Kisme kitna hai dum: Legendary DU rivalries

Remember when in 'Rockstar', Nargis Fakhri doesn’t talk to Ranbir Kapoor in front of her friends from St Stephen’s because he is from Hindu College? Though the movie does not clearly spell out the reason behind this, anyone who knows anything about DU knows about the legendary rivalry between the two colleges. The Hindu vs Stephen’s rivalry might be the most well-known and talked about, but these are not the only two DU colleges on an eternal quest to best each other.And as the new session begins, these rivalries are passed on to freshers as traditions, and they then have to carry forward the animosity. All in the spirit of good fun, though!
Hindu vs St Stephen’s
Nobody knows when this rivalry started and why, but there are stories that are passed on from one batch to other. One popular story explains that it all started in 1899, when a rich boy could not get admission to Stephen’s. So, in a very filmi way, the boy’s rich dad decided to build a college right in front of Stephen’s, and that’s how Hindu College started. And when Stephen’s moved from Kashmere Gate to North Campus, Hindu followed and stayed right across the road. Students from the two colleges love to hate each other. While Stephen’s thinks Hindu is ‘loud, noisy and undisciplined’, Hindu mocks Stephen’s for its school-like environment.
Usman Zafar of Stephen’s says, "We have all heard stories of the rivalry. During any match between Stephen’s and Hindu, classes used get cancelled. Once, during our fest, posters were put up saying, ‘Hinduites and dogs not allowed’. They retaliated with posters saying, ‘Dogs are allowed but not Stephanians’. This then lead to a dharna-type situation, with Stephanians on one side of the road and Hinduites on the other, exchanging curses. Seniors also used to refer to Hindu as the ‘college across the gutter’ or ‘the gutter across the road’."
Shwet Vahan Singh from Hindu College says that Hinduites think Stephen’s is like a school. "Wahan school ki tarah rehte hain aur padhai pe zyada dhyan dete hain. Mindset ban chuka hai ki dono colleges mein dushmani hai. When we have any basketball or football match between the two colleges, the teams make sure that they do not lose to Stephen’s. Aisa hota hai ki kuch bhi ho jaye, inse nahin harna hai," he says.
Motilal Nehru vs Ram Lal Anand
The rivalry is political – separated only by a wall, the colleges often trade insults during the DUSU elections. Rahul Yadav of Motilal Nehru says, "The areas that these students come from is also the reason behind the animosity. Most students in Motilal are from Palam and many Ram Lal students are from Najafgarh. The rivalry between these areas has reached college.” “ABVP has a strong hold in Ram Lal Anand and Motilal Nehru is dominated by NSUI. If one party tries to campaign in the rival college, they find it difficult to even enter the premises. Fights have sometimes turned violent. Baat wahi hai ki ‘hum Palam se hain’ aur ‘hum Najafgarh se hain’," says Vishav Badola of Ram Lal Anand.
Miranda vs LSR
One would expect rivalries between girls’ college to throw up interesting tales, but these two seem not to have any major grudge against each other. Miranda House sees LSR as its only competition, but LSR seems to be unaware – or unaffected – by the rivalry. Mahamedha Nagar from Miranda House says, "LSR is the only competition we have. We try to compete with them in academics as well as ECA. Ours is the best girls college in North Campus and LSR is the best in South Campus.” But Shriya from LSR replies, “Miranda is not even on our radar. We have never considered them rivals. I’ve never heard anyone from my college talk about this so-called rivalry.” Hitanksha Jain, another student from LSR, adds, “I have not heard anything about a Miranda vs LSR rivalry either. We have other competitors, but not Miranda House."
LSR vs Stephen’s
Though LSR is in South Campus and Stephen’s in North Campus, there seems to be an unsaid rivalry between them. LSR students say that they do not think that their college is inferior to Stephen’s, which considers itself the epitome of refinement. "When we have students from Stephen’s at a competition in our college, we all get into war mode," says Shriya Singh from LSR. "I have heard stories from seniors that once, a college sweatshirt read ‘I am from Stephen’s’ on the front, and ‘Because I could not get into LSR’ on the back. If our college has not organized an event in a long time, we say, ‘Stephen’s banna hai kya?’ Or if a girl is showing attitude, she is asked, ‘Are you from Stephen’s?’"
Usman Zafar from Stephen’s adds, "Our rivalry with LSR is very academic. The number one rank keeps shifting. It is either us or them, so it is a very academic rivalry with them. Both the colleges are number one in terms of academics, and our teachers also tell us to score better than LSR."