Thursday, April 30, 2009
News Reports - 3
Understanding ragging
Tanvir Aeijaz
| Ragging is a social fact of an environment where there is persistent fear, threat of violence and a complete subordination and power over ‘juniors’ by seniors. |
STOP THE MENACE: Activists protest against the death of Aman Kachroo, a medical student in Himachal Pradesh. Beneath every reported case of ragging lies an unimaginable pile of cases — unheard, unattended and unsolved.
Love thy juniors. Quite a simple precept. But when it comes to practice it fades out as a mere rhetoric and takes the shape of ragging in educational institutions. Interestingly, there exists an entrapping conundrum in the ragging discourse that ‘now virtually everyone rejects the idea of defending ragging, but it is practised virtually everywhere with burgeoning impunity.’ Beneath every reported incident of ragging lies an unimaginable pile of cases — unheard, unattended and unsolved.
Ragging is seemingly one of the worst forms of human rights abuse that takes socially and legally unacceptable patterns of physical, sexual and mental torture and drug abuse. In some cases, the brutality is so severe that either the victim commits suicide or it results in death. For instance, Aman Kachroo, who died due to ragging at the Tanda medical college, was continuously beaten up and tortured for almost two-and-a-half hours. Though ragging conjures up an image of teasing, as it literally means, it is a social fact of an environment where there is persistent fear, threat of violence and eventually a complete subordination and power over the ‘juniors’ by the seniors.
Educational institutions, universities and colleges, being the active agents of social transformation, are at the core of the dynamics of institutional interactional processes of civil society. And civil society, which is not a homogeneous society, is a stage where the dialectics between the social and the political, domination and resistance and oppression and emancipation is played out. Therefore, not all but some juniors are targeted, as they are perceived as weak, vulnerable and pliant maybe in terms of gender, religion, caste, class and ethnicity. In the case of Aman, it was between modernity and local conservatism. Aman was smart, good looking, having a charismatic personality (won many prizes in the college academic and cultural activities) and, above all, he used to speak English with a tinge of accent (he studied abroad for sometime). All these qualities, particularly the last one, made him vulnerable and weak in the eyes of local goon-students. Being modern and progressive, I realised during my discussion with the medicos there, has its own flip-side, so much so that it renders the putative ‘support structures’ of modern civilised society ‘attack-structures’ for those who dare to think and do things against the conservative mores, culture and lifestyles.
Educational institutions are a very significant part of the larger public sphere. Even colleges in remote areas are connected with the socio-cultural milieu of the metropolis and vice versa, thanks to the Internet and communication revolution. So these colleges cannot escape the psycho-social values prevalent in our society. Particularly two aspects of the value system, among many, need to be taken serious cognisance of: the idea of ‘masculinity’ as it ‘is’ practised and as it ‘ought to be’ and secondly, the notion of ‘institutional democracy’ as a lasting solution for the scourge of ragging.
Those who indulge in ragging in educational institutions are a bunch of hoodlums, mostly male, who have their own shared sense of masculinity. For them, it is the way to attract girl students first and then the rest by exhibiting force, domination, hegemony, sadomasochism and, of course, body (a la Salman Khan) to establish themselves as superior beings just because they were born one or two years before the tormented. Perhaps, one can link these ideas of masculinity being reproduced as ‘rites of passage’ in colleges with ‘patriarchy’ and ‘gerontocracy’ that promote and sustain the kind of masculinity which is aggressive, violent, intolerant, non-consensual and sexually charged. Instead, masculinity ought to mean men being gentlemen, tolerant, sober, consensual, creative by using mind and not floundering body and, above all, trustworthy.
Students, like citizens, have equal claims to utilise the college space and facility because a) they pay for their habitat and studies in the college almost equally, b) they receive knowledge and wisdom together from the same teacher and c) all are bound in a shared small world by a sense of commitment to do good to society. In order to have legitimacy of the claim of ‘equal citizen’ at the college level, what is needed is ‘institutional democracy’ wherein the students as major stakeholders in social transformation can learn to participate in the mainstream institutional processes. Most of the professional institutes, including defence training academies, where ragging is the severest, do not have elected student bodies and wherever they have the post-holders are nominated. Post-Aman’s death, the college pledged a draft copy of anti-ragging measures to be taken was given to us — to abandon nominations for student bodies and to conduct elections on the pattern of Lyngdoh Committee recommendations. General body meetings between teachers and students, affirmative action programmes such as ‘extra-classes’ for marginalised and weaker sections, gender sensitising programmes, improving information access facility for students, and constituting clubs and societies with recreational facilities would go in a long way in promoting democratic and students human rights culture and perhaps eradicating the menace of ragging.
News Reports - 2
Kottayam, Wednesday, February 25, 2009
http://keralaonline.com/news/sme-ragging-court-convicts-3_23094.html
Special Court Judge K Shasidharan Nair today convicted three students in connection with the ragging and sexual assault on a 17-year-old nursing student of the School of Medical Education (SME) other four to nine accused were let off. Earlier, the pronouncement of verdict was deferred by the Court yesterday.
Earlier, as per the prosecution, six of the accused had sexually assaulted a first year nursing student in the name of ragging and three accused tried to destroy evidence and engaged in criminal conspiracy to cover up the incident.
According to Superintendent of Police S. Sreejith, the nine accused are Renjith Varghese, Sherin, Shefique Yusuf, Ashly Varghese, Robin Paul, Divin Philip (all third year nursing students at SME) SME principal K.M. Mariam, director Muraleedharan and head of the Department of Psychiatry at Kottayam Medical College Dr. Zybunneesa Beevi.
The first six of the accused have been charge sheeted under sections 376 (2g), 342, 354, 366(a), 328 and 506(2) of Indian Penal Code.
The SME principal, director and head of the Department of Psychiatry have been charge sheeted under sections 120(b), 201, 202 and 218.
In addition, the accused have been charge sheeted under provisions of the anti-ragging act also.
The case was registered on November 12, 2005 and the investigation was completed within 65 days.
New Delhi, Monday, March 16, 2009
http://www.kolkatamirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=14&contentid=20090316200903161201317948cf6516§xslt=
Supreme Court today sought a response from the principal and registrar of a Himachal Pradesh medical college as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for the death of student Aman Kachroo allegedly due to ragging.
