Successful completion of the 5th IIT Delhi Parliamentary Debate

[Siddharth Jhawar]

Ladies & Gentlemen

It is a matter of pride for me to inform you of the successful completion of the 5th IIT Delhi Parliamentary Debate, 2010.

The event saw a participation of 44 teams across 4 days of intense debating, from 18-21st February, 2010. The debates were of a 3X3 Asians format, with reply speeches. The highlights of the tournaments were the highly acclaimed innovations in motions, guest adjudicators, huge prize money and a grand break night dinner.

The Chief Adjudicators of the tournament were Siddharth Krishnamoorthy (IIT Delhi & St. Stephens College), Yaman Verma (National Law School of India University) and Siddharth Jhawar (IIT Delhi). The two observer DCAs were Sayan Haldar (IIT Delhi) and Aritra Gupta (IIT Delhi). K. Prabhav Phalgun was the Overall Coordinator of the tournament.

The debate also saw Guest Adjudicators of the likes of Sharmila Parmanand, Sidharth Chauhan, Prabhpal Singh Grewal and Aditya Verma.

The champions of the debate were Ramjas College (Delhi University), which beat IIT Bombay in the finals through a unanimous verdict by a 9 member bench. Pranay Bhatia (IIT Bombay) was adjudged the Best Speaker, while Dhruv Desai (Ramjas College) was the Second Best Speaker of the tournament. The four Best Adjudicators were Utkarsh Saxena (Law Faculty, Delhi), Rhea Chatterjee (Hindu College), Vivek Shivakumar (NLSIU) and Kaushik Prasad (NLSIU). All winners were handsomely awarded!

Please find attached the rules of the debate, a list of team standings, breaking teams and adjudicators and the motions.

The motions used in the debate were:

Round 1 -Regional Politics

•          THB in a separate state of Telengana

•          THBT Regional Parties should not be allowed to stand for national elections

•          THBT the use of violence by Naxalites is justified by the ends they seek to achieve.

 

Round 2 - National Security

•          THBT Full Body Scans should be banned as the privacy concerns outweigh the national security benefits.

•          THB in cross-border assassinations of terrorist leaders by intelligence agencies for national security

•          THB in demilitarization of the Siachen Glacier

 

Round 3 - The Classics

•          THW abolish capital punishment for any crime.

•          THW allow marijuana for recreational use.

•          THW legalize euthanasia.

 

Round 4 - Marriage

•          THW make cheating spouses pay double alimony

•          THW make marriage registrations in India compulsory.

•          THW legalize polygamy and polyandry for people of all religions.

 

Round 5 - International Relations

•          THW construct a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe.

•          THBT the UN should impose military sanctions on Iran.

•          THBT the UN must administer states that cannot administer themselves

 

 

Octo-finals - Bad Man Round

•          TH (The Shiv Sena) would end its campaign against North Indians

•          TH (The military junta in Myanmar) would release Aung San Suu Kyi

•          TH (The North Korean Government) would give up its nuclear program

 

Quarter-finals - Movies Manner Method

•          The Matrix: This house would take the other pill

•          Lagaan: This house would refuse to take the bet

•          Dark Knight: This house would blow up the ship filled with criminals to save itself.

 

Semi-finals – Once upon a time

•          The Year is 1856: THW not introduce the Enfield rifle in the Royal Indian Army

•          The Year is 1941: THW not open the eastern front on USSR.

•          The Year is 1998: THW not test nuclear weapons at Pokhran

 

Finals

•          THW abolish the “don’t ask don’t tell policy” on homosexuals in the US army

•          THW repeal the Swiss ban on minarets

•          THW pay twitter to aid the revolution in Iran

 

Thank you for reading this.

Best Regards,

Siddharth Jhawar