Ragging

Ragging is a practice involving human rights abuse in educational institutions in South Asia, the worst forms of which are found in engineering, medical and military colleges. It is committed by “senior” students (those in second year or higher) upon “freshers”, in and outside on-campus residence, or hostels.

The forms and ‘traditions’ of ragging may vary from one place to another, but the greatest common factor is the creation of an environment of constant fear and intimidation for freshers.

As part of this effort, freshers are used, one, as slaves, and two, as objects of torture. The first element could involve carrying luggage, cleaning rooms, fetching daily necessities, doing long assignments for seniors, etc. This is the base on which the superstructure of mental, physical and sexual abuse is built.

Ragging is conducted during a fixed period in every institution, which may range from one day to the whole year. Once this period is over, 'seniors' suddenly become friends: the beginning of this new relationship is often a “fresher’s party”. Seniors then go out of the way to help the freshers they “ragged”; almost becoming their guardians. This generalisation may not always be true. By this time, innumerable freshers already suffer from stress and trauma, and may thereafter continue to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders. Many leave their institution and some commit suicide.

But most ‘survive’ ragging, and are taken aback with the transformation of enemy into friend, and are only too happy to forget their trauma and move on. Ragging is thus the fresher’s passport to joining the college/hostel community, and many trudge along the ragging period because they wish to belong to the college community. Those who rebel against it are ostracised; retribution may also take the form of physical assault, leading to fatal injuries.

Similar but not exactly the same as the practise of “hazing” in Western countries, ragging is a colonial legacy in the Indian sub-continent. The literal meaning of the word ragging is ‘to tease’. Ragging is done ostensibly to ‘break the ice’ between ‘seniors’ and ‘freshers’. In theory it is said to be a means of ‘interaction’, but in practice it is more than that. Ragging as we know it in India is a “tradition” that gives senior students unfair opportunity to control, abuse and exploit freshers, and derive sadistic pleasure, the sort that they will never again be able to.

From what we know through news reports, ragging is prevalent in all parts of India as well as Sri Lanka. We do not have much information about ragging in the rest of South Asia.

Some states in India have anti-ragging laws. The major boost to anti-ragging efforts was given by a landmark judgement of the Supreme Court of India in May 2001, in response to a PIL filed by the Vishwa Jagriti Mission.

This is how the Supreme Court of India defines ragging:

Broadly speaking, ragging is:

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 in-disciplined 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 cause of indulging in ragging is deriving a sadistic pleasure or showing offpower, authority or superiority by the seniors over their juniors or freshers.

[source: www.stopragging.org | info@stopragging.org]