A bench of justices Arijit Pasayat and Asok Kumar Ganguly also sought a detailed report from the Andhra Pradesh government on the incident in which a girl student of Bapatla Agricultural and Engineering College had attempted suicide after she was allegedly forced to dance nude by seniors.
19-year-old Kachroo died on March 8 after he was allegedly beaten up by four of his seniors at the Rajendra Prasad Medical College in Kangra. The accused have been arrested.
The apex court asked the two state governments to file their response within two weeks and posted the matter to March 30.
The Court passed the directions after additional solicitor general and amicus curiae Gopal Subramaniam mentioned the two incidents of ragging before the bench.
He submitted that two incidents indicated that the authorities failed to implement the earlier directions of the apex court to put down ragging incidents with an iron hand. (PTI)
Kolkata, Thursday, April 09, 2009: By Tasmayee Laha Roy
Protest taken off at JU
http://www.kolkatamirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=13&contentid=20090409200904091902232085e28813e§xslt=
JU student union calls off gherao in protest that punishment given to student caught ragging was too harsh after authorities stick to statement
Jadavpur University student union ended a 25-hour gherao of the chancellor and pro-VC on April 9 with authorities refusing to retract their statement that any student guilty of ragging would be punished.
The union had protested that the six-month suspension given to a student accused of ragging was “too harsh” given the “victim did not sustain serious injuries”.
The extent of the victim’s injuries is not known.
The Executive Council stated that mechanical engineering student Rajib Das would not be allowed to participate any academic activity after he was found ragging first-year student Kamal Krishna Haldar of the international relations department.
A showcause notice was issued to Das. The student produced a letter to the committee at the Executive Council’s meeting held at 2 pm on April 8. It is learnt that Das confessed to ragging Haldar in a letter, but also sent an application seeking exclusion from the punishment. The committee refused to change its decision.
This decision sparked a 25-hour gherao by the student union that ended on April 9 with college officials stating that their decision is final. The pro vice-chancellor and chancellor remained at the institute overnight when the Executive Council announced that it was sticking to its decision.
Siddharth Dutta, pro-vice chancellor, Jadavpur University said: “We are following the orders of the Supreme Court and rules laid down by UGC, anyone ragging in college shall be punished severely. We are also planning to form an anti ragging committee in line with recommendations by the Raghaban Committee, the committee shall have members of the police, NGOs, media and non teaching and teaching staff of Jadavpur University.”
14 March 2009, New Delhi: Ragging becoming organised crime
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14870271
Despite a Supreme Court directive to colleges to curb ragging, the scourge that most recently caused the death of a medical student and led another to attempt suicide, continues to terrorise hundreds across the country, with many brutal cases going unreported.
Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE), the country's only registered anti-ragging NGO, calculated that nine teenagers are killed every year due to ragging while hundreds of them get seriously injured, hospitalised or disabled due to ragging by their seniors in colleges.
Ragging death: 4 expelled from Himachal college
"We observed a pattern of ragging in colleges after analysing the ragging complaints registered with us. We found that sexual and physical abuse has become rampant in colleges and students get a kind of sadistic pleasure in ragging," Kashal Banerjee, founder president of the NGO, said.
In February this year, taking serious note of an alarming rise in incidents of ragging in educational institutions across the country, the Supreme Court accepted the recommendations of the KR Raghavan Committee to curb the menace.
Despite the apex court's direction to all educational institutions to take stringent anti-ragging measures, including slapping criminal cases against erring students, ragging incidents remain unchecked in the country. Interestingly, there are several communities on social networking sites where ideas are invited for ragging freshers.
"Ragging is an organised crime as students prepare months before the new academic year starts. Students invite ideas on networking sites like Orkut for ragging juniors," said Banerjee.
Medical student ragged and killed in Himachal
A 2007 report by an anti-ragging group Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE), which analysed 64 ragging complaints, found that over 60 per cent of these were related to physical ragging and 20 percent were sexual in nature.
Within a week two horrendous ragging incident were reported - Aman Kachru died Sunday after being ragged by four final year students of the Rajendra Prasad Medical College in Himachal Pradesh. Police said he died of head injuries and other wounds.
In another incident a girl student of agriculture engineering in Andhra Pradesh attempted suicide after her hostel mates allegedly made her dance nude as part of ragging. Raghavan, a former CBI director, in his report said that the menace of ragging has assumed alarming proportions as freshers are subjected to torture, extortion and harassment by seniors with a criminal bent of mind. He also said that the medical colleges are the worst affected in India.
"We used to have two ragging sessions per day and were asked to do everything starting from washing used vessels to dancing nude on a table. And, we never dared to make a complaint to the authorities as it would have further increased trouble for us," said Naveen Tentiwal, an electrical engineering student, an alumnus of a reputed engineering college in Kolkata.
Supreme Court terms ragging as human rights abuse
Many students even drop out of colleges after being ragged. "I withdrew my son from an engineering college in Bihar after he was ragged by his seniors. He was so scared that he ran away from the college and said he will die if he continues to stay there. For the next one year he was so depressed that he did not join any college and was being given regular counselling," said Ranjita Mishra, mother of a ragging victim.
Anti-ragging experts and psychiatrists feel that it is not stringent laws but awareness and involvement of civil society that can check the menace. "I think there is no perfect remedy and the law alone cannot stop ragging in colleges. We need to spread awareness among students and civil society to curtail the menace, Banerjee added.
Psychiatrist Sameer Parikh feels that violent behaviour among college students could be because of uncontrolled anger or to make a style statement. "Many times students feel that they were ragged and so they have a right to rag their juniors. Ragging is acceptable when it is mutually acceptable in a light way but students often forget that their act could take somebody's life which is really unacceptable," Parikh said.
Court ragging rap on colleges
New Delhi, March 16: By SAMANWAYA RAUTRAY
http://telegraphindia.com/1090317/jsp/frontpage/story_10678158.jsp
The Supreme Court today came down on two colleges where ragging had reportedly led to a death and a suicide attempt this month.
The court asked them why they shouldn’t face contempt cases for failing to introduce anti-ragging measures it had ordered every educational institution and every state government to follow.
