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Opinions

What are your opinions on ragging? Do you think it increases bonding between peers? Do you think it creates a tradition? Do you think it is part of an unending cycle and since it was done to you, you must also do it to your juniors? Or do you think it is a social evil which must be rooted out completely? Have your say? Comment on this post.

Jadavpur University and West Bengal University of Technology guidelines towards ragging

Jadavpur University and West Bengal University of Technology have accepted the guidelines issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in connection with the judgement in Civil Writ Petition No. 656 of 1998 filed by Vishwa Jagriti Mission Vs. Central Government and Others.

The University has also accepted the West Bengal Prohibition of Ragging in Educational Institutions Act. 2000 (W.B. Act XIII of 2000) which, inter alia, contained the following provisions (for detail, ‘The Calcutta Gazette’, Extraordinary, published by Authority on Monday, May 29, 2000 may be seen) :

1. “Ragging” means the doing of any act which causes, or is likely to cause any physical,psychological or physiological harm of apprehension or shame or embarrassment to a student, and includes–
(a) teasing or abusing of playing Practical joke on, or causing hurt to any student. or
(b) asking any student to do any act, or perform any thing, which he/she would not, in the ordinary course, be willing to do or perform.

2. Prohibition of Ragging -
(a) Ragging within an educational institution is hereby prohibited.
(b) No person shall participate in, abet, or propagate, ragging in any educational institution.

3. Penalty for Ragging -
(a) Expulsion from the educational institution, if found guilty on enquiry by the institution against a complaint lodged by any other student.
(b) Imprisonment of either description upto two years or fine upto five thousand rupees or both.
(c) Any student convicted under 3 (b) shall be dismissed from the educational institution in which he/she has been prosecuting his/her studies for the time being, and shall not be re-admitted to that educational institution.

The University has further accepted in principle that each and every student of the University shall be duty bound during the entire period of studentship with the University to immediately report to the Dean of Students (for JU) /authorities (for WBUT) if any ragging is noticed either in University hostel or on University campus.

Government measures against ragging

National anti-ragging helpline

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090620/jsp/nation/story_11135560.jsp

Ragging helpline tips

CHARU SUDAN KASTURI

New Delhi, June 19: Human resource development minister Kapil Sibal will unveil a national anti-ragging helpline tomorrow. The helpline aims to help victims of ragging within minutes of their complaints. It will be operational at all hours. A four-digit, toll-free number will become operational once the helpline is launched. The steps being planned: Step 1: A ragged student or a friend calls the helpline. Step 2: The distress message is automatically stored in a central database with time, location and details of caller. Step 3: The message is instantly replayed from the central control room, simultaneously alerting the head of the institution, the warden of the hostel and an appointed nodal officer of the affiliating university. Step 4: An officer at the central control room will decide, immediately after the distress call, whether the case needs immediate intervention from district officials and police. If so, the message will be relayed to the district magistrate and the superintendent of police. Step 5: The complaint will be placed on a website to enable the media and citizens to keep track of follow-up action. Step 6: At the institution, its head will be required to act “immediately” on receiving the complaint. The head and the hostel warden will be held responsible for follow-up action. Step 7: The head and the warden will have to alert an anti-ragging squad they are required to constitute in the institution. This squad is to consist of students and representatives of the staff. Its mandate is to be prepared for physical intervention in ragging cases 24x7. Step 8: The squad is expected to intervene at the offence site, stop or prevent any ragging, and collect any evidence, including witness testimonies. If the victim called after the incident, or the anti-ragging squad could not arrive on time, the squad will initiate action against the accused. Step 9: The institute head has to decide, within 24 hours of receiving the call, whether to register an FIR. Independently of any police action, the institute must complete its inquiry and action must be completed in seven days. Step 10: The central database will also store the status of the action taken. It will also be made available to an NGO nominated by the Centre. Step 11: Failure by the institute to act can lead to a range of punishments — from disciplinary action against the head, warden or members of the staff to declaring the institute doesn’t meet academic standards.

