Mita Mukherjee
Medical colleges account for 38.6 percent of all ragging complaints in India even though medical students make only 1.1 percent of the total student population and the ragging menace continues unabated in the country in absence of a proper reporting mechanism, according to the findings of a study held by an NGO.
The study showed a total of 51 students died in 2022-24 with 20 in 2024 alone, almost close to the number of student suicides in Kota in that year.
This was revealed in the report of a comprehensive study and analysis of incidents of ragging held by Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE), an independent organisation working since 2006 to eradicate ragging in educational institutions in India.
The report released on March 24 which is observed as the International Day for the Right to the Truth also says, ” A total of 3,156 complaints were registered from 1,946 colleges.It is not to say that the entire India registered just 3,156 ragging complaints in 3 years, these are just the complaints registered at the National Anti-Ragging Helpline. There is a huge number of complaints that are registered directly to the colleges, and also directly to the police if the case is serious. All such cases fail to get reflected in the numbers available at the Anti-Ragging Helpline, and hence in this report.”
According to Rupesh Kumar Jha of SAVE the actual incidents of serious ragging would be much higher in educational institutions because very few victims reveal their suffering and even if some shows the courage to lodge a complaint against the perpetrator, the institutions prevented them from doing so citing the reason that such an act would tarnish the image of the institution.
“Only a small number of victims in general muster courage to come forward and report .Some, of those who approach the authorities demanding action against the accused are often asked by their institution heads not to disclose the truth as that would bring disrepute to the institution. In some cases when the ragging incidents get highlighted in media, victims are asked to given an.undertaking that they have not been ragged. Therefore, many students silently suffer for fear of safety after making complaint or do not report at all”, Jha told EducationWorld after the report was released during the day.
The Supreme Court defines ragging as ” any disorderly conduct whether by words spoken or written or by an act which has the effect of teasing, treating, or handling with rudeness any other student. This includes causing annoyance, hardship, psychological harm or generating fear in a fresher or junior student.
The apex court in its 2009 order mandated a comprehensive anti-ragging programme including a 24- hour Helpline and an independent monitoring agency to curb the ragging menace.
According to SAVE, incidents of ragging had dropped five years ago, but the number of cases of freshers getting ragged by their seniors have started increasing after Covid.
The SAVE in its report has suggested some recommendations to prevent ragging such as the National Anti-Ragging Helpline should accept anonymous complaints to protect victims’ identities, freshers should be accommodated in separate hostels as per UGC regulations, and the institutions must file police complaints within 24 hours for serious ragging cases.
The report also lists India’s top five colleges and universities from where most number of cases are reported. It also lists top five medical and technical institutions for the same.
“Every year we get lists of India’s best colleges and universities. This year let us also get the list of colleges and universities that report most number of ragging cases,” said Gaurav Singhal, SAVE president.
