Ragging - A heinous crime

I was shocked to see how a student at a medical college in Himachal Pradesh was ragged so badly that it lead to his death! Post that came news of a girl in Andhra Pradesh being ragged. Am sure there are thousands of such situations which probably never get reported. Being punished for such heinous crimes is a rare option.

Imagine the parent’s devastation. On one side they feel guilty of not taking up action when their child complained about ragging on the other side they know nothing will ever come out of the probe and the guilty will go unpunished. Even if the perpetrators are brought to book, they will escape stating they are being framed; witnesses won’t come forward; and the case will drag on. And parents of the perpetrators will move heaven and earth to ensure that their guilty wards go scot free.

What happens after ragging? Suppose a complaint does get registered. Are the students responsible rusticated? Is it ensured that they don’t get admission in other institutes through devious means? Is the case followed to its logical conclusion? Is anyone punished? I don’t know what happiness people get in degrading others. When I speak to my sons on this, they say their experiences have ranged from singing bollywood songs for a strech to greeting every senior on campus – I don’t know if they are keeping some bits off limit. But what is unfathomable is that young boys and girls don’t think of the consequences of their act while participating in degrading acts.
Obviously people who rag know some fundamentals –
- The perpetrators won’t get punished
- College Principals / Trustees will go unpunished
- Grants / financial aid won’t stop

Despite the Supreme Court's orders, ragging goes on unabated in educational institutes across India. With the Supreme Court coming down strongly on the states & colleges, can we see any real change? One can only hope so.