Ragging in India

With the increasing privatization of higher education in India, academic institutions in India have been experiencing increasing ragging related excesses. A report from 2007 highlights 42 instances of physical injury, and reports on ten deaths purportedly the result of ragging:cite news
url = http://www.noragging.com/analysis/CR2007_05-16_RaggingInIndiaSummary.pdf
title = Ragging in India: Incidents, Social Perceptions and Psychological Perspectives
date=May 16, 2007
author = Harsh Agarwal et al.
publisher = Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education]

Ragging has reportedly caused at least 30-31 deaths in the last 7 years:cite news
url = http://www.no2ragging.org/
title = Death toll] , [all of which] are not those of freshers. C. Lalitha, the mother of Mukesh, ended her life due to the controversy surrounding the sexual abuse of her son during ragging (Andhra Pradesh, Sept 2006). Three of the ragging deaths were those of seniors: two seniors were killed by a first-year student when he was being ragged (Vidyanagar, MP, Aug 2006); one senior ended his life when he was punished for ragging. The other seven deaths were those of freshman, six who committed suicide, and one due to the result of brutal ragging (equivalent to murder).

In the 2007 session, 7 ragging deaths have been reported.

In addition, a number of freshmen were severely traumatized to the extent that they were admitted to mental institutions.

Ragging in India commonly is involves serious abuses and clear violations of human rights. Often media reports and others unearth that it goes on, in many institutions, in the infamous Abu Ghraib stylecite news
url = http://www.no2ragging.org/aboutus.html
title = The Background Story] and on innocent victims.

In many colleges, like IIT, Bombay and IIIT Hyderabad, ragging has been strictly banned. But how far the ban is effective appears clear on the campuses, hostels and in the media.

In present day India, ragging involves gross violations of human rights. The seniors commonly torture the innocent juniors and by this those seniors get some kind of sadistic pleasures. Truly speaking the nature of ragging in most of the hostels in India, may be as severe as what we know about the infamous Abu Ghraib prison of Iraq.

Though ragging has ruined the lives of many, resistance against it has grown up only recently.Several Indian states have made legislatures banning ragging, and the Indian Supreme Court has taken a strong stand to curb ragging. Ragging has been declared a "criminal offence".

The Indian civil society has also started to mount resistance, only recently.

But in India, ragging is more infamous for its ubiquitous presence in the educational institutions. According to the observations by the Dr. Raghavan Committee, which has been construed by the Union Human Resource Development ministry on the orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, the medical colleges are the worst affected in India.

However, India's first and only registered Anti Ragging NGO, Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE) has supported that ragging is also widely and dangerously prevalent in Engineering and other institutions, mainly in the hostels.

Legislation

In 1997, the state of Tamil Nadu first passed laws related to ragging Subsequently, amajor boost to anti-ragging efforts was given by a landmark judgement of the Supreme Court of India in May 2001, [http://www.noragging.com/laws/supreme-court-judgement.html Supreme Court of India Judgement 2001] ] in response to a Public Interest Litigation filed by the Vishwa Jagriti Mission.

The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), following a directive by the Supreme court, appointed a seven member panel headed by ex-CBI director Dr. R. K. Raghavan to recommend anti-ragging measures. The Raghavan Committee report, [cite news
url = http://education.nic.in/HigherEdu/RaggingReport.pdf
title = Raghavan Committee Recommendation Report
publisher = Human Resource Development Ministry, Government of India] submitted to the court in May 2007, includes a proposal to include ragging as a special section under the Indian Penal Code. The Supreme Court of India interim ordercite news
url = http://courtnic.nic.in/supremecourt/temp/sc2429504p.txt
title = Honbl. Supreme Court interim order on Ragging
publisher = Supreme Court] (based on the recommendations) dated May 16, 2007 makes it obligatory for academic institutions to file official First Information Reports with the police in any instance of a complaint of ragging. This would ensure that all cases would be formally investigated under criminal justice system, and not by the academic institutions own ad-hoc bodies.

