[The Telegraph] Stephen’s ragging: accident or college lore

CHARU SUDAN KASTURI

New Delhi, Oct. 5: The official website of St Stephen’s College repeatedly refers to ragging incidents as part of college lore, without any condemnation, giving the acts “subtle legitimacy” on campus, anti-ragging activists say.

A first-year chemistry student at the college suffered burns on his hand and knees on September 27 after a bunch of seniors sprayed deodorant and then threw a lit match at him in their hostel room.

The University Grants Commission has said it would ask Delhi University to investigate the case, first reported on Thursday, and file a report.

Rajendra Prasad, a member of a Supreme Court-appointed committee headed by former CBI chief R.K. Raghavan to check ragging, said the incident at St Stephen’s constituted “severe ragging”.

“You may call it a prank, a cruel joke or anything else, but the reality is that it was harassment which has caused physical agony... this constitutes severe ragging,” he said.

College authorities have admitted the victim complained of ragging but said they see the incident as an “accident” during a “game”.

UGC secretary Tilak Ram Kem told The Telegraph that the commission, which controls the purse strings of all central universities, would ask DU for a report.

DU registrar Gurmeet Singh today spoke to the principal, Valson Thampu, on his own asking for an explanation, officials said.

“We have reiterated our position that the incident, though unfortunate, was not one of ragging. Since the victim does not wish to take this matter forward, there is little we can do,” a senior St Stephen’s official privy to the conversation said.

The college authorities say this is the first complaint of ragging at St Stephen’s this year.
But activists working with the Raghavan committee allege that far from being isolated, ragging has been “institutionalised at St Stephen’s”, like at most other colleges.

“The college’s academic record may set it apart from the rest, but when it comes to ragging, it is like any other college. The website proves my point,” an activist who studied at St Stephen’s said on condition of anonymity.

“In those days, ragging was a serious business: there were nights when we slept in drainpipes around Pandara Park instead of going back to college to face our seniors. It was an atmosphere in which legends battened and grew,” author Amitav Ghosh, an alumnus, writes in a light-hearted piece, The Lessons of Rudra Court, on the website.

In another piece, former Pakistani dictator Zia ul-Haq’s days as a student at the college are recounted. “Zia ul-Haq’s (old student 1940-44) novel method of ragging freshers was to parade them down the fields in the middle of the night. He last visited college in 1986. Incidentally, Zia ul-Haq misspelt his name in a leave application to the principal as Zai ul-Haq!” the article on the website says.

Shivam Vij, an activist who runs the website stopragging.org, called the pieces a “reflection” of the administration’s unwillingness to stop ragging.

“The St Stephen’s website effectively tells students that ragging is a part of the college’s culture. On the one hand, the college claims to be curbing ragging while on the other hand, such articles effectively promote it,” Vij said.

Professor Vinod Chowdhury, the media adviser to the St Stephen’s principal, accepted that the “past cannot be used to justify the present”. “I have not seen the web articles myself, but to justify the current incidents based on the past would be unpardonable,” he said.

The college has punished five students in all — four who were responsible for setting the victim on fire, and a fifth who led a group of students in a violent retaliation.

The victim, a Calcutta boy, is now back home with his parents and has said he does not wish any further action to be taken against the students who set him on fire.

Link to Report

[The Statesman] UGC seeks report on ‘ragging’

Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, Oct. 5: The University Grants Commission (UGC) today sought a report from the capital’s prestigious St Stephen’s College following reports that a student suffered burn injuries in an alleged ragging incident. The UGC has also issued instructions to all colleges and universities to take preventive measures against ragging. “The UGC will write to the college authorities seeking details of the incident. We will also ask them to take necessary action in this regard,” the UGC chairman, Mr Sukhdeo Thorat, said.

Deepayan Mukherjee, a chemistry (honours) student hailing from Kolkata, suffered burn injuries on 27 September after four “inebriated” seniors allegedly sprayed deodorant and threw a burning matchstick on him. According to college officials it was “not a case of ragging” and they were treating the matter as a “closed chapter” as the victim has no complaints. The college has suspended four second-year students allegedly involved in the incident. “It is treated as a closed chapter. Neither the person affected by it nor his father or mother has any complaints,” said the principal, Mr Valson Thampu. Mr Rajendra Prasad, a member of the Raghavan Committee that framed guidelines for dealing with ragging cases, however, said that it appeared to be a case of “severe ragging” as there are marks of injuries on the knees and hands of the student. The victim’s father, Mr Jiban Chakrabarty, said he was satisfied with the college authorities for punishing the culprits. “But at the same time, college officials have to explore more avenues so that such incident do not recur,” he said.

