Formed in 2016, Yathārtha was established with the aim of providing the students with a beyond-the-textbook approach to topics underlying in philosophy by organizing events such as Seminars/Webinars (International & National), Conferences, Workshops, Competitions, etc. that help prepare them for life after and beyond the college and this department. In its relatively short course of 6 years, Yathārtha has successfully proven itself as a top-contending society of the college having organized several events that have proven to benefit the students of the department along with several philosophy enthusiasts in terms of overall growth and development of all involved.
The first event organized by Yathartha was a workshop “I Am Better” in association with the Centre for Ethics and Values, Ramanujan College in early 2017.
The annual fest “Rangarang” was organized in association with the Mathematics Department and the Eco Club “Tatva” in the year 2017.
An Outreach Program “Samarpana” was carried out in 2017 where the students of the department taught the children of construction workers in the college campus for 4 months in 2017.
The first International Conference on the topic “Theories of Consciousness: Indian and Western Perspectives” was organized on 24-25th March 2017 at Lotus Temple, with distinguished speakers from international universities.
A two – day International Conference on “Re-Learning to be Human for Global Times: Justice and Responsibility” was organized from 9th – 10th January 2017 with an elaborate panel present for efficient discussion on the said topic. This conference was one of the five conferences held in India and supported by the Indian Council for Philosophical Research (ICPR).
A Two-Day International Webinar on “Revisiting Human Rights, Ethics and Environment During COVID-19” was organized from 6th – 7th August 2020 in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission of Teachers and Teaching; Teaching Learning Centre) and the Centre for Human Rights Studies, Department of Environmental Studies with Prof. Bhagat Oinam (Centre for Philosophy, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi), Prof. Asha Mukherjee (Department of Philosophy, Vishva-Bharti, Santiniketan), Prof. A.P. Dimri and Dr. P.K. Joshi (both; School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi), Ms. Rineeta Naik (Social Inclusion Specialist, United Nations Resident Co-ordinator’s Office, India), Dr. Sooraj Kumar Amar (Environmental tocicologist, US Army, Engineering Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA), Dr. Ardham Uttam Sharma (Department of Philosophy, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong) and Dr. Anu Rani (Assistant Professor, Department of Natural Resources, TERI, Delhi) as the eminent speakers.
A first and one-of-its-kind one-week Faculty Development Program was organized on “Teaching Methodologies in Philosophy” from 1st – 5th November 2018.
An educational talk was organized by the department to provide students with a diverse approach to several topics in philosophy with Dr Kranti Saran, Dr Baldevanand Sagar, and Prof Balaganapathi Devarakonda as the prominent speakers in 2018.
A two-day National Seminar on the topic “Relevance of Philosophy for Students Today” was organized from 3rd – 4th October 2019 under the sponsorship of University Grants Commission (UGC) with the esteemed presence of Prof. Balaganapathi Devarakonda (HOD, Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi); with Mr. Nagaraju (IAS) as the Chief Guest and Mr. Ajay Shank Panday (IAS) as the Guest of Honor. The seminar was organized with the aim of providing students with a series of special lectures and an opportunity to present their own research paper presentations. This was achieved over a span of 2 days as follows:
Day 1 (3rd October 2019):
Special Lecture by Dr. Aakash Singh Rathor (Research Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Stidues, Shimla)
Special Lecture by Ms. Rimina Mohapatra (Author, Editor and Manager Publishing, at Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group)
6 students’ paper presentations with Dr. Subhasini Barik (TIC, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi) as the chair
Day 2 (4th October 2019):
Special Lecture by Dr. Pragati Sahni (Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi)
Special Lecture by Prof. Bhagat Oinam (Centre for Philosophy, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University)
6 students’ paper presentations with Dr. Sooraj Kumar Maurya (Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Ramanujan College, University of Delhi) as the chair
A series of fun-filled inter-department competitions were organized on 29th January 2020 with an aim to interact and engage with students from other departments. The competitions were as follows – Nazm (Poetry Reading Competition) and Mein Bhi Bachchan (Bollywood Quiz Competition).
The department recorded its first ever win at the March Past Competition organized under the Annual Sports Day 2019-20.