The court asked Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, where the two colleges are situated, to declare through their chief secre- taries what they had done so far to comply with its orders on ragging. It directed the two states’ police chiefs to file action-taken reports on the cases.
At the Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College in Tanda, Himachal, Aman Kachroo, 19, died of a burst eardrum after being beaten by four seniors amid allegations that the principal had tried to shield the accused.
At the Government Agriculture Engineering College in Bapatla, Andhra, a 20-year-old girl attempted suicide after allegedly being forced to dance naked by five seniors.
As amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium drew the court’s attention to the incidents, the court said: “Our apprehensions have come true. It appears the concerns expressed by this court in its orders of 2007 and 2009 have not been taken seriously.”
It added: “This prima facie amounts to contempt of court as it is a serious defiance of this court’s orders.”
Among the anti-ragging measures the court suggested are:
College prospectuses must make it clear that anyone found ragging would be expelled. Institutions must hand out “exemplary” and “harsh” punishment for ragging
If the victim or his guardians are unhappy with the punishment, the college must file an FIR or face negligence charges.
UGC seeks report on ‘ragging’
Statesman News Service
NEW DELHI, Oct. 5
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=2&id=199794&usrsess=1
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.
http://keralaonline.com/news/sme-ragging-court-convicts-3_23094.html
Special Court Judge K Shasidharan Nair today convicted three students in connection with the ragging and sexual assault on a 17-year-old nursing student of the School of Medical Education (SME) other four to nine accused were let off. Earlier, the pronouncement of verdict was deferred by the Court yesterday.
Earlier, as per the prosecution, six of the accused had sexually assaulted a first year nursing student in the name of ragging and three accused tried to destroy evidence and engaged in criminal conspiracy to cover up the incident.
According to Superintendent of Police S. Sreejith, the nine accused are Renjith Varghese, Sherin, Shefique Yusuf, Ashly Varghese, Robin Paul, Divin Philip (all third year nursing students at SME) SME principal K.M. Mariam, director Muraleedharan and head of the Department of Psychiatry at Kottayam Medical College Dr. Zybunneesa Beevi.
The first six of the accused have been charge sheeted under sections 376 (2g), 342, 354, 366(a), 328 and 506(2) of Indian Penal Code.
The SME principal, director and head of the Department of Psychiatry have been charge sheeted under sections 120(b), 201, 202 and 218.
In addition, the accused have been charge sheeted under provisions of the anti-ragging act also.
The case was registered on November 12, 2005 and the investigation was completed within 65 days.
New Delhi, Monday, March 16, 2009
http://www.kolkatamirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=14&contentid=20090316200903161201317948cf6516§xslt=
Supreme Court today sought a response from the principal and registrar of a Himachal Pradesh medical college as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for the death of student Aman Kachroo allegedly due to ragging.
A bench of justices Arijit Pasayat and Asok Kumar Ganguly also sought a detailed report from the Andhra Pradesh government on the incident in which a girl student of Bapatla Agricultural and Engineering College had attempted suicide after she was allegedly forced to dance nude by seniors.
19-year-old Kachroo died on March 8 after he was allegedly beaten up by four of his seniors at the Rajendra Prasad Medical College in Kangra. The accused have been arrested.
The apex court asked the two state governments to file their response within two weeks and posted the matter to March 30.
The Court passed the directions after additional solicitor general and amicus curiae Gopal Subramaniam mentioned the two incidents of ragging before the bench.
He submitted that two incidents indicated that the authorities failed to implement the earlier directions of the apex court to put down ragging incidents with an iron hand. (PTI)
Kolkata, Thursday, April 09, 2009: By Tasmayee Laha Roy
Protest taken off at JU
http://www.kolkatamirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=13&contentid=20090409200904091902232085e28813e§xslt=
JU student union calls off gherao in protest that punishment given to student caught ragging was too harsh after authorities stick to statement
Jadavpur University student union ended a 25-hour gherao of the chancellor and pro-VC on April 9 with authorities refusing to retract their statement that any student guilty of ragging would be punished.
The union had protested that the six-month suspension given to a student accused of ragging was “too harsh” given the “victim did not sustain serious injuries”.
The extent of the victim’s injuries is not known.
The Executive Council stated that mechanical engineering student Rajib Das would not be allowed to participate any academic activity after he was found ragging first-year student Kamal Krishna Haldar of the international relations department.
A showcause notice was issued to Das. The student produced a letter to the committee at the Executive Council’s meeting held at 2 pm on April 8. It is learnt that Das confessed to ragging Haldar in a letter, but also sent an application seeking exclusion from the punishment. The committee refused to change its decision.
This decision sparked a 25-hour gherao by the student union that ended on April 9 with college officials stating that their decision is final. The pro vice-chancellor and chancellor remained at the institute overnight when the Executive Council announced that it was sticking to its decision.
Siddharth Dutta, pro-vice chancellor, Jadavpur University said: “We are following the orders of the Supreme Court and rules laid down by UGC, anyone ragging in college shall be punished severely. We are also planning to form an anti ragging committee in line with recommendations by the Raghaban Committee, the committee shall have members of the police, NGOs, media and non teaching and teaching staff of Jadavpur University.”
14 March 2009, New Delhi: Ragging becoming organised crime
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14870271
Despite a Supreme Court directive to colleges to curb ragging, the scourge that most recently caused the death of a medical student and led another to attempt suicide, continues to terrorise hundreds across the country, with many brutal cases going unreported.
Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE), the country's only registered anti-ragging NGO, calculated that nine teenagers are killed every year due to ragging while hundreds of them get seriously injured, hospitalised or disabled due to ragging by their seniors in colleges.
Ragging death: 4 expelled from Himachal college
"We observed a pattern of ragging in colleges after analysing the ragging complaints registered with us. We found that sexual and physical abuse has become rampant in colleges and students get a kind of sadistic pleasure in ragging," Kashal Banerjee, founder president of the NGO, said.
In February this year, taking serious note of an alarming rise in incidents of ragging in educational institutions across the country, the Supreme Court accepted the recommendations of the KR Raghavan Committee to curb the menace.
