Violence against the weak manifests in countless forms—child abuse, bullying, ragging, molestation and domestic violence—leaving deep and often irreparable scars
Violence against the weak is a timeless and universal phenomenon. Child abuse, bullying, ragging, eve-teasing, molestation and domestic violence are only a few that can result in irretrievable damage to the psyche or can even have tragic consequences. I joined the hostel for the first time as a 12-year-old adolescent. I was out in the world, away from the shelter of my parental love, trying to overcome my insecurities.
One time a senior shouted at me to fetch a packet of cigarettes from the dormitory. I still remember my tears as I was roughly reprimanded for being tardy. I was scared of the hostel life. Three years later, I joined the college hostel. Ragging had not yet been banned and was openly indulged in by seniors. It was supposed to be a harmless fun activity to initiate the newly joined youngsters into college life. It had degenerated into something completely different.
One Sunday, we were forced to sit above the wardrobe and hurl choice profanities at each other. I mouthed words from my limited vocabulary. We were so traumatised that we started returning home over the weekends. When our parents questioned us, we started bicycling into the desert on the weekends when ragging was at its peak. We slept in remote towns before returning to the campus at the start of the week.
We even spent a night in the waiting room of a railway station. We were particularly wary of one young man called the ‘ragging king’. In time, after the freshers had been welcomed, I settled down. I forgot my earlier trauma and looked forward to the next year when I would be bestowed the dreaded title by the new arrivals. One incident changed my outlook. I was ragging a fresher, who was terrified and not responding to my questions.
Frustrated, I barked at him to jump into a nearby well. Much to our horror, he turned around and ran towards it. Momentarily stunned, I must have run the fastest race of my life and managed to stop him in the nick of time. I was a changed person. The government stepped in to ban the practice. Sadly, it continues.
A recent news report mentioned ragging in several medical colleges where male seniors force fresh entrants to memorise and read aloud from booklets filled with profanities and promoting sexual violence against women, specifically against classmates and nurses.
The booklet also teaches freshers to look at women of all ages, including those in the 0-15 years age bracket, as sex objects. Many of us may have been at the receiving end of the local or the school bully. It exists even at the workplace, sometimes in the guise of the rude superior who would not think twice before throwing the file back at you, or the one preying upon the junior female colleague. Women do not have a pleasant experience travelling on public transport. They are afraid to step out after sunset.
Every day we read of brutal assaults and deaths. The list is endless. Many are unable to bear the trauma and give up on life. I am not a psychologist. The reasons might be more complex than blaming it on not inculcating the right values in the children. But, that can be a starting point.
We can teach our young what English author Brian Jacques wrote in one of the Redwall series of fantasy novels for children, “Defend the weak, protect both young and old, never desert your friends. Give justice to all, be fearless in battle, and always ready to defend the right.”
(The author is an electrical engineer with the Indian Railways and conducts classes in creative writing; views are personal)