Ragging- the deadly monster

By Nadira GUNATILAKE

The word `ragging’ has become a familiar and frequently used term in Sri Lanka. Ragging has become a deadly plague and affects each and every young person who is unfortunate enough to join a new environment, especially a State university. The topic has gained significant attention once again with the plague hitting local schools.

In English `rag’ means mock, ridicule, taunt or tease. But in Sri Lanka, the word `rag’ carries horrifying meanings such as painful death, permanent disability, fatal injuries, incurable mental or physical disorders among others. Important personalities in Sri Lanka including scholars, sociologists, university authorities, institution heads and raggers and rag victims have expressed different views on this deadly social problem. However, the `rag’ still exists in Sri Lankan society and has snatched several precious young lives from their poor parents.

Therefore, it is very important to analyse this problem. What is ragging? Who rags whom? Where does it take place? and the most important question, Why do people rag others? How can we stop this deadly act?

What is ragging? There are several meanings for this word such as mocking, ridiculing, taunting and teasing. However, going by ragging in Sri Lanka, the word `rag’ could mean direct or indirect manslaughter, causing fatal injuries and forcing a person to commit suicide. In the process of ragging, raggers commit different things to their victims. They force unspeakable activities on the females and males to make them feel uncomfortable, embarrassed and humiliated. The males have to undergo more painful acts compared to females, but State university raggers `treat’ both male and female students in the same way.

By the time freshers are admitted to State universities, the undergraduates (the students who are in their second, third and fourth years) are well informed about the freshers who enter their universities from their (raggers’) hometowns. Therefore, it is easy for them to identify the freshers. The freshers know each other to a certain extent, but they feel scared to get together into groups. Even when they get into groups, they never oppose the rag out of fear. Who wants to get killed or become the victim of an acid attack?

Common rag

The raggers have divided the `rag’ into two categories; the `common rag’ and the `individual rag’. The common rag comes early in the `rag season’. During the common rag, all freshers are ragged together and they have to do whatever that is demanded by the raggers. During the individual rag the raggers take the victims one by one and torture them individually; it is carried out sometimes by one or two raggers and sometimes by small groups.

The raggers humiliate their victims in numerous ways. The common rag takes a long time and a large number of raggers participate in this rag. At the Sri Jayawardenepura University the raggers demand freshers to perform difficult exercises in a basketball court from 12 noon to 2.00 pm without any shoes! At the end of the rag all victims suffer from blisters on their feet and some even collapse. Sometimes they are forced to do difficult exercises such as push-ups. Sometimes freshers have to crawl on their bellies for more than a mile.

At the same university, they had once demanded a fresher to eat fish bones; he was later admitted to hospital in a critical condition. Some undergraduates have committed suicide or become permanently disabled or sick due to the rag. These deadly acts should not be forgotten because they occur in different forms all the time. The raggers never get punished.

When the students are subjected to individual ragging, the raggers harm their victims both physically and mentally. The raggers use different methods to humiliate males and females. In the daytime male students are ragged openly. The worst part of the rag comes at night.

Most students attending universities, technical colleges and other educational institutions stay at hostels and lodges at night. The raggers visit their victims as small groups and sometimes demand their victims to remove all clothes and perform various unnatural and painful sexual acts. They (raggers) enjoy watching their victims being physically and mentally hurt. Sometimes raggers harm their victims’ genital organs. They are cut, burnt or applied with paint, causing severe damage and harm. The raggers return home, the darling innocent sons and daughters of their mothers and fathers!

Physical harm

Female raggers are no different to male raggers. They also carry out similar activities, but inflict less physical harm on their victims. This is because they are afraid of being punished and suspended from their exams. They threaten freshers and make various demands, but are scared to engage in harmful acts such as burning or cutting because they are afraid of future repercussions. But this does not mean that the female raggers completely refrain from such harmful acts.