Despite the apex court's direction to all educational institutions to take stringent anti-ragging measures, including slapping criminal cases against erring students, ragging incidents remain unchecked in the country. Interestingly, there are several communities on social networking sites where ideas are invited for ragging freshers.
"Ragging is an organised crime as students prepare months before the new academic year starts. Students invite ideas on networking sites like Orkut for ragging juniors," said Banerjee.
Medical student ragged and killed in Himachal
A 2007 report by an anti-ragging group Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE), which analysed 64 ragging complaints, found that over 60 per cent of these were related to physical ragging and 20 percent were sexual in nature.
Within a week two horrendous ragging incident were reported - Aman Kachru died Sunday after being ragged by four final year students of the Rajendra Prasad Medical College in Himachal Pradesh. Police said he died of head injuries and other wounds.
In another incident a girl student of agriculture engineering in Andhra Pradesh attempted suicide after her hostel mates allegedly made her dance nude as part of ragging. Raghavan, a former CBI director, in his report said that the menace of ragging has assumed alarming proportions as freshers are subjected to torture, extortion and harassment by seniors with a criminal bent of mind. He also said that the medical colleges are the worst affected in India.
"We used to have two ragging sessions per day and were asked to do everything starting from washing used vessels to dancing nude on a table. And, we never dared to make a complaint to the authorities as it would have further increased trouble for us," said Naveen Tentiwal, an electrical engineering student, an alumnus of a reputed engineering college in Kolkata.
Supreme Court terms ragging as human rights abuse
Many students even drop out of colleges after being ragged. "I withdrew my son from an engineering college in Bihar after he was ragged by his seniors. He was so scared that he ran away from the college and said he will die if he continues to stay there. For the next one year he was so depressed that he did not join any college and was being given regular counselling," said Ranjita Mishra, mother of a ragging victim.
Anti-ragging experts and psychiatrists feel that it is not stringent laws but awareness and involvement of civil society that can check the menace. "I think there is no perfect remedy and the law alone cannot stop ragging in colleges. We need to spread awareness among students and civil society to curtail the menace, Banerjee added.
Psychiatrist Sameer Parikh feels that violent behaviour among college students could be because of uncontrolled anger or to make a style statement. "Many times students feel that they were ragged and so they have a right to rag their juniors. Ragging is acceptable when it is mutually acceptable in a light way but students often forget that their act could take somebody's life which is really unacceptable," Parikh said.
Court ragging rap on colleges
New Delhi, March 16: By SAMANWAYA RAUTRAY
http://telegraphindia.com/1090317/jsp/frontpage/story_10678158.jsp
The Supreme Court today came down on two colleges where ragging had reportedly led to a death and a suicide attempt this month.
The court asked them why they shouldn’t face contempt cases for failing to introduce anti-ragging measures it had ordered every educational institution and every state government to follow.
The court asked Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, where the two colleges are situated, to declare through their chief secre- taries what they had done so far to comply with its orders on ragging. It directed the two states’ police chiefs to file action-taken reports on the cases.
At the Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College in Tanda, Himachal, Aman Kachroo, 19, died of a burst eardrum after being beaten by four seniors amid allegations that the principal had tried to shield the accused.
At the Government Agriculture Engineering College in Bapatla, Andhra, a 20-year-old girl attempted suicide after allegedly being forced to dance naked by five seniors.
As amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium drew the court’s attention to the incidents, the court said: “Our apprehensions have come true. It appears the concerns expressed by this court in its orders of 2007 and 2009 have not been taken seriously.”
It added: “This prima facie amounts to contempt of court as it is a serious defiance of this court’s orders.”
Among the anti-ragging measures the court suggested are:
College prospectuses must make it clear that anyone found ragging would be expelled. Institutions must hand out “exemplary” and “harsh” punishment for ragging
If the victim or his guardians are unhappy with the punishment, the college must file an FIR or face negligence charges.
UGC seeks report on ‘ragging’
Statesman News Service
NEW DELHI, Oct. 5
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=2&id=199794&usrsess=1
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.
News Reports - 1
http://noragging.com/index.php/News-Incidents-From-Media-Reports.html
Student commits suicide after ragging
Chennai, December 05, 2005
A first year Biotechnology student of an engineering college near here committed suicide on Monday night, allegedly owing to ragging by his seniors. The deceased, Sridhar, 18, son of Ramakrishna Reddy of Tirupathy in Andhra Pradesh, had hung himself on the fan hook in his hostel room using his bedspread, police said. His parents told police that about a month ago their son had complained of ragging by seniors.
Student’s body found on rail track
Jalandhar, October 11, 2005
“You call it ragging but it is humiliation and should be banned. It is, but everyday students are ragged in the college. They are made naked and ordered to do bad things. This all has brought me to this point. I can’t tell it even to my parents. It is not justified but I can’t bear it any more.” Body of Amit Kumar Sahai, a first year student of the NIT Baba Ambedkar Institute of Engineering, here was found on rail tracks in Bidhipur area, near the institute in the morning.
Ragging leads to student’s suicide
Nadia, July 2005
A first-year student of hotel management of a private institute in Kalyani in Nadia district allegedly committed suicide in his Chaita residence in North 24 Parganas. Family members of the deceased insist that Kamlesh was a victim of ragging in the institute.
Student forced to bathe in his own urine, commits suicide
Chennai, December 19, 2004
A first year engineering student of S K R Engineering College at Poonamalle committed suicide on Sunday evening after he was humiliated by his seniors, who allegedly made him bathe in his own urine.
Manipal fresher pushed into sea, dies
Manipal, August 17, 2004
Saba, a student of first year computer engineering in the Manipal Engineering College, died early this week when some senior students allegedly pushed him into the sea after he refused to jump in while being ragged. He said his son’s leg was broken in three places and his hand was also broken. “How could the bones break if he died of drowning in the sea? It appears that he was beaten during the ragging after he refused to jump into the water and his body was thrown in later to hush up matters,” Sabahuddin said.
