Tag: Ashoka

Ashoka’s Edict is without a Pillar

This is our first Editorial, after taking over as the new team of The Edict.

Dear Ashokans,

Winter is a time for relaxation, introspection, wrapping up the year that has gone by and ushering in a new one. It is after indulging in the same, that we write to you, our first editorial after taking over as the new editorial team of The Edict. The beginning of the year provides an apt occasion to renew a promise, one that is perfectly put into words by Gulzar Sahab:

“Ahista chal zindagi, abhi kai karz chukana baaki hai.

Kuch dard mitana baaki hai, kuch farz nibhana baaki hai.”

(Move slowly, O Life, there are many debts yet to be repaid,

Some pain to be washed away, a few responsibilities yet to be fulfilled.)

However, before making any further promises, it is important to address certain well founded criticisms. We have chosen Gulzar Sahab’s lines for we realise that The Edict has fallen short of its pledge. To be a student newspaper requires careful reporting, incisive articles, a platform for airing all forms of opinions and most importantly, resilience. While we do believe that in the past we have failed to be whom we set out to be, we believe that The Edict has always remained resilient. With minimal audiences, far fewer writers, nominal praise and only token support (from the administration), The Edict could have shut down. Yet, the hard work and commitment of the previous editorial boards, ensured its perpetuity.

A new dawn is approaching our humble newspaper, and we hope to dust off the old allegations of being ‘biased, boring, qualitatively poor, quantitatively meagre and most importantly tabloid’ in nature. We are here to make The Edict an integral part of our campus.

Ashoka’s Edicts were inscribed on a Pillar. Our Pillar is you: the readers. The larger you grow in number, the more resilient our newspaper becomes. Our pledge is to ensure that we put out content not just to please audiences but to make them uncomfortable. The Edict shall be apolitical but shall offer a political platform. Debate, dialogue and dissent shall form our bedrock and we proclaim this far and wide. Let this be our undertaking to our readers and an invite to future writers. We shall strive to transform ourselves from being a ‘tabloid magazine,’ a charge often leveled against us, to being a full fledged newspaper.

It is also important to understand what a newspaper should be: when closing down as a mark of protest against the gag order issued by the British against the press in the aftermath of the Quit India Movement, the Indian Express issued a rather moving editorial by the name “Heart Strings and Purse Strings.” In their, so to say, farewell edition, they proclaimed: “The hard fact of the situation is that if we went on publishing, The Indian Express may be called a paper, but cannot be called a newspaper.” The Edict shall continue publishing. It will strive to be the robust newspaper that it set out to be and that this university deserves.

“Raftaar mein tere chalne se kuchh rooth gaye, kuch chhut gaye.

Roothon ko manana baaki hai, roton ko hasana baki hai.”

(In the swiftness that is Life, some are disappointed, some have been left behind,

The disappointed need to be made amends with, the distraught need to be made smiling again.)

This letter was directed towards Ashokans. Today, this refers to students (undergraduates and fellows), founders, administration and faculty, but in the future it shall evoke a sense of pride and excellence. In this future, that we are crafting together, The Edict forms an indispensable part. While the presence and flourishing of a meme group displays innovation, writing remains a noble pursuit of life, and the most important tool for articulation. The Facebook group can never replace the spot of a newspaper in any college campus, and the past year has reaffirmed this fact. However, it has been a failure of The Edict that so many had to resort to the Facebook group to raise important concerns that should have ideally been done through meticulously thought out articles. We are soon entering an era of less reading and more trolling, less absorption and more ridicule. In these times, only a newspaper can act as an antidote to the caustic comments that individuals have to face on their posts.

Let this be a reminder to those who might have forgotten that you do have a newspaper: if you wish to express an opinion, or even voice a concern (everything short of a rant, which after edits we promise to publish as well), approach the platform that you have created. While Facebook might offer an immediate venting ground, The Edict offers an opportunity of indelibility for it is only the written word which has the potential of immortality. We cannot be studying in a liberal arts college, taking multiple critical thinking and writing courses and not be devoting ourselves to reading and writing.

We have always believed that a carefully crafted letter can touch the right chords. This letter was meant to acknowledge, apologize, and reaffirm. We hope we have been able to fulfil the purpose with which we had begun this undertaking.

When the Yale Daily News, the oldest student newspaper in the United States started publishing in 1878, the newspaper’s first editors wrote:

“The innovation which we begin by this morning’s issue is justified by the dullness of the times, and the demand for news among us.”

Today, the editors of The Edict write:

“The Edict’s presence is a response to the unfortunate invasion of Ashokan discourse by a culture that encourages scrolling and ranting instead of reading and writing.”

