HT Centennial Debate: Judges hail ‘array of perspectives’
The Hindustan Times Centennial Debate concluded at Bikaner House, featuring 12 speakers from top colleges. Judges praised the high-quality discussions on AI and IQ.
The culmination of the Hindustan Times Centennial Debate at Bikaner House on Tuesday morning brought an end to a months-long event that saw about 50 colleges participate in regional rounds that spanned three cities. The national final was judged by a stellar jury comprising former Union minister of state and senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, former chief justice of the Jammu & Kashmir high court justice (retired) Gita Mittal, and Bharatiya Janata Party national vice-president and senior parliamentarian Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda.
Over nearly two hours, they judged a pool of 12 speakers from the top six teams from the regional rounds – the winners and runners-up from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru – square off on the topic – AI and IQ don’t see eye to eye.
All three judges hailed the quality of the debate. Panda called it a truly enjoyable experience and said he had a tough choice to make as a judge. “The content, and the fact that you all came from all kinds of backgrounds – technical, legal and others – brought forth an array of perspectives. The manner and the delivery were very good,” he said.
Justice Mittal began her speech with an inclusive greeting and said that while she had judged several moot courts before, this was her first time judging a debate. “I was amazed at your learning and experience and what you brought here…all of you have analysed the problem so critically and presented it so well, it was not easy for us to judge,” she said, also commenting on the diverse nature of the backgrounds of the speakers – from engineering, humanities and legal backgrounds.
Tharoor said it was a terrific experience and that the standards as well as content of the debate were high, adding that all angles of the topic were well thought of.
But he also held out some advice for the debaters. “One of the things that seems to have changed is that all of you have become incredibly serious. In my time, there were always jokes and wit and lob and insults. Where do you think a farrago of distortions and lies and misrepresentations came from? I remember people referring to an opponent’s speech as a blind man in a dark room searching for a black cat that isn’t there – that’s how futile his logic is…that kind of comment. Nothing like that today. I was looking forward to learning some fresh insults. Not one.
“Why are you so well behaved?” he asked amid laughter. “I would urge you all to remember that in debating, some humour might have also gone a long way!”
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Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.