Boys' High School & College
Mentem Hominis Spectato Non Frontem

ORATORY or the art of public speaking has had its importance right from the pre-historic times. The powerful words of orators roused the nations to wage war, and yet others have inspired people to achieve peace. It has also played a dominant role in the social, political and ecclesiastical arenas of different nations.

In ancient times, every citizen had to be his own advocate at the court of justice, and so, oratory came to assume great significance in the day-to-day lives of the people and was later developed into an art.

The success of a speaker depends upon three things—subject, matter and the diction. If one doesn't have a command of these, the listeners will hardly pay heed to the speaker. Hence, the subject on which one has to speak should be selected carefully. Secondly, the matter pertaining to the subject should be prepared carefully. And finally, the presentation must be effective.

A successful speaker is one who presents his subject matter effectively and emphatically so that even what is otherwise less convincing sounds correct. The only way to convince people about one's own point of view is through reasoning and argument. This art of putting one's arguments forcefully and convincingly is learnt through debates.

This year, the debate competition, organized by the College section of the Boys' High School & College, was held in the Flynn Hall on September 16, 2006. The topic for the debate was “Reservation promotes national progress.”

The arguments put forth by the speakers, both for and against the motion, baffled the audience as both the views seemed forceful and apt to them. Speakers who were for the motion stressed that reservation was necessary for national progress; while those against the motion argued that reservation did not only hamper hard work but also divided the nation, and a divided nation could never make progress.

In the end, Arjun Menon of XIID and Gourabh Mukherjee of XIIB were declared winners of the contest speaking for and against the motion.