Ragging at Jadavpur University

Cops to fight JU ragging
- Students protest decision to bring in outsiders
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Jadavpur University has decided to include police and other outsiders in its drive to root out ragging from the campus, ignoring protests from students.

The authorities also announced that a squad set up to prevent ragging would step up its vigil.

Five days after the vice-chancellor and a few other officials had to spend 17 hours in captivity for suspending a student found guilty of ragging, the university on Tuesday announced that people from “various walks of life” would be included in the anti-ragging committee for better monitoring of student activities.

Parthapratim Biswas, a member of the university’s executive council, said the reconstituted panel would include representatives of the police, district administration and NGOs, as well as journalists and “eminent personalities” from the locality.

The existing committee, set up in 2006, only comprises representatives of the students, parents and teachers.

The panel’s job is to receive complaints of ragging, order inquiries, go through reports, and recommend punishment.

A section of students protested the decision to bring in outsiders to tackle what they said was an internal problem.

“Ragging is our internal problem and we must solve it ourselves. We don’t think outsiders, such as representatives of the police, district administration and NGOs, can stop ragging on the campus,” said Abhisek Chakraborty, a leader of the faculty of engineering and technology students’ union.

Elaborating on the second strategy to stop ragging, an official said the special squad would conduct raids across the campus, including canteens and hostels, at any time of the day round the year. Sources said the squad now functions only for a few days after freshers move in.

The students are also opposed to an over-active squad. “The squad had maintained vigil before but that hardly helped stop ragging,” alleged another student leader. “The authorities are trying to play up small incidents of ragging for no apparent reason.”

Rajiv Das, a third-year student of mechanical engineering, has been suspended for a semester for ragging Kamal Krishna Halder, a first-year student of international relations. Students had gheraoed the VC and other officals for 17 hours demanding that the suspension be revoked.

Pro vice-chancellor Sidhartha Dutta, however, asserted that the university was firm in its stand to punish students found guilty of ragging.

We have seen a number of Saas / Bahu (Mother-in-law / daughter-in-law) serials on the idiot box.
The Saas forgets how she was once a bahu and was tortured by a saas and goes about torturing her present bahu.
Similarly, the senior students soon forget the trauma of the first year ragging and go about ragging the freshers when the become seniors.
Just being introduced or being made to sing or do some acting was acceptable but then they cross all limits and we have seen a number of deaths.
Under the circumstances, ragging in all respect and mode has been banned by the government.
We, the people fully support the government move.
The agitation of the JU boys is reprehensible especially their gheraoing and keeping in captivity the vice-chancellor for 17 hours.
If they were so worried of Rajiv Das losing a year they should have seen to it that he did not rag Kamal Krishna Halder.
He is educated and was fully aware of the actions being taken by the government against ragging.
He did not pay any attention and went about ragging.
He is either an idiot or the son of powerful parents or a student leader.
Whatever he is, he has rightly been punished and the punishment should not be reduced.
No matter what the students may say.
The authorities should do whatever is necessary to stop this menace of ragging including setting up of squads as they feel necessary.

Radheshyam