Populist movements, right or wrong?

The new session of colleges has begun and so has the spirit of discussion and debating, for it is due to these that young minds converge and their ideas and thought processes create new dimensions for society.

It is to continue this spirit of argument that ‘Manthan 2012’, a bilingual (Hindi and English) Debate Competition was recently organised by National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) in Parliament.

Around 60 teams from various colleges and departments of Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University participated in this debate competition judged by Vinod Sharma, political editor, Hindustan Times and Mridula  Mukherjee, Prof. Centre for Historical Studies, JNU. NSUI’s Girish Jee and Rohit Chowdhury were also
present.

The event witnessed a talented lot who spoke in favour of and against ‘Populist movements are justified in questioning the supremacy of Parliamentary Democracy.’ While some felt that populist movements are the need of the hour to shake the government out of their complacencies, those against the motion remained convinced that such movements are waste of time and energy.

However, like any debate, the thought was left open for the audience to judge and meanwhile participants won on the basis of their presentation skills and strong arguments.

While Ramjas College bagged the top prize with Chitranshu and Nikhil Saho speaking for and against the motion (in English) respectively, the Best Speaker award in English went to Vardhan from Kirori Mal College (For) and Nikhil Saho from Ramjas College (Against).
In the Hindi category, Adarsh Shukla from IIMC and Prabhanshu Ojha from KMC (Against) won the Best Team award whereas the Best Speaker went to Nausha Ali from Hindu College who spoke ‘for’ the motion and Saloni from Hansraj College who spoke ‘against’ it.

The dignitaries present urged the students to excel in their respective field. Addressing the gathering, Rohit Chowdhury, NSUI national president said, “We will keep organising these type of activities for the students of Delhi University. NSUI will try its best to bring out real talent into the limelight.”