War of Words

“It’s better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.”
– Joseph Joubert

The ‘War of Words’, organized by the BBA Department of The Bhawanipur Education Society College was a debate designed to hone the public speaking skills of the students and to encourage healthy competition among them. It was held on September 2nd, 2023, in the Society Hall, Main Campus.

The Student Coordinators put together two teams of 5 participants each speaking for and against the motion. They were selected after a preliminary round which was held earlier in the week. A total of 30 participants were present for the latter.

The event began with Adiba Khan, the emcee for the event welcoming the audience, participants, moderator, and dignitaries. She introduced the moderator, Professor Dr. Suman Kumar Mukerjee who is the Director General of our College. He introduced the topic and shared his extensive knowledge with the participants and audience. He talked about how important debating is and demonstrated a few physical exercises to the speakers to help keep anxiety and nervousness at bay.

The Moderator then invited the newly appointed Rector and Dean of Student Affairs of BESC, Prof. Dilip Shah, to share a few words. The Dean also spoke about the importance of debating and how students must always be encouraged to take part in events such as this. He conveyed his best wishes to all the participants and handed over the proceedings to the Moderator.

The Moderator, Dr. Mukerjee then introduced the motion, “In the opinion of the house, Chandrayaan 3’s launch is not a landmark in Indian history.”

The first member of the proposition introduced the motion from their perspective and tried to convince the house that the launch of Chandrayaan 3 was not a landmark in Indian history. He was followed by the first member of the opposition who re-introduced the topic from their perspective and tried convincing the house that the launch of Chandrayaan 3 was indeed a landmark in Indian history.

Members from both sides came up with compelling arguments and tried to solidify their case and prove their points. The participants were allowed to foster a healthy sense of rivalry while they also evinced their decisiveness. Some of the key arguments against the motion included the financial implications of such space programs and that India must channelize its funds towards more important causes such as water and electricity. The opposition then tried to convince the audience stating that the event was indeed a landmark and a steppingstone towards placing the Indians in the elite club as far as space research is concerned.

After an hour-long session of thought-provoking debate, the moderator came to a decision. The opposition emerged as the winning side.
Dr. Mukerjee shared his insights on the motion and congratulated the participants for having the enthusiasm to participate and learn.

The event ended with a vote of thanks which was delivered by the Co-ordinator of the Department of Business Administration, Dr. Tridib Sengupta He also felicitated the Moderator with a token of appreciation and distributed the Certificates to the winners and participants. He also thanked the enthusiastic Event management group and the faculty coordinators of the event, Prof. Paridhi Agarwal, and Prof. Chiranjib Mitra without whom the event would not have been a success.