The department of Buddhist Studies at the University of Delhi (DU) may sound quite unpopular as compared to other departments but for all those candidates enthusiastic about contesting the elections, this department has been a blessing for them.
This year, 43% of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) candidates belong to the Buddhist Studies department and surprisingly, all four candidates of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) - President, Vice President, Secretary and Joint Secretary are pursuing their Master's in Buddhist Studies, stated a report in The New Indian Express.
Head of the Department speaks
Head of the Department of Buddhist Studies, Professor Indra Narain Singh, speaking to The New Indian Express, said, "This is nothing new. This has been happening since 1984. The majority of the DUSU candidates every year are from the law faculty or from my department. Now, the DU has nothing to do with the admissions. The meritorious students are coming here with backgrounds in Philosophy or History via the NTA exam. I can't stop them from taking admission here."
"We have 300 seats in our master's programme and students take pride in studying our course," Professor Singh added.
ABVP
However, going by the profiles of the DUSU candidates, a clear transition of a course can be observed. Take for example Tushar Dedha from ABVP who is contesting the polls for the post of President. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Arts with a combination of Economics and Political Science from Delhi University. He has obtained a (C) certificate from the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and has an interest in participating in debates and competitions. Meanwhile, he is pursuing postgraduation (PG) in the Department of Buddhist Studies at Delhi University.
From the departments like Economics, Political Science, English and Law, seven out of 16 candidates in the fray for the elections opted to take admissions in the Buddhist Studies department despite the fact DU has a total of 86 departments on campus. Admission to the varsity's any department can get a student a seat in the hostel as well, meaning, cheap accommodation and mess food.
What's the status of other student organisations?
In terms of DUSU 2023 elections, where the ABVP, National Students' Union of India (NSUI), Students' Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students' Association (AISA) are contesting the polls — All four candidates of ABVP belong to Buddhist Studies, two students from NSUI are from Buddhist Studies and one student from SFI is from the Buddhist Studies. It is only the All India Students' Association (AISA) where the candidates are not from this department.
In ABVP, the Vice-Presidential candidate Sushant Dhankad had completed his Bachelor's degree in English Literature Honours while he had also won a gold medal at the state level in pistol shooting. Meanwhile, Aparajita for the position of Secretary holds a Bachelor's degree in History and Sachin Baisala, for the position of Joint Secretary has completed his LLB from the Faculty of Law, DU.
ABVP
President Tushar Dedha: Buddhist Studies
Vice President Sushant Dhankad: Buddhist Studies
Secretary Aprajita: Buddhist Studies
Joint Secretary Sachin Bhainsla: Buddhist Studies
NSUI
Vice-President Abhi Dahiyya: Buddhist Studies
Joint Secretary Shubham Kumar Choudhary: Buddhist Studies
SFI
President Arif Siddique: Buddhist Studies