Ragging cases in country on the decline, statistics show

MUMBAI: Ragging, which is a matter of concern in colleges and universities across the country, has purportedly declined since 2013, statistics from the national anti-ragging helpline show.

Figures made public by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as well as the anti-ragging campaigner Aman Satya Kachroo Trust indicates that the number of complaints has declined overall.

In Maharashtra, for instance, the number of calls registered by UGC’S anti-ragging helpline declined from 41 in 2014 to 17 in 2015.

Uttar Pradesh registered 53 cases of ragging last year, down from 94 in 2013 and 80 in 2014. In West Bengal, another state which reports a large number of cases, numbers fell from 81 in 2013 to 54 and 53 in the next two years.

Experts are, however, sceptical about the figures. According to them, while there has been a decline in the number of complaints registered, the UGC figures grossly underestimate the real situation in colleges and universities where ragging is still a concern. Colleges and university authorities often tend to hide cases rather than solve the problem, experts say.

“Universities as well as activists across the country have been doing a lot to spread awareness amidst students. While the numbers have come down, much needs to be done to put an end to the menace,” said Rajendra Kachroo, founder of the Aman Satya Kachroo Trust.

“For starters, institutes need to stop considering ragging complaints as a blow to their stature in society and instead, treat it like violation of human rights.”

In March 2009, Kachroo’s son Aman, then a 19-yr-old student of Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College and Hospital in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, was found dead after being ragged by four seniors.