Delhi Public School R.K.Puram organized the 16th Annual Dhruv Rajgarhia Memorial Debate on 25 August 2017. There were 18 schools from all over Delhi and NCR that participated in this event.
Dhruv Rajgarhia, a young student of the school passed away in 2002. Dhruv is fondly remembered as a keen sportsman, an enthusiastic debater, a peacemaker and someone with an unparalleled zest for living. The debate was instituted by his grandfather, Late Shri K. L. Rajgarhia in his memory, with the aim of promoting debating and oratorical skills amongst students
This year the format of the debate was changed to the parliamentary style of debating. The debate consisted of two rounds- the preliminary and the final round. The participating teams were equally divided into two pools and were given the topics on- the- spot and allowed half an hour of preparation time. The preliminary round took place at two venues- the Seminar Room and the Audio Visual Hall. The judges for the preliminary round were the alumni: Ms. Shagun Sethi, JMC, Ms. Dhwani Nagpal, JMC, Mr. Jai Khajuria, Durham University, Ms. Radhika Sharma, King’s College, London and Ms. Kanupriya Mittal, Miranda House. Ms. Esha Patel, a member of JMC’s English Debating Society
The top six out of the eighteen participating teams qualified for the final round which took place in the Audio Visual Hall. Impeccable arguments on topics such as ‘Gender neutral pronouns in textbooks’, ‘Civil Disobedience in a Democracy is morally justified’ and ‘Do what you want narrative’ were presented by the participants who spoke firmly and debated their topics in a crisp and thorough manner. The judges for the final round were Mr. Arunoday Mukharji, Anchor and Senior Editor at CNN News18, Ms. Priyanka Naib, Senior Editor at CAPA-Centre for Aviation and Ms. Syedah Fawzia Nadeem, Professor at the Faculty of Education, Jamia Millia Islamia University. Mr. and Mrs. Rajgarhia, parents of Dhruv Rajgarhia were also present to witness the debate.
The Principal, Ms. Vanita Sehgal, in her address, congratulated the participants and thanked the Rajgarhia family for their presence and their long association with the school. A moment of silence was observed in the memory of the young soul.
The judges appreciated the efforts of the participants and the organising committee. They were accompanied by the Principal and the Rajgarhia family for the award distribution ceremony. The Indian School won the Rolling Trophy with Saumya Saxena and Priyansh Agarwal representing the school. Shrey Goyal, Modern School, Barakhamba Road won the ‘Best Speaker Award’, while the runner-up was Priyansh Agarwal, The Indian School and the second runner-up was Asees Kaur, Vasant Valley School.
