It’s college time once again as the first year classes have commenced in engineering colleges across the state.

Every new academic year brings in a new lease of hope and excitement when students head back to their campuses with renewed promise to do better. More than anyone else, the feeling would be unbelievably amazing for newcomers or freshers.

The stutter in the stride is visible and the nervousness to step into their classes and mingle with strangers is palpable. The first few weeks are as much exciting as nerve-wracking too. Right from the imposing buildings to the more-reserved lot of their new teachers, every bit of their surroundings throws up a strange weird world.

But what lies in wait beyond all this is perhaps the biggest monster that every fresher would only hope to escape but invariably gets caught in its claws. Ironically, this beast has no face but its demonizing impact comes through from the perverse pleasure of the senior students. In short, it is ragging and it has its roots in what the Americans call ‘hazing’.

Sadly, ragging continues to be an eternal bane across most of the higher educational institutions in India, more rampant in engineering and medical colleges, even decades after it first crept into the country in a massive aping of the West. What was initially meant to be a tool for breaking barriers and bringing together seniors and juniors, has gradually turned out to be a lethal weapon of torment to derive sadistic gratification.

Through all the horrifying tales of countless innocent lives nipped in the bud and many more whose future ruined in its ripple effect, ragging emerges as a malady equally harmful for both the teased and the teaser. In simple words, it is a double-edged sword that can slit the throats on either side in one stroke!

DOES ANYONE CARE?

The answer is a firm ‘YES’, especially over the last few years. Till a decade ago, the ugly incidents of ragging remained confined to the institutions as the managements either did not pay much attention to these ‘campus crimes’ or preferred to hush them up for fear of earning a bad name. But as the tragic deaths resulting from this ‘college cruelty’ kept making headlines consistently over the last few years, the managements were forced to break the silence and deal with ragging with a firm hand.

Interestingly, it was the Supreme Court of India which first sent the college managements scurrying into action. The apex court took serious note of the ragging evil and defined it as a criminal offence in 2001. The SC’s definition of ragging reads as:

“Any disorderly conduct whether by words spoken or written or by an act which the effect of teasing, treating or handling with rudeness any other student, indulging in rowdy or indisciplined activities which causes or is likely to cause annoyance, hardship or psychological harm or to raise fear or apprehension thereof in a fresher or a junior student or asking the students to do any act or perform something which such student will not do in the ordinary course and which has the effect of causing or generating a sense of shame or embarrassment so as to adversely affect the physique or psyche of a fresher or a junior student.”
The Supreme Court also strongly vouched for stringent punishments as deterrents for culprits depending on the degree of offence. The landmark decision was the most significant moment that prompted the managements to take the issue seriously rather than simply turn a blind eye.

WINDS OF CHANGE

It would be preposterous to think that ragging is non-existent today. Ragging is still taking its toll on young lives and the newspapers continue to flash stray incidents of traumatised students committing suicide. But by and large, the students of the present generation are a more enlightened lot, thanks to the awareness campaigns by almost all the colleges which have realised that perennial initiatives are a must to free the student community from the shackles of ragging.

A closer look at the prevailing mood in most of the campuses suggests that there is a clear swing in the perceptions today. All those brutal acts of teasing, bullying and intimidation besides the physical and mental abuse now suddenly seem to be passé. The seniors no more see the ‘sacrificial lambs’ in juniors and the freshers are not really petrified at the sight of their elder students.

In a heartening contrast to the earlier scenario, colourful and friendly banners greeted the new-comers this year in several engineering and MCA colleges in the twin cities and elsewhere reflecting the changing attitude and a new-found sense of bonhomie. There was warmth all-round and ‘ragging in its draconian sense’ was hardly a word in the mind. There was no more than brief introductions and endearing enquiries about their bio-data which is indicative of the student community’s resolve to banish ragging.

Seniors and juniors alike are aware of the potential dangers of ragging and a majority of them are not keen on crossing the line lest it should shatter their dreams and future. More and more students, in many recent interactive sessions, were vocal about their determination to eradicate this menace at the earliest opportunity.

INITIATIVES BY MANAGEMENTS

Ragging, as we all know, is an age-old problem and still has a deep-rooted presence in various strata of education. It is practically impossible to get rid of it overnight and there is no magic wand available yet to do it. A strong sense of realisation in every individual needs to combine into a massive campaign to put an end to this evil. Along side, there has to be concerted efforts from the college managements, educational authorities and the police to spread awareness within the campuses.

The momentum has really picked up from these more-responsible groups over the last few years and there are several innovative methods being implemented to educate and enlighten the college-goers. The seniors are being told about the consequences and how tougher the law has become with regard to ragging cases.

Orientation sessions and seminars are being jointly organised by the college managements, faculty members and the police officials at least two months before the start of the academic year seem to be working wonders. Almost every college has at least two anti-ragging squads comprising teaching and non-teaching staff besides some students. These squads constantly keep a close watch on the happenings in the campus and outside. Any incidents of ‘out-of-bounds’ ragging would promptly be reported to the principal in detail. This trend of ‘internal surveillance’ has already been put in place in many colleges in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and also in other major cities like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada etc.

Many colleges, supported by their student communities, have also hit upon the novel idea of an intensive poster campaign. A word of warning for the senior students with a detailed description of the possible legal repercussions besides words of encouragement for the juniors to instill confidence in them are part of their objectives.
 
The management of a private engineering college came to know in its own investigation that their wards are falling victims to ragging by students from a different college. Immediately, they have initiated precautionary measures to restrain their students to avoid the issue snowballing into a major inter-college rivalry. They have also stepped up the vigil within their campus to spot and evict outsiders immediately.

While every college is well within its right to set its own house in order, its hands are tied
when the problem spills on to the roads. The police are doing their part to help out the college managements in such events. As a result, today every college coming under the Cyberabad Commissionerate limits has at least a couple of plain-clothed policemen keeping an eagle eye in front of the main gate and also at the nearby bus-stops.

LET COMERADERIE BLOSSOM

Despite all the measures, the anti-ragging movement would bear fruit only when there is change in the mindset. Some say it’s psychological, some others feel the issue needs to be addressed through psychiatric remedies and many more think ragging spreads more due to its cascading effect where the juniors today try and emulate their seniors when they go to higher classes. In other words, it’s mere channelising of a culture that was not our own but its fatal impact is certainly staring at us straight in the eye.

A light-hearted banter or a simple wordy duel of wits is always welcome. In fact, these are essential to stimulate more serious intellectual thinking during the formative years spent in college. But in a civilised world, ragging in its present form has no place and no one has the right to subject another to deep hurt or pain, shatter their confidence and affect their psyche.
So, let’s all say a big NO to ragging and it won’t be too long when all the Happy Days are back again!

(To go in table or box format)

WATCH YOUR STEP, RAGGING CAN LAND YOU IN JAIL!

Given below are some of the legal provisions envisaged in the Andhra Pradesh Act 26, 1997, to punish offenders in ragging cases:

· Teasing – 6 months in jail, Rs 1,000 in fine.
· Criminal intimidation – One-year jail term, Rs 2,000 in fine.
· Causing physical injuries – 2-year jail term, Rs 5,000 in fine.
· Abduction and or rape – 5 years in jail, Rs 10,000 in fine.
Causing or abetting death, suicide – 10 years in jail, Rs 50,000 in fine. This would be the final nail in the coffin; all the certificates of the offender would be seized and declared null and void; he or she is even denied a passport. In a nutshell, your grand dreams of a great future can come crashing just because of a silly, childish prank.