Ills of ragging ..

Ragging these days has acquired a demonised image due to the wrong interpretation of the word and the sadist nature of the people engaged in this cruel act. It has acquired an image causing severe emational and physical damage and fear to the victim and his family, leading many a time to suicides, attempted suicides and deserting the institution.

When I was a student, ragging had it's different dimensions but not such a cruel and sadist face. The form of ragging then was the informal introduction with the seniors, - harmless icebreakers, which was enjoyable. I even remember to this day how I was ragged in the College of Engg, Trivandrum by my seniors in 1981. During that time ragging was existing only in Professional colleges. These days we find ragging is very common even in arts and science colleges. Some of the higher classes in some prestigious schools in the country have some form of this inhuman way of introduction.

It is just the right time for the Supereme court of the country to interfere and put the onus on the Institution to take action and file FIR with the nearest police station in case of any incident of ragging in their institution, even if there is no written or oral communication of such an incident from the aggrieved party. The threat of culpable negligence likely to be charged against the Institution authorities against any inaction on their part, fearing maligning institute reputation, makes ragging a very severe offence.

The committee which was formed to suggest recommendations to this inhuman initiation procedure in educational institutions under the chairman ship of R K Raghavan, former head of CBI, makes ragging an offence under the Indian penal code and changing the Indian evidence act by shifting the burden of proof from the victim to the perpetrator , waiting for passage by Parliament, is evidence of the serousness the govt has given to this form of icebreakers between the seniors and the freshers in educational institutions.

Forming anti-ragging squads, anti-raging committees, mentoring cells for senior students in the institutions and monitoring cells at different levels of society is required to cleanse the Indian society of this evil - the harmless ice-breaker between seniors and freshers.

george..