DPS R.K. Puram organised the 15th Annual Dhruv Rajgarhia Memorial Debate on 19 August 2016. This debate is held every year in the memory of Dhruv Rajgarhia, a student of the school who passed away in 2002. Dhruv is fondly remembered as a keen sportsman, an enthusiastic debater, a peacemaker, and one with an unparalleled zest for living. The debate was instituted by his grandfather, Late Shri K. L. Rajgarhia in 2002 in his memory .The aim was to promote debating skills amongst students and to hone and fine tune their oratorial skills. This year, 21 schools from all over Delhi and NCR participated in this prestigious debate.
Professor Anand Ranganathan, Associate Professor in the Special centre for Molecular Medicine at Jawaharlal Nehru University; Mr. Ullekh NP , journalist and political commentator for OPEN magazine and Mr. Melbin Joe Mathew, renowned Radio Jockey, judged the competition. The Vice Principal, Ms. Padma Srinivasan and Mr and Mrs Rajgarhia, parents of Dhruv Rajgarhia were present on the occasion.
The event began with a welcome address by the Vice Principal, Ms. Padma Srinivasan who encouraged the students to make the best use of this platform. The topics were given on the spot. All the contestants presented immaculate arguments on topics like ‘Industrialisation does not benefit the rural poor’ and ‘Collectivism should be preferred over individualism’ and quoted celebrated intellectuals like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.
The judges appreciated the participants and stressed on the increasing importance of debating in schools. The Principal, Ms. Vanita Sehgal; the esteemed judges and Mr. and Mrs. Rajgarhia were present for the prize distribution ceremony. In the individual category, the first position was bagged by Adit Bhardwaj of DPS R.K. Puram, second by Ishaan Chaudhary of Springdales, Pusa Road and third by Gautam Goyal of DPS International. The Best Interjector was awarded to Kaushik Garg of Springdales School, Pusa Road and the school won the Best Team prize also.
The ceremony concluded with the vote of thanks given by the Principal, Ms. Vanita Sehgal.
