Dental college expels ragging students from hostel

India: A government dental college expelled 14 students from their hostel for taking part in ragging, the colloquial term for an initiation ritual usually practiced in higher education institutions in South Asian countries.

Ragging involves the psychological or physical abuse of new entrants by the senior students as part of an initiation process.

The decision was made in response to a formal complaint filed by Assam-based Silchar Dental College’s first-year students to the University Grants Commission (UGC), said the dental college principal Manjula Das. 

No physical assault occurred

The Anti-Ragging Monitoring unit of the College received the complaint from UGC and inquired into the allegations.

“They named seniors from different years in the complaint and we immediately identified the accused,” she said. 

The students have been expelled from the hostel for six months, a relatively light penalty since no physical assault had taken place

“The punishment is defined based on the intensity of the crime and in this case, the victims were not physically assaulted. We haven’t stopped the accused from attending the classes but they won’t be able to stay in the hostel,” the principal added.

Before it gets worse

According to a first-year student, ragging activities have persisted at the college for quite some time. The decision to file a formal complaint was made following a recent incident at Dibrugarh University where a student had jumped off the hostel’s second floor.

“We were facing minor humiliation here but if we don’t stand against it now, things may turn worse like (what occurred in) Dibrugarh University,” the student, who asked not to be named, said.

The local police are monitoring the situation but cannot intervene unless a complaint is lodged.

“The education institute is looking at the matter and we are ready to support them. But we cannot intervene unless they lodge (a) complaint,” said Numal Mahatta, Cachar superintendent of police.

A festering problem

This is the fourth instance of alleged ragging that has been reported in the northeastern state within the space of 10 days.

Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has spoken out against the banned initiation practice, saying his government will act tough to eliminate the menace of ragging from society.

In October this year, the Dental Council of India (DCI) issued guidelines on curbing the practice of ragging in dental institutions. According to the guidelines, all institutions bear the responsibility to prevent the practice within their schools.