[Reader-list] ragging

[Tarun Dua]

On Mon, 2004-06-28 at 21:35, Asthana, Rahul wrote:
> Fourthly,what are the support mechanisms in place for the abused?Here I am
> taking more about counselling ,rather than legal. While the abused might be
> afraid to seek support from law or from any other authority, some
> institutional counselling  support where they can seek help without having
> any questions asked might be valuable to them.Furthermore, I think the
> raggers too need counselling here,much more than the ragged.

Sounds very similar to the existing ineffective and "insensitive"
efforts. 

Hey!!! what do you mean by counselling --- Dude you are gonna get ragged
any way here take this chill pill this will help you survive ragging ---
why most people survive it anyway and retain their sense of right and
wrong anyway. 

For rule of the law be upheld doesn't require  such soft structures.
Crispy and working systems need to be in place for any kind of
enforcement initially. Swift and certain punishment according to the law
applicable otherwise(I feel there is no need for existing anti-ragging
laws) will certainly help.

According to me the following are the causes that can be directly or
indirectly associated with ragging
1. Institutional Apathy: The faculty doesn't care or unable to do
anything due to bureaucracy in place.
2. Seniors can get away with it: Get away with murder as the
institutions and faculty don't want to get entangled with the law and
media (headache and  bad publicity respectively)
3. Lack of proper Systems in Institutions: A student is made to believe
not without good reasons that Seniors can help him/her with notes and
other short cut material and jugads.
4. Faculty/Administrative Staff : Can sometimes be heard saying in case
of indiscipline -- Your Ragging was not good and proper thats why you
don't respect me(Faculty) -- The mindset of Someone else's Problem 
5. Administration: Most Universities I know in the north have some real
clueless and bureaucratic administration which requires students to fill
up the examination forms every semester/year and other ways to bring
them in contact with the insensitive self (like rectifying the computer
generated marksheets, depositing any kind of fees related to
examinations and hazaar manual mistakes committed by these overworked
"clerks") . They are the scourge of both the students and faculty
actually. All this insensitivity and inefficiency and impotence of the
"supporting" system reinforces the belief of the seniors that they can
get away with it. This non-transparent system breeds a certain degree of
crack-a-ability(cracking a course instead of studying and doing well in
a course) through known jugads which becomes the special stick to beat
the un-clued juniors with.

-Tarun

-- 
The Jogoths have the most highly advanced bureaucracy ever devised by
any sentient species.  In order to eat breakfast the normal Jogoth has
to fill out seventeen forms in triplicate, indicating what they intend
to eat, how they intend to prepare it, who will be eating with them (the
other people also have to fill out seventeen forms, and the bureaucrats
will not stint in their efforts to check the forms against each other),
what the seating arrangement will be at the table (an extra form
required if the meal is to be served at the counter, and another if it
is to be eaten standing up), what steps have been taken to ensure that
no one present has had this same dish for breakfast in the past ten
days, and a dozen other forms besides.  Rather than being daunted for
this, the average Jogoth affirms that "it's nice to have some light
paperwork to get you started in the morning."