A beginning made at last

Updated on: Monday, November 16, 2009

The long arm of the law seems to have finally caught the students who were charged with resorting to ragging, a heinous practice of senior students "getting to know of" freshers, in what is arguably the first ever case of conviction under the Andhra Pradesh Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1997, which has been added more teeth in 2007.

When the First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's court in Vijayawada last week awarded one-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1,000 each to three house surgeons of Siddhartha Medical College -- N. Venkata Chalapathi, Ch. Ram Prakash and M. Suresh, all three of whom were pursuing MBBS final year in 2007 when they were arrested for ragging the students of the BDS, there is a sense of satisfaction among many students and their representatives, who opine that a beginning has at last been made to come down heavily on those who abuse the junior students.

As several educational institutions, especially those offering professional courses like engineering and medicine, have become vulnerable to ragging with some of the incidents resulting in grave consequences like death and permanent physical and psychological scars, the government and the law-enforcing agencies have started cracking down on those indulging in such practices. But, these efforts were clearly found inadequate, as the relevant Act did not result in any punishment until the last week's verdict came.

“We welcome the court's judgment. Severe punishment to those who resort to ragging is the need of the hour, as there is an increase in the number of ragging cases in technical educational institutions,” says T. Praveen Kumar, secretary of the Vijayawada city unit of Students Federation of India (SFI), a frontal organisation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

But, he accuses the police of showing bias while registering cases against the accused. “As per our observation, the police are targeting students from poor financial background and trying to shield students from affluent families. This system should be changed and every accused should be punished severely,” he points out.

As Mr. Praveen Kumar observes, more number of ragging cases are being reported from engineering and medical colleges. After the ragging incident in Siddhartha Medical College, a similar case was filed against senior students of NTR College of Veterinary Sciences at Gannavaram and Dr. Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences on the city outskirts. Such instances continue to be reported from other parts of the State too.

P. Eeswara Prasad, city secretary of the All India Student's Federation (AISF), the students wing of the Communist Party of India, has a different opinion. “It is unfair on the part of the law makers to award severe punishment for ragging. While undergoing the imprisonment, the students may get attracted to anti-social elements in the jail and may not be able to complete their education even after completion of their imprisonment,” he says.

Mr. Prasad says suspension of a brief period from the educational institution and levying fine on the accused is enough to tackle the menace. “It is nothing but spoiling the career of students who resorted to ragging in a fit of emotion. The heads of educational institutions must take the responsibility that the ragging should not crosses the limits,” he says.

Besides registering cases against those who resorted to ragging, the police had also taken the initiative to create awareness among students and faculty members about the punishments being awarded to the offenders. Anti-ragging clubs have been formed in all the institutions of technical education, involving students and the faculty as well. Complaint boxes have been set in the colleges, so that victims of ragging and harassment can simply drop their complaint in the box, which will be opened only by the police concerned.

Observing that there is a drop in the incidents of ragging in the last two years, K. Janardhan of Akhila Bharatiya Vidyardhi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, says the judgment will become an eye opener to those who resort to ragging in educational institutions.

“The ragging menace can be curtailed only through the implementation of the Acts. There is no need of feeling sorry about the accused, as they violated the Act by resorting to ragging,” he says.

All the students unions and women's organisations have joined hands together and launched campaigns against ragging.

They have even volunteered to offer counselling to students on the campuses. Conducting of events like Freshers' Day on the campuses has gained momentum and posters against ragging have been pasted on all campuses.

Students of Siddhartha Medical College are of the view that innocents are being punished by the police. “A few students targeted the three MBBS students and fixed them in the case. There is no need of discussing about it at this point,” says M. Avinash, a house surgeon.

Students of the BDS are of the view that the court's verdict may create a gap between the MBBS and BDS students on the campus. “We hope it may not have any impact on the friendly atmosphere prevailed on the campus,” says R. Hemanth, a student of BDS second year.

A beginning made at last

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