Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!
I on behalf of the PARADOX- The Chanakya National Law University Debating Society welcome you all to the live blog of the 13th CNLU National Parliamentary Debate(Asian Format). So buckle up! This is going to be not just the normal debate competitions that you witness but rather a fierce one with a very competitive ambiance.
The 13th edition of the Parliamentary debate has commenced with top teams pouring in from every part of the country. The aura of enthusiasm and the competitive urge to win can be deciphered from the faces of the participants.
The inauguration ceremony was graced with the presence of Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Justice Smt. Mirdula Mishra (Retd.) and Registrar Manoranjan Prasad Srivastav(Retd. District Judge). The ceremony briefly introduces the participants, adjudicators, and core adjudicators with the lightning of the lamp and floral tribute to the Late Shilesh Chandra Mishra, in whose fond memory the best speaker award has been instituted. Mr. Mishra was an eminent advocate, visionary, philanthropist, and accomplished orator with a keen interest in debating contemporary issues.
Further, the Vice Chancellor emphasized the importance of the parliamentary debates and associated the culture of debating with the history of Bihar as the birthplace of democracy (debate is the essence of democracy were her words), specifying the different skills that a student gains which range from not just the debating skills but also skills like time management and thinking abilities. She also threw some light on the changing patterns of debates and the evolution of debates.
The celebration was closed by Mr. Varnik Kundaliya and Mr. Ritul Aryan Tripathy, the student conveners, who gave some uplifting remarks and wished participants for the competition. According to him, the CNLU PD is more than just an event for us; it is a festival with a 13-years of rich history. I bet that not a single person who has ever been or is currently directly or indirectly connected to the CNLU PD would negate those aforementioned words.
Ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention, please? The participants are concentrated on the equity briefing given by our core adjudicator because, after all, who wants to be on the wrong side of the line when there are serious repercussions for a breach of equity?
13:20: Finallyyyyyyyyyy! *Drumrolls* This extremely special day’s most anticipated moment has come to pass. The core adjudicators released the tabs and the motions after breaking the session and a brief intermission following the inauguration. Formative choices will be the focus of round one, and there will now be four rather than five preliminary rounds. The fifth round has been replaced with a workshop or a show debate. Semis break will occur in the open category, and the finals break in the novice category.
13:40: Everyone has been waiting for this day since the motions were released. They are all preoccupied with planning their arguments and how to counter their opponents. After comprehending the instructions, each squad hurried to their assigned chamber. They all put up a fierce competitive facade and are determined to prevail. Let’s wait and watch what transpires, and how many joyful smiles we continue to see after the rounds.
16:00:The first round of debates is now complete. Now everyone has left their rooms. In the hallways of the academic buildings at CNLU, smiling and perhaps less smiling faces can be seen.
16:10: The teams are gathering at the gate of the hall to know their standings after round one and anxious to know the motions for next round only to realize it’s HIGH TEA TIME! Sorry guys, you gotta wait for another hour.
Food! Ah, the term alone makes people HAPPY. What could be better than taking a meal break for the participants after they have given their hundred percent and need an energy boost? We spotted people eating and chatting.
16:45: So, the second round… after a long, exhausting wait. After the hi-tea, the squad assembles in the hallway once more for the tablets and gestures of round two with their bloodstreams surging with coffee.
The main question is now! The query that has everyone’s heart racing…
When the Core Adjudicators will arrive to free them from their protracted and nervous wait is what “the house wants to know.”
16:55: The core adjudicators are here. With their patience running down in proportion to their energy the participants now just want to enter the zone of competition again with the 2nd round but wait! wait! wait!
Here are the core adjudicators with some extremely helpful input from the first round and some insights for the following one.
17:05: The TAB TEAM is here, acting as the skeleton and saviour of the CNLU PD’s efficient operation. with the motions and the tabs for round 2. But hold on! There is also the fact that the road to round 2 is not straightforward. The attendance is first.
PS: There is absolutely no room for error in the TAB team’s work. They must work both effectively and efficiently, so if the tab team is running late, please try not to get frustrated. I’m sure you don’t want any mistakes made during the tabulation process because even a small mistake could cost you the tournament.
So let’s applaud the diligent TAB TEAM of the 13th CNLU PD.
17:15: Here! Here! This house would like the participants to rush to their rooms and start preparing on their respective motions. Let’s see Which teams bag themselves a victory for this round and for whom we will be wishing better luck next time!
20:20: Exhausting and exhilarating with these two conflicting emotions we come to an end of the day 1. With the end of round 2, the expression of relief could be easily deciphered on the faces of participants and organisers. But it’s just the end of the day and not the 13th CNLU PD. We still have a couple of more days which are going to be much more tiresome and interesting.
Next on the list? Day two i.e the busiest day of all 3. 2 rounds to go before the knockouts! High cash prizes at stake so let’s see how the teams battle their way to the next 2 rounds to the knock out stages.
DAY 2:
10:20: New day, new chapter, new opportunity! The teams have begun to show up on campus. Hopefully well rested and ready for yet another struggle of words, ideas, and thoughts! Everyone appears to be really enthused. The bustle of the team discussing their agenda for the day, not only with their teammates but also with teams from other universities, filled the entire hall. Another fantastic feature about CNLU PD is that it allows you the opportunity to connect with the best teams from the nation’s top universities, giving you exposure in addition to providing you a great platform for debate.
11:30 – TABULATION is done, and draws are out for round 3. Adjudicators are here.
