Motion for the Grand Finals

We are extremely pleased to bring to you the motion for the Grand Finals of the NLS Debate Junior 2013!

Since its entry into Indian politics one year back, the Aam Aadmi Party, led by the charismatic Arvind Kejriwal, has garnered significant public attention by promising to deliver a corruption-free brand of governance. The first formal test of the public's confidence in the party - the Delhi Assembly elections - is set to happen on December 4th 2013, which is barely a week away. Recently, public reactions to allegations that some of the party's candidates were corrupt provided a rare glimpse into the complex ways in which the Indian populace perceives the political force that the party has become. 

At the Grand Finals of the NLS Debate Junior, the two top teams of the tournament will be asked to imagine that the following set of fictional facts has unfolded: 

The Core Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party has come into possession of evidence that clearly demonstrates that Kejriwal engaged in an act of corruption while serving as an officer in the Indian Revenue Service. The Core Committee has reason to believe that it was an isolated act of corruption on his part, and that he will never do the same again. The Core Committee also realises that if they choose to suppress the evidence, the incident is unlikely to ever come to light. 

In this context, the motion for the Grand Finals is:

This House, being the Core Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party, will suppress this evidence.

With the short amount of time left till the elections, is it unreasonable for the Aam Aadmi Party to hope to maintain control over the information, if it chooses to release it? And would releasing the evidence amount to a blind adherence to the principle of transparency that risks the party's potential to deliver transparent governance as lawmakers if they win the election? On the other hand, does the Aam Aadmi Party, unlike any other party, have a special obligation to abhor corruption in any form? More pragmatically, could releasing the evidence in fact strengthen the party in the electoral race?

With these and more questions set to be explored, analysed and answered, the Grand Finals of this edition of the NLS Debate Junior promises to be an exciting and challenging affair. 

As a note, we'd like to thank Aashay Sahay, Sayan Sanyal and Sai Siddharth for this motion's idea.

Motion for Round 3

The motion for the third round is given below. Please note that the motion for the Grand Finals will be released tomorrow.

Round 3

The Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting was recently held in Sri Lanka. The CHOGM is a forum for heads of commonwealth governments (consisting of the United Kingdom and former British colonies) to discuss common problems and concerns.

The recent CHOGM has been quite controversial in India, regarding the Prime Minister’s attendance. Voices from several quarters of the Indian polity called for the Prime Minister to boycott the CHOGM as a sign of protest against the alleged atrocities on Tamils committed by the Sri Lankan government during the final phases of the Sri Lankan civil war. Indeed, estimates for civilian fatalities, produced by the United Nations and human rights groups, range all the way from 20,000 to 1,47,000. There is no expert consensus on whether civilians were targeted on purpose, and, if so, when.

Others had called for Dr. Manmohan Singh to attend the meeting as they believe a boycott would antagonise Sri Lanka. They say that instead the Indian government should increase engagement and build closer ties with the Sri Lankan government. This would give India greater leverage and influence over Sri Lanka, allowing it to push for reform, like the 13^th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution that could better the lives of Sri Lanka’s Tamils.

In the end Manmohan Singh ended up being absent from the CHOGM.

The motion for round 3 is -

This House Regrets the Indian Prime Minister’s decision to not attend the CHOGM

Motion for Round 1

Here is the motion for the first round of the tournament. While rounds 1, 3 and the finals are prepared, we will release the motions for the rest half an hour before the match begins. The motion for Round 3 will be released tomorrow.

Round 1

The new Companies Law Bill includes provisions for the reservation of women in the top managerial positions of Indian companies. This is part of a larger move across the globe to remedy the high under-representation of women in business in general and in the board of directors of corporations in particular. Similar to reservations for women at the municipal and panchayat level, it is thought that increased reservation guarantees women greater political empowerment through greater representation.

It is argued that women face discrimination in the workplace, often being overlooked for pay rises and promotion (a phenomenon called the ‘glass ceiling’). Additionally workplaces and management in companies, traditionally male-dominated, are not sensitive to the concerns of women. All these problems, faced by women worldwide when coupled with the lack of women in top company positions have led to worldwide calls to increase women’s representation in the top echelons of companies.