MBBS student hangs himself after ragging
Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), January 7, 2004
A first year MBBS student, Lokesh Yadav of the Bilaspur Medical College committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan after being allegedly ragged by senior students. Junior students confirmed ragging (on condition of anonymity) and one of them reportedly informed that, "Just a few days ago, seniors forced Lokesh to dance on one foot and sing lewd film songs. Lokesh was a really sensitive boy. I think he was unable to bear the humiliation any more, and chose the easy way out".
Girls ragged out of Campus
Shadnagar (Mahbubnagar DT.), December 2003
On December 17, three second year students and two outsiders, allegedly ragged three girls some distance away from the campus. Students passing by interfered and with the help of some locals, beat up the youngsters and handed them over to the probationary SI, Rama Devi, at the Shadnagar police station. The students belonged to the Noor College of Engineering and Technology in Kammadanam.
Engg. student flees campus after being asked to walk naked.
Asansol, November 8, 2003
Reuben Thoudam of Imphal, a first year student of Dhadka Polytechnic College here, fleed the college because he was beaten and forced to walk naked in name of ragging. He has lodged an FIR against five third-year students who ragged him.
Death of fresher might be due to ragging
Nagpur, October 2003
Pranali Dhanvijay, a speech therapy student at Topiwala Medical College of Nair Hospital, Mumbai was found dead in her hostel room. Pranali had committed suicide by hanging herself from a tubelight. Her uncle, Dhanvijay reportedly said that, "just five days after she joined the course, she called up from Mumbai and told her mother that her seniors had made her life miserable." He feels that ragging is the cause for the death.
Ragging claims another life
Gorakhpur, September 2003
A first year B. Tech student, Sushil Kumar Pandey of Madan Mohan Engineering College committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan following severe ragging. A college teacher, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the deceased was forcibly taken to his seniors' hostel and stripped. Depressed over the vulgar behavious of his seniors, he committed suicide.
Suicide at BITs due to ragging
Ranchi, September 2003
Parmeshwar, a student of BITs, Ranchi committed suicide by hanging himself to the ceiling fan. Though it is not confirmed, students claim that Parmeshwar was depressed due to ragging. Most of the students believe Parmeshwar, in the first semester of his Bachelor of Computer Applications course, was driven to it by harassment at the hands of seniors.
Ragging victim commits suicide in Lucknow
September, 2002, Lucknow
Anup Kapoor, a 19-year-old first year engineering student committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his house here. He had returned home from his institute in Lucknow following sexual harassment and mental torture by his seniors.
Ragging victim commits suicide in AP
December 5, 2001, Hyderabad
An 18-year-old student of the Agricultural College at Mahanandi in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh committed suicide on Monday at his native town in Anantapur district after being sodomised by his seniors in a ragging incident. In a suicide note, Govardhan wrote that on November 30, some senior students had organised a get-together in the hostel. Some students, in an inebriated condition, forced him to strip and perform dirty acts, he said, adding that he was even sodomised.
Five medical students arrested for sex oriented ragging of freshers
Hyderabad, November 22 , 2001
According to police sources, the seniors of the Gandhi Medical College allegedly forced the 1st year girls to undress at the Necklace Road and blow kisses to them while the boys were asked for oral sex. The five students were picked up by the police following the complaint but released following pressure by the parents and college management. The ragging, according to some students, is carried out on city outskirts to avoid detection. Another report added, senior students allegedly forced some freshers to strip, dragged one boy to a flat in the outskirts of the city and tried to sodomise him. The boy is now a mental wreck.
Stripped by seniors, girl quits college
Raipur, August 30, 2001
Sujata Tiwari, a student of the Women's Polytechnic College in Raipur has been forced to leave the city just three days after she enrolled for a computer science course. Her seniors in the hostel allegedly stripped and forced her to pose upside down for more than two hours, resulting in severe bleeding from her nose. Principal denies ragging.
Victim of ragging does not cooperate with police
Delhi, August 4, 2001
The police are in a fix over the case of ragging of Shailender Agarwal in a hotel management institute by his seniors, 4 boys and 2 girls. He fled the institute and is staying with his parents in the Capital. He has refused to cooperate with them in identifying the culprits. Superintendent of Police Davesh Srivastav says, "The boy, we are told, is still in trauma."
33 students of medical college rusticated for ragging freshers
Shimla, 2 May 2001
All 33 third year students of a medical college in Kangra district, Himachal were rusticated for allegedly ragging and assaulting 12 freshers on recommendation by the disciplinary committee.
The disciplinary committee (situated at Tanda, about 260 km from the college) received complaints from freshers' parents regarding alleged "inhuman and torturous" treatment by seniors. It inquired into the matter and recommended collective action against the seniors. The 33 seniors were rustigated following the report of the disciplinary committee. The students, who were allegedly ragged, were given adequate opportunity to name the culprits but all of them denied the allegations and expressed ignorance about the incident.
Sex oriented ragging at Karnataka medical college
January 27, 2001 (The date is not clear but this is most probably the date)
A girl and a boy were made to strip by senior students and locked up in one room for three days without food or water when they refused to have sex at a medical college in Bijapur, Karnataka. Bijapur superintendent of police reportedly denied the incident. Government acted prompty against the incident.
MBBS student flees campus after being ragged
3 September 2000, Delhi
Honhar Singh Meena, a first year MBBS student was severely ragged in the undergraduate students hostel of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). As a consequence he fled the campus. He was beaten up, forced to drink alcohol and harrased by the seniors.
Girl commits suicide following ragging
16 August 2000, Tamil Nadu
Deepa (aged 18 years), a first year student of microbiology at the Sri Krishna Arts and Science College at Keezhambi , near Kancheepuram commited suicide by self-immolation. In her dying declaration, Deepa named three seniors (one girl), as forcing her to sing lewd songs. When she sulked and protested, the seniors asked her to dance nude.
A picture of the Delhi University on reopening after vacations
17 July 2000, New Delhi
Ragging in colleges under the Delhi University was somewhat mild in the campus. Though much can't be said about what happened in hostels. People were asked to sing songs, enact actors and animals, marry, describe body parts, etc.
Govt circular merely a sheet of paper
29 October 1998, Bangalore
Despite the government circular against ragging in Bangalore, there is no respite for the juniors. In engineering colleges, seniors asked freshers to either sing or dance and entertain them. Some were asked to recite all the alphabets from A to Z, with an example for each alphabet.
