Taking lives quietly: The ragging pandemic of Sri Lanka
By: Paramie Jayakody
Tags: University, Sri Lanka, Writing, Ragging, Bullying

The local university ragging system has been a long established ‘cultural tradition’ in Sri Lanka, but is it now just a tradition and not a cult?

Starting off as a bit of harmless fun and an initiation ritual, ragging has evolved into a nationwide cult that has created waves so devastating that the past few years have seen several cases of injuries, complaints, torture chambers and even deaths. And yet this phenomenon continues raging.

Think of ragging as a similar practice to hazing carried out in places like regions such as North America, France and Portugal. Dubbed an “initiation ritual” by some, ragging is predominantly seen in higher educational institutions across South Asian countries. Namely, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. A typical ragging scenario involves abuse (verbally or even physically), humiliation and harassment of new university students or junior students (aka first year students). The ragging is carried out either by students who are one grade above or by very senior students.

How did it start?

Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), ragging is not a new concept. In fact, the very first forms of ragging can be traced back to the 7th-8th Century A.D.

In Greek culture, for example, new entrants to sports events were often subjected to various types of humiliation and harassment under the pretext of “building team spirit” and to “build a strong character”.

Over time, this technique of ragging was passed down from generation to generation where it reared its ugly head in the military forces and how new soldiers were trained. But it wasn’t done there. Eagerly on the lookout for fresh new victims, ragging also made its presence felt in the education system.

US Universities for example, carried out ragging as a means of initiating students into various groups. Here, budding students would have to carry out a certain type of task in order to pledge their “loyalty” to the group they were looking to join. As time went on, these so-called traditions were picked up by other countries. As this happened, the severity of ragging also increased in leaps and bounds.

What’s the situation then and now?

While much of the developed world has seen a disappearance in ragging, the same cannot be said for third-world and developing nations. Heading these nations in terms of ragging is none other than Sri Lanka. Primarily seen in Government universities, ragging takes on a number of forms.

For example, first year students may be required to dress a certain way or refrain from using certain accessories such as belts. They are told to act a certain way, eat a certain way, talk and walk a certain way and even sit a certain way. Those with a keen eye would observe that this is a tactic used by the military to break a person down so that they can be moulded as required.

With verbal torture, for example, you take away a person’s right to speak for themselves and also damage their personal space. Students are asked questions about themselves that delve deeper into their personal space as time goes on. Failing to comply with these “initiations” usually result in the student being a social outcast from the rest of the students. In more serious cases, students are subjected to physical and sexual abuse.

The culmination of all these types of ragging takes its toll on the mental stability of university students. They spend a majority of their lives sheltered in school. Stepping into university can definitely be a daunting process, especially if you’re socially awkward or are not sure how to interact with other people, perhaps of the opposite gender. With all these emotions and variables in play, the mind of a new university student is simply bombarded with nre information, leaving their state of mind in a precarious situation. As such, a number of first year students subjected to ragging drop out of university, and/or are diagnosed with PTSD and depression.

Depending on the initial mental state of the student, some are even driven to commit suicide rather than endure the ragging that goes on. This is despite the University staff vehemently emphasizing that ragging doesn’t exist within their hallowed grounds. If cases of ragging are brought to the attention of lecturers, they simply turn a blind eye, or are rumored to secretly support it.

What has happened recently?

As of August 2019, there was an actual discovery of torture chambers being discovered in some state universities. Added to, approximately 1989 students left state universities due to vicious sexual and physical abuse.

The Chairman of the University Grants Commission Prof. Mohan de Silva was quoted stating that “The situation has gotten out of control in state universities”. For example, February 2019 saw an incident where senior students from the the Faculty of Management of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura were hurling verbal abuse at junior students, preventing them from attending lectures. Similarly the following month in March, a freshman at the Diyagama Campus of the University of Moratuwa committed suicide because he was unable to withstand the anguish of the ragging that he was subjected to.

But the horror doesn’t end there. In June, four students of the Eastern University were hospitalized due to injuries sustained from the ragging they were subjected to. This was followed up by another student from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Ruhuna who opened up about the ragging that he and other freshmen were subjected to.

How do we stop it if we’re a part of the university system?

It is of vital importance that ragging be stopped. But how does one do that? Most of the time, students who undergo ragging are too afraid to speak up because of the backlash it can cause. Lecturers turning a blind eye and a deaf ear also play their part in demotivating students from standing up or speaking up against ragging.

On the other hand, anti-ragging movements such as the one seen at the University of Peradeniya are also a safe haven for those who want no part played in ragging, provided they can keep their heads straight while observing the situation in the ragging circles. These movements absolutely forbid ragging and welcome all students and provide them with a rag-free university life. On the flip side, anti-ragging movements are also labelled as social outcasts and students are urged to refrain from communicating with any member from an anti-ragging movement. Doing so can also result in extra ragging being carried out to the members in the movement.

Having an online portal to report cases of ragging can also help raise awareness and provide an online safe haven for ragging victims as well. In fact, the UGC launched a Ragging Complaint Portal for this very same purpose. However, the sheer amount of personal information needed from the person lodging the complaint can also discourage people from making complaints. On one hand it’s true that this is done so that no one can misuse or abuse the portal. But on the other hand, if the details of these complaints were to fall into the wrong hands, then it also spells disaster to the innocent people who just want to put an end to ragging.

Another bold but powerful step is to intervene. If you’re a student at a university and you are aware of ragging going on, take the initiative to intervene and stop the ragging. Even if you stop a student being ragged for a day, that’s one less day that he/she has to undergo the trauma of a rag. The most important element in an intervention is to break the social stigma around keeping quiet. “Oh it’s a common thing to have ragging here” is not an excuse. Remember, ignorance is not always bliss.

What can we do as the general public?

As members of the general public, we have it in ourselves to put an end to ragging. But how? Well it can be as simple as saying “No” to ragging. If we teach our younger generation that saying “No” is a valid reason, then that’s the stepping stone to stop ragging. The important factor is to strip away the power of ragging movements. We don’t need to resort to violence. We simply need to outmaneuver and outsmart them. If you know someone or see someone being ragged, make a scene. Post it on social media. Put it as your Instagram story. If it comes down to naming and shaming, then so be it.

Is ragging necessary? Or justifiable?

Why carry out ragging? Therein lies an important question. Unfortunately, it just so happens to be a question that we cannot provide a direct answer to. But there are a number of possible reasons that might point us in the direction of why ragging is carried out. If you look at State or Government universities, these are educational institutions that levy no charges for students coming there to carry out their education.

Ragging is not necessary, neither is it justifiable. It does nothing to boost the attractiveness of a University’s hallowed grounds. Being a part of a ragging movement does nothing to improve your self image neither nor the University’s. Long story short, ragging is an inhumane act and participating in ragging someone else, regardless of the scenario is a disrespect to human life and in turn humanity.

Among the moderately rich and powerful who gain entrance to state universities are also those who are from financially unstable families. Both these parties have good reason to initiate ragging. The rich because they think they can buy their way through life and the less privileged who see themselves as evangelists proclaiming the hardships that they’ve been through and are adamant that all students should see life through their eyes and be thankful.

Whatever the reason might be, seeking justice for any casualties caused by ragging is usually met with a lot of shouting and general agreement before it is quietly swept under the University’s rug and then slowly forgotten about. The only reminder being the scars of those who survived and the painful memories left with those who lost loved ones to ragging.