We hope to assure our readers that we do take our work seriously, even though it might not have appeared so. As we step forward in this new year, here is our ailaan, which we hope to fulfill- by the year 2019:

1. At least 5 articles shall be taken from the Edict and published in external agencies

2. 100 students shall have contributed with at least one article

3. Faculty and founders writings shall become an integral part of The Edict

Kuch hasraatein abhi adhuri hain, kuch kaam bhi aur zaruri hai.

Aahista chal zindagi, abhi kai karz chukana baki hai!

(Some desires remain unfulfilled, some work is imminent,

Move slowly, O Life, there are many debts yet to be repaid!).

Signatories:

Nishant Kauntia (Editor-in-Chief)

Gauri Newatia, Himali Thakur, Ishaan Banerji, Aashay Verma, Ananya Damodaran, Arushi Jain, Zainab Ghafoor- Firdausi, Sparsh Agarwal (Managing Editors).

Foreign

Third-year undergraduate student Success Sibanda, who hails from Zimbabwe, writes on his experiences with racism and internationalism in India and Ashoka.

“ I know I ain’t from here 
 There’s a lot I gotta bear
 Coz my family isn’t here
 When I need an ear to listen they missing 
 Some people dissing me for being black 
 Only a few got my back
 They take my cake and then run with it 
 Their love is fake and I’m done with it

…..

Every time man I’m the foe because I’m foreign
 If there’s a murder then I’m the Cain — get blamed for the fallen Tell me what’s to gain from this hatred — We kindred
 of different races — Just there’s a dread on my head
 Man my dead are your dead
 From the same food we fed
 I do good and not bad
 In every single thing I do
 Make sure I pay my dues”

I wrote the lyrics to ‘Foreign’ after the Greater Noida incident when African students were attacked and accused of killing an Indian teenage boy. (May his soul rest in peace). The attacks had all the hallmarks of racism, therefore I was extremely saddened, angered and disappointed. These lyrics address that issue, and broader issues that international students face. 
 
 In the first few bars I address what it’s like to be so far from home, without the familial support we all need. I also implicitly point out that I face racism and discrimination. In between I acknowledge that I have made some friends, who have my back. The first two lines of the next are a reference to the Greater Noida attacks, with an allusion to the Bible. Next, I point out the folly of discriminating against each other, since we are all humans after all. I point out that I felt sad for the teenager who lost his life, as much as any Indian would. The last three lines are sort of a plea for innocence.

The writer performs his song ‘Foreign’ at Jashn-e-Jazba (Source: AUISA Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AshokaUniversityInternationalStudentsAssociation/ )

My Experience as an International Student

Whenever I have reflected on my experience as an international student at Ashoka University, the core always boils down to two seemingly contradictory things: the amazing relationships I have formed, and the fears and apprehensions I have had to overcome.
 The first of these two has been positive in all aspects. At Ashoka, I have met people whose warmth and kindness touches the soul. From the football field to the classroom; from housekeepers to professors, I have made friendships which I believe will be for life. It will be sad to say goodbye to this place and the people I have met here. In many ways, I feel at home within the walls of Ashoka University.
 
 On the other hand, the second point bears some not-so-warm realities. Beyond the borders of our campus lies a world that requires careful navigation, if one is an international student. Be it in the Metro or the shopping Mall, I have been a spectacle and a victim. Constant staring, sniggers, people touching my hair without asking, being shoved off a seat, being extra thoroughly searched at metro station checkpoints, being overcharged, et cetera. The list can go on.
 
Delhi may not be the friendliest of cities for Africans and indeed other foreigners, but even in that atmosphere I have made friends for life. This is the paradox of my experience as an international student here. And after observing so it must be realised that we, as international students, face a unique plight in and around this environment, and that unique solutions are at times necessary in order to eliminate the problems we face. Thus, we came together and decided to form the Ashoka University International Students’ Association, (AUISA): which we hope shall enable us to organise ourselves better and deal with issues as a collective body.

Therefore, we hope, as the founders of AUISA, to promote multicultural learning and global engagement. The AUISA actively works towards the welfare of students who cross international borders to be at Ashoka University. However, that is not our sole focus. We believe in the spirit of inclusivity and strive to foster a sense of community especially with our host country. To that end, we did not make AUISA exclusive to non-Indian Ashokan students but membership is open to any and all residential Indian students who feel the need to have an international experience.

A still from the multi-cultural fashion show organised by the AUISA at Jashn-e-Jazba (Source: AUISA Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AshokaUniversityInternationalStudentsAssociation/ )