Critics of this view argue that women have enough opportunities to excel and rise to the top of companies provided they work hard and sincerely. They cite examples of successful examples of women who have risen to the top of companies such as Indra Nooyi of Pepsi and Chanda Kochhar of ICICI.

But do these individual cases point to a larger systemic change in how companies treat women employees?

With that in mind…

This house mandates 50% reservation for women on the Board of Directors of companies

Transport Details for the Training Program

Dear all,

We're looking forward to welcoming you to tomorrow's workshop! In that regard, please take a note of the following.

We are providing transport (an NLSIU bus) to and from the campus. The pickup point will be Baldwin Girls High School Gate, Near Richmond Circle. The bus will leave the pickup point for the NLSIU campus at 12:15 pm. We request all attendees who wish to avail of the bus service to please be there on time.

Registration will commence at 1 pm, and the workshop will begin at 2 pm.

Please note the number of the NLSIU student volunteer who will be on the bus -

Jeydev +919986128984

Thank you,

If you have any further queries regarding transport please call:

Aditya Patel, Member, Organising Team- +919535195405

Training Program Invitation

Dear all,

The Parliamentary Debate Workshop being conducted on 28 November is open to anyone aged 14 and above. To register, simply send us an email at lnd@nls.ac.in with your contact details. You will be registering separately as a workshop participant, and not a tournament competitor, for a registration fee of Rs 200.

The links for the schedule and a parliamentary debating rule-book are given below -

NLS Debate Junior Training Program Schedule

The XI NLS Debate - Rules and Guidelines

For any queries, please contact any of the members of the Organizing Team -

Nayan Banerjee (+91) 9663370402
Tournament Director, 3rd NLS Debate Junior

Dibyojyoti Mainak (+91) 96201319228
Co-Tournament Director, 3rd NLS Debate Junior

Aditya Patel (+91) 9535195405
Member, Organizing Team

Nupur Raut (+91) 9739517667
Member, Organizing Team

Invitation and Tournament Rules

Dear all,

Our list of contacts for schools and pre-university colleges isn't very extensive. So we'd like you to help us get the word around. Please inform your concerned faculty/administrator about the tournament and ask them to send us an email at nlsdebatejunior@gmail.com.

Otherwise, we've already put up the links to the registration forms in the previous post. If a formal invite isn't necessary, please register by filling in the form in the 3rd NLS Debate Junior Registration. Please ensure that the form is filled in either by, or on the behalf of the concerned faculty/administrator at your educational institution.

The following are the links for downloading the tournament invite, schedule, and the rules. The registration details are given in the previous post. All schools and pre-university colleges are invited to register.

Tournament Invite - 3rd NLS Debate Junior

Tournament Schedule - 3rd NLS Debate Junior

Tournament Rules - 3rd NLS Debate Junior

Please contact any of the members of the Organizing Team for any queries.

Registration Details

Registration Information for the 3rd NLS Debate Junior

Rs. 750 (per participant) is payable for participation in the event which includes the following :-

• Detailed Parliamentary Debating Workshop sessions on Day 0 (November 28, 2013).
• 4 preliminary rounds of debating on Days 3 & 4 (November 29-30, 2013).
• Additional debates in the knockout rounds on Day 5 (December 1, 2013).
• Competition material - stationery, debate primers, schedule and maps.
• Tea & Snacks on all Days.
• Lunch and High Tea on Day 5.

Certificates will be given to all participating individuals. Along with prizes, trophies will be handed over to the Winners, Runners-up & Top 3 Speakers.

Please note:

• Standard Team Cap per school is 4 teams (3 students per team). However, a school may apply for more than 4 team slots by sending an email to nlsdebatejunior@gmail.com. These extra slots may open up depending upon how many vacancies are left after initial registration.
• To register teams please fill in the form at 3rd NLS Debate Junior Registration.
• If any inconvenience is faced while filling up the form, you can alternatively register by sending an email to the aforementioned address.
• Any student aged 14 and above is welcome to  attend  only  the  workshop  sessions without competing in the tournament for a separate registration fee of Rs. 200. To register, please send us an email with your details on lnd@nls.ac.in.
• Registration fee for those competing at the tournament as well as those only attending the training program will be collected on Day 0 (28th November), prior to the workshop sessions.

