I am Chaitanya, a class 12th student of an International school based in Delhi. I have aspire of graduating in Mass Communications.
I am very eager to complete my 12th grade with good marks so that I can persue my dream. However, again there is one thought, which causes a hindrance in my mind. It’s the idea of being RAGGED.
Ragging has become a complementary feature of college life. When I, personally, meet a first year college student, the first question I shoot is — “how was your ragging?” . It seems to be a question which would yield an interesting answer.
The feeling of answering that question myself gives me jitters. The thought itself makes me nervous. There are many questions, which keep on flashing in my mind — “What will they make me do?” , “Will they hurt me?” And even sometimes “Will I be fine after it?”. These questions worry me a lot.
My cousin, who did her graduation in engineering from a prestigious women’s college, remembers those dark days where ragging had become a part of her day to day life. She still recollects those horrible one and a half hour bus travel where her seniors used to make her stand for the whole journey. She was made to apply henna only to her fingers and not her palms and was forced to make two plaits. She did complain to her professors, but it was futile.
It was not even the surface of what she had to face later. All these things seemed petty compared to what was about to approach her.
It was not only the seniors of her college but also the seniors of the adjacent boy’s college who started ragging her. She was told to go and propose another junior, but she refused. Then they started blackmailing her and started to annoy her every single day. This day to day affair stopped only when her father went to the management and threatened them that he would file a police complaint for overlooking the case of ragging. It was then that stern measures were taken and my cousin could again study in tranquility.
Her stories make my views about college worse. The word SENIORS at this point seem to be correlated to the gloomy and the harmful.
But then again, I have a mentor of mine who is doing his Mass Communications graduation from Pune. When I asked him how his experience was, he coolly tells me that his seniors were very friendly and cooperative. He never had any ragging.
Again, this story raises a hope in my heart that I won’t have to face any ragging.
Yet, I do have many questions in my mind. When the government of our nation, which claims to know the best for us, has banned ragging then why is it still, that ragging occurs in the colleges? Why it is that students like me, who are about to enter their college lives, are still scared to go and join the colleges as a fresher? Why does it have to be this way, can’t we all have a start where we are not scared and tensed? Can’t we all be happy while stepping into what most consider as the best phase of our lives?
These questions have remained unanswered until now.
Through this article, I ask myself whether ragging is good or not. However, I only get one answer from both my heart and my mind.
NO…NO…NO………….