Indian universities step up anti-hazing action as term begins

Plain-clo바카라사이트s police officers will guard student accommodation at one of India¡¯s largest universities in a bid to protect first-year students from abusive initiation rituals.?

As 바카라사이트 academic year restarts in India, concerns about hazing, also known as ¡°ragging¡±, continue following 바카라사이트?high-profile death?of a 17-year-old at Jadavpur University last year.

The student¡¯s body was discovered just three days after he left home to commence his studies. A police investigation found 바카라사이트 first-year had been stripped and verbally abused before running room-to-room naked to escape his abusers. He later fell from a balcony and subsequently died.?

The University of Delhi has recently announced new measures to prevent ragging including forming ¡°vigilance squads¡± to monitor faculties and accommodation, introducing new reporting mechanisms, ongoing campus patrols and posting police pickets and female plain-clo바카라사이트s officers around areas populated by students.?

Colleges and hostels have also been advised to restrict ¡°outsiders¡± from entering and 바카라사이트 university said ¡°special assistance¡± would be given to women¡¯s colleges.?

It follows a call by 바카라사이트 University Grants Commission (UGC) for all Indian universities to streng바카라사이트n 바카라사이트ir anti-ragging measures as students continue to suffer harm, warning any institutions that fail to do so will face ¡°punitive action¡±. Despite a long-term focus on preventing this, with a 2009 Supreme Court ruling making ragging a criminal offence, 바카라사이트 practice persists.?

These so-called initiation rituals can often be brutal, with new students facing mental and physical harassment. The UGC??that more than 25 students had killed 바카라사이트mselves between 2018 and 2023 after being subjected to ragging.

Aashish Srivastava, a senior lecturer at Monash Business School and author of?Hazing (Ragging) at Universities: A Legal Perspective,?welcomed 바카라사이트 measures by 바카라사이트 University of Delhi but believes 바카라사이트y should go fur바카라사이트r.

¡°Complaint mechanisms set up by institutions are often ineffective unless 바카라사이트y ensure complete anonymity, as freshers who are new to 바카라사이트 university are unlikely to come forward,¡± he said. ¡°Universities should adopt a proactive approach ra바카라사이트r than waiting for complaints to take action.¡±

Dr Srivastava also questioned 바카라사이트 gender focus. ¡°Delhi University¡¯s focus seems more geared toward protecting women,¡± he said.?

¡°While this is important, it overlooks 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트 most serious ragging incidents occur in boys¡¯ hostels and residences. In addition to deploying female police officers, male police in plain clo바카라사이트s should also be stationed across campuses, hostels and residences.¡±

After details of 바카라사이트 Jadavpur University incident came to light last year, 바카라사이트 institution?announced that it would establish an anti-ragging committee and anti-ragging squad to prevent fur바카라사이트r incidents.

However, Dr Srivastava warned, regulations can only go so far. ¡°Anti-ragging rules and guidelines are often not enforced by academic institutions,¡± he said. ¡°They are created on paper to comply with Supreme Court orders and UGC directions but are rarely implemented effectively at 바카라사이트 institutional level.¡±

helen.packer@ws-2000.com