The juniors are fearful. They know that if they confront their seniors, their existence in the college would become difficult for the next few years. This would distract their attention from studies which in turn would hamper their prospects of getting good jobs, writes Farooq Qureshi
The recent ragging incident in the State capital put a question mark on the functioning of Higher Education department and other authorities who are responsible for checking this menace. A girl student committed suicide after being tormented by her seniors. It was then that the officials woke up from slumber and issued directives to stop ragging with a stern hand.
Harassed by seniors and faculty members, the second year B Pharma girl student of a private college took the extreme step and committed suicide, indicating the failure of the anti-ragging cells or squads in the colleges of the State capital. The incident once again sparked a debate on safety of new entrants inside the colleges.
It was later found out that the girl was mentally harassed by her seniors and when she complained about it to a faculty member, she was advised to keep mum. The principal of the college denied having received any complaint from the girl.
The anti-ragging cell was paralysed or simply non-functional during the whole incident which is a matter of serious concern, especially so, as this comes after clear-cut Supreme Court guidelines to the college authorities regarding ragging.
According to the Court's directive, each single incident of ragging where the victim or guardians or the head of the institution is not satisfied with the action taken by institution, an FIR should be lodged by the authorities with the local police.
At the time of admission, in case a student is found indulging in ragging or if it is noticed that the student has indulged in ragging, admission may be refused and he shall be expelled from the educational institution. Anti-ragging measures are a collective responsibility of the authorities and other functionaries of the concerned institution.
The anti ragging cell is a well defined structure and includes students and principal, but the lower rung which incorporates the students is virtually non-functional and lacks active participation. The principal heads the anti-ragging cell. A representative of the district collector, representative of Superintendent of Police, a representative from media, a faculty member, a representative of the college, a representative of the guardians, a senior student and a student of first year constitute the cell.
A third year engineering student of SIRT college said that once a student completes the first year of his course, he gets burdened with studies leaving no time for such things. He claimed that he was ragged in the first year, still, he was not interested in ragging his juniors.
Professor of Sociology of Sarojini Naidu Government Girls PG College, Rama Singh said that ragging was a group activity in which the group members gained strength from their numbers. It is akin to mob mentality. In the suicide case of Anita Sharma, senior girls ragged her but they had been instigated by their male friends. The involvement of senior girl students proves that there is no gender differentiation in ragging, she added.
Singh said it was an action-reaction kind of interaction as the senior who was ragged thinks her junior should undergo similar experiences. But, some times, the interaction turns nasty. in many of these cases the junior is driven to commit suicide. The juniors are fearful. They know that if they confront their seniors, their existence in the college would become difficult for the next few years. This would distract their attention from studies which in turn would hamper their prospects of getting good jobs.
The Inspector General of Police, Bhopal Zone, Upendra Jain, said suicide is not a solution. It is true that the level of harassment might cross the limits sometimes, but there are options like directly complaining to the police and senior police officials could be contacted if the problem persists, but suicide in certainly not a solution to the problem.
What is unfortunate, however, is that despite there being the apex court guidelines and the rules framed by the UGC to curb the menace, we have still not been able to incorporate a section regarding ragging in the Indian Penal Code, he added.
Assistant Professor of Department of Management and PRO of BSSS College, Amir Mehboob said such incidents are the result of communication gap induced by the unfriendly atmosphere in the colleges or it could be the result of the extreme strictness adopted by the college management so that the victim student fears to convey her situation either to the college management or the faculties.
In BSSS, the initial 8 days are meant for orientation, counselling and seminars in which the students are made aware of the action that would be taken against students found indulging in ragging. There is a strict vigil round-the-clock to check ragging and everything is monitored on CCTV cameras and by the security guards. Separate student and faculty anti-ragging committees have been formed so that each single issue can be addressed at all levels, he added.
Mehboob said that providing a solution and lending a helping hand is how the BSSS works. In case a student is found to be under stress, he is counselled by the psychologist of the college and if required, special counseling sessions are arranged for the student.
Theatre artist and Radio Jockey Shavez Sikandar who has compered several debates on ragging said the conclusion of all debates was similar and the participants, including teachers and students, were at one in demanding a curb on ragging. As to the ways of curbing it, there was no consensus as a result of which cases of ragging has been surfacing at regular intervals. Firm steps are required to banish the practice of ragging. A formal introduction is acceptable, but making someone uncomfortable by harassing him cannot be accepted. Better coordination between the students and faculty members would help solve the problem of ragging, he added.