Baarat at DU’s Hansraj College: Principal’s Son’s Wedding on Sports Ground Sparks Debate, Could Privatisation of College Ground Have Prevented It?

You must have seen college sports grounds used for parking areas for annual functions, mass bunk assembly areas, fresher’s survival corners, and even long-distance relationship zones. But the Hansraj College of the University of Delhi has taken it one step further. The son of the principal of Hansraj College has decided to tie the knot in the college sports ground. And the funny part? The premises have been inaccessible to the students of the college for a long time. It has remained closed to the students for a year after being declared structurally unfit, just to accommodate guests for events.

This has led to massive outrage by the students, stating that the ground has become unavailable for the Khelo Hansraj tournament, and the practice sessions for the college teams have been shifted to other venues. Photographs of catering, decoration of hostels with flowers, and temporary fittings have been surfacing all over social media. Even the students' unions are calling this out in the open.

"Students face a ban on using the college ground for sports after 4 pm. It is also routinely denied for holding freshers' welcome and farewell. Even the tournament has been rescheduled to accommodate this private event. Most outrageously, the hostel, shuttered for a year after being declared unfit for living, has been repurposed as a guest house for wedding guests." Asikul Islam, Students Federation of India secretary of Hansraj College, said.

Prof. (Dr.) Rama, principal of Hansraj College, has not yet provided any statement in the matter. Although Vikas Gupta, the university registrar, acknowledged that the use of college infrastructure for private functions has been a common practice in some institutes.

The college offers facilities for both outdoor and indoor sports. It boasts a sports ground along with a basketball court located between the academic blocks and the hostel premises. The sports complex is among the few in the country to feature an indoor badminton court as well as a state-of-the-art indoor shooting range. The college also comprises a cricket and football ground. In addition to the sports facilities, the institution has a modern gymnasium and even a meditation room.

Privatisation of the sports ground is necessary now

Privatisation through a structured public–private partnership (PPP) model could prevent such conflicts by ring-fencing sports infrastructure exclusively for athletic use. Across India, over 60% of public sports facilities face underutilisation or non-sporting usage due to weak governance and funding gaps. A professional facility management concessionaire could operate Hansraj’s sports complex under a revenue-sharing model, monetising through memberships, leagues, and sponsorships while ensuring guaranteed access hours for students. With India’s sports infrastructure market projected to grow at 8–10% annually, structured private participation can improve transparency, accountability, and asset productivity.