HT Correspondent
DULIAJAN, Jan 31: The Dibrugarh University Inter-College Youth Festival (DUICYF) 2025–26 continued at Duliajan College with an intellectually charged Debate and Elocution competition under the literary section, reaffirming the festival as a vital platform for democratic expression among youth.
The debate, held on the motion “Granting University status to select colleges will significantly improve the quality of higher education in Assam,” saw 86 participants—60 debaters and 26 elocutionists—engage in wide-ranging discussions over eight hours, reflecting policy awareness, institutional realities and student aspirations.
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The event was adjudged by Dr Mon Prativ Bordoloi (Oil India Limited, Duliajan), Raktim Ranjan Baruah (Academic Director, Vision International School, Jorhat), and Abhishek Kabra (Research Scholar, Tezpur University) with Dr Satyakam Bordoloi (former Dibrugarh University Professor) serving as Speaker of the House.
Addressing the gathering, three-time best debater Abhishek Kabra emphasised the larger democratic importance of debating, especially amid declining press freedom and threats to journalists. He urged students to keep democratic reasoning “alive and awake” and encouraged them to persist irrespective of competition results. Drawing a cricket analogy, he likened debating to Test cricket, where perseverance matters, saying, “If you hang in long enough, someday you become a Pujara.”
Raktim Ranjan Baruah highlighted technical rigor and clarity in argumentation, while Dr Mon Prativ Bordoloi encouraged students to develop authentic public speaking styles inspired by speakers worldwide. Organised by Dibrugarh University at Duliajan College, DUICYF 2025–26 continues to uphold its legacy of fostering cultural and intellectual excellence among college students.