The Government, in a circular to all engineering colleges in the state, had warned principals and lecturers to check ragging otherwise their colleges may lose their affiliations. The circular states that persons held for ragging will, on conviction, face jail term to the extent of one year and fine upto Rs 2,000 . If a student held for ragging could not be dismissed in view of his being in the final year, his or her degree certificates will be embossed indicating his or her involvement in a ragging incident. The transfer certificate too will give those details. The Government had asked the colleges to display the warnings on their notice boards. The colleges were required to lodge a complaint with the police if such incidents are reported and to allocate separate portions of hostels to accommodate first-year students.
Denial by fresher costs him more
3-7 November 1998, Mangalore
Five juniors of the Institute of Nursing, Mangalore, were stripped and sexually harrased and asked to shave from neck downwards. Later the seniors used cigarette butts to singe visible traces of hair. A junior who disobeyed was made to run around with a rope tied to his genitals.
Fresher stripped in hostel
5 September 1998, Pune
After just 2 days of arrival, Mr. A, a fresher at D.Y. Patil College of Engineering in Pune,begged his parents to let him home. The 17 year old boy was not only stripped, but the act was followed by many more unspeakable things. He soon fled to his relative's house.
Ragging leads to suicide
4 August 1998, Mumbai
Indu Anto, a 17-year-old, a class XI hosteller at Sophia College, Mumbai commited suicide following ragging . She jumped from the top of the hostel building. Though the college authorities deny, Indu's father maintains that his daughter was driven to death by relentless ragging.
Student commits suicide after ragging
Chennai, December 05, 2005
A first year Biotechnology student of an engineering college near here committed suicide on Monday night, allegedly owing to ragging by his seniors. The deceased, Sridhar, 18, son of Ramakrishna Reddy of Tirupathy in Andhra Pradesh, had hung himself on the fan hook in his hostel room using his bedspread, police said. His parents told police that about a month ago their son had complained of ragging by seniors.
Student’s body found on rail track
Jalandhar, October 11, 2005
“You call it ragging but it is humiliation and should be banned. It is, but everyday students are ragged in the college. They are made naked and ordered to do bad things. This all has brought me to this point. I can’t tell it even to my parents. It is not justified but I can’t bear it any more.” Body of Amit Kumar Sahai, a first year student of the NIT Baba Ambedkar Institute of Engineering, here was found on rail tracks in Bidhipur area, near the institute in the morning.
Ragging leads to student’s suicide
Nadia, July 2005
A first-year student of hotel management of a private institute in Kalyani in Nadia district allegedly committed suicide in his Chaita residence in North 24 Parganas. Family members of the deceased insist that Kamlesh was a victim of ragging in the institute.
Student forced to bathe in his own urine, commits suicide
Chennai, December 19, 2004
A first year engineering student of S K R Engineering College at Poonamalle committed suicide on Sunday evening after he was humiliated by his seniors, who allegedly made him bathe in his own urine.
Manipal fresher pushed into sea, dies
Manipal, August 17, 2004
Saba, a student of first year computer engineering in the Manipal Engineering College, died early this week when some senior students allegedly pushed him into the sea after he refused to jump in while being ragged. He said his son’s leg was broken in three places and his hand was also broken. “How could the bones break if he died of drowning in the sea? It appears that he was beaten during the ragging after he refused to jump into the water and his body was thrown in later to hush up matters,” Sabahuddin said.
MBBS student hangs himself after ragging
Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), January 7, 2004
A first year MBBS student, Lokesh Yadav of the Bilaspur Medical College committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan after being allegedly ragged by senior students. Junior students confirmed ragging (on condition of anonymity) and one of them reportedly informed that, "Just a few days ago, seniors forced Lokesh to dance on one foot and sing lewd film songs. Lokesh was a really sensitive boy. I think he was unable to bear the humiliation any more, and chose the easy way out".
Girls ragged out of Campus
Shadnagar (Mahbubnagar DT.), December 2003
On December 17, three second year students and two outsiders, allegedly ragged three girls some distance away from the campus. Students passing by interfered and with the help of some locals, beat up the youngsters and handed them over to the probationary SI, Rama Devi, at the Shadnagar police station. The students belonged to the Noor College of Engineering and Technology in Kammadanam.
Engg. student flees campus after being asked to walk naked.
Asansol, November 8, 2003
Reuben Thoudam of Imphal, a first year student of Dhadka Polytechnic College here, fleed the college because he was beaten and forced to walk naked in name of ragging. He has lodged an FIR against five third-year students who ragged him.
Death of fresher might be due to ragging
Nagpur, October 2003
Pranali Dhanvijay, a speech therapy student at Topiwala Medical College of Nair Hospital, Mumbai was found dead in her hostel room. Pranali had committed suicide by hanging herself from a tubelight. Her uncle, Dhanvijay reportedly said that, "just five days after she joined the course, she called up from Mumbai and told her mother that her seniors had made her life miserable." He feels that ragging is the cause for the death.
Ragging claims another life
Gorakhpur, September 2003
A first year B. Tech student, Sushil Kumar Pandey of Madan Mohan Engineering College committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan following severe ragging. A college teacher, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the deceased was forcibly taken to his seniors' hostel and stripped. Depressed over the vulgar behavious of his seniors, he committed suicide.
Suicide at BITs due to ragging
Ranchi, September 2003
Parmeshwar, a student of BITs, Ranchi committed suicide by hanging himself to the ceiling fan. Though it is not confirmed, students claim that Parmeshwar was depressed due to ragging. Most of the students believe Parmeshwar, in the first semester of his Bachelor of Computer Applications course, was driven to it by harassment at the hands of seniors.
Ragging victim commits suicide in Lucknow
September, 2002, Lucknow
Anup Kapoor, a 19-year-old first year engineering student committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his house here. He had returned home from his institute in Lucknow following sexual harassment and mental torture by his seniors.
Ragging victim commits suicide in AP
December 5, 2001, Hyderabad
An 18-year-old student of the Agricultural College at Mahanandi in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh committed suicide on Monday at his native town in Anantapur district after being sodomised by his seniors in a ragging incident. In a suicide note, Govardhan wrote that on November 30, some senior students had organised a get-together in the hostel. Some students, in an inebriated condition, forced him to strip and perform dirty acts, he said, adding that he was even sodomised.
