Chennai: When Teertha (name changed) joined a college in the small town of Tiruchy, her inclination to dressing up in jeans more than the Indian salwaar-kurti caught attention for a negative reason.
What made her different made her an easy target for ragging at her college, with her seniors mocking her for not dressing the Indian way. Eventually, she refused to go to college, and her performance in academics and health took a plunge.
Tamil Nadu, with 33 ragging cases reported last year, remains among the top five states with the highest number of cases reported on the National Anti-Ragging help line.
The National Anti-Ragging Help Line received 515 reports on ragging in 2016, an increase from 423 cases reported in 2015, but a decline from the previous two years.
“Bullying and ragging have a negative impact on the person causing major changes in diet, sleep, and mental well-being,” said psychologist B. Elayaraja, a counselor at state helpline104.
“A 14-year-old school going teenager, who was obese was bullied by his seniors making him miserable. Crying for not wanting to go to school, he started spending time playing video games. Acts of bullying shatter the self-esteem of a person,” he said while referring to a student who underwent four sessions of counselling spanning two months with this psychologist to get over the fear.
He added that institute members like the principal should stand up staunchly against ragging and student welfare associations should be present at all institutions to make a note and help students.
“Such incidents happen with 2-3 per cent of the students in an institute but could lead to higher rate dropouts,” he continued. Professor Raj Kachroo founded the Aman Movement, a national campaign against ragging, after his 19-year-old son Aman died on being beaten by drunken seniors in the pretext of ragging in 2005 at his medical school in Himachal Pradesh.
“Our movement is not just about two help lines. The help lines also help the student track complaints. Our job is also to make everyone comply with the law. Every institute should follow the law — including forming anti-ragging committees and display posters mentioning ragging is banned and a punishable offense,” Professor Kachroo told DC.
