Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!
I on behalf of the PARADOX -The Chanakya National Law University Debating society welcome you all to the live blog of 11th CNLU National Parliamentary Debate(Asian format).
So buckle up. This is going to be not just another debate competition but a fierce one! And we mean it in every possible way.
The 11th edition kicked off with top teams pouring in from every part of the country. The enthusiasm and the the the urge to win could clearly be deciphered from the faces of the participants.
So the inauguration ceremony was graced with the presence of Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Justice Smt. Mirdula Mishra (Retd.), and Registrar Manoranjan Prasad Srivastava (Retd. District Judge). The ceremony with a brief introduction of the participants, adjudicators and core adjudicators with the lightning of the lamp and floral tribute to Late Shilesh Chandra Mishra, in whose found memory the best speaker award has been instituted. Mr. Mishra was an eminent advocate, visionary, philanthropist, and accomplished orator with a keen interest in debating on contemporary issues.
The Hon’ble Registrar addressed and welcomed the participants of the event while addressing the crowd he elucidated about the importance of the debate in our life and drew an analogy of how debating is equivalent to questioning.
The ceremony was concluded with the encouraging words of the student convener Miss Priyesha Prabha. In her own words, CNLU PD is not just an event for us but it’s a festival of 11 years legacy” and I bet not even a single person who has ever been or is directly or indirectly associated with the CNLU PD would negate those aforementioned words.
Stay tuned for more updates!
16:00: Finallyyyyy! The moment everyone was waiting for. After a briefing session and a short break after the inauguration (not so short), the core adjudicators released the tabs and the motions. As soon as the motions were displayed on the projector all the participants rushed to the screen to click the picture as they were on a clock with a limited 25 minutes of prep time.
17:05: The debates of the round 1 are over now. Everyone is out of their rooms now. Some smiling and some not so smiling faces can be spotted in the corridors of the academic blocks of CNLU.
17:10: The teams are gathering at the gate of the hall to know their standings after round one and anxious to know the motions for next round only to realise it’s HIGH TEA TIME! Sorry guys, you gotta wait for another hour.
18:50: So the 2nd round…. After a long and tiresome wait. The team with caffeine rushing in their bloodstream after the high tea gathers in the hall once again for the tabs and motions of the round two.
Now the biggest question! The question which is giving palpitations to everyone…
“The house wants to know”, when shall the Core Adjudicators come to rescue them from the long and anxious wait.
19:10: The saviours and the skeletal system behind the smooth functioning of the CNLU PD the TAB TEAM is here! With the tabs for round 2 and the motions. But wait! there’s something more the path to round 2 ain’t that easy. First the attendance.
PS: The TAB team’s work is very critical and there are zero margins of error. They have to work both effectively and efficiently so guys if the tab team is late please don’t be infuriated because I am sure you don’t want any error on the tabulation part because one small error could cost you an entire tournament.
So cheers to the hard-working TAB TEAM of the 11th CNLU PD.
19:40: The core adjudicators are here! This calls for a celebration! And those smile on the faces of the participants. If someone asked me what does the real happiness looks like I’d show them the picture of the looks on the faces of the participants when the core adjudicators arrived.
Okay, wait! Yes, the participants are happy but at the same time the chatter and anxiety level is increasing exponentially about what shall be the next move and which team shall we be facing next!
And it’s not just the teams and adjudicators who are preparing for the round two.
Mr. Ankit Singh has convened the entire green army a.k.a the timers and runners team for briefing. In the words of Mr. Singh “, everything shall be done disciplined and orderly manner so that there is no complain from the participants and adjudicators.”
Looks like some sort army drill!^
Cheers to the Dark Knights of the debate. The runners and timers.
19:55: Guys huddle up the motions are here! And again the same routine. Rushing to the screen to take pictures of all the motions! Some scratching heads while trying to understand the motions. And again the train of mixed emotions and expressions throughout the hall.
So 25 minutes to go! And the prep time starts right now……….
Oh, wait I forgot to mention the motions.
Even you can see the motions and tabs by clicking on the following link: https://cnlu-pd.herokuapp.com/cnlupd-2019/motions/
Quite an efficient way and reduces paperwork too (I guess everyone reading this remembers the Amazon fire or did you forget?).
20:20: So the debate begins.
