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Journalism of Courage
Getting There: Jalaun/Kargil/Panipat to Delhi University
Standing outside the admissions hall of Daulat Ram College in Delhi University’s (DU) North Campus, with a photocopy of her OBC certificate, 18-year-old Deepti Rathore is fighting back her tears. She has been denied admission to the college — “only because I don’t have my original OBC document. They refused to take the photocopy,” she says.
Deepti’s journey from Titra Khalilpur village in Jalaun district of central Uttar Pradesh to the “prestigious” DU has been a difficult one. Daughter of a farmer who makes close to Rs 6,000 a month, for years, Deepti would travel from her village to Orai, a town that’s an hour away, to complete her education. With no internet connection in the village, the family had been in touch with a relative in Noida about the cut-offs. So when the second list was to be announced, she set off with her father to Delhi on June 29.
“My mother fed me curd and sugar for good luck before we took a bus from Titra Khalirpur to Jalaun town,” she says, talking about the journey that cost them Rs 60 and roughly 40 minutes. From Jalaun, Deepti and her father paid another Rs 100 to get to Auraiya, an hour away by bus.
Battling long queues and the blistering heat, they boarded a bus to Etawah. “Our bus had a flat tyre, so we had to wait for an hour at the bus stop. I checked all my documents on the journey,” she says.
From Etawah, they took a state transport corporation bus to Delhi, reaching their relative’s home in Noida at midnight, the end of a 12-hour journey that cost them Rs 700. Over the next few days, Deepti has made five trips to the campus, talking the Delhi Metro from Noida Sector 18 to Vishwavidyalaya Station, but the over 70 colleges in DU offer little choice.
By mid-afternoon, the father and daughter run through the cut-off list again and finally settle for Shivaji College in Raja Garden, an off-campus college in west Delhi. The following day, though disheartened, Deepti takes her admission. “I studied so hard and yet… What is the point of all this hard work,” she asks as her father looks at pamphlets for paying-guest accommodation near his daughter’s new college.
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The journey from Kargil to Delhi takes over two days by bus. But that has not dissuaded Sajad Ali, Asif Ali Khan and Mohd Ali, all 18-year-olds fresh out of a government school in Kashmir, from making the trip to Delhi.
“It is my ticket to a better life, better jobs,” says Sajad, who, with 87 per cent marks, is hoping to get into BCom (Hons) in SRCC under the ST quota. Asif, who has scored 79 per cent and Mohd Ali, who has 74 per cent, are not aiming for the “top colleges”, but are hoping to make it to an off-campus one.
Accompanied by their brother Sajid Ali Raja, a 25-year-old school teacher in Kargil who did his MCom from Delhi School of Economics, the group set off on an arduous journey from Kargil on June 28, a day before the second list was declared.
They first took a bus from Kargil to Srinagar. It’s a five-hour journey through treacherous terrain and rough weather. With Rs 4,000 each in their pockets, they shelled out Rs 300 for the ticket.
From Srinagar, they set off to Jammu, stuffed in a Qualis with four other people for the next eight hours. They made a halt in Jammu and stayed in a guesthouse, which added another Rs 200 to their bill. Early next morning, they were to board a bus from Jammu to Delhi, a 10-hour journey that cost Rs 800 per person. “But we finally got a bus only at noon because all the seats were full… just like in DU,” jokes Asif.
On a tight budget, the group is staying at a friend’s paying-guest accommodation near Jama Masjid. “We couldn’t afford the rents here so I spoke to an old friend. We will stay with him for a week,” says Sajad.
At the SRCC admissions room, a staff member calls out for Sajad and says his admission has been rejected because the course mentioned on his form is incorrect. While struggling with the language, Sajad desperately tries to explain his position, but the staff member asks him to leave.
It’s a big setback. “We knew Asif and Mohd Ali wouldn’t get through to the top colleges, but our hopes were pinned on Sajad,” says Sajid.
The next day, they do the rounds of South Campus but here too, Sajad doesn’t make it to BCom (Hons) in any other college. After a brief huddle on the lawns of Sri Venkateswara College, they decide to wait for the next list. “This is my only way to get a government job,” says Asif, as they board the Metro.
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As she steps back after a long stare at the cut-off list on a board at the centre of SRCC campus, 19-year-old Mansi Chachra recalls all those hours she spent in her two-room house in Panipat, dreaming about a seat in DU. With 85 per cent, Mansi’s chances of getting into BCom (Honours) at SRCC and the other top colleges of the university are almost nil. “I am a general category student, where can I go,” she snaps.
Mansi has made eight trips to the campus so far, each time taking a three-hour bumpy ride on a bus from Panipat that costs her Rs 72. But more than the journey, Mansi says she is worried about the expenses her father, who owns a tea shop in Panipat, has had to bear — her father Shri Ram, 49, makes about Rs 5,000 a month.
Both her parents had accompanied her on her first two trips, but the expenses forced them to stay back and send their daughter alone — it’s not something they are “comfortable” about. “They had no option, a round trip costs Rs 150 for one person,” says Mansi.
Given her bleak chances, the commerce student is even willing to settle for a BA in Hindi, “provided it is at a top college”. As the admission offices shut at 4 pm, Mansi tries speaking to one of the staff members – “just to see if something can be done”. But the official simply leaves. Angry, she picks up her documents and dashes out of the campus, “vowing” to return after the next list and determined to get a seat.
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