Still seeking an effective shield against ragging

Years before Aman died in 2009 at age 19,the Supreme Court had ordered mandatory proctorial committees at institutes,and a court-appointed committee had recommended anti-ragging cells. Anti-ragging activist Harsh Aggarwal says few colleges have the committees while most have the cells,but court guidelines are rarely followed.

After Amans death,the UGC introduced a national helpline,run by a trust set up by his father. It says it addresses the calls it gets,but Supreme Court advocate Meera Patel,who represents a fresh ragging victim,says its role has been limited.

Patel represents Navin Kujur,who suffered permanent knee damage after seniors at School of Planning and Architecture,New Delhi,allegedly made him do push-ups with bricks on his back. In January,management student Mohammed Rafi suffered burn injuries after an alleged assault by seniors at their Karnataka college.

This year,the helpline has received 102 complaints till April 7,after 375 in 2012. Anti-ragging activists believe the actual number might be higher because not every victim wants to report ragging.

Keeping it secret

Students,parents and teachers internalise violence and believe it is part of the education system, says advocate Patel,also legal head of SAVE,or Society Against Violence in Education. Freshers are told ragging is part of college culture,and hence acceptable.

Besides,students fear possible reprisal after disclosure,being dependent on seniors for help in studies and sometimes placements. Seniors would say if we did not keep them happy,they would not use their connections to get us jobs, Navin had told The Indian Express at his Ranchi home last year.

None of his classmates was ready to openly identify the accused during an inquiry. SPA revoked the suspension of all accused seniors.

After receiving names of seven students from David Kujur (Navins father) on January 18,the school put (them) under suspension,pending inquiry, SPA director Chetan Vaidya said in an email response to questions. The committee investigating the matter,in its interim report,noted that,All the students named denied their involvement. Navin Kujur did not present himself before the committee despite requests. Based on the evidence available… the committee finds itself in no position to establish the alleged ragging.

Shame,too,dissuades disclosure. Most of the ragging in hostels is obscene, Patel says. Making a student stand nude and perform (obscene acts) is fairly common. Female victims particularly tend to hide it.

Colleges role

In 2001,the Supreme Court said mandatory proctorial committees with faculty members,hostel authorities and students should be set up at the beginning of each session. In 2007,an SC-appointed committee headed by R K Raghavan,former CBI director,recommended anti-ragging cells at central,state and college levels.

Most colleges I have visited are without proctorial committees. Those that do have them are not complying with the SC orders… there are hardly any student representatives, says Harsh Aggarwal,founder of CURE,or Coalition for Uprooting Ragging from Education. There are anti-ragging cells in most colleges I have been to. But most usually have just a teacher or a dean who looks into complaints.

Patel says,When Navins case came under the spotlight in December,SPAs anti-ragging committee was not in place. On January 7,the college authorities said they had reconstructed the committee.

The Raghavan committee had recommended victims must be compensated for the loss of a year,if that happens. Navin missed his exam and will lose a year. I could not have allowed him to attend the second year. How can a student who had not attended the first year be allowed in the second year? SPA director Vaidya says.

After Kujur had requested a guesthouse for his injured son,Vaidya says,a letter allowing him to stay at the guesthouse was sent on October 18,2012,another letter was dispatched on October 31,advising Navin to continue attending classes… SPA did not receive any response or action from Navin/David Kujur.

Kujur says he could not send his son because he had sought a helper,too,but wasnt given one; Navin couldnt have moved otherwise. Vaidya denied Kujur had made any such request.

The helpline

The helpline too had been recommended by the Raghavan committee. Effective since June 2009,it is run by Rajendra Kachroos Aman Movement,named after his son. Of 411 complaints over the last one year (April 17 to April 8),283 have had action taken,38 are being investigated,eight difficult ones (colleges reportedly not cooperating) are pending with the helplines monitoring unit and the remaining 82 have been referred to the UGC.

We stay in touch with the victim till he or she is satisfied that appropriate action has been taken. In 70 per cent of the cases,the college authorities cooperate. In about 30 per cent,only eyewash actions are taken and those cases are sent to the UGC, Kachroo says.

Patel,whose SAVE had filed an RTI query about the helpline,claims only in one per cent of cases is action taken and cases registered. Our interactions with students show the helpline just calls the head of the institute and provides them the contact details of the victim. In many cases,police are not alerted. The helpline has neither lawyers nor counsellors, Patel says.

It is true we only inform college authorities including principals,or sometimes the vice-chancellor, agrees Kachroo. We inform the police and they take action only when something serious,such as a fight or an injury,takes place. I am satisfied with the role of the police… The whole idea of this helpline is to create nationwide awareness that help is available. I do not see any role for the helpline to be a legal adviser or a counsellor. Only in extremely serious cases do we micro-manage them.

The way ahead

Among various measures,the Raghavan committee had stressed standard operating procedures should be introduced for the anti-ragging helpline,and legal and psychological experts appointed.

It had proposed that ragging be included as a special section under the IPC. Tamil Nadu was the first to set up a law against ragging,Kerala,UP and Gujarat are among those that followed suit,but several states and UTs such as Delhi are yet to introduce such legislation.

The Raghavan committee had said the responsibility for an incident needs to be fixed not only on individuals but also on the institution. In the 2001 judgment,the Supreme Court had noted that failure to prevent ragging would be construed as an act of negligence and the UGC might even stop financial assistance to the college or disaffiliate the institute.