The country must put an end to the scourge of campus ragging

livemint.com:

On 9 August, the scourge of ‘ragging’ claimed its latest victim when a minor student, barely a few weeks into his new campus life at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, ended it by jumping from his hostel building after harassment, torture and sexual debasement. About a dozen seniors prevented the administration and police from entering the campus while trying to ham-handedly doctor the crime scene to make it appear that the victim had committed suicide with no role played by others.

Despite ragging (or hazing) being a criminal and a non-bailable offence, over 80% of India’s 20 million students experience some form of it, ranging from mild embarrassment to severe degradation, every year. While day scholars have it easier, those who need to stay in hostels are traumatized for almost a year until they ‘earn’ their right to subject the next lot of freshers to the same criminal conduct.

Professor Raj Kachroo, whose only son Aman was beaten to death in 2009 by four seniors in a government medical college, has been a champion of sensitizing people to a depravity which kills dozens of students and emotionally and physically ravages countless others. His efforts resulted in a landmark judgement by the Supreme Court which expressed dismay at how actions punishable under the Indian Penal Code were so prevalent within the walls of 50,000 odd campuses.

An educator himself, Professor Kachroo considers ragging the worst bane of the Indian education system. It’s an issue that society and businesses that recruit alumni should deeply be concerned about.

Our universities are not only responsible for imparting academic knowledge. They are also accountable for producing well-rounded, emotionally balanced, curious, confident and empathic leaders.