The department organized its Annual Fest “Blend 2k20” in collaboration with the Department of BA Programme, History and Hindi on 5th March 2020 where the gates were opened to students from various colleges and universities with a chance to participate in a variety of competitions such as debates, creative writing, slam poetry, wall painting, bidding wars, treasure hand and a well appreciated dance battle; with a chance to take home some extravagant prizes offered by our various sponsors. Moreover, the fest was graced by The Shloka (Singer & Rapper) giving the students a private concert in the premises of the college itself, followed by more music and dancing. The department went above and beyond by stretching its horizons with an aim to inculcate more inclusivity and successfully succeeded in doing so.
The department organized a webinar on the topic “The Great Legacy of Indian Constitution” on the occasion of National Constitution Day on 26th November 2020 in collaboration with the Department of Political Science, Ramanujan College. The webinar was conducted by Mr. Sumit Kumar (Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India) and Dr. Satish Kumar (Associate Professor, Aryabhatta College, University of Delhi) who graciously accepted the invitation to be the guest speakers for the event.
A series of fun-filled inter-department competitions were organized in an online setting for the first time from 11th – 12th October 2020 with an aim to provide students with a fun escape from the monotony of online classes. The competitions were as follows – नज़्म – ए – बहार (Poetry Reading Competition), त्वम् ब्रह्मासि? and मैं भी Critic? (Film Review Competition).
In a first in the two-part series of National/International Webinars, the department invited Dr. (Prof.) Asha Mukherjee (Vidya Bharti University, Shantiniketan, West Bengal) and Dr. Sazmeena Zahra (University of Queensland, Australia) to open a discussion on the topic “Is Feminist Philosophy A Misnomer? Reflections from Indian and Western Perspectives” on 29th January 2021 with Dr. S.P. Aggarwal (Principal, Ramanujan College) as the patron.
In the second part of the two-part series of National/International Webinars, Prof. Purushottama Bilimoria (Australian-American (OCI) Philosopher) opened discussion on the topic “Hindu Response to Dying and Death in the Time of COVID Pandemic” on 19th February 2021 with Dr. S.P. Aggarwal (Principal, Ramanujan College) as the patron.
A One-Day National Webinar on “National Education Policy – 2020, Educators, and Indian Youth: Challenges and Insights” was organized on 12th March 2021 in collaboration with the Teaching Learning Centre (Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission of Teachers and Teaching), Ramanujan College, University of Delhi with Professor Rajnish Kumar Shukla (Vice chancellor, MGAHV, Wardha), Professor Jatashankar Tiwari (Director Council of Philosophy of India) and Professor Jagdish Prasaad Singhal (Former Vice Chancellor, Rajasthan College) as the eminent speakers; with Dr. S.P. Aggarwal (Principal, Ramanujan College) as the Patron and Dr. J.N. Chaudhary as the Chair. The webinar was organized with an aim to familiarize students with the upcoming changes in the education system with respect to the reformed Education Policy.
The department organized a one-week online Faculty Development Program (FDP) on “Philosophical Methodologies in Higher Education: Research and Teaching” in collaboration with the Teaching Learning Center (Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission of Teachers and Teaching), Ramanujan College, University of Delhi from 22nd – 28th March 2021.
The department organized the inter–college annual departmental fest titled “Samanvaya’21” spread over 3 days of fun-filled workshops and competitions from 15th April – 17th April 2021 under the theme “Share our Similarities, Celebrate our Differences” in a virtual setting inviting students from various colleges and universities to participate and take home some well-thought prizes. In a first, the department collaborated with small businesses owned by the students (or relatives of the students) of the department itself with an aim to start the tradition of empowering each of its own. The layout of the event was as follows:
Day 1 (15th April 2021):
Fashion Styling Workshop by one of India’s leading design institutes – JD Institute of Fashion Technology
मैं भी Critic 2.0 (Film Review Competition) based on Philosophical Films
Day 2 (16th April 2021):
हुनरबाज़ (Talent Hunt Competition) that provided the participants with an open stage and an opportunity to showcase their talents without any barriers
Treasure Hunt Competition which led the participants into an arena of clues and mysteries with a hidden treasure to find
Book Review Competition based on books that the participants were passionate about
Day 3 (17th April 2021):
Elenchus (Debate Competition) that stressed on Censorship of media and if it is an outdated concept; and came across some brilliant point of views pertaining to the very same
Guess It (Open Quiz Competition) was a one-of-a-kind open quiz competition that did not set any particular topic for the quiz but was based on different areas such as general knowledge, logic, etc. and became a huge hit amongst the participants
A 15-Day national plantation drive on the occasion of ‘World Environment Day’ was organized from 5th June 2021 till 20th June 2021 with an objective of motivating people to take part in this initiative of “Plant a tree with us!” which saw ample participation from all across the country with the first tree planted by the principal, vice-principal of the college and the TIC of the department along with several other faculty members from different departments in the college campus itself.
