Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues Memorial Debate
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Fr.
Conceicao Rodrigues Memorial Debate
2010
INDIA: A
DECADE OF CHANGES DATE: 3rd
and 4th of September Venue:
Samvad, Fr. CRCE Fr.
Conceicao Rodrigues Memorial Debate
2009 INDIA POISED: ON THE VERGE OF
GREATNESS Rising India, Shining India, India
-The next Superpower………… a lot has been said and done about India and its
future. With the advent of a stable government and our resistance to
worldwide recession, The lighting of the lamp followed
with the blessed presence of Father Victor and our principal Dr A.S.
Deshpande. The unique feature about this year’s Memorial Debate was that it
was held in our own newly constructed state of the art auditorium, Samvaad.
Our Cultural Secretary, Ms. Kshetra Naroankar spoke of this with pride while
giving a short idea of the history of Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues Memorial
Debate. Thereafter, the debate was announced open. A total of 16 teams participated.
Half of the debates on the day were to be held in Samvaad while the other
half in the Seminar Hall so the teams retired to their assigned hall. The
Pre-Quarterfinal round of The Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues Memorial Debate was a
closely contested one. In the second debate itself, our team got eliminated,
a big spoiler to the mood of the floor, but as it is famously said ‘The show
must go on’. And so it did with an intriguing debate between Xavier’s and
SPCE which saw the latter getting eliminated and IIT-B, last year’s semi
finalists winning by a margin of just 1 point. All this exhibited that no one
was immune; everyone was up for the challenge, with just one goal, the
coveted Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues Memorial Trophy. After the 8 pre-quarters, the
participants and judges retired for lunch, waiting for a riveting
quarter-final encounter. And so began the quarter finals,
with the teams going all out for a win. Two of them were sadly marred by
controversy over the interpretation of the topic. The judges rightly pulled
up the contestants for not having confirmed it before hand. The best debate
of the day without a doubt was IIT-B v/s GLC. These two debating giants were
at loggerheads with each other in every aspect of the debate which made the
debate an experience worth remembering for the audience. So after a day of
hard work, the semi-finalists were decided. Everyone looked forward for the
battle for glory, VESIT v/s IIT-B and Thakur v/s DBIT. SEMI-FINALS: The Semi-finals and Finals of the
debate were held on the 5th of September,'09 at Samvaad. The judges for the
day were Mrs. Bertha Fernandes, Ms. Madhavi Gokhale, Ms. Usha Nair and Mrs.
Shamili Solanki while the comperes were Mr. Andrew Simoes and Ms. Rutuja Jha. 1. VESIT v/s IIT-B: Moderator: Ms. Sasha Azad Topic: 'Live-in couples should
not be granted marital rights similar to married couples' VESIT proposed that live-in
relationships lack the responsibility and commitment that comes with normal
relationships and that mutuality should be publicly affirmed. In response to
their points, IIT-B proposed that a live-in is actually a freedom of choice
guaranteed by the constitution and tried to broaden the scope of the debate
by mentioning about section 377 and the LBGT (Lesbian, bisexual, gay and
transgender) community. VESIT won the round and secured
their berth in the finals. 2. Thakur v/s DBIT: Moderator: Mr. Rohit Pillai Topic: 'Manifestos are becoming
increasingly irrelevant, both in essence and implementation in the current
Indian political scenario' DBIT triumphed over Thakur College
and secured the other seat in the finals. THE FINAL SHOWDOWN: VESIT v/s DBIT: Moderator: Mr. Karan Bhatia Topic: 'The government is
justified in violating the privacy of its citizens in order to ensure their
safety' The stage was set for a final
showdown between the two heavy-weights of this year's competition. VESIT were
the ones to draw first blood in their opening speech which convincingly left
the whole audience spell-bound, supporting the proposition. The next turn
came to DBIT, who left a lasting impression on the audience such that it was
hard to decide who should be crowned the ultimate champion. The refutation
round began with statistics, examples and ample rhetoric flying across the
floor. VESIT firmly upheld that the government being of, by and for the
people should have full control over all citizen's details by means of phone
tapping, internet regulation, etc. and raised the example of secrecy in the
Swiss bank-accounts. DBIT contradicted, stating that there could be a more
friendlier approach without violation of privacy and fundamental rights
promised by the Indian constitution as use of such methods would only
increase rather than deter the threat to national security. Ms.Madhavi Gokhale gave the
judges’ view on the debate. She congratulated both teams on their performance
while giving tips to better their debating skills. The Chief Guest, Mr. Moiz Hussain,
Principal Dr. A.S. Deshpande and Fr. Francis Diniz were later asked to speak
a few words. Fr.Diniz gratuitously thanked the debate committee for putting
up a concept that could allow students to think, make and contribute
opinions. Mr. Moiz Hussain warmly expressed
his gratitude to all the participants for showing off their potential to
develop DBIT bagged the first prize while
VESIT became runners-up. The best contingent award went to Fr. CRCE and the
Best Speaker award went to Mr. Rahul Parulekar of DBIT. The victors, DBIT,
received the prestigious Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues Memorial Debate trophy from
our chief guest Mr. Moiz Hussain. We thank everyone who was a part
of this endeavour. Our moderators, comperes, team co-ordinators, security,
debate officials, judges in-charge, sound in-charge deserve two thumbs up for
their efforts. A special thanks to Mrs. Basanti Raina without whom the
Fr.Conceicao Rodrigues Memorial Debate would be impossible. Cheers! Ankur Save Debate-In-Charge |