Five medical students arrested for sex oriented ragging of freshers
Hyderabad, November 22 , 2001
According to police sources, the seniors of the Gandhi Medical College allegedly forced the 1st year girls to undress at the Necklace Road and blow kisses to them while the boys were asked for oral sex. The five students were picked up by the police following the complaint but released following pressure by the parents and college management. The ragging, according to some students, is carried out on city outskirts to avoid detection. Another report added, senior students allegedly forced some freshers to strip, dragged one boy to a flat in the outskirts of the city and tried to sodomise him. The boy is now a mental wreck.
Stripped by seniors, girl quits college
Raipur, August 30, 2001
Sujata Tiwari, a student of the Women's Polytechnic College in Raipur has been forced to leave the city just three days after she enrolled for a computer science course. Her seniors in the hostel allegedly stripped and forced her to pose upside down for more than two hours, resulting in severe bleeding from her nose. Principal denies ragging.
Victim of ragging does not cooperate with police
Delhi, August 4, 2001
The police are in a fix over the case of ragging of Shailender Agarwal in a hotel management institute by his seniors, 4 boys and 2 girls. He fled the institute and is staying with his parents in the Capital. He has refused to cooperate with them in identifying the culprits. Superintendent of Police Davesh Srivastav says, "The boy, we are told, is still in trauma."
33 students of medical college rusticated for ragging freshers
Shimla, 2 May 2001
All 33 third year students of a medical college in Kangra district, Himachal were rusticated for allegedly ragging and assaulting 12 freshers on recommendation by the disciplinary committee.
The disciplinary committee (situated at Tanda, about 260 km from the college) received complaints from freshers' parents regarding alleged "inhuman and torturous" treatment by seniors. It inquired into the matter and recommended collective action against the seniors. The 33 seniors were rustigated following the report of the disciplinary committee. The students, who were allegedly ragged, were given adequate opportunity to name the culprits but all of them denied the allegations and expressed ignorance about the incident.
Sex oriented ragging at Karnataka medical college
January 27, 2001 (The date is not clear but this is most probably the date)
A girl and a boy were made to strip by senior students and locked up in one room for three days without food or water when they refused to have sex at a medical college in Bijapur, Karnataka. Bijapur superintendent of police reportedly denied the incident. Government acted prompty against the incident.
MBBS student flees campus after being ragged
3 September 2000, Delhi
Honhar Singh Meena, a first year MBBS student was severely ragged in the undergraduate students hostel of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). As a consequence he fled the campus. He was beaten up, forced to drink alcohol and harrased by the seniors.
Girl commits suicide following ragging
16 August 2000, Tamil Nadu
Deepa (aged 18 years), a first year student of microbiology at the Sri Krishna Arts and Science College at Keezhambi , near Kancheepuram commited suicide by self-immolation. In her dying declaration, Deepa named three seniors (one girl), as forcing her to sing lewd songs. When she sulked and protested, the seniors asked her to dance nude.
A picture of the Delhi University on reopening after vacations
17 July 2000, New Delhi
Ragging in colleges under the Delhi University was somewhat mild in the campus. Though much can't be said about what happened in hostels. People were asked to sing songs, enact actors and animals, marry, describe body parts, etc.
Govt circular merely a sheet of paper
29 October 1998, Bangalore
Despite the government circular against ragging in Bangalore, there is no respite for the juniors. In engineering colleges, seniors asked freshers to either sing or dance and entertain them. Some were asked to recite all the alphabets from A to Z, with an example for each alphabet.
The Government, in a circular to all engineering colleges in the state, had warned principals and lecturers to check ragging otherwise their colleges may lose their affiliations. The circular states that persons held for ragging will, on conviction, face jail term to the extent of one year and fine upto Rs 2,000 . If a student held for ragging could not be dismissed in view of his being in the final year, his or her degree certificates will be embossed indicating his or her involvement in a ragging incident. The transfer certificate too will give those details. The Government had asked the colleges to display the warnings on their notice boards. The colleges were required to lodge a complaint with the police if such incidents are reported and to allocate separate portions of hostels to accommodate first-year students.
Denial by fresher costs him more
3-7 November 1998, Mangalore
Five juniors of the Institute of Nursing, Mangalore, were stripped and sexually harrased and asked to shave from neck downwards. Later the seniors used cigarette butts to singe visible traces of hair. A junior who disobeyed was made to run around with a rope tied to his genitals.
Fresher stripped in hostel
5 September 1998, Pune
After just 2 days of arrival, Mr. A, a fresher at D.Y. Patil College of Engineering in Pune,begged his parents to let him home. The 17 year old boy was not only stripped, but the act was followed by many more unspeakable things. He soon fled to his relative's house.
Ragging leads to suicide
4 August 1998, Mumbai
Indu Anto, a 17-year-old, a class XI hosteller at Sophia College, Mumbai commited suicide following ragging . She jumped from the top of the hostel building. Though the college authorities deny, Indu's father maintains that his daughter was driven to death by relentless ragging.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Testimonies - 1
1. I have spent five years in Jadavpur University (JU) and have heard of many students being subjected to inhuman torture and violence [denial of basic human right to articulate one's sexual orientation]. I have heard of the anti-sexual harassment cell at JU. But I have heard of some incidents where the victims were denied their own right and justice. They are being discriminated against, they are being looked down upon as if they have committed a crime. I don’t consider JU to be a safe space for people who are a bit ‘different’, who do not follow the conventional structures of society [as it is not a supportive space to discuss one's sexuality]. So an awareness campaign is required to make JU a safe [and supportive] space to provide that comfort.
