India NLSIU Debate 2007

Dear all,

The 6th NLS Debate was held over four days (November 1-4, 2007) at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) campus in Nagarbhavi,Bangalore. The tournament attracted participation from 42 teams representing 23 educational institutions. The ‘NLS Debate’, launched in 2002 by the Literary and Debating Society of NLSIU, has in the matter of a few years emerged as the Indian sub-continent’s largest parliamentary-style debating championship. It follows a rigorous format modeled on international competitions such as the All-Asian and AUDC championships. The six editions held so far have attracted participation not only from the best Indian universities but have also drawn teams from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. We take pride in the fact that many teams who participate in the NLS Debate go on to perform exceedingly well in international competitions.

The schedule for this year’s event was as follows:
November 1, 2007: Introductory Briefing and Demonstration Debate followed
by first preliminary round
November 2, 2007: Rounds 2, 3 and 4
November 3, 2007: Rounds 5 and 6 followed by Quarter-finals
November 4, 2007: Semi-Finals and Grand final

The following institutions were represented:
1. Amity Law School (ALS), New Delhi
2. Army Institute of Law (AIL), Mohali
3. Chanakya National Law University (CNLU), Patna
4. Faculty of Law, Colombo University
5. Kirori Mal College (KMC), New Delhi
6. Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), New Delhi
7. Lovely Institute of Law, Jalandhar
8. M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology (MSRIT), Bangalore
9. National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad
10. Nirma Institute of Law, Ahmedabad
11. National Institute of Technology (NIT),Raipur
12. National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata
13. Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Patiala
14. Ram Lal Anand College, New Delhi
15. Ram Jas College, New Delhi
16. Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University (RMLNLU), Lucknow
17. Rashtriya Vidyalaya College of Engineering (RVCE), Bangalore
18. Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), New Delhi
19. Sri Venkateshwara College, New Delhi
20. St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi
21. Symbiosis Law College, Pune
22. University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS), Chandigarh
23. University School of Legal Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha
University, New Delhi

After the conclusion of the preliminary rounds, the top 8 teams proceeded to the knock-out stage. The following motions were debated upon at the
various stages of the tournament.

Demonstration Debate
• This house believes that televised singing competitions promote mediocrity

Round 1 (Theme: Public policy and governance)
• This house will levy higher excise duties on vehicles that pollute more
• This house believes that the President and Vice-President of India should be elected through universal adult franchise
• This house believes that post-conflict societies should choose reconciliation over criminal prosecution

Round 2 (Theme: Women)
• This house will prescribe the death penalty for those convicted of rape
• This house will lower the age of consent for marriage
• This house supports reservations for women in legislatures

Round 3 (Theme: International Relations)
• This house believes that the Non-Aligned movement (NAM) is a thing of the past
• This house believes that the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) must act against the Myanmar junta
• This house supports the construction of the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline

Round 4 (Theme: Sports)
• This house believes that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should give the Indian Cricket League(ICL) its space
• This house believes that India is not ready for hosting a ‘Formula One’ race
• This house believes that cricket team managements are justified in issuing ‘gag-orders’ to their players

Round 5 (Theme: Education)
• This house supports reservations for religious minorities in educational institutions
• This house will prohibit formal prayers in public schools
• This house believes that the government should regulate private coaching institutions

Round 6 (Theme: Internet)
• This house will ban social networking sites in educational institutions
• This house believes that free online databases are in the best interests of authors
• This house believes that Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) applications will replace fixed and mobile telecom services

Quarter-Finals (Theme: Tourism)
• This house will ban ‘space tourism’
• This house believes that foreigners and citizens should be charged the same entry fees for visiting historical monuments
• This house believes that the re-selection of the ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ was a farce

Semi-finals (Theme: Economics and Development)
• This house will tax agricultural income in India
• This house will not force private commercial banks to operate branches in rural areas

Grand Final (Theme: Free Speech)
• This house will take away the power of judges to punish for contempt of court

The grand final was contested between teams from Ram Jas College, New Delhi and Faculty of Law, Colombo University. The running trophy was won by the team from Ram Jas College which consisted of Harsh Malhotra, Kartik Mishra and Prithvi Rohan Kapoor. The winning team also took home a cash prize of Rs. 18,000 -/- while the runners-up team received Rs. 12,000 -/-. Cash prizes of Rs. 6,000 -/- each were also given to the losing semi-finalist teams from Kirori Mal College, New Delhi and St. Stephen’s College New Delhi. Harsh Malhotra of Ram Jas College was declared the ‘best speaker’ of the tournament (out of 126 speakers) while Parth Mehrotra of Kirori Mal College, New Delhi was declared the ‘second best speaker’ for the same. A special prize for ‘dignified’ conduct throughout the tournament was given to the team from Chanakya National Law University (CNLU), Patna.

The main sponsor for the event was Kotak Mahindra Bank whose contribution enabled the arrangement of accommodation and food for the participants as
well as healthy prize-money for the tournament.

Contacts:
Postal address: The Literary and Debating Society (2007-08)
The Student Bar Association, National Law School of India University, PO Bag 7201,
Nagarbhavi, Bangalore (560072)
e-mail: debate@nls.ac.in

Tournament Director: Aditya Verma: +91 99867 69785
Adjudication Core: Arghya Sengupta, Yaman Verma, Sidharth Chauhan

Regards,
Sidharth Chauhan
Literary and Debating Society,
National Law School of India University, Bangalore
+91 98869 22576