NEW DELHI: The Department of Buddhist Studies at the University of Delhi may not be a top academic choice for many students. However, the department seems to be quite popular among students contesting Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections.
This year, 43% of DUSU candidates belong to the Buddhist Studies department. In fact, all four top candidates of the BJP’s student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), are pursuing a Master's in Buddhist Studies.
Professor Indra Narain Singh, head of the Buddhist Studies department, however, said the trend is nothing new. “Majority of the DUSU candidates every year are either from the law faculty or from my department. DU has now nothing to do with the admissions. Meritorious students coming here with philosophy or history backgrounds through the NTA exam. I can’t stop them from taking admission here,” he told this newspaper. “We have 300 seats in our Masters programme,” he added.
However, going by the profiles of the candidates, a transition can be observed. Take, for example, Tushar Dedha from the ABVP who is contesting the polls for the post of president. He holds a BA in Arts with a combination of economics and political science from DU. He has obtained a certificate from the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and has an interest in debates. Meanwhile, he is pursuing post-graduation in the Department of Buddhist Studies.
From departments like economics, political science, English and law, seven out of 16 candidates in the fray opted to take admissions in the Buddhist Studies department despite the fact that DU has a total of 86 departments on campus. Admission in the varsity’s department can get a student a seat in the hostel, ensuring cheap accommodation and food.
In this year’s poll, apart from four top ABVP candidates, two students from NSUI and one from SFI are from the Buddhist Studies department. Only AISA doesn’t have a candidate from the department.
ABVP vice-president nominee Sushant Dhankad completed a BA in English and is a gold medalist at the state-level in pistol shooting. Aparajita holds a bachelor’s degree in history and Sachin Baisala is a law graduate
300 MA seats
There are 300 seats in the Masters programme in the Buddist Studies department. The DU has a total of 86 departments on campus.