Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Shocking

The death of Aman Kachru, a 19-year-old student of medicine, after he was allegedly beaten up by his seniors at the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, is shocking and outrageous. That the unfortunate incident took place despite Aman complaining against the offenders to the college authorities is indeed sad. His death is a clear cut case of negligence by the college authorities and their failure to follow the Supreme Court guidelines. The Additional Solicitor General’s decision to seek exemplary punishment for the guilty is welcome.

J. Anantha Padmanabhan,

Srirangam

The death of the 19-year-old medical student has shaken me. What is wrong with our youth? How could students aspiring to become doctors indulge in violence against a fellow student? Doctors are supposed to save lives. Ragging exists in all premier institutions. But the college authorities turn a blind eye to it unless someone complains or something tragic happens. With the increasing privatisation of higher education in India, ragging too has increased. Ragging in any form, even a request for a song or dance, should be punished. The classes for seniors and juniors should start at different times and no interaction should be allowed between them. Sure, such interaction is healthy but a few hooligans cannot be allowed to exploit it.

Amjad K. Maruf,

Thane

Ragging, which started as an innocuous practice to break the ice between juniors and seniors has been transformed, in the recent past, into an exercise in sadism and perversity. The perpetrators of the heinous crime deserve no leniency.

The punishment meted out to the students who were supposed to be our future doctors should be exemplary.

K.S. Jayatheertha,

Bangalore

The laxity on the part of the college authorities is all too apparent since it appears that Aman was being harassed for quite some time. Their inaction, despite the victim complaining to them, betrays wilful negligence and makes them party to the crime.

Those responsible for the tragedy should be given exemplary punishment so that institutions step up vigilance against ragging.

P. Prasand Thampy,

Thiruvalla

The death of Aman, allegedly at the hands of his seniors, is heart-rending. The college authorities, particularly the Principal, should have put a mechanism in place to thwart the attempts by seniors to rag freshers. What happened in the Dr. Rajendra Prasad College was not just ragging; it was the result of devious tendencies among a few students.

S. Sujatha,

Chennai

Despite the ban on ragging, the practice continues unabated in colleges. The statement of Aman’s father that his son had complained to him about the harassment he was subjected to shows that the college authorities did not take seriously the issue of ragging on their campus.

Syed Ibne Khamosh,

Bangalore

That we have allowed a precious life to be snuffed out by the barbaric practice that goes by the name of ragging is a matter of national shame. The tragedy should awaken society’s collective conscience against all forms of inhuman conduct on college campuses.

It is not as if we are helpless in banishing the uncivilised practice. The social evil continues unchecked because it seems to have received some kind of acceptability among certain sections. The need of the hour is a policy of zero tolerance towards all kinds of harassment. Let an example be set in Aman’s case.

V.N. Mukundarajan,

Thiruvananthapuram

If we cannot provide even the basic security of life to our countrymen, of what use are governments? Our heart bleeds when incidents such as Aman’s death happen time and again.

There are lapses in every area of government responsibility. It may be difficult to tackle terrorism but is it difficult to ensure that all colleges implement the rules strictly on their campuses? At the time of admission itself, students and parents should be warned about the serious consequences of ragging.

T. Kasi Viswanathan,

Coimbatore

Aman’s death, allegedly due to ragging, calls for both immediate and long-term action. Something that can be started immediately is counselling of parents at both school and college levels. Since they are crucial stakeholders, such counselling should become mandatory.

Bizeth Banerjee,

Dehra Dun

I admire Aman for not resorting to any serious steps such as suicide despite being a victim of torture. While there is no doubt that the college authorities are primarily to blame for the incident, it is also true that ragging cannot be abolished unless students take the initiative. They should take a pledge that they will not tolerate such barbarity in their schools and colleges.

Abdul Muqhtadir,

Manvi

Humiliation, both verbal and physical, leaves dark memories, which cannot be erased easily. Do we want humiliation to become part and parcel of our daily life? Ragging is the worst manner of interaction between freshers and seniors. Unfortunately, the definition of “fun” has changed for today’s youngsters. It subtly connotes humiliating others.

Kusum Kumari,

New Delhi

Although the incident is shocking, Aman’s death is not the first, and I am afraid, the last time that we have heard of ragging. We need to take urgent steps to punish those guilty of criminal acts in the name of ragging. The punishment should not be limited to students indulging in ragging. It should include the college authorities who fail to curb it.

Manish Manglani,

New Delhi

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