(Lanka-e-News- 09.May.2016, 10.00PM) In present Sri Lanka , politics has crept into all the Universities. Each of these political groups has made ragging as their basic weapon to boost their leverage and power over the other group. Since ragging has been going on for generations , it has become entrenched and turned into a cancerous growth afflicting the University structure. As soon as newcomers (freshers) enter the University those already in the Universities become seniors (males and females) . From that point of time , the seniors begin giving dastardly orders displaying their pride and forcing the freshers to heed them. Thereafter the tormentors start the ragging .Behind this ragging torture and torment are the JVP and Peratugamis , and these students who rag have been made the tools in the hands of those political parties.
The freshers are forced to dress according to the desires of these tormentors. If the fresher is a male he must completely cut off his hair on the head like a servile lackey. If the fresher is a female she must have her hair tied together and separated in two, wear rubber slippers , and a pair of earrings only can be worn as jewelry ,and nothing else.
This mad mania was well illustrated when a fresher attended classes at Kelaniya University wearing jeans a few days ago when the seniors (males and females) tried to remove her jeans . Those freshers who do not condescend are subjected to the worst torture, which aggravates step by step via diverse torture methods.
These methods include making the freshers to move on their knees , assaulting and urinating on them . All these are forcibly carried out by the seniors , based on reports. These are demented individuals who owing to their frustration and eccentricity cannot stand to see civilized disciplined and decent society. They therefore grudge them . These are seniors with inordinate sadistic desires and therefore are truly insane.
In the belief , where there is prosperity there is the deity, the students go to Universities with the mental frame to show great diligence and application to their studies , but unfortunately realization dawns on them sooner than later , it is but a place dominated by demons of death . In the end , the final outcome is : the student who entered the University with high hopes and full of optimism abandons the University education mid way.
According to statistics , owing to ragging , about 27000 students had abandoned their University studies , and about 20 students had paid with their lives .The number of students who became invalids , mentally ill and crippled are also countless. Ravilal Wimaladharma a popular artiste and lecturer , the father of Yashodha Wimaladharma fell ill and died because of the torture and torment inflicted on his daughter . There are so many such parents , which number had not been counted.
This is a most dire, dangerous and pathetic situation in Sri Lanka .Apparently , the whole country is tied up in knots before this issue despite the fact we are disgraced beyond measure before the world. In the Universities of decent civilized countries , it is the senior students who take care of the worries and woes of the freshers . This type of brutal and barbaric behavior of the seniors are never even heard in those countries. They do not know what this so called ragging is , and they absolutely frown upon this ‘syndrome’ - a creation of mentally sick and sadistic immature scoundrels. In other civilized countries the seniors do a yeoman service as mentors instead of inflicting torture on the freshers.
It is these seniors (mentors) aforementioned in those foreign Universities who stand by