2. Ragging based on sexual orientation and gender identity is something very common and I have faced it too. When I entered college I was really scared because I had heard that during ragging I would be asked to open my upper dress or indulge in talks based on sex or heavily laden with sexual connotations. During the ragging period however, we were asked to do a lot of things and when they noticed that someone acted a little different which was not befitting of their gender (for example effeminacy in a man or masculine behavior in a woman) they would laugh about it. For example they would ask me to dance and would not find it ‘womanly’ enough. They would then teach me to dance to songs like ‘Chudi jo khankain haathon mein’ and then asked to present it in front of everyone in the common room. One incident I remember was that they asked me to say ‘Chele’ five times and another time they asked me to say’ ami chele chai chele chai.’ Another incident I remember was with a boy in our class. Whenever he came in the class a whole group of boys would start shouting ‘homo homo’ Another incident I remember is of a boy who was raped by two other boys because of him being gay (I think this happened in IIT).
3. I am a first year management student. I believe some attitude, comments and behaviour have made me very uncomfortable. People often look at me and asked me if I am boy or girl and that too within my earshot. Even if not an anti ragging cell, but a few lectures, discussions or debates might have helped. I believe there are many girls like me, who need a popular helpline known to everyone so that whenever they are in need they can seek help.
4. When I passed out from Jadavpur University (1982-1994) ragging was still prevalent in some departments but based on gender identity and sexual orientation was still unheard of. At least it had never come to my eyes. Nobody wears their sexual identity on their sleeves. At that time as far as I remember, we never got that space to express ourselves. We would try to hide it rather, rather I would try to. Ragging by definition was something that the juniors would be asked to do when he/she came in the college, at least that’s my gross understanding of it. But based on sexual identity, it was quite a pressurizing feeling for us. I would try to hide it. I played a huge role in the political system in the university and I tried to hide my queer identity from them because I thought if I came out or people understood it I would be challenged and I was scared of that. People would mock me and people would not accept me anymore.
In the hostel we used to hear about how some girl was different and these stories would be a mocking point and this scared me further and I tried to hide my identity even more scared that I would be a topic of discussion someday. Times have changed and a huge movement is still in progress. If someone is of some orientation how much he/she can express itself is something different. Today dialogues have opened up. This may not have touched all the departments in JU but definitely in some departments of the Arts faculty. In the engineering and science faculty there is always a great gender divide, I can’t think of sexual identity being discussed there.
Until a step is taken against ragging it cannot be stopped. Most ragging is carried out, for example on people who might not be very smart or come from the suburban areas. The anti ragging cell might be working but who sees these three hoardings and how will he or she be satisfied or feel safe. For some who might be staying as guests in the hostel are scared that if they raise their voices then they might be thrown out of the hostel so they decide to accept it without talking about it. One needs to understand that by ragging one does not become more of a ‘man’ or seen as an assertion of one’s masculinity.We need to understand why some is ragged, whose issue is this. Even after so many elections nobody has brought this topic up. Class campaign and room campaigns are important after taking the help of the administration. Gender issues definitely need to be discussed today, it is an important part of beginning dialogues on ragging. It needs to be discussed that not all people are the same, not all people have the same sexual preference, but who will bell the cat. One needs to go back to the grassroots level to begin this. Maybe a core team should be formed, resource people from organisations working on these issues can be approached to help.
2. Ragging based on sexual orientation and gender identity is something very common and I have faced it too. When I entered college I was really scared because I had heard that during ragging I would be asked to open my upper dress or indulge in talks based on sex or heavily laden with sexual connotations. During the ragging period however, we were asked to do a lot of things and when they noticed that someone acted a little different which was not befitting of their gender (for example effeminacy in a man or masculine behavior in a woman) they would laugh about it. For example they would ask me to dance and would not find it ‘womanly’ enough. They would then teach me to dance to songs like ‘Chudi jo khankain haathon mein’ and then asked to present it in front of everyone in the common room. One incident I remember was that they asked me to say ‘Chele’ five times and another time they asked me to say’ ami chele chai chele chai.’ Another incident I remember was with a boy in our class. Whenever he came in the class a whole group of boys would start shouting ‘homo homo’ Another incident I remember is of a boy who was raped by two other boys because of him being gay (I think this happened in IIT).
3. I am a first year management student. I believe some attitude, comments and behaviour have made me very uncomfortable. People often look at me and asked me if I am boy or girl and that too within my earshot. Even if not an anti ragging cell, but a few lectures, discussions or debates might have helped. I believe there are many girls like me, who need a popular helpline known to everyone so that whenever they are in need they can seek help.
4. When I passed out from Jadavpur University (1982-1994) ragging was still prevalent in some departments but based on gender identity and sexual orientation was still unheard of. At least it had never come to my eyes. Nobody wears their sexual identity on their sleeves. At that time as far as I remember, we never got that space to express ourselves. We would try to hide it rather, rather I would try to. Ragging by definition was something that the juniors would be asked to do when he/she came in the college, at least that’s my gross understanding of it. But based on sexual identity, it was quite a pressurizing feeling for us. I would try to hide it. I played a huge role in the political system in the university and I tried to hide my queer identity from them because I thought if I came out or people understood it I would be challenged and I was scared of that. People would mock me and people would not accept me anymore.
In the hostel we used to hear about how some girl was different and these stories would be a mocking point and this scared me further and I tried to hide my identity even more scared that I would be a topic of discussion someday. Times have changed and a huge movement is still in progress. If someone is of some orientation how much he/she can express itself is something different. Today dialogues have opened up. This may not have touched all the departments in JU but definitely in some departments of the Arts faculty. In the engineering and science faculty there is always a great gender divide, I can’t think of sexual identity being discussed there.
Until a step is taken against ragging it cannot be stopped. Most ragging is carried out, for example on people who might not be very smart or come from the suburban areas. The anti ragging cell might be working but who sees these three hoardings and how will he or she be satisfied or feel safe. For some who might be staying as guests in the hostel are scared that if they raise their voices then they might be thrown out of the hostel so they decide to accept it without talking about it. One needs to understand that by ragging one does not become more of a ‘man’ or seen as an assertion of one’s masculinity.We need to understand why some is ragged, whose issue is this. Even after so many elections nobody has brought this topic up. Class campaign and room campaigns are important after taking the help of the administration. Gender issues definitely need to be discussed today, it is an important part of beginning dialogues on ragging. It needs to be discussed that not all people are the same, not all people have the same sexual preference, but who will bell the cat. One needs to go back to the grassroots level to begin this. Maybe a core team should be formed, resource people from organisations working on these issues can be approached to help.
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