‘For a more inclusive campus’: In a first, a visually impaired student in Dusu race

NEW DELHI: For the first time in the history of Delhi University Students’ Union (Dusu) elections, a visually impaired student may enter the fray for the central panel, with Pankaj Dhingra likely to be a candidate from AAP’s student outfit, ASAP.Dhingra, a first-year LLB student at Campus Law Centre and a Kirori Mal College (KMC) graduate, has been associated with AAP for three years. He was the secretary of the students’ union at KMC and has been active in raising issues concerning persons with disabilities (PwD). He told TOI he has around 5-10% vision and described his condition as “late blindness”, with his vision beginning to deteriorate when he was in classes V-VI.The lack of representation of PwD students in DU’s student bodies was a major reason motivating him to contest, Dhingra said. Lack of tactile infrastructure, commuting difficulties and problems faced by visually impaired students in finding examination scribes are among key issues he wants to raise.“Students are appointed as scribes but aren’t paid remuneration for a long time. Because of this, visually impaired students face difficulty in finding people to write their exams. It’s also tough to find suitable subject-matter experts as scribes,” he said.Dhingra participated in the CJP-led stir at Jantar Mantar under the ASAP banner and alleged he was lathicharged. He also expressed solidarity with students following the death of an IIT Delhi student.The probable ASAP panel includes former NSUI state secretary Janhvi Kataria; AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar’s nephew Abhishek Kumar; Kunal Tyagi, son of MCD councillor Pinky Tyagi; and Ashmit Panwar.Tyagi, a second-year LLB student and graduate of Motilal Nehru College, joined ASAP last year after it was relaunched. His father, Naresh Tyagi, is a district president. Kumar, a BA graduate of Shyam Lal College who is seeking admission to an MA in Buddhist Studies, was appointed state vice-president when the student outfit was relaunched. He is being projected as the Dalit representative.Kataria, an ARSD College graduate and a Najafgarh resident, joined ASAP four months ago after spending around four years with NSUI. The lone woman among the probables, she is being projected as a representative of students from outlying areas who face long daily commutes to DU. Panwar, a first-year PGDAV College student, is a recent entrant to ASAP.ASAP state vice-president Kamal Tiwari said the decision to field a visually impaired student was a “conscious step” towards meaningful representation for students with disabilities, adding the aim was to create a more “inclusive and representative campus”.The final list will be clear once the nomination and withdrawal process is completed after Sept 11.Meanwhile, RSS-affiliated ABVP announced a list of 13 probables -- Alok Attri, Ayushi Sharma, Ishu Maurya, Krishna Yadav, Lakshya Raj Singh, Nitin Tanwar, Priyanshu Mahamana, Riya Chhawri, Riya Malik, Sunny Dedha, Tanya Mavi, Varun Yadav and Yash Dabas. It said they will visit 47 colleges and five departments of DU to interact with students and incorporate their inputs in the manifesto.The Dusu elections will be held Sept 18 and results will be announced Sept 19.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Delhi | Silver Rate in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Petrol Price in Delhi | Diesel Price in Delhi | CNG Price in Delhi | LPG Price in DelhiStay updated with the latest Delhi news. Download the TOI App.