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[Express India] JU ragging: Student unions divided

Express news service
Posted online: Saturday, October 06, 2007 at 0000 hrs IST
Kolkata, October 05

Jadavpur University (JU) remained on tenterhooks today with students’ unions protesting against the ragging incident, in which five students were punished.
Though classes were not interrupted, tension prevailed on the campus throughout the day.

Representatives of Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU) on Friday resigned from their respective posts. “As students’ representative, we cannot support ragging. We have, therefore, decided to step down,” said one of the representatives.

On the other hand, SFI representatives protested the FETSU’s stand on its decision to reprimand students for ragging.

Uttio Basu, SFI local committee secretary, said that since all the accused students are affiliated to the FETSU, it is putting pressure on JU authorities to let off their members.

Five students in the engineering department were punished for ragging a junior on Wednesday. Two of the accused — Chittaranjan Burma and Milton Baidya of the civil and mechanical engineering departments respectively — were suspended for the coming semester scheduled to begin from January 2008.

Kaji Imam Alam of the chemical engineering department and electronic engineering student Nilanjan Biswas were suspended from the hostel for a year.

The executive council, the university’s highest policy-making body, decided to punish the boys on the basis of a recommendation of the institution’s anti-ragging committee. A first-year student had lodged a complaint with the authorities in the third week of August, alleging that he had been subjected to ragging.

The complaint was forwarded to the anti-ragging committee, which held a month-long inquiry and found the five students guilty.

The FETSU members gheraoed the executive committee members when they were about to decide the penalty for the accused students. The students said that they were protesting against the exam regulations and the publication of the results of the supplementary examinations demanding them to be declared on time.

Rajat Bandopadhyay, Registrar of Jadavpur University, however, claimed that the punishment was nothing severe.

“We took the decision as it might act as a deterrent and the students will not repeat such actions in future,” added Bandopadhyay.

Following a Supreme Court order banning ragging in all educational institutions, the University Grants Commission had made it compulsory for all universities to set up panels to check ragging and bring offenders to book.

Bandopadhyay added that the university is deciding on having a separate hostel for each year.

“The students of all years will be separated and kept in different hostels. Their is a certain possibility of such decision in near future and we will take up the matter in executive committee meeting,” he said.

Link to Report

[IBN Live ] St Stephens students suspended for 'ragging'

New Delhi: In what appears to be a shocking incident of ragging at the prestigious St Stephens college, four students suspended after they allegedly sprayed a first year student with cologne and threw a matchstick on him.



The student, hailing from Kolkata, has reportedly gone back to his parents.
However, the principal of St. Stephens college Valson Thampu insisted that it was a minor matter appropriately taken care of.



“This was a very minor incident that happened in the residence of the college on the night of September 27. The matter was handled efficiently. It was treated as a closed chapter. Neither the person affected by it nor his parents have any complaints now. The matter should rest,” he said.

Link to Report

Link to CNN - IBN Help for Ragging Victims

[The Telegraph] Ragging stick for five sparks furore in JU

A STAFF REPORTER

Calcutta, Oct. 3: Jadavpur University erupted in rage this evening after authorities decided to punish five students for ragging a junior.

An army of students from the engineering and science faculties staged demonstrations and gheraoed officials for several hours in protest against the decision of the executive council.

“Our friends have been falsely implicated…. We haven’t heard of any complaint of ragging. Our question is how could the authorities take a decision like this when there are doubts over the complaint?” asked Surajit Bhakta, a leader of the engineering and technology students’ union.

Two of the accused — Chittaranjan Burma and Milton Baidya of the civil and mechanical engineering departments, respectively — have been suspended for the coming semester scheduled to begin from January 2008. They will not be able to attend classes or appear in the semester examination. The duo have been rusticated from the hostel along with co-accused Srimanta Kumar Khanra of the mathematics department.

Kaji Imam Alam of the chemical engineering department and electronic engineering student Nilanjan Biswas have been suspended from the hostel for a year.

The executive council, the university’s highest policy-making body, decided to punish the boys on the basis of a recommendation of the institution’s anti-ragging committee. A first-year student had lodged a complaint with the authorities in the third week of August, alleging that he had been subjected to ragging.

The complaint was forwarded to the anti-ragging committee, which held a month-long inquiry and found the five students guilty.

It suggested three categories of punishment for the boys, depending on the gravity of their offence.

Following a Supreme Court order banning ragging in all educational institutions, the University Grants Commission had made it compulsory for all universities to set up panels to check ragging and bring offenders to book.

