What is Ragging?
- A damaging form of interaction of the seniors in college or school with the juniors or the newcomers or the first years.
- It involves insults (simple or suggestive sexual, sarcastic and even physical), running errands for seniors, and many other complex activities.
2007: Raghavan Committee
R.K.Raghavan Committee on Anti-ragging
- Appointed Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD).
- Because Supreme Court had ordered the HRD ministry to do so.
- Raghavan is ex-CBI chief, he submitted the report in 2007. And it said following things
Raghavan Committee Report on Anti-Ragging
- Ragging as an act of human right abuse.
- Guidelines of Supreme Court Judgment 2001 not implemented by colleges.
- Requirement of ragging awareness not only to freshers, but all stakeholders i.e. seniors, freshers, teachers and the civic society at large.
- Need for strong and uniform ragging law.
- surprise checks and anonymous surveys to offset the fear associated with reporting ragging by victim.
- Set up anti-ragging cells at central, state and college level
- Setup of toll-free helpline for ragging victims
- Strong law against ragging with responsibility to prove not-guilty that of perpetrator
- NCERT, SCERT school books to include chapter on ragging
- Psychological counseling on anti-ragging and human rights at senior secondary level
- Colleges to organize interactive sessions between juniors and seniors in presence of college staff.
- A lot of ragging incident takes place outside the campus in ‘out of campus accommodation’, which is indeed true. Seniors find it very easy to rag their juniors in these places and get away with it very easily as college administration is not bothered of act of ragging taking place with its students outside the college premises. These hostels must be registered with the local police and the management of these hostels and the college administrations must be made responsible to protect the freshers.
- lack of co-curricular activities is also an important reason for the increase of incidents of ragging.
- various interactive programmes between the freshers and seniors in the presence of college staff.
- in many cases the college faculty are themselves in a way encouraging ragging and dissuade their students from registering a complaint. The committee therefore suggests of setting up of anti-ragging monitoring cells at various levels so as to provide checks and balances at each level
- ragging should be considered an important factor in accrediting the educational institution by central regulatory bodies like the MCI, AICTE, DCI etc.
- This would not only make the educational institutions to take serious steps against ragging but would also make these central regulatory bodies accountable.
- exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of the crime so as to deter the others.
2001: SC Order
- In 2001, Supreme Court of India passed an order that once a student complaints about ragging, it is the responsibility of the college to lodge the FIR with Police.
2009: Aman Kachroo Case
- In 2009, Aman Kachroo, a first year student of Medical College in Himachal Pradesh was beaten to death by drunk third-year students.
- They were held guilty under culpable homicide not tantamount to murder under section 304 of Indian Penal code.
- Those criminals were given only four-year imprisonment and in 2012, on the account of good behavior they were released from the Jail 7 months before the completion of their term.
Laws made by State Governments
Himachal Pradesh
- Students involved in ragging would not only be expelled and be ineligible for admission to any other institution for three years, but may also be jailed and fined Rs 50,000.
Haryana
- principals of schools and colleges and V-Cs of universities shall be punishable upto six months in jail and fines upto Rs 25000 for not complying with anti-ragging measures.
- hefty fines against institutions – Rs two lakh in case of schools and colleges and Rs. five lakh in case of universities.
2009: UGC Regulation
- After the hue and cry over Aman Kachroo’s death in the Media, finally University Grants Commission (UGC) woke up (ya as usual our institutions will not do any reform until and unless something terrible happens)
- Anyways, the UGC passed a Regulation On Curbing The Menace Of Ragging In Higher Educational Institutions which says following things:
- Provide Telephone numbers of the Anti-Ragging Helpline.
- Anti-Ragging Committees and Anti-Ragging Squads etc. to be published in brochure of admission/instruction booklet or the prospectus.
- Every student and his/her parents to file an affidavit avowing not to indulge in ragging.
- The institution to prominently display posters detailing laws and punishment against ragging.
- Anti-ragging squad to ensure vigil at odd hours during first few months at hostels.
- Identity of informants of ragging incidents to be fully protected.
- Faculty members assigned to students to make surprise visits and to maintain a diary of his/her interaction with the freshers.
- Freshers to be lodged, as far as may be, in a separate hostel block.
- College administration must file the First Information Report (FIR) within twenty four hours of receipt of such information.
Why Affidavit?
- The UGC regulation says Every student and his/her parents to file an affidavit avowing not to indulge in ragging.
- So what’s the point in filling such ‘affidavit’?
- Well, one of the strongest reasons for ragging to happen is that the raggers are dead sure that parents would never ever get to know their heinous acts.
- The affidavit filed by parents to the institution has the name, address and telephone numbers of the parents of the senior students.
- A fresher can file RTI applications, even without disclosing identity by using a friend’s help and name, to get a copy of this affidavit, and then call/ write himself or make his parents talk to ragger’s parents to rein in him.
To sum up,
- Once freshers take courage and start doing that, it is a general feeling that ragging may drastically reduce in India, as every student will become a soldier in the fight against ragging.
- For more on anti-ragging campaign, visit Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE): www.noragging.com