Talk de Bait 2.0

Lyceum, the Post Graduate Students’ Association of M.A (International Studies) [MAIS] under the Department of International Studies, Political Science and History organized the second debate competition of the Talk De Bait series on Thursday, 18 February 2021 from 3 pm to 4 pm. Judith Blessy, the moderator for the event introduced the topics for the three rounds of the debate. Her moderation throughout the debate was excellent. The participants for the first round involved students from the second and fourth semester of MAIS, namely Jeshil Samuel J (2MAIS), Tanishka Kumar (4MAIS), Aswathy K (4MAIS), Sandeep Ghoshal (2MAIS), Vaidehi Shaw (2MAIS), Raj Narayanan (2MAIS), Simron Tandi (2MAIS) and Nishit Jogi (4MAIS). The topic for the first round was – “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA): Who is responsible to repair the relationship, the USA or Iran?”. The participants who argued in favour of USA were Jeshil Samuel J, Aswathy K, Vaidehi Shaw and Simron Tandi. Their line of argument revolved firmly on Iran’s non-compliance to the JCPOA and the weakness of the JCPOA in catering to the US interests. On the other hand, the participants who argued in favour of Iran were Sandeep Ghoshal, Tanishka Kumar, Raj Narayanan and Nishit Jogi. Their line of argument revolved around the Iranian displeasure over the United States’ interference in Iran’s internal affairs while emphasizing on diplomacy and confidence building measures to ensure Iran’s end of the bargain. The topic for the second round was – “Voice of international celebrity on farmers protest, a violation of the sovereignty of India?”. The participants who moved on to the second round were Aswathy K, Jeshil Samuel J, Vaidehi Shaw and Simron Tandi. The participants were challenged with switching sides when prompted by the moderator. The arguments rendered by the participants were powerful enough to keep the audience engrossed due to their changing stances which made their elimination to the third round very competitive. The topic for the third round was – “Does the ban on the internet by the government during protests a justified mechanism to ensure peace?” The participants selected to the third round were Jeshil Samuel J, Vaidehi Shaw and Simron Tandi. This round mounted an additional challenge on the participants with a Q & A session with the judges in addition to switching sides when prompted by the moderator. The judges announced the winners after much deliberation due to the stiff competition witnessed among the participants. Simron Tandi won the first place followed by Vaidehi Shaw and Jeshil Samuel J who won the second and the third place respectively. Uddipan Misra and Arsh Mogre were the judges for the debate who provided their feedback to the participants. The vote of thanks was rendered by Judith Blessy. Report compiled by Aneetta Thomas Peedikayil 4 MAIS