Students from the North-East at Delhi University’s North Campus on Tuesday.
Photo: V.V.Krishnan
North-East students make admission process simpler for persons from their States
“We recognise them instantly. We know who they are from
the way they talk, walk and dress. The other factor is, of course,
their face,” says Jaifunj, who is wearing beige shorts, a black T-shirt
and a smile that never leaves his face despite the intense mid-morning
sun at Delhi University on Day Eight of admissions on Tuesday.
Jaifunj
is from Assam and a student of Delhi University for two years now. He
had a harrowing time going around the university trying to get
everything right when he was applying for admission, so he decided to
make it his business to help other students from his State who come here
for admissions.
“They have the same queries I used
to have — how to fill out the form and get around the university. They
hesitate to ask other people because they think they will be made fun of
since they speak differently,” he says, before admitting: “It is they
who recognise me most of the time. I look as Assamese as you can look.”
His
friend Birsj Mushahary agrees. “The entire North-East people look the
same to the people here in Delhi, but only we can recognise who is
Assamese or Manipuri or from Nagaland.” He says they have an
organisation, Bodoland House, which usually helps people from Assam,
counsels them about the courses and the topography of Delhi University.
A
few feet away sitting on some steps leading up to the building that is
giving away application forms for the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes
is Roveri and his brother.
“We have different tribes
in Nagaland and most of us come under the Scheduled Tribes quota. We
have our own people here to help us out,” says Roveri, adding that since
his brother was already a student of Kirori Mal College he was not keen
on going to any other college.
Walking briskly
ahead of her husband and daughter is an elegant Ms. Jamir, who says they
would have been lost and “moving around like fools” if it had not been
for “those nice students who gave them all the information they needed
even though they were not from Nagaland.” The family is from Manipur and
the daughter has good scores. St. Stephen's College or Lady Shri Ram
College are the daughter's preferred choices. Ms. Jamir says she is
especially grateful for the additional quota that she is entitled to.
The
crowds just outside the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes registration
counters are overwhelming, there is hardly any space to weave your way
forward and the noise is deafening. Amid the chaos is a white counter
with “NSUD” painted on it. There are several smiling girls and boys from
the North-East who cheerfully answer questions. “The NSUD is an
organisation of Nagaland students but we help all the States from the
North-East. We have seen six admission seasons. We are here from the
beginning and stick around till the admission closes completely,” says
J. Maivio.
Their tasks are divided he says — some
answer queries and some just go around the campus and bring back
confused and clueless students. “Our first task is to make them open to
different colleges in the university. They are fixed about certain
colleges, without thinking of their scores and the feasibility of
getting admissions. Our next task is to acquaint them with the geography
of the college, course and the cut-offs they can expect,” he says,
adding they usually encourage them to opt for every college in the
university and counsel them about extra-curricular activities and sports
quota. “Our people are usually good at sports, especially basket ball
and usually do not know about the sports quota.”
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