Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
image for representation

Rashmeka Banerjee and Paras Gala, students studying in the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta were reported to have won Inter-University Annual Debate Competition organized by Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata and Victoria Memorial jointly.

The topic they chose to debate on was ‘Social Media Is The New Courtroom For Justice’. Rashmeka spoke in favor while Paras spoke against. There were other IIM Calcutta students who participated and represented the Institute, namely Arpit Agarwal, Utkarsh Thakur, but among these and seven other teams participating from across Eastern India, Rashmeka Banerjee and Paras Gala emerged to be the winners of the competition and will be awarded 2-month internship with Observer Research Foundation.

Various renowned speakers at the event included Nadira Patherya, Former Judge Supreme Court of India, High Court at Kolkata, Odisha, Patna and Jharkhand; Debanjan Chakrabarti, Director, British Council, East and North East India; Nilanjan Ghosh, Director, ORF, Kolkata and Jayanta Sengupta, Secretary and Curator, Victoria Memorial Hall.

Speaking about the topic, Paras Gala, a Doctoral Student from IIM Calcutta said, “Social Media, by the very nature of the way its algorithms function, tends to trap the users in filter bubbles and echo chambers that further create even more polarization.”

“It’s social media that will deliver justice to the LGBTQ community because, despite the Supreme Court decriminalizing article 377, it is movements, videos and posts on social media that will bring long overdue social acceptance,” said Rashmeka Banerjee, post-graduate programme student from IIM Calcutta.

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