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Doha Debates
On 15th February, 2010 a long queue of
over 350 students wound its way in Andrews Court, stretching from
the doors of the St. Stephen's College Hall. For the first time the
Doha Debates, a joint venture by the BBC and the Qatar Foundation,
was being hosted in India. After three months of working across the
seas with shipments and e-mails flying regularly between the 'Doha
people' (as we came to call them) and the working group set up by
the Principal, comprising Mr. Grewal and Ms. Tanya Bhattacharyya, in
additional to the Principal, finally in mid-February the results
were there for all to see. Within a period of three nights we had a
vastly improved new College Hall with an innovative stage set-up and
Doha Debate posters all over the Delhi University campus, both North
and South. The topic of the debate (THBT: Muslims in India aren't
getting a fair deal) was not highly publicized. The response
evoked exceeded expectations by far and the spill-over audience had
to be accommodated on the Mess lawns with live feed on large
monitors. The moderator and founder of the Doha Debates, Tim
Sebastian, was the star attraction and he did not disappoint! The
speakers in favour of the motion were Seema Mustafa, a political
journalist for Covert Magazine, and Teesta Seetalvad, a social and
political activist. Those arguing against the motion were Shri. M.
J. Akbar, journalist and owner of Covert Magazine, and Shri. Sachin
Pilot, an ex-Stephanian and the youngest member of the current
Parliament.
The contention of the proposition was that the
responsibility for the decreasing representation of Muslims in
Government services, deteriorating standards of education and gender
equality in the Muslim community had to be shared by the Indian
Government as well as the Muslim elites. The opposition's defence
was that the Indian state stood for secularism and equal rights for
all communities and that even raising the question of
community-based discrimination was an unfair means of changing the
discourse to a direction that was not desirable. To the
proposition's very consistent questions about statistical indicators
of falling Muslim participation and development however, the other
side did not very have very many counters besides pointing towards
occasional figures 'like Shah Rukh Khan'. M. J. Akbar’s stand was
relatively mid-way as he insisted that while Muslims might not be
getting as fair deal as they should, it was, in comparison to past
years improving steadily. Again, an assertion that was countered
with statistical ammunition by Teesta Seetalvad who spoke of falling
development standards since Partition, it was perhaps taken by a
large part of the audience uncritically because it was a surprise
for many when the final vote from the house announced a clear
victory for the opposition. The vote was preceded by a number of
questions from the floor, mostly directed at the Opposition, and all
this contributed to the general element of surprise when the polling
results flashed on the screens. Or perhaps the surprise wasn't that
general, even though it certainly was keenly felt by several people.
The Doha Debates are crucial in that they
bring with them a tradition of debate on controversial issues. It
was important for students to listen to issues being debated that
have hitherto been untouched or considered too 'sensitive' to be
broached in the University and though the polling results were an
indicator that people are still not willing to question what is
unpleasant to contemplate, this was at least a significant
beginning. Moreover, the Doha team brought along a wonderful
multitude of people, ranging from Executive Directors to Set
Designers and most importantly, a group of 10 students from Qatar,
who represented a wide variety of nationalities. For those of us who
were lucky enough to interact with some of these people the entire
Doha Debate experience was one that carried a flavour of healthy
debate, interaction and a general widening of horizons. For the
rest, who attended the final debate in the College Hall on the 15th,
the Doha Debate was certainly something on a scale rarely, if ever,
witnessed in college before. The debate was only a one-day affair
but reminders linger everywhere, from the superb sets on stage and
the fresh carpets on the floor to the numerous people wearing Doha
Debate T-shirts. One only hopes that the spirit of debate and
questioning lingers more strongly in the minds of people than these
tangible reminders.
Tania Bhattacharyya
President
The Debating Society
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