A student’s death in one of the hostels of Jadavpur University in West Bengal has put many questions before the educational institutions, intellectuals and State machineries regarding safety and security of the students and providing a healthy teaching-learning environment to them. It is alleged that the death was the outcome of ragging and sexual harassment.
Parents dream of admissions into better educational institutions and lucrative financial and social positions for their wards for which they make them busy in arranging money. In a way, this has indirectly made them and their children slaves of the educational system. The breathless studies and competitive environment have not left anytime for self- development, socialisation and developed life skills. On the other hand, the parents think and expect that those educational institutions would be careful and take all responsibilities for their studies and prepare their children for different cut-throat competitions. But in this juncture, they forget to prepare their children to face the challenges of life.
Now, the admission processes have been over in almost all the educational institutions and it is high time to see the mental health, safety and security of the new entrants. By the name of acculturation of the new members to an educational institution, the seniors and the old students practise ragging in both the campus and hostel which demoralises and demotivates the juniors.
This practice may be either in the form of physical or verbal abuse or a combination of both. It also gives a sense of superiority to the seniors who rag their juniors and sometimes the juniors develop a mental trauma. In some of the cases, the juniors are not prepared to face such challenges and compel their parents to leave the studies and even sometimes commit or attempt suicide.
A new student who resists becomes a target of harassment. He may be falsely accused of stealing a thing or things from a senior. He would be put on a mock trial. During the trial, he might be forced to admit his guilt. If he does not admit his guilt, he is pressurized by physical threats and humiliation.
It is a disheartening fact that most of the campuses are not well vigilant towards such issues and proper safety and security arrangement in this regard are not yet made to ensure a healthy atmosphere for the students and to avoid such incidents in the future. In pen and paper, are anti-ragging committees formed but how many times they visit different sensitive spots is a pertinent question. The installations of CCTV cameras in the campuses are yet to be done due to resistance from the students communities by the name of right to privacy.
The schools, colleges, universities and their hostels are called as the second home but can we compare the behaviour against the juniors as the same elder brothers and sisters show to their younger ones in a house? There are no restrictions on drink and smoke in the hostel premises which make ragging more exploitative.
Different types of ragging have highlighted different issues related to physical and mental abuses of new entrants around different ideologies. Notwithstanding the differences in the nature of ragging and the meaning of identity, there has been a common quest for self-dignity. Ragging does not automatically lead to collective actions. For these actions, a group must consciously think or identify itself as oppressed beings. There should be a good leadership and a clear ideology. However, protests from new entrants do not follow these lines. It is feared that such organisations might lead to student conflicts or conflicts between seniors and juniors.
Juniors also lack clear ideas of challenging the ragging collectively through overt mobilisation and protests. Even when they do resist, it is considered as defiance and invites more harassment and torture. This has been a recognised fact that while all the juniors are in some way or the other disadvantaged but all juniors do not suffer the same level or kind of discrimination. The concerns of the powerful and urban English educated juniors are different from the powerless poor and rural juniors.
Now it is high time to develop alternative ways of thinking and living in college and university campuses.
Workshops, orientations and seminars should be organised in regular intervals on problems associated with ragging, its harmful effects and consequences for every batch of students. Ensuring the students’ awareness about the anti-ragging laws of the State and the institution is very important.
Appropriate actions should be initiated against students taking part in ragging and counselling them. It is also needed to organise counselling and therapy sessions for students who undergo ragging, workshops on assertiveness training to aid the students to defend themselves.
Appropriate steps should be taken for banning alcohol and installation of CCTV in the campuses. Exemplary punishments should be given to the students involved in ragging and restricting the non-collegiate students to the campus.
Over and above, anti-ragging cells should be target-oriented and accountable before the appropriate authorities.