Who rags whom?. Most raggers come from uneducated and poor families, broken families and have disturbing family backgrounds. Most raggers had faced some sort of `abuse’ in their life, especially in their childhood, and most still suffer from those memories. Sometimes raggers suffer from severe or minor mental disorders.

Most of the time, students from opposite backgrounds become their victims. Their main target is students from cities and suburbs, from wealthy, educated, and powerful families. Past pupils of reputed Colombo-based schools especially become their easy victims. Freshers from Colombo-based schools who are selected to the Arts faculties are the most unfortunate victims.

Pretty and smart females and handsome, bright males who possess a pleasant appearance is another group that fall victim to the raggers. They rag such freshers out of pure jealousy. They cannot stand the sight of such students. They hate to be challenged by such students’ talents, smart attitude and sense of fashion which come into the limelight just after the rag. The raggers are jealous of these freshers’ English knowledge, wealth and smartness.

Where does the rag take place? Most times, ragging takes place at lonely locations at schools and technical colleges. In the State universities the situation is different because the raggers do not mind being noticed by lecturers and other university officials. The most unacceptable and horrific sight is that of politically-driven young Bhikkhus ragging their freshers (Bhikkhus) within State university premises in broad daylight. The situation is now going from bad to worse in schools because of the ignorance of school authorities.

Jealousy and revenge

Why do people rag others? Although society believes that the rag is based on taking revenge and the raggers also saying the same thing, this is not true. The rag is based on jealousy. One person cannot humiliate another person just because the first hates the second person. The rag is based on jealousy and nobody can hurt another without a reason because then the victim can take legal action against him/her. Therefore, the raggers wait for the freshers. Then they use their `common power’ to harm freshers. This is an ideal opportunity for anybody to take revenge for personal reasons and happens often.

How can we prevent this monstrous practice from taking place in educational institutions including very lower classes in government and private schools? Nobody understands the danger of this act until someone’s child or sibling faces it and is harassed or worse, dies. There are several solutions to this problem.

At present most victims of the rag are innocent newcomers who do not have much idea about the rag. However, the natural and correct way should be upside down. That is, ragging the raggers who ragged them! Certain political influences behind ragging prevents this.

When the victims get their turn, they should organise themselves and implement this strategy without becoming a cat’s paw of certain political elements. By this time the victims are familiar with the university environment and they know each other well. Once this comes into practice the rag will disappear from all institutions for ever, because there will be no revenge-takers when newcomers enter to educational institutions.

There are several other solutions. Introducing strict and practicable laws and implementing them in a responsible manner is another solution. Ragging should be identified as a crime. The raggers should be given severe punishment and the authorities should apprehend them without waiting for complaints to be made by rag victims. The authorities can use plain clothed security officers, hidden cameras etc. to monitor raggers. Modern technology has made unbelievable advances and the educational authorities can use the latest technology for this purpose. Raggers should be treated according to the country’s common criminal law.

Instant solution

As an instant solution, students who are vulnerable to such attacks should be educated on the rag, its different faces and all details about it. This should be done before admitting them into the educational institutions. They can be educated through handbooks, leaflets or other practical methods.

The freshers should also be educated on the internal plan of the institution prior to their entrance. If the authorities can make them aware about the harassment that they are likely to face, they can avoid such harassment or arm themselves for the rag.

No solution will be practicable unless the authorities amputate the hidden political hand which functions behind the rag.

This hidden hand is everywhere. It has an unbelievable power to influence young minds and convert them into one of them.

The main tools they use for this purpose are thuggery and torture. They torture innocent students and tell them that the main reason for their physical misery is social discrimination caused by the prevailing democratic ruling of the country (any government that rules the country at that time).

Then the raggers encourage innocent students to fight against the existing government, whatever it may be.

The rag is the key method of gathering `child supporters’ to fight law and order! Once the children grow up they fight against the rag! Then another `batch’ of `child supportes’ are taken in. This chain must be broken using the law and order of the country.