Ragging - A Necessary Evil

After 3 years of college life and entering in the 4th year as the super senior in the college, it is indeed a moment of pride and happiness for me. But it is accompanied with a sense of responsibility. Now, we are the senior most of all and this means that we have no one to look out for us but ourselves and also we have to look out for all the juniors as well. But then, when everything is as crystal clear as that, where lies the damn problem? Let me show it to you. In common parlance it is known as 'Ragging' but I call it 'Attitude Adjustment'. Yes, the same old 'devil', which has haunted the colleges for years and will haunt them in future as well.

The Government, with the help of judicial system and college management has tried to curb this menace and is successful to a large extent. Now, after this decision that anybody found indulged in any form of ragging will be suspended from the college for life, and he/she will not get admission in any other college/university throughout the country, this 'djinn' is some how contained in its bottle. But, as they say, there are two sides of every coin and this one is no exception. People only saw the one side of the coin and passed their judgement on the basis of that.

I think, by stopping this 'evil' to the level of extent that a senior student is scared even to ask the name and background of a junior student in college premises is absurd. He is afraid he might be booked under the severe norms of ragging. The spirit of healthy interaction amongst students with different financial and social backgrounds is completely vanished. Now, no senior student is curious to know how many freshers came from his city this year. And not only is it social interaction, which is affected. The feeling of brotherhood is hampered to this extent that both seniors and juniors see the other guy with suspicion and do not want to be seen together.

The frequent visits to the seniors' rooms for help during the exams and project submissions do not happen any more as the 'bonding period' during which juniors came to know about the seniors has been banned. The honour and respect which the juniors used to give their seniors is no longer seen and which in the long run reflect in the lives of students, when they come out of the colleges in to the corporate world, and they are not used to give such respect to their bosses there. This could be a problem very well known as 'Attitude Problem'.

The bottom line is, as I see it, that physical or mental ragging in any form is not justified at all, and should be dealt with seriously. But social interaction and getting to know each other, to spread the word of friendship, brotherhood and love should not be prevented in order to curb ragging. There should be some border line to which it should be allowed. Otherwise, we will be developing a society of dumb people who will not be fit to work in a society with people different from themselves.