[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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[ToI] Delhi girl in hospital after ragging

6 Oct 2007, 0452 hrs IST,TNN

BHOPAL: Despite a Supreme Court order against ragging in educational institutions, incidents of harassment of students continue. A Delhi girl, along with a batchmate from Agra, has been admitted to hospital after she collapsed during a ragging session at an institute here on Wednesday night. Just a few days ago a first-year student at Delhi’s St Stephen’s College sustained burn injuries on his hands and knees, and a fresher suffered multiple fractures after he was pushed from the first floor of his engineering college hostel in Agra. MP police have registered a case against eight senior girl students of the Institute of Hotel Management in Bhopal after the two freshers collapsed. The two students have been admitted to a private hospital. However, as with the colleges in Delhi and Agra, institute authorities here have gone into denial mode, terming it an altercation over a fashion show

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[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.

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Link to CNN - IBN Help for Ragging Victims

[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.

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