Dr. Amidas Goradia Debate, Hindi- 2015

The Indian School hosted the 11th Dr. Amidas Goradia Inter- School Hindi Debate on 6th August, 2015. The event attracted 28 prominent schools of Delhi. The purpose of the debate is the promotion of Hindi as a national language( alongside English) , among primary school children in Delhi. The chief guest for the occasion was Mr. Anirudh Rajput, an eminent Advocate in the Supreme Court of India . The debate was judged by three judges, Dr. Shashi Sardana , professor, Ramjas College, Delhi University; Mr. Pratap Somvanshi, writer and editor, Hindustan and Mr. Jyotish Joshi, writer and editor, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi.

The chief guest laid stress on the fact that we should not be embarrassed to speak in Hindi and understand the importance of Hindi as a mother tongue. He emphasised that reading, thinking and deep understanding of the topic are essential for a good speaker. He gave the example of Swami Vivekananda as an influential speaker who won the hearts of Americans with his effective speech at the World Religion Conference in Chicago. The judges encouraged the speakers and felt that the skill of good expression in children comes when the mother tongue is spoken extensively. Bhuvi Kashyap and Aditi Gaur of the host school were adjudged best speakers; the second and third best speakers award were taken by Aria Puri of Amity International School, Saket and Shruti Singh of R.S. Junior Modern School, respectively. Since the host school does not compete for the Rolling Trophy, it was awarded to the second best school, namely, Modern School, Vasant Vihar. The Second Runners up Trophy was awarded to D.P.S. East of Kailash. Prafull Foundation awarded the best speakers with a cash award of Rs. 2500 each, as an incentive to our young debaters. The topics of the debate were Ban on Maggi, Digital India: Dream or Reality, Swachchh Bharat Abhiyaan and Children need Parents more than Gadgets. Dr. Shikha Sharma, HOD, Hindi department.