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Punish ragging like rape, says MCI; Govt unsure
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by archita | July 22, 2009 at 08:36 am
758 views | 4 Recommendations | 1 comment
When did ragging changed from fun to cruelty?
We were ragged by our seniors and we have ragged our juniors. It was fun and we came to know each other through ragging. Even faculties support this kind of ragging to a certain point. But some recent news about ragging in campuses are shocking. they say ragging is the first step towards preparing the students to take on the real world, Is real world full of people who physically and mentally torture fellow human beings?
Ragging is fun only in minor cases. I dont believe that Ragging can equip new students to face the external world.
Most of the cases, ragging puts a black mark in the mind of many. Those who rag brutally are just insane and dont really know the value of a fellow student.. if you inquire, you can get a lot of stories where the so-called 'seniors' just continue to rag week after week (in hostels) for money and drinks. Its common.ragging has become inhuman and uncivilized physical torture or mental abuse that are occasionally reported by the media.
People crib when their freedom is taken away...but they do not realize that it is taken away cause they have misused the freedom given to them..it is good that ragging is banned, but incidents still keep cropping up......
Punish ragging like rape, says MCI; Govt unsure
New Delhi: Ragging is a heinous crime and must be punished severely. That is what the Medical Council of India (MCI) has recommended but the Government isn’t convinced.
The MCI’s recommendation reflects a menace in education institutes. There were 30 deaths because of ragging in the last eight years, says a report by the Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE), a voluntary group.
As many as 60 per cent of ragging complaints were about physical abuse and 20 per cent of them about sexual torture, says CURE.
Studies have shown that more serious ragging offences are reported from medical colleges. The MCI, the country’s regulatory body for medical education, has therefore suggested that ragging be made a cognizable offence at par with rape, atrocities against women and ill treatment of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
The MCI wants a medical college where ragging has been reported declared to be not having minimum academic standards. It wants a fine of Rs 1 lakh on a medical college for each ragging incident.
Students found guilty of ragging should be expelled from their institutes and debarred from admission into any other institute for a specific period. Victims and witnesses of ragging who do not report ragging should be punished too, suggests the MCI.
“Ragging is torture--physical and mental torture AIIMS byte. There should be severe punishment for those who commit it,” says Dr Binod Khaitan, head of dermatology department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
The MCI’s suggestions may not be accepted by the Law Ministry, and even the Human Resources Development Ministry does not agree. “Do we call our children criminal? That is an issue that should be widely deliberated upon,” says D Purandeshwari, Minister of State in the HRD Ministry.
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at 11:41 on July 22nd, 2009
According to wikipedia:
"'Ragging' means the doing of any act which causes, or is likely to cause any physical, psychological or physiological harm of apprehension or shame or embarrassment to a student, and includes– (a) teasing or abusing of playing Practical joke on, or causing hurt to any student. or (b) asking any student to do any act, or perform any thing, which he/she would not, in the ordinary course, be willing to do or perform."
For those of us in North America, the terms "teasing" or even "bullying" would be more appropriate.
Being an adult survivor of childhood peer abuse I'd firmly support laws against this kind of behaviour. It is always abusive if the target complains. When two friends tease each other, they know where to draw the line. You do not tease your friend hurtfully. When teasing a stranger, you almost always intend to hurt and choose your subject matter just as carefully to cause maximum emotional discomfort. This treatment can drastically affect one's stress levels, comfort levels, sense of community, security, and self worth. Teasing has been seen to lead to psychotic breaks, suicide, and murder. It is nothing less than a group's means of driving out someone who does not fit with group expectations. The law already proscribes physical abuse and torture so the group resorts to more subtle means of cruelty.