Tackling the ragging menace [Central Chronicle]

Does mild ragging exist? It doesn't certainly not in hostels, the most common venues for the most unspeakable ragging crimes.

Bright and excited young students just out of school can hardly wait for the start of the new session when they will enter the 'adult' world of college and university life as they pursue their future academic and vocational dreams. But quite a few of them encounter horror almost on the very first day of entering college in the shape of 'ragging' by seniors. The experience can be so bad that cases of suicide, life-long disabilities and serious psychic disorders are now regularly reported from different parts of the country. Sometimes, the young victim, unable to bear the stress and strain of 'ragging', decides against pursuing studies, even before the classes get underway.

Regrettably, the crudest form of 'ragging' is believed to be rather commonplace in the well-known professional colleges, particularly the medical and engineering colleges. Students in some famous boarding schools learn about 'ragging' at quite a tender age. And 'ragging' is not an exclusive male preserve, as befits a society that wants to empower women.

As in many other matters, the intervention of the Supreme Court has raised hopes that something may finally be done to prevent the disaster that affects many young lives who step into the campus to blossom into educated, bright and confident adults. The Court has accepted most recommendations made by the R.K.Raghavan committee that had gone into the scourge at the behest of the apex court itself. States are now asked the states to deal with the problem very firmly. Registration of first information report is mandatory against erring seniors who 'rag' their juniors in a manner that can be interpreted as criminal in intent. In a people centric activism, the court also ruled that the punishment act as a 'deterrent' to discourage any recurrence.

The mandatory registration of FIR and deterring punishment is something that has many critics, both among students and the academics. But the student community has generally not only hailed Supreme Court's intervention but also supports the harsh punishment the court has advocated for the perpetrators of the more objectionable forms of physical abuses that occur in the name of 'ragging'.

The critics point is that 'ragging' is an old tradition in institutions across the country and its main purpose is to bring the 'fresher' and his or her seniors closer, breaking the seniority barrier, and also to enable the 'fresher' to transform fast into 'adults'. Some have also said that 'ragging' provides some sort of 'motivation' for the victims.

There cannot be any serious objections to 'ragging' to the extent that it erases barriers, helps a 'fresher' shed his or her shyness, and leads to quick assimilation into the campus milieu. A college or a campus is like a big family that the 'fresher' will have to put up with for at least a couple of years, if not more. Getting to know the seniors in this family helps-and sooner the batter.
All this is achievable with the help of what is known as 'mild ragging', something that does not involve any physical torture, sexual perversion and verbal abuses all of which take away the victim's self respect and dignity. Does mild ragging exist? It doesn't certainly not in hostels, the most common venues for the most unspeakable ragging crimes.

Defenders of 'ragging' overlook the fact that it has acquired downright barbaric tones worthy of attention of the otherwise hyper alert human rights activists. In the name of, for instance, breaking the ice, a 'fresher' can be made to do any or all of the following acts: stripping before a crowd of seniors, dancing naked, perform 'natural' and 'unnatural' sexual acts, sing obscene limericks, almost all through the night. In one of the 'milder' forms of 'ragging', the 'fresher' can be asked to become a virtual domestic help of the seniors. The senior has the right to pillage any item belonging to the 'fresher'.

There are instances when 'ragging' goes on for days together, maybe months. Complaining to the authorities entails acts of retribution, which can be even more harsh and inhuman. It would appear that some of the 'third degree' methods associated with the police are actually first rehearsed on campuses. A 'fresher' can be beaten black and blue for defiance or failure to carry out the 'task' given to him. Not surprisingly, many victims of ragging often end up in the intensive care units; some have died and others have committed suicide. In the past six years alone, more than 20 suicides have been reported after 'freshers' parties from different parts of the country.

Whether the Supreme Court intervention results in eliminating the perils of 'ragging' remains to be seen. If the response to Lyngdoh committee recommendations on student union elections is seen as a bench mark, there is room for optimism. Like the Raghavan's, the Lyngdho panel was a creation of the court. Many educational institutions admit that recommendations of the former chief election commissioner have curbed some 'evil' practices like money power in campus polls.

Some doubts persist. The fact is that the obnoxious acts performed or perpetrated in the name of 'ragging' have always been very clearly illegal and unjust, attracting action under penal laws, but were not brought to the attention of law enforcement authorities. And when action was taken, the maximum punishment awarded was expulsion of the delinquent students.
Needless to say such 'action' was either rarely taken or was not in conformity with the enormity of the 'ragging' crime committed. The campus authorities may have restrained from going far with 'action' either due to consideration for the 'future' of the perpetrator or the fear of 'backlash' from the student community.

Educational institutions in the country generally prefer to keep the police as far away as possible. That is very good, but then some affective and lasting ways have to be found to stop the sadist and perverse acts that are part and parcel of 'ragging'.

A 'fresher' needs a friendly welcome, not hostility and bestiality when standing at the threshold of adulthood with a new whole life beckoning him.
Allabaksh, Syndicate Features

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