Day 1 at DU was all about song and dance for freshers; while colleges went all out to ensure there were no 'unfortunate' incidents, seniors found ways to let new entrants know who the boss is
Day 1 at DU was all about song and dance for freshers; while colleges went all out to ensure there were no 'unfortunate' incidents, seniors found ways to let new entrants know who the boss is
It was the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of thousands of young go-getters as Delhi University opened its doors to usher them in. The first day of the academic session was a colourful affair, albeit under close watch of college authorities and the law enforcers. But that didn't completely deter the seniors. Freshers were made to sing and dance to some being asked to introduce themselves using a string of abuses. 
That look: Seniors help a fresher 'learn the ropes' on the first day of
the academic session at Hansraj College, at DU's North Campus on
Thursday. PIC/Subhash Barolia
Most colleges had their orientation programmes on Thursday, where the new-entrants got acquainted with faculty members and courses. The day also marked the beginning of the semester system for all undergraduate courses. Many freshers walked in dressed to the hilt, both nervous as well as excited. 
Joining hands: Freshers having fun on the first day of DU's new
academic session at Kirori Mal College and (below) Hansraj College,
at North Campus, Delhi University on Thursday. Pics/Subhash barolia
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Just talk
Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) was the most happening among new students in terms of their interactive sessions. A few students from Economics (H) of SRCC said their seniors asked them to introduce themselves with five Hindi abusive words and later perform a vulgar dance.
Rachit Khanna (name changed) a fresher in SRCC described his first day saying, "We were quite scared to sit in the room after the first class got over and seniors stopped us from going out. Twenty boys from my class were made to say abusive words in Hindi and perform a 'cheap' dance for ten minutes non-stop."
However, seniors from B Com (H) who were having the so-called interaction with these students did not agree with these claims. One of them, a third-year B Com (H) student said, "We didn't rag any of the freshers. We just had a light conversation with them. Also we left it to them to decide if they wanted to sing or dance."
War cry
While students in Kirorimal College took out a rally holding placards and posters shouting anti-ragging slogans, other colleges like Ramjas and Hindu didn't allow any of the seniors to come and individually meet the freshers. Hindu College teachers locked the classrooms during lectures to prevent any seniors from barging in.
"We did all we could do to control ragging. The second and third year students were not even invited; it's now around 2pm when many of them are coming to see their time tables. These days around 80% of our discussions are only about ragging. But yes, the real test is on Monday when freshers face their seniors," said Sukanya Lal from the department of Zoology at Kirorimal.
Nupur Arora, Chemistry (hons.), KMC said, "We had a nice interactive session with our seniors. In our college there was a rally going on, the seniors were shouting the slogans of anti ragging. This wasn't appealing at all moreover the atmosphere seemed too noisy."
Here to help
"I have already set all my plans. I am going to be a very helpful senior. I am going to get the notes for them. But the first day has been very disappointing for me. The freshers were all so scared; they were so afraid of even greeting us. It is very sad, if that's the image we seniors have." said Gurpreet Gill, a Zoology (hons.) student.
While at south campus colleges, police personnel were doing their bit to prevent any incidents of ragging. Devender Singh (name changed), who works at the canteen in Sri Venkateswara College said police officials were also present in the college dressed as civilians.
"I saw a man moving all around. When I asked him what he wanted, he told me that he was a police official, who was here to stop ragging," he said. However, college authorities said they had no information regarding this issue.
V-C goes far and wide
On the first day of the 2011-12 session, DU vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh took a tour of north campus, south campus and out of campus colleges as well in a mini bus, accompanied by media persons. "I wanted to visit the out-campus colleges to make them feel a part of the university. It was an exhilarating experience meeting the young, bright students. There were absolutely no elements of ragging," he said.u00a0u00a0u00a0
Blues from the past
Raj Kachroo, father of 19-year old medical student Aman Kachroo whose death was caused by ragging in a Himachal Pradesh institute in 2009, spoke to MiD DAY about the menace. "SC passed a judgement on May 8, 2009 which was a comprehensive plan, aimed at restricting ragging. Several laws were then made by the University Grants Commission (UGC) which later became laws. Today there are some 40,000 colleges in our country but merely 500 colleges know about it. Since 2009 some 30 deaths have been reported for the same and many more which are not printed on paper. The concept of interactive sessions is good. In 9 out of 10 cases it is totally harmless but who knows about that one case. This is for all those who conduct ragging to know that it is not cool anymore; it shows their dirty side to the people," he said.
Principals' corner
Pratibha Jolly ,Principal, Miranda House
Students were really excited on the first day. They have already started calling themselves 'Mirandians'. Our college is completely opposed to ragging and there was no such incident at the college today also. If any students face any such problems, we encourage them to come to us.
VK Kawatra ,Principal, Hansraj College
It was a fun day as we followed our old tradition of having a Mango party with students in specific departments. It is a kind of introductory session where teachers and students meet and it ends with having mangoes and other food items too.
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