UGC regulations against ragging

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090528/jsp/nation/story_11030479.jsp Blacklist stick to fight ragging

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, May 27: India has finalised regulations to curb ragging through expulsions, steep fines, imprisonment and the threat of permanently blacklisting offenders out of the higher education system. Heads of educational institutions who neglect ragging complaints or fail to act against accused will be subjected to a combination of a departmental inquiry and penal action, the regulations stipulate. The University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations on curbing ragging, finalised after discussions between the regulatory bodies that monitor higher education, are expected to be notified this week. The regulations are India’s first central rules against ragging and aim to implement a Supreme Court ban on the menace. The regulations will be binding only on institutions offering courses recognised by the UGC. But other regulatory bodies like the All India Council for Technical Education, the Medical Council of India, the Bar Council of India and the Pharmacy Council of India are also notifying similar regulations by early June. The different sets of regulations will vary to take into account peculiarities of institutions offering different streams of courses, but will all specify identical punishments — those mentioned in the UGC rules. Several states have anti-ragging laws but their effectiveness has repeatedly been questioned. The UGC regulations put in place a multiple-tier structure to combat ragging. Each college has to set up an anti-ragging squad consisting of students, faculty and support staff that will investigate ragging complaints and will enjoy the power to raid trouble spots unannounced. Institutions must each also set up an anti-ragging committee consisting of civil society representatives and members of the local police and media apart from representatives of different sections of the institution. This committee will deliberate on the inquiry report of the anti-ragging squad and finalise a verdict along with the punishment. If a student is found guilty and asked to leave, any transfer certificate will include details of the crime committed to caution other institutions where the student may have applied. A monitoring committee will manage the anti-ragging measures at the university level, while a district panel will be set up — made up of heads of institutions in the area — to ensure preparedness of all institutions. A similar monitoring cell will be set up at the state level, and the UGC is starting its own anti-ragging cell that will co-ordinate nationally between different panels. At the time of admission, students and their parents will have to submit affidavits stating they are aware of the new regulations and willing to accept their consequences. Students will also be required to provide a school leaving certificate detailing whether they have shown violent tendencies or the potential to harm others while in school. All freshers will be given telephone numbers of a national call centre that UGC chairman Sukhdeo Thorat today promised would be set up by June 15. Freshers will also be given mobile phone numbers of their wardens, other authorities and members of the anti-ragging squad and anti-ragging committee. Each institution is required to set up a mentoring cell ahead of each academic session that will include seniors who will be responsible for assisting freshers. The regulations stipulate a mentor to fresher ratio of 1:6. Institutions will have to distribute responsibility for freshers’ safety among their faculty. If students live outside the campus, the city will need to be carved out into slices that will come under the jurisdiction of different teachers. FIRs must be filed against ragging accused by the head of the institution.

Testimonies - 3

1. "I remember how many years ago one of my cousin brothers was beaten up in his college for coming from a SC family. We were so horrified that my father went in for an affidavit and changed our surname from the original to a new one usually heard among the upper classes of the society."

2. "I never knew it could be so humiliating to belong to the reserved categories. Not only did they (the raggers) taunt me at the beginning of the session, made my life a hell by passing insulting comments and laughing at me as and when we met at the corridor, or the canteen or the common room, but also convinced some of my class mates to avoid sitting beside me and sharing class notes with me. However I managed to make some friends and thus somehow survived in the class"

3. "I don’t know how to put it in words…Because I am good looking and more or less have an appreciable sense of dressing, they went on to the extent of calling me a crow disguised as a peacock. I could not help but burst into tears."

4. "You wont believe how degraded these people can be. Some of them from a students political organization tried to pursuade me to join their campaign and on being refused threatened to make my stay at the university impossible by attacking me for my SC background and disreputing me on issues I have never been linked with. I finally had to yield to their proposal."