11:50: After a (not quite brief) briefing, the tabs are finally released. The movements are also. The events are getting more interesting as they progress.
14:00: The third round is concluded. What a fascinating discussion. It will be difficult for the adjudicators to make a decision given the superb arguments and rebuttals flowing across the room from both sides. They should make the correct decisions and may all the Astras be with them. The participants’ excitement about what is happening on the other side of the door was clear to witness. What are the judges debating? Did we provide a strong enough and appropriate rebuttal? A minute feels like an hour.
Let us know in the comments what you think about whether or not we should encourage urban inhabitants to move to rural areas once the adjudicators have rendered their decisions.
14:15: Upcoming round, competitive pressure, worry, enthusiasm…AHHHH! Let’s move on to the food part first. For lunch, the participants have relocated to the basketball court. They are waiting for some crucial announcements. I hope the knowledge improves their dreary day!
15:30: The adjudicators and the organizing committee have arrived at last, and the much anticipated motions will soon be made public. Okay, another briefing now.
After round three, the teams had mixed emotions and were eagerly anticipating movements in round four. The satisfaction of a full stomach is at least present. The road to the finals is becoming increasingly difficult as the argument goes on. The motions and tabs for round 4 are released as of now.
16:10: Do you still need me to describe what happened in the hallway? it’s the same old thing. Teams are racing to the screen for updates, and everyone in the room is anxious since time is running out, including the timers and runners. There were some significant announcements made among the chaos, adding some excitement to their day. Can you guess what could make the participants more nervous and excited? BREAKNIGHT!! Yes, the historic tradition of our break nights is well-known across the debate community. They should be able to win this round because of this motivation, I guess.
19:00: The 4th round finally comes to an end here. Participants have worked really hard to reach here and finally they will get to know their breaks in the breaknight. Here the participants get to meet each other and interact with each other. Lets see which teams break the tournament and meet us in the competition. Stay tuned!
DAY 3
10:45: The D DAY! So after a loooong and tiring day two, all the teams had quite a fun night. And that was actually needed to get recharged for day 3! The teams have started arriving and they seem quite excited. Let’s see if the day goes according to their planning or there is something new to it.
11:30: Guess what can make our blood rush? A day beginning with amazing motions for semifinals. So here we are with the motion announcement for semis over amazing topics ranging from feminism to art and religion. Nothing can excite us more than to watch teams debating over this. The core adjudicators have explained the motions to the participants and the participants started rushing to their respective rooms as the prep time starts. The motions slides along with context slide read as:
1st motion:”A professor in his early thirties is quitting his job and his colleagues host a farewell for him. On being asked the reason for quitting his job so early, he reveals to them that he is a Cro-Magnon (ie. prehistoric human). He goes on to tell them the history of the world. During such disclosure, they ask him questions regarding early human life and religion. He further goes on to tell them that he is founder of religion X. Religion X is the origin religion of all religions in the world and is propagated by the professor when he travels across time and regions (ie. he is the originator of all religions).”
THBT organised religions should endorse this story.
2nd motion: “Fleabag – A dry-witted woman, known only as Fleabag, has no filter as she navigates life and love in London while trying to cope with tragedy. The angry, grief-riddled woman tries to heal while rejecting anyone who tries to help her, but Fleabag continues to keep up her bravado through it all.“ Fleabagging: In the show, the wisecracking, titular character lurches from bad relationship to bad relationship, either through sheer loneliness, abject boredom or a desire to self-destruct – it’s like each relationship is a fire drill for the final disaster that will finally send her over the edge. “
TH as the Feminist Movement regrets Fleabagging.
3rd motion: In a post-conflict society, THS art that invents new mythology instead of re-imaginations of the pre-conflict era.
wohoo! the motions seems to be very exciting, We wish the participants All the very best for their Semis!
14:00: The Semifinals full of intense debate and enthusiasm are over now. The teams are headed for the lunch but everyone is asking the same question which two teams out of four made its finals. The mystery shall be revealed post-lunch session!
14:45: The moment which everyone was anxiously waiting which are the two team battling against each other for a whopping cash prize of 54,000 and most importantly an opportunity to be facilitated by Justice Navin Sinha (a retired supreme court judge), who is an eminent figure in the legal profession.
15:00: And the core adjudicators are here! And the finalists are …………
Oops I did it vs Simps4kundi
The motion for final round is TH as the Dalit Movement regrets the Margazhiyil Makkal Isai music festival being performed at the music academy.
25 minutes of preparation to go for the final rounds, the last 25 minutes to the final performance and winning the competition.
After a tough and very competitive final rounds of the 13th CNLU parliamentary debate now everyone wants to know who is gonna win this debate and take away a whooping amount of 54000 rupees with them, the runners up will also get awarded with 30,000 rupees along with several category of speakers being awarded amazing cash prizes.
18:00: The valedictory ceremony begins here and now the anxiety and excitement to know who wins is rising.
you can watch the valedictory ceremony live on the Instagram page of the CNLU PD that is @thecnlupd
So the time is here. The moment everyone has been waiting for the past 3 days. This is it. Andddddd the winner of 13th CNLU National Parliamentary debate is……..
Simps4kundi!!!
Congratulations to the winner and greetings to every team that participated. It’s been a wonderful journey. We look forward to hosting you all in the 14th edition of CNLU PD. Kudos to the every organising team members right from the conveners to the volunteers. Cheers guys we made it!!
We will be back next year bigger and better!
Signing off 13th CNLU parliamentary debate’s Media Team.