Room Number 7 discussing the feminist issue. Quite an intriguing speech by the Prime Minister I must say.
“Why are we restricting the idea of feminism just to the clothes” The Leader of the Opposition.
20:54: Room number 1 discussing on the motion number 3 (You know where to see the motions)
LGBTQIA+ being discussed in the house of USA. Okay!
“If you’re in favour of LGBTQIA community but you don’t understand what’s their perspective, then whats the entire the point of supporting them.”- The Deputy Leader of opposition.
The government whip in room number 1 is quite good with her expressions! She handled the POI with wit and charm, quite impressive.
21:20: So the end of a tire someday! With the end of round 2, the expression of relief could be easily deciphered on the faces of participants and organisers. But it’s just the end of the day and not the 11th CNLU PD. We still have a couple of more days which are going to be much more tiresome and interesting.
Next on the list? Day two i.e the busiest day of all 3. 3 rounds to go before the knockouts! High cash prizes at stake so let’s see how the teams battle their way to the next 3 rounds to the knock out stages.
DAY 2!
10:00: A new day, a new chapter a new chance! The teams have started to arrive in the campus. Well rested (I hope) and prepared for yet another battle of thoughts, ideas and words! Everyone seems to be super enthusiastic. The entire hall the echoing with the chatter of the team discussing their plan for the day and not just with their teammates but also with other teams from different institutions. Well, that’s another great thing about CNLU PD it not just provide you with an excellent platform for debating but also gives a turf for interactions with the finest of teams from the best institutions of this country (EXPOSURE)!
10:30: So the core adjudicators here!
10:40: After a briefing session (not so brief) the tabs are finally out. And the motions are too. As the event proceeds the motions are getting interesting. And boy o boy the motions for round 3! Communism, meetoo and what not (Go check them out from the link given above.
So back in the arena. Debating Mode ON! 25 minutes to go for round 3 and the time starts in 3…2…1…….
11:20: Room number 4 has chosen to debate on which I believe is the most intriguing motion till now at 11th CNLU PD. Communist Party of India should turn in a pressure group rather than focusing on politics! A hell lot of things to debate upon in this motion especially if you’re a left-winger.
“Communist means Karl Marx” Deputy leader of opposition! Quite a bold statement.
“State and government are two different things.” – The opposition.
” When the socialist group tires to become communist group there will always be an element corruption.” – Side Government
12:10 And the round 3 comes to an end. What an amazing debate it was. With some excellent constructive and rebuttals flying across the room from both the sides I believe it’s going to be a taxing job for the Adjudicators while taking the call. The eagerness could be easily seen among the participants about what’s going on the other side of the door. What are adjudicators discussing? Did we give enough constructive and proper rebuttal? Each second feel like an hour.
By the way by the time the adjudicators decide on the verdicts let us know in the comment section what do you believe, should CPI be converted into a pressure group or it shall focus just on politics?
13:20: The Participants are hungry and so is the Media Team! But one more round to go before lunch damnnnnnnnnn! Please release the motions fast!
13:35: Finally the adjudicators are here, just moments away from the release of the much-awaited motions. Okay, so again a briefing.
The team with happy and not so happy faces after round 3 waiting for the round 4 eagerly looking ahead for the motion. The pathway to the finals is getting harder and harder as the debate progresses.
14:00: The motions and tabs for the round 4 are out! Do need to tell you the scenario in the hall again? the same drill again. The teams rushing to the screen to get updates, anxiety all over the room not just among the participants but also the timers and runners as they are short of time.
Alright, guys media team is super hungry now! We shall be taking a short break and be right back with other updates of round 4 and other exciting stuff! Stay Tuned..
14:40: Alright guys we are back. We thought we’d take a bit longer break but THERE HAS BEEN A DEFCHAL in room number 3! First DEFCHAL of 11th CNLU PD!
15:50: So the team are back after a long break fueled up for the final round. The previous round was quite a controversial one. Yes because of the debchal (the debchal didn’t stand).
16:10: So the core adjudicator is here. They are addressing the participants about the issues in the previous round. Also, they are addressing the adjudicators about the nuances of the debate based on the inputs of the participants from the previous rounds and they are addressing the participants on how to communicate and address the contentions to the adjudicators after feedbacks and what are the proper ways of doing so.
