1st IIT Bombay National Debate 2009

1st IIT Bombay National Debate 2009


Demonstration Debate:

* THW remove spending limits in electoral campaigns

Round 1 - Limits of Free Speech

* THBT `hunger strikes' are a legitimate form of protest in democracies
* THBT public officials should not discuss their official functions on social networking sites
* THBT the freedom of speech includes the right to offend religious sensibilities

Round 2 - Environmental Policy

* THW boycott imported goods that are not produced in an environmentally friendly manner
* THW abolish all zoos
* THW confer absolute property rights on forest-dwelling tribes

Round 3 - Educational Policy in India

* THBT private schools should not be permitted to restrict the sporting of religious symbols and attire
* THBT all schools should be obliged to admit students from socially and educationally backward sections of society
* THW make pro-choice sexual education compulsory in schools

Round 4 - Justice

* THBT Afghanistan should have the right to prosecute foreign troops for human rights abuses on its soil
* THW bring back the jury system in India
* THBT citizens belonging to minority communities in India should be free to opt out of personal law regimes

Round 5 - International Relations

* THW prefer Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) over the multilateral trade negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
* THBT in the long run nuclear weapons contribute to international peace
* THBT the USA should lift economic sanctions from Burma

Quarter-Finals - Domestic Politics

* THBT Naxalism is a legitimate political ideology
* THBT judges at all levels must disclose their assets and liabilities
* THBT the `sons of the soil' movements are justified

Semi-Finals - Taboos

* THW decriminalize incest
* THW allow surrogate motherhood for profit
* THBT anti-pornography laws are undemocratic

Finals - Dilemmas in Post-Independence India

* THBT the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 was a mistake
* THBT India should disengage from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
* THBT the Indian State should not have the power to impose a `national emergency'