Delhi Public School RK Puram hosted its 18th Dhruv Rajgarhia Memorial Inter-School English Debate Competition on 16 August, 2019. A total of seventeen schools participated in the event, with three speakers from each school. The event was coordinated by Ms. Kavita Kumar, the Teacher I/C Debating Society.
Affectionately remembered as a peacemaker and a boy with an unmatched
gusto for life, Dhruv Rajgarhia was a keen sportsman and an
enthusiastic debater. The event was instated by his grandfather, Late
Shri K. L. Rajgarhia, to encourage students to actively indulge in
debates and other linguistic activities.
The competition was divided into two parts. The preliminaries
consisted of three simultaneous events – classical debate, extempore,
and turncoat debate – wherein one participant from each school spoke on
the proposed motion, adhering to a time limit of three minutes. This was
followed by the second part which had three rounds – the
quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the finals.
A mosaic of ironies, humour and fighting stereotypes, the classical debate proved to be a very interesting and engaging event. The Classical Debate was judged by:
- Pramiti Singh, DPS RK Puram alumna, currently pursuing Sociology at JMC
- Kasvi Bhardwaj, studying Sociology at JMC
- Akshay Chauhan, a History student at Hindu College
- Hemant Sangwan, pursuing a Bachelors in Physical Sciences with Chemistry at Deshbandhu College
The extempore was an amalgamation of facts and emotions ranging from capitalism to mental health.The Extempore was judged by:
- Ajatshatru Singh Rawat, a BBA (Financial and Investment Analysis) student at SSCBS
- Mozaien Tak, an Economics and Philosophy student at Deshbandhu College
- Saloni Singh, a third-year Economics major at Gargi College
- Tejasvi Yadav, currently pursuing Mathematics Hons at Miranda House
The participants in Turncoat debate were challenged to speak both for and against the motion in Block-Tackle format, the turncoat debate judged their creativity while stimulating opinions.The Turncoat Debate was judged by:
- Kaushitaki Sharma, former Vice-President of the DPS RKP Debating Society and a current member of the IPU Debating Society
- Shefali Mehra, former president of the DPS RKP Economics Society
- Ameya Chaturvedi, DPS RK Puram alumna who is currently studying psychology at Indraprastha College for women
- Jatin Jha, former President of the DPS RKP Debating Society
A total of 8 schools qualified for the second part of the event: an Asian Style Parliamentary Debate.
The motions put before the teams in the Quarter Finals were “The
US abdication of leadership would bring about a detrimental change to
world order” and “Rehabilitation should be the only consideration in a
criminal sentencing.”
Following meticulous discussions, four teams went on to compete in the Semi-Finals wherein the motions
“The House supports the division of Jammu and Kashmir into two separate
Union Territories” and “The State should allow non-citizen migrants to
vote in local elections” were presented to the debaters.
The Finals provided a much-awaited, breathtaking conclusion to the event, with two teams debating on the topic “The
House believes that in cases of conflict, a nation’s self-interests
should outweigh its international commitments to migrants” with intricate eloquence and zeal. All eleven adjudicators presided over the final debate.
The Closing Ceremony commenced with an address by the Presidents of
the Debating Society, Sara Singh and Anushka Nijhawan, thanking the
participating schools for joining in to commemorate the loving memory of
Dhruv Rajgarhia.
In her address , the Principal, Ms Vanita Sehgal, thanked the judges,
participants, and the Rajgarhia family. She spoke of how things change,
yet sentimentality lingers on; and that being sentimental is not a
weakness, but a paramount strength. Highlighting the importance of
debating, she emphasized that it teaches us something for life – how to
think on our feet – and that if a person is capable of such logical
thought, they are miles ahead of where most of us are. She also thanked
the members of the Debating Society and the teachers-in-charge for
pulling together an admirably wonderful event, and lauded the judges for
upholding the legacy and traditions of DPS RK Puram.
The room exuded exuberance as the judges, the Rajgarhia family, and
the Principal, Ms Vanita Sehgal, were invited on-stage for the prize
distribution.
The results of the event are as follows:
OVERALL BEST SPEAKER
Sakshi Sharma, Bluebells School International
First Runner Up: Areeb Mansoor, DPS Mathura Road
Second Runner-Up: Dhruvi Agarwal, DPS Mathura Road
The overall winner of the event was Bluebells School International.
