session 2024'2025. The petitioner, a B.A. Programme student, claimed that all students in her batch received failing grades in the same subject, pointing to a systemic lapse.