If you have any queries with regard to registration, please contact any of the following -

Nayan Banerjee (+91) 9663370402
Tournament Director, 3rd NLS Debate Junior

Dibyojyoti Mainak (+91) 96201319228

Co-Tournament Director, 3rd NLS Debate Junior

Aditya Patel (+91) 9535195405

Member, Organizing Team

Nupur Raut (+91) 9739517667

Member, Organizing Team

3rd NLS Debate Junior Schedule

Looking forward to a great tournament!

The 3rd NLS Debate – Junior

Day 0 – Thursday, November 28, 2013

When?	What?
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm	Registration
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm	Welcome Address
2:15 pm – 4:00 pm	Workshop Module 1 – Demo Debate
4:00 pm – 4:15 pm	Tea & Snacks/Interactive session
4:15 pm – 5:45 pm	Workshop Module 2 – Basics of Argumentation and Logic

Day 1 – Friday, November 29, 2013

When?	What?
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm	Team Briefing – Overview of tournament rules
2:15 pm – 2:45 pm	Motion & Match-ups released for Round 1 (Including prep time)
2:45 pm – 4:00 pm	Round 1  (Including adjudicator feedback)
4:00 pm – 4:15 pm	Tea & Snacks
4:15 pm – 4:45 pm	Motion & Match-ups released for Round 2 (Including prep time)
4:45 pm – 6:00 pm	Round 2  (Including adjudicator feedback)

Day 2 – Saturday, November 30, 2013

When?	What?
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm	Motion & Match-ups released for Round 3 (Including prep time)
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm	Round 3  (Including adjudicator feedback)
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm	Motion & Match-ups released for Round 4 (Including prep time)
4:30 pm – 5:15 pm	Round 4  (Closed round – no adjudicator feedback)
5:15 pm – 5:45 pm	Tea & Snacks
5:45 pm – 6:15 pm	Announcement of Break Feedback Session with Round 4 adjudicators Instructions for Day 5

Day 3 – Sunday, December 1, 2013

When?	What?
11:00 am – 11:30 am	Motion & Match-ups released for Quarter-Finals (Including prep time)
11:30 am – 1:00 pm	Quarter-Finals  (Including adjudicator feedback)
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm	Lunch
1:45 pm – 2:15 pm	Motion & Match-ups released for Semi-Finals (Including prep time)
2:15 pm – 3:45 pm	Semi-Finals  (Including adjudicator feedback)
3:45 pm – 4:15 pm	Motion for Grand Finals (Extended prep time) High Tea
4:15 pm – 5:45 pm	Grand Finals Announcement of Results
5:45 pm – 6:15 pm	Prize distribution Ceremony Closing Address

Note:

The college bus will reach a pre-decided area in the city at 12:30 pm for picking participants on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but at 10:00 am on Sunday. The college bus will also drop participants to the same area after the end of the day, however, a drop will not be provided on Sunday. Lunch will be provided only on Sunday, but numerous eating places on campus will be open on all days.

A few things that you might want to keep in mind!

• As this event involves a very intensive format, do expect to get a bit tired by the end of the day.
• Sometimes, adjudication and tabulation of results might result in small delays at different points during the day. Hence, please do keep in mind that the schedule may not eventually be accurately followed, and the day might end later than mentioned here. That said, we will do everything in our capacity to run the tournament as per schedule strictly.
• If you have any queries on any part of this schedule, please contact our committee members –

Nayan Banerjee Convenor, The Literary and Debating Society	+919663370402
Dibyojyoti Mainak Joint Convenor, The Literary and Debating Society	+919620319228
Aditya Patel Member, Organizing Team	+919535195405
Nupur Raut Member, Organizing Team	+919739517667