The Indian Supreme Court has taken a strong stand to prevent ragging. In 2006, the court directed the H.R.D. Ministry of the Govt. of India to form a panel which will suggest guidelines to control ragging. [cite news
url = http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/07/stories/2006110700861100.htm
title = Court: form panel to look into ragging
date=November 7, 2006
author = Legal Correspondent
publisher = The Hindu]

The panel, headed by the former director of C.B.I. Dr. R.K.Raghavan, met victims, guardians and others across the country. The Raghavan committee has placed its recommendation to the Honbl. Supreme Court, which has given its order on the issue. [cite news
url = http://www.ibnlive.com/news/sc-passes-law-ragging-is-crime-now/40684-3.html
title = Register FIR for ragging, SC rules
date=16 May, 2007
author = CNN-IBN
publisher = CNN-IBN]

Anti-ragging movement

With the situation of ragging worsening yearly, there is emerging a spontaneous anti-ragging movement in India. Several voluntary organizations have emerged, who conduct drives for public awareness and arrange for support to victims.

Online groups like Coalition to Uproot Ragging from India (CURE), Stopragging, No Ragging Foundation became the major Anti Ragging groups on the Internet. Among them, the No Ragging Foundation has transformed into a complete NGO and got registered as Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE) which is India's first registered Anti Ragging non profit organization (NGO). [ [http://www.no2ragging.org/index.html SAVE Homepage| www.no2ragging.org | ] [ [http://www.indymedia.org/pt/2007/04/884059.shtml Independent Media Center | www.indymedia.org | ((( i ))) ] ] [cite news
url = http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070702/asp/calcutta/story_8001208.asp
title = Taut rein on ragging- CAMPAIGN AT COUNSELLING SESSION
date=July 02, 2007
author = A STAFF REPORTER
publisher = The Telegraph (Kolkata)The Telegraph] These groups are working on issues related to ragging. Each of them is running anti ragging websites and online groups.

The Indian media has been playing a crucial role by exposing ragging incidents and the indifference of many concerned institutions towards curbing the act.The Honbl. Supreme Court of India has directed, in its interim judgement, that that action may be taken even against negligent institutions.

Deaths

* Amit Sahai was a student of NIT Jalandhar, Punjab and he committed suicide on October 11, 2005 by jumping in front of a speeding train. He blamed nine senior students of NIT Jalandhar in his suicide note for having had mercilessly ragged him: [cite web | title = Ten students booked for intensive ragging led to suicide of a student | url=http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/05oct14/national.htm#10] .
* Durgesh Shukla hanged himself from a ceiling fan on September 18, 2007. He blamed seniors in his suicide note [cite web | title = Ragging drives MP boy to suicide | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Ragging_drives_MP_boy_to_suicide/articleshow/2384836.cms] .
* Manjot Singh, an MBBS student, committed suicide by consuming a poisonous substance on August 8, 2007 [cite web | title = Ragging drives medical student to suicide | url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=65b468c0-a6e2-4a49-9145-3a42a7579b9a&&Headline=Ragging+drives+medical+student+to+suicide] .
* 18 year-old Chetan Raj committed suicide on September 20, 2007. His body was found hanging from the roof of his lodge room. He had already complained to his parents that he was being ragged in his college [cite web | title = Medical student commits suicide in Mysore due to ragging | url=http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=396228&sid=REG&sname=] .
* A first year engineering student, C Abraham, hanged himself to death on December 14, 2005 at his residence in Hyderabad. In his suicide note, he mentioned that he was not interested in studies. His parents suspect that his suicide to be a result of ragging [cite web | title = Engineering student commits suicide. Was it ragging? | url=http://www.stopragging.org/2005/12/30/engineering-student-commits-suicide-was-it-ragging/] .
* A 19-year-old first year engineering student, Anup Kapoor, committed suicide on September 19, 2002 by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence in Kanpur. In his suicide note, Anup said that he was going through mental agony due to the sexual harassment by second-year students of the institute (Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lucknow) in the name of ragging [cite web | title = Kanpur student commits suicide after ragging | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/22104907.cms] .
* Azad Nair was a 22 year old cadet at the Officer's Training Academy(OTA) in Chennai.He had hanged himself from the fan of his room on 5th November, 2006. Prior to his suicide he had told his brother Soumendu over telephone that he was being ragged and humiliated at the OTA and he had pleaded to his father Padmanabhan Nair to rescue him from the OTA.

Organizations

* Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE), [http://www.noragging.com/ website]
* Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE - India's first and only registered Anti Ragging NGO) [http://www.no2ragging.org/ Website ]

External links

* Indian Government feedback page [http://www.education.nic.in/feedback/guestbook.asp "Indian Govt. wants to hear from You"]
* [http://openarticlesubmission.com/article.php?id=ragging-menace-effects-of-ragging "Ragging Menace"]

References