A viral video of ragging from inside a medical college in Ratlam (MP) shows students standing with their backs against the wall, while another student, allegedly a senior is slapping the juniors across their face. Seven students involved in the ragging incident are already suspended by the college authorities.
BCCL
Crime committed in the form of ragging is destroying student life. It started with a very light joke and turned into a frightening form over time.
It came to such an extent that a law had to be brought against it and is placed in the category of criminal activity. Ragging has taken the lives of many innocent students through mental and physical torture.
Ragging is defined as an act that involves an activity violating the dignity of a student. Ragging is done in the name of fresher’s welcome i.e. shows that what extent a person or human imagination can fall to prove his supremacy.
According to a survey in the year 2017, about 40% of India's students had to face some form of ragging and bullying, of which medical and engineering colleges reported the most. These figures are shocking because this data has come despite strict laws against ragging.
The practice of ragging had come in India even before independence. This was done in English and Army colleges only as a joke.
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Till the year 1960, it did not involve any kind of violence etc. This was done with great decency and jokes. It increased over time and in the year 1980, due to the increasing influence of the media, it also started appearing in the form of violent tendencies among the students.
By the time of the 90s, it had reached its peak. During this time, private medical and engineering colleges were opening in India. During this period, ragging took its terrible form. Its impact was badly seen in South India.
Many student suicides were reported in South India at this time. According to the statistics, the highest number of cases of ragging was found in the year 1997 in Tamil Nadu.
Considering the seriousness of the matter, in 1997, Tamil Nadu became the first state where ragging was completely banned.
In 2001, the Supreme Court banned ragging across India. Despite this, some cases continue to come up. The death of Aman Kachru, a student of a medical college in Dharamsala, due to ragging in 2009 prompted the Supreme Court to direct all the educational institutions in the country to strictly follow the anti-ragging law.
Under the anti-ragging law, if a student is found guilty, he/she can be imprisoned for 3 years along with a fine.
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Further, if the colleges do not follow the rules or ignore the matter, then legal action can be taken against them. In order to avoid the problem of ragging in the college, UGC has made strict rules related to the behaviour of students.
According to those rules, if a comment is made on the appearance or dress of the student or if his/her self-respect is hurt, then it will be considered ragging. Also, if a student is insulted on the basis of his regionality, language, race, caste etc., it will also be an offence. If any student is forced to do any work, then that too will come under the category of ragging.
Some states in India have their own legislation on ragging while the central legislations tackling ragging in India are through the Indian Penal Code (section 294, 323, 324, 325, 326, 339, 340, 341, 342, 506), UGC Regulations on curbing the menace of ragging in higher educational institutions, 2009 and other government bodies have their own laws on ragging in their respective acts. Such as the All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) and the Medical Council of India have made their own regulations under their respective acts.
During the 7th and early 8th centuries in Greece, it is said that this game was done in the community to strengthen the sportsman's spirit of the players so that the newcomers could bear all kinds of humiliation. This made them stronger and used to mingle with his team. After this, the military forces also started adopting it in the army.
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With time, it also came into the education system. The practice of forming student organisations was first started in the countries of Europe. When these student organizations were formed, they worked for their interests. After some time in the 18th century, they started misusing their rights and with this, they also took a violent form.
The practice of forming student organisations was spreading rapidly. In 1828-45, student unions also started forming in the universities of America.
The first death in the world due to ragging took place in America. This incident happened in 1873 in New York City, USA. A student died after falling from the Cornell University building.
The situation worsened after the First World War. The military men who came back started going back to college. The situation got worse as they started practising ragging with the students. Thus, it took a violent form.
It gives a sense of authority to the senior students and their morale increases. Hence, they prefer to give orders considering themselves superior.
The aggrieved student fulfils the orders of the regressor student. It results in his/her morale increasing even more and he/she starts thinking of himself/herself as high.
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Vengeance is one of the major reasons for carrying out ragging. This means that the students themselves who are victims of ragging do it with their juniors. They take revenge for the excesses done to them by their juniors. They compel them to perform everything they suffered.
Apart from this, ragged students also take out their personal anger through ragging. They fulfil all their desires through it.
It is not always the case that every senior student is interested in ragging. He/she does not get separated from his peers, so he becomes part of the group. Many times they do not shy away from doing it in exchange for money or other valuables.
It has become 'fashion' in today's youth. It has also emerged among the students with the belief that it makes them fashionable, which is totally wrong.
