Three decades ago ragging was harm less fun, meant to break ice between students but over the years this ‘ harmless pet ‘ has undergone metamorphosis into a ‘ deadly beast ’ that has taken the life of many and permanently injured many more. CURE an NGO working in the field of ragging has reported that 30 students have died, allegedly due to ragging, in the past 2 years. The national help line that was setup soon after Aman Kachroo’s death in June 2009 has recorded more than a thousand cases of ragging and experts believe that these numbers are only a tip of the ice berg. There is much more happening that is not reported. The national help line (1800 180 5522 ) has received large number of phone calls. Admittedly, not all calls received by the help line are complaints of serious ragging but the fact that so many people rang the anti ragging help line and continue to do so indicates the high level of anxiety that exists in our society on ragging. Last year 30 members of the Parliament, cutting across the party lines, asked ragging related questions in both houses of the parliament. It is yet another indicator of the seriousness of the problem.

Many in India are asking the question that if one person beats the other on a street or in an office or in the privacy of his home it is a punishable act under the Indian Penal Code. But when a student beats another student in a university or a college campus then it is called breaking the ice. How ridiculous is this logic?

(Bullying in schools is a universal phenomenon but ragging is uniquely an Indian phenomenon. It does not exist any where else except in India and in a few of her neighboring countries. Also it should not be confused with hazing in the United States. That is a very different phenomenon to Ragging).

Despite the high level of anxiety in the society there are many who do not agree that ragging should be eradicated. They believe, of course incorrectly, that it enhances the personality of those who are shy. Many say it improves bonding between students and so on. Many narrate their own experiences of 20 or 30 years ago and conclude that we are making too much of nothing. They are wrong. They do not realize that what starts as harm less fun can soon turn into a platform for a perverted mind to operate upon. Such minds are always on the look out for opportunities and ragging provides a brilliant cover much like a sick husband who beats his wife in the night and puts the blame on alcohol the following day. Alcohol is just an excuse. This man is sick. He derives pleasure from inflicting pain on others and he knows that his wife is an easy prey because she is a prisoner of her own false beliefs. She is ready to suffer pain, humiliation and abuse because she believes in keeping the matters of home within the boundaries of her home. Perpetrators of ragging are mentally sick students who like the drunk husband use ragging as an excuse to satisfy their sadistic pleasures. Victims of ragging are like those wives who believe that matters within the family must remain within the family, particularly, when they are sexually abused by their own husbands. They would rather commit suicide than stand up to their husbands. Many students who commit suicides due to ragging are sexually abused and they would rather take their lives than live with the shame of the act.

The question is why a young bride does not stand up for her rights when her perverted mother in law bullies her and why doesn’t a young student protest when he/she is being ragged? I believe it is a cultural problem. We live in the land of Dhronacharya. We justify the cruel demand by Dhronacharya of asking Eklavya for his thumb. We do not condemn Eklavya but glorify him for his sacrifice of giving his thumb to Dhronacharya. And the irony is that Dhronacharya did not even know that Eklavya was his student and Eklavya had learnt nothing from Dhronacharya. It is deeply embedded in our culture to respect and obey our teachers, elders & parents but the problem arises when these teachers, elders and parents turn out to be crooks and criminals. We have to learn to distinguish between the ones who deserve respect and ones who don’t. For a very long time we have given undue importance to seniority on the false pretence that seniors are wiser & talented. It has damaged the psychology of our society. All that we require is to identify a group of people who are junior to us and demand admiration and obedience. And what is amazing is that we do get what we ask for because as a nation we suffer from ‘ Seniority Syndrome ’ .

The solution to the problem of ragging, of course, lies in making new laws, putting preventive measures in place and punishing the perpetrators but most importantly it lies in educating the victims of their rights. We have to get rid of age old beliefs like ‘ Pati is always the Parameshwar ’ ; a grand father is always the wisest person in the house and a senior is always better than a junior. We have to understand that while tolerance is a virtue suffering injustice is a sin.