Why is the law not implemented against ragging?

Ragging in universities seems to have claimed another innocent life, that  of 23-year-old undergraduate Charith Dilshan, a second-year student of the Department of Engineering Technology at the Sabaragamuwa University. He allegedly committed suicide at his home in Gampola on April 29 due to ragging by the senior students of the university, according to his fellow students.

Accordingly, four senior students have been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) while a three-member committee has been appointed by the university to investigate  the incident. 

This is not the first-time ragging has led to deaths and cases of grievous  harm among university students.

Rupa Ratnaseeli,  who was paralysed in a ragging related incident at the Peradeniya university in 1975,  committed suicide in 2002, Chaminda Punchihewa  died as a result of ragging at the Ruhunu university in 1993, while Prasanga Niroshana,  died as a result of ragging at the School of Agriculture, Angunakolapallassa.  S. Varapragash died from  kidney failure following severe ragging at Peradeniya university in 1997, Kelum Thushara Wijetunge  died in the same way and in the same year as Varapragash, and one female student  committed suicide and another was  partially paralysed due to ragging at the Ruhunu university – these are among the more infamous incidents that came to light and shocked the public.

Apart from these Samantha Vithanage, a third year Management student of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura who pioneered an anti-ragging campaign, was killed on November 7, 2002 while at a discussion to stop the brutal practice of ragging in his faculty.

Why do the senior students of state universities continue ragging against the junior students? The pro-ragging students justify their lunatic activities by calling it familiarisation of freshers. How can a ban on jeans serve the familiarisation? And also, how can causing physical harm including sexuall harassment carried out on various pretexts such as defying the senior students’ “orders” serve that purpose? After all what is the right the seniors have to take charge of familiarisation in universities? Who entrusted it to them?

Some university academics say that one obstacle in containing ragging is the hesitation on the part of victims to complain and the difficulty in identifying the culprits even after such a complaint? This cannot be always true. However, it cannot also be a secret for the student unions as to what is going on and who rags whom. 

Therefore, it is the responsibility of the student unions especially those affiliated to so-called revolutionary political parties to expose the culprits. If they are true to their ideologies, they should know that what is going on in universities in the name of familiarisation is in fact not  familiarisation. It is merely an excuse for giving vent to their inhuman mindset and vulgarity, since sexual and gender violence too, has become part of present-day ragging in universities.

Ragging in universities and other higher education institutions is the best indication of the hypocrisy of those students’ unions, professional organisations and political parties that claim to stand for  students’ rights and free education. The students of these unions have been taking to the streets in thousands even at the drop of a hat, claiming that  free education is in danger. However, they are not concerned about the psychological trauma the junior students have been undergoing due to ragging. This is ironical because  they themselves have undergone the same humiliating experiences in the recent past. 

In 2018, the then Higher Education Minister Wijayadasa Rajapakshe said that for the previous two years, nearly 2000 students who entered universities had left them due to inhuman ragging. Some of those who are forced to leave the universities might join private universities here and abroad if they can afford to,  while for the majority of victims the dream of higher education  would be dashed. What a crime! And ludicrously, these unions agitated against  local private universities as well such as  SAITM a few years back. 

The law against ragging that was adopted in 1998 provides for those found guilty of ragging to be sentenced to ten years of rigorous imprisonment. Yet, though we have heard of ragging stories and  students being arrested in subsequent years,  we hardly hear of students being given prison terms for the past twenty seven years. Then what is the point in having such laws?

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