17:20: The fixtures of the final rounds are out now.
17:25: Finally the motions for the final open round is out. It’s getting tougher and tougher each and every round. The room is again echoing with the chatter of the anxious and enthusiastic participants discussing their motions and stances. Well before the team proceede for the further rounds I’d like to say guy no matter how bad or good te previous rounds were just focused and go give your best in the final round. Put everything y’all have got and make it a memorable one.
And just so you all know there is a break night or as we like to call it in formal term social networking night is waiting after the 5th round. The place where all the participants will finally get time to forget stressing and thinking about debate and just enjoy and socialise with fellow participants. So, guys, good luck go kill it in the final round and enjoy your night. We hope that 11th CNLU PD will give you enough memories to be cherished for a lifetime.
Day 3
10:00: The D DAY! So after a loooong and tiring day two, all the teams had quite a fun night. And that was actually needed to get recharged for day 3!
10:30: Finally after tiresome day 2 and with just a few hours of sleep team have started to arrive on the campus with a lot of hope and eagerness. Everyone is pondering on the same question will we be able to break in the quarters? Well to all those participants I’d like to say guys take a deep breath, relax!
10:40: The core adjudicators are here! And as the core adjudicators enter the room the heart rate of every participant is rising exponentially. The time they’ll get the results of their 3 days of hard work.
So the standing is out now! Again some happy and some not so happy faces across the hall.
10:50: So the most intriguing part of the debate. The Knock out the rounds. Every team has to put in everything they have to qualify for the next round as they won’t get any other chance.
The motions are out now and I must say as it’s the quarter-finals it’s not just the competition is getting intense but the motions are also getting tougher and tougher.
The motion of quater finals are:
- This house as post-colonial societies regret the celebration and relevance of British culture in Hong Kong.
-
This house as the independence movement will completely destroy the mineral reserves.
- TH (as post colonial South Aftrica) will actively downplay the role of of Afrikaans in the national conscience
11:30: Room number 4 discussing 2nd motion. Quite an intense debate.
“People of Jashna are stupid and dumb”- The Prime minister of the house
Hegemony, Colonisers, Hard and Soft Power, Revolution and other words flying across the room from both sides.
11:50: Room number 3 debating on the 1st motion.
The Prime Minister asked a POI to the Deputy leader of the opposition.
“We aren’t here just to express the ideology but also the authority.” The Deputy Leader of the opposition.
“The Chinese culture is antithetical to what Hong Kong is”- The Government Whip
13:40: With the of quaters and four team march to the semis.
The team in the smeis are: RML Bandhita V. NITR Municipality and SXC1 V. NITR Lit Chokras.
13:45: The motions for semis are:
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This house as the art community, rejects this painting as a piece of art.
- In industrial societies with poor mental health statistics, this house supports the rise of AI therapists.
- This House Will Impose a Moratorium on All Artificial Intelligence Research.
14:50: The Semifinals full of intense debate and enthusiasm are over now. The teams are headed for the lunch but everyone is asking the same question which two teams out of four made its finals. The mystery shall be revealed post-lunch session!
15:30: The moment which everyone was anxiously waiting which are the two team battling against each other for a whopping cash prize of 60,000 and most importantly an opportunity to be facilitated by Hon’ble Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
15:40: And the core adjudicators are here! And the finalists are …………
NITR Municipality V SXC 1.
The motions for the final round is: This house regrets the rise of modern political satire.
25 minutes to go for the final round.
You can watch the live stream of the finals at our Instagram page @thecnlupd
After a tough and a super amazing battle the finals are over. Everyone wants to know who’s the winner and who’s going to takeaways the cash prize worth Rs. 60,000. But not so soon. The winner shall be announced an hour later in the presence of Hon’ble Minister of law and justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad.
18:30: So the time is here. The moment everyone has been waiting for the past 3 days. This is it. Andddddd the winner of 11th CNLU National Parliamentary debate is……..
NITR Municipality!!
Congratulations to the winner and greetings to every team that participated. It’s been a wonderful journey. We look forward to hosting you all in the 12th edition of CNLU PD. Kudos to the every organising team members of right from the convener to the volunteers. Cheers guys we made it.
For further updates keep visiting our website www.cnlupd.com
We’ll be back next year bigger and better.
Signing off The 11th CNLU PD media team!