The rivalry between two elite colleges of Delhi University — St. Stephen’s and Hindu College, has been a part of campus lore, but a joint cleanliness drive by the two in St. Stephen’s College campus marked the beginning of the end of the bitterness. The road between the two colleges was earlier considered as a “line of control” that students from neither side dared to cross, but the cleanliness drive saw students of the two colleges joining hands.
Aimed primarily at imbibing in students a sense of the dignity of labour and healthy work-culture, the drive saw participation not just from students, faculty members and staff from both the colleges, but also from the University’s top brass. Speaking on the occasion, Professor Vinay Kumar Srivastava, principal of Hindu College, remarked that a collective effort such as this can bring an enormous change in society and said, “The whole exercise is to emphasise value of work and that all of us are equal, there is no hierarchy provided you’re attached to a cause or work. Such a movement begins at a micro level, but if every student here can take this forward, the city can be transformed. This is just the beginning and I hope it will continue eternally.”
The festive atmosphere turned work into a source of shared happiness and solidarity, and Professor Valson Thampu, principal of St. Stephen’s College emphasised on the need to enjoy even the most mundane task by turning “work into a festival” and it would make the toughest seem less cumbersome.
He added, “If we take pride in our work, there will never be corruption.”
The participating students too were excited at the prospect of a monthly programme. Abhishek Subarno, Secretary, Students Union Society of St. Stephen’s, avers, “This day is even more relevant because it promotes a sense of friendship. The sense of rivalry between the two colleges is dwindling as the cleanliness camp promotes interaction between students.” He informs that next month the roles would be reversed and Stephanians would help clean Hindu premises and the trend would continue thereafter.
The usually prim and proper crowd of the two colleges didn’t think twice before getting down and dirty in cleaning the campus and happily rubbed shoulders with students from the “rival” college. Aashima Mehra, a student of Hindu College, expressed her delight saying, “It is very exciting to be here as this is the first time that I have actually come across to the Stephen’s campus.”
Nidhi Nagar and Arlene, both members of the Panchtatva, Environment Club at Hindu College, added, “It’s great that the differences between the colleges have been sorted out and the principals, students, teachers are here participating in the cleanliness drive. As students of Botany, we love being close to nature and this is an opportunity to be out of the classrooms.”