The SC/ST Cell was established in compliance with University Grants Commission (UGC) directives vide D.O.F.No.1-7/2011(SCT) in order to facilitate and help the SC/ST students in their amalgamation in the college environment. It is the constant and consistent effort of the Cell to provide a platform where the students can share their experiences, concerns and issues,if any and seek the ways to resolve them.
The SC/ST Cell has three faculty members and works with student coordinators in organizing lectures by distinguished speakers, interactive sessions, poster making & painting competition to create awareness amongst the SC/ST students regarding various Government & Non-Government Scholarship Schemes & Programs so that students can benefit by availing those facilities.
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Anirudh Kr. Prasad
Dr. Naorem Santakrus Singh
Dr. Sudershan Kumar
Activities at a Glance
Bhimotsava
To celebrate Dr. Ambedkar's life and his pathbreaking legacy on the occasion of his 132nd birth anniversary, the SC/ST Cell of Hindu College, University of Delhi celebrated ‘Bhimotsava’ on 24th April, 2023. The event is a one-of-a-kind grand festival to commemorate the life of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.
For the event, we had the honour of hosting former Chief Justice of India, Hon'ble Kocherry Gopalakrishnan Balakrishnan as our Chief Guest for the event. and Dr. Vijendra Singh Chauhan and Prof (Dr.) Vinod Kumar also graced the occasion as our Guest of Honour.
The programme commenced with a floral tribute to Babasaheb by our Chief Guest, Guests of Honour, and the Convenor of the SC/ST Cell of Hindu College. The Chief Guest addressed the gathering on the life and works of Dr. Ambedkar and the relevance of his ideas and thoughts in the present scenario.
We also hosted two Inter-College Competitions under the ambit of Bhimotsava in the online mode. The first one was an essay writing competition titled 'Anuchintan' on the theme 'Achieving Excellence Despite Adversity: Dr Ambedkar's Contribution in the Making of Modern India', which was won by Arvind Ahirwar. The second was a painting competition where the first prize went to Sasai Chandra Kumar. All the winners were awarded a Certificate of Appreciation, a Cash Prize and a book on the life and thoughts of Dr. Ambedkar by the convenor of the cell.
Later, there was a theatrical performance by Asmita Theatre Group on the life and works of Dr. Ambedkar and his relationship with Mahatma Gandhi. The play focused on themes such as the removal of the colonial mindset, unity in diversity and constitutional ethics and values. It highlighted Babasaheb's key role in calling upon his followers to Educate, Agitate and Organise, and depicted his vision of a casteless society. The end of the play was marked by a huge round of applause by the packed audience and the members of the group were felicitated.
After the performance, we had two speaker sessions with our Guests of Honour. The first one was with Prof. (Dr.) Vinod Kumar who is a Professor of Humanitarian Law. Presently, Prof. Kumar is the Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Subaltern Studies at NLU Delhi. Prof. Kumar has also been a Member of the United Nations Expert Committee on Global Manual on Counter-Terrorism. He is a visiting research fellow at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and has been a visiting faculty at renowned institutions such as Tel Aviv University, University of Sao Paulo etc. Dr. Kumar in his speech talked about how upper-caste privilege manifested itself in society and the impact it had on the movement for Dalit emancipation. He stressed the fact that it was important for upper caste members of the society to acknowledge their privilege so as to not invalidate the experiences of Dalits. According to him, this was to be the first step towards an equal and inclusive society.
In the second session, Dr. Vijender Singh Chauhan who is an Associate Professor of Hindi at Zakir Hussain College, University of Delhi. His areas of interest include Media, the history of literature and gender. In his speech, Dr. Chauhan talked about how Ambedkar’s experiences of discrimination shaped his personality and the Dalit Movement in general. He also put emphasis on the fact that even after 75 years of independence a lot was left to achieve in the quest for Dalit Emancipation. Listening to a lot of personal experiences that he shared in this aspect, was an enlightening experience for the audience.
Lastly, we had Daastan-e-Ambedkar by the group Dastangoi-Collective. Dastangoi is a form of oral storytelling that originated in the Indian subcontinent in the late 19th century. It involves the recitation of stories, often accompanied by music and dramatic gestures, and has been passed down through generations of performers. In a groundbreaking presentation, Dastangoi featured the great Babasaheb Ambedkar as the central axis of its performance. This was the first time in history that such a dastangoi had been performed on Ambedkar’s life and witnessing this event was a fascinating experience for the audience. This unique presentation captivated the audience and reminded us all of the power of storytelling to preserve our history and culture.
The event ended with a Vote of Thanks by Mr. Jeevesh Kumar Maurya, the chief coordinator of the event. Bhimotsav - the Festival Celebrating Social Change, thus concluded on a high note.