A one-day national webinar on the occasion of ‘World Environment Day’ on the topic “Techniques for Plantation – Planting for the Present and Posterity” was organized on 5th June 2021 in collaboration with Green Yatra and addressed by Mr. Mohamed Arshad (Project manager, Green Yatra) with an objective of teaching basic plantation techniques and spreading awareness about importance of tree plantation which was organized with an aim of helping all interested candidates learn about the importance and methods of planting trees/saplings/others and contribute in making the earth a greener place.
In a first, a virtual alumni meet was organized for the batches of 2016-19 and 2018-20 on 19th June 2021, which turned out to be a positive interactive meet for all old students and teachers. This event also marked and celebrated 5-years since the establishment of Yathārtha.
A one-day national webinar on the topic “Spreading Awareness about the LGBTQ+ Community” was organized on 28th June 2021 as part of celebrating June as the Pride Month and addressed by Mr. Suresh Ramdas (LGBTQ+ Workplace Advocate, Motivational Speaker, Mr. Gay India 2019) with an aim to embark on the journey of inclusivity and equality in the department and beyond.
In the first of the series of interactive sessions titled “Samvad”, a discussion was organized on the topic “Ayurveda: Philosophy and Practical Attitude” in collaboration with Tatva – The Eco Club: Department of Environmental Studies, Ramanujan College, University of Delhi on 31st July 2021 with an aim of spreading awareness about Ayurveda as a cure for the diseased and protection for the healthy with viewpoints from both philosophy and environmental practicality.
The second discussion in the series of interactive sessions titled Samvad was organized on the topic “Ancient Indian Philosophies” on 28th August 2021 with the aim of uniting philosophy and non-philosophy students in understanding Ancient Indian Philosophies, their start and inclusivity in today’s environment.
An interactive Workshop on the topic “Soft Skills Essentials – Interview Skills, Interpersonal Skills and Professional Etiquette” in collaboration with India’s leading soft skills institute; Image Consulting Business Institute (ICBI) was organized on 24th September 2021 and addressed by Ms Archana Dahiya (Certified Soft Skills Trainer, Behavioral Coach, Image Consultant and Child Psychologist) with the aim of helping students prepare for life after and beyond college.
A One-Day National Webinar on the topic “Applied Philosophy – Some Contemporary Issues” was organized on 30th October 2021 and addressed by Dr. (Prof.) Shashi Motilal (Retd. Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi) on the subtopic “The Relation between Ethics and Governance: Some Observations” and Dr. (Prof.) Ayesha Gautam on the subtopic “Philosophical Foundations of Information Ethics”.
A One-Day International Webinar on the topic “Deconstructing Unfashionable Ideas of Power – From Equality to Equity and Parity” was organized on the occasion of World Philosophy Day on 18th November 2021 and addressed by Ms. Srishti Meera Sardana (MSc, MPhil; Doctoral Candidate, Columbia University, New York; Medical Psychology Intern, Duke University, North Carolina; Global mental health researcher & Anti-trafficking Advocate) and Ms. Prakriti Meera Sardana (B.S.; Doctoral Candidate, Department of Chemistry/Department of Mechanical Engineering; University of Colorado Boulder; Atmospheric chemistry researcher and climate change and equity advocate) with the aim of addressing baggage that comes with the existing patriarchal society and the ways to work towards progressing into a society that promotes equity and parity.
An inter-college Debate Competition titled “Elenchus 2.0” on the topic “Philosophy: Relevant or Obsolete (दर्शनशास्र: प्रासंगिक या अव्यवहृत?)” was organized on 12th November 2021 under a one-of-a-kind week dedicated to philosophy – “Pratyakṣa: Philosophy for everyone, everywhere”.
An inter-College Image Interpretation Competition titled “Nazariya” was organized on 15th November 2021 under a one-of-a-kind week dedicated to philosophy – “Pratyakṣa: Philosophy for everyone, everywhere” where the participants were provided with an abstract picture that they were required to interpret in any form they want – poetry, article, graphic designing/painting/etc., dance, theatrical performance, and many more.
The annual Fresher’s gathering titled “आरंभ” was organized for the batch of 2020 – 2023 on 9th January 2021 under the theme “Perfection is an Illusion” with the aim of promoting mental and physical positivity and inclusivity in all arenas.