TLI Staff
New Delhi: Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) emerged victorious at the 8th edition of the Titans Invitational Debate organised by the Old Students Association of Hindu College (OSA) on March 11, 2023.
Alumni from six prestigious colleges of Delhi University, namely Hindu College, Miranda House, Lady Shri Ram College, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Indraprastha College and Kirori Mal College gathered for a highly anticipated debating event post-pandemic at the India Habitat Centre.
The event featured some of the most brilliant and prolific speakers from each team, including Dr. Arunabh Singh and Divya Jain for the Hindu College team, Aditi Anand and Maha Siddiqui for the Miranda House team, Gaurika Sood and Arunima for the Lady Shri Ram College team, Ram Johri and Parth Chowdhary for the SRCC team, Angarika Datta and Oonmona Das for the Indraprastha College team, and Eesha Kunduri and Ankita Baidya for the Kirori Mal College team, debating for and against the motion.
The event saw the participation of distinguished guests, including legal luminaries, educationists, bureaucrats, administrators, policymakers, current students, alumni. The topic of debate was ‘THIS HOUSE BELIEVES THAT FACTS ARE NOT FACTS.’
Each alumni team had two speakers – one speaking for the motion and one against it – who spoke for four minutes each, followed by two minutes of interjections.
The panel of judges comprised Rakesh Kacker (IAS, retd.), Dr. Sanjiv N. Sahai (IAS, retd.) Director-Nehru Memorial Museum & PM’s Museum, and Mr. Desh Ratan Nigam, Advocate, Supreme Court. Kajori Sen, eminent Media personality & Assistant Professor of Journalism Practice at O.P. Jindal Global University, moderated the debate.
Dr. Kavita Sharma, former President of South Asian University (SAU) and Senior Vice President of OSA, Hindu College, was the Chief Guest at the event. Muktesh Pardeshi, IFS, Special Secretary (G20-Operations) at the Ministry of External Affairs, graced the event as the Guest of Honour.
The LSR team of Arunima and Gaurika Sood were declared the winners, while Dr. Arunabh Singh of Hindu College, and Aditi Anand from Miranda House were chosen as the Best Speakers.
The event was attended by the principals of four colleges, including Prof. Anju Srivastava of Hindu College, Prof. Bijayalaxmi Nanda of Miranda House, Prof. Simrit Kaur of SRCC, and Prof. Rekha Sethi, Acting Principal of Indraprastha College.
According to Ravi Burman, President of OSA, “Debate is a platform to express, discuss and deliberate on diverse views, thoughts and ideas, and it has been an integral part of our education system. It encourages students to think critically, communicate effectively, and respect diverse opinions. Through this event, we aim to provide a platform to bring together alumni from various colleges and give them an opportunity to engage in a healthy discourse.”
The evening was filled with fond reminiscences as alumni recalled their experiences at the college, including their time spent in the hostel, on the sports fields, and across the sprawling campus of Delhi University. It was a cheerful and enthusiastic gathering that demonstrated the deep connections and abiding affection that alumni have for Hindu College.
The gathering included notable personalities such as Justice Mukul Mudgal, Chairman of the Governance Committee and Review Committee of FIFA; Anil Kumar Saxena, Senior Media Advisor at RailTel Corporation of India Ltd; Arun Seth, Chief Executive Officer – Bharat IT Services Ltd and Senior Vice President at OSA; Ranjan Chaterjee, IAS,(retd); Suneeta Trivedi, former Member (Planning) Postal Services Board, Department of Posts; Dipankar Ghose, Deputy National Editor, Hindustan Times; Dilip Trivedi, IPS (retired) and former Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF); Sanjay Singh, former Resident Director at Tata Sons Limited; Dhananjay Kumar, IDAS, Director (Finance), NSG-Cum-Financial Advisor, CRPF, Ministry of Home Affairs; Dr. Sanjeev Sawhney, Managing Director at ANB Auto India Pvt Ltd and Ranjan Kumar Ghose, IAAS, former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General and renowned satirist Akash Banerjee.
This was the eighth edition of the debate, with Hindu College winning consecutively for three years from 2017 to 2019. Other colleges that have won the debate in the past include Sri Ram College Commerce, IP College, and Miranda House.