“The anti-ragging committee has thoroughly probed the complaint and suggested penal measures against the five boys. After examining the committee’s findings, the executive council has unanimously accepted its suggestions,” said Parthapratim Biswas, a member of the council.
After news of the punishments reached the university’s hostels and classrooms around 5pm, students gathered outside the conference hall where a council meeting was on. They demanded that the authorities withdraw their decision.

The meeting ended around 7, but the protesters did not allow the members to leave the hall till late at night.

“The anti-ragging committee did not conduct the inquiry in a democratic manner. We don’t believe the five students are guilty. We will continue our agitation till the authorities withdraw the suspension orders,” said Bhakta.

Link to Report

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Comment from the No Ragging Foundation

The No Ragging Foundation fully supports the University, though we feel that the Punishment awarded should have been much more stringent.

We expect that the agitating students ( the gherao has been withdrawn) will try to understand and co-operate with the authorities to ensure that the guilty are punished.

[The Telegraph] Burning ‘game’ at Stephen’s - Calcutta boy set on fire during suspected ragging session

Thursday, October 04, 2007
CHARU SUDAN KASTURI

New Delhi, Oct. 3: A Calcutta boy studying at Delhi’s St Stephen’s College has complained to college authorities that he was set on fire during a ragging session.



College authorities have confirmed the episode, which occurred on the night of September 27, but said it was an “accident” and not a case of ragging.



The former student of St Xavier’s School, Calcutta, suffered burns on his hands and knees after seniors sprayed him with deodorant and threw a burning match at him.

A first-year Chemistry Honours student, the boy is now back with his family in Calcutta, the college authorities have told The Telegraph.

The victim reluctantly confirmed the incident, and the burns to his knees and hand, but said he did not wish to pursue the matter further. “Whatever punishment has been handed out to them is more than enough,” he said, speaking from Calcutta. The boy also felt that the match was not thrown with intent to harm him.

Four second-year students who attacked the boy have been penalised, the college authorities said.

“Three of them, who were drunk, have been punished more severely than the fourth,” a senior college official said. The three have been suspended for one year from the hostel, and for a month from classes.

The fourth, who the college authorities say was sober, has been suspended for one month from classes and the hostel — called the “Residence” in St Stephen’s lingo.

St Stephen’s authorities, however, did not agree that the incident is a case of ragging and said it was a “game”.

“Students often play a game... spraying deodorant on their hands, and setting a match to it. It burns at a low temperature, and so does not hurt the skin. They were indulging in the same game,” an administrator said.

The college admits, however, that the victim and his friends did not see the incident as a “game”.
According to the college authorities, a group of the victim’s friends, led by a second-year student, “attacked” the four boys who set him on fire, “dragged them” and “beat them up”.
The second-year student who led the retaliation has also been suspended for one month from classes and hostel.

Under Supreme Court guidelines, put in place by a committee headed by former CBI chief R.K. Raghavan, college authorities who receive a complaint of ragging from a student should “immediately” register a case with police.

“It is recommended that the college authorities should first file a case, and then continue their internal investigation,” Rajendra Prasad, one of the members of the Raghavan committee, said.
If the victim or his parents are not satisfied with the action — or the lack of it — that the college authorities have taken, they can file a second complaint with the college, following which the institute authorities have to go to the police, Prasad explained.

“The victim or his parents can also approach the police directly if the college ignores the second plea. Then the college is also accountable,” Prasad added.

Link to Report

[DNAIndia.com] Ragging menace on rise in Bengal

Sumanta Ray Chaudhuri Friday,
September 14, 2007 03:34 IST

KOLKATA: West Bengal has once again been rocked by a spate of ragging incidents sending shock and fear amongst aspiring engineers and their parents.

In last couple of months eight incidences of ragging have been reported from different engineering colleges of the state and majority of them involved severe physical injuries to students. Last week it was height of it. A first year student of a private engineering college in Bankura district, Sudipto Mondal, was pushed from his hostel's second floor during ragging.


While Sudipto is still fighting for his life with multiple injuries in a nursing home in Bankura, the police is yet to arrest the six absconding senior raggers, against whom FIRs were registered.
Two days back before Sudipto's incident, a fourth year student of Bengal Engineering & Science University (Besu) was severely thrashed up by his own classmates, when he tried to resist them from ragging a junior, first year student. As first, the university authorities tried to hush up the entire incident but later it looked into the matter.

Similarly, last month, a first year student of the same institute of Bankura was forced to walk on balcony railings. Not being able to maintain balance he fell down and sustained severe injuries. No action was taken against the alleged students.

Former dean of Jadavpur University, S Roy said the regional and private engineering colleges should follow the IITs in checking ragging for good. According to him, the IITs have strictly decided that any student found guilty of ragging will be instantly expelled from the institute.

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