Less than a week earlier, an 18-year-old BA Bengali (honours) student of Jadavpur University (JU) in Kolkata ‘fell’ from the hostel balcony and died a day later. Nine current and former students have been arrested in connection with the death, and a case of murder and conspiracy has been registered after allegations of ragging emerged. This is murder – of a member of India’s much-vaunted youth – and must be treated as such.
In 2001, the Supreme Court banned ragging. A non-minor, if found guilty, can get a three-year jail term and a fine. Anti-ragging regulations have been put in place by the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Medical Council of India (MCI). But rulings and strictures are only useful if there is implementation of guidelines, awareness of laws, and sensitisation of students and faculty.
Anti-ragging laws also need an upgrade. They must clearly define what constitutes ragging/hazing/bullying, call it what you will, making it easier for police to determine whether an incident falls under the Act’s purview, or not.
University administrations must tear away ‘cones of silence’ among students – student union bodies included – and faculty. Playing down ragging as some kind of ‘youngsters letting off steam’ activity has no place. Protecting suspected perpetrators as part of political chicanery – ‘Good kids doing a wrong thing’ – can no longer be tolerated.
Most people condemn ragging after an ‘incident’. Let’s nip this disease in the bud. We can then talk about reaping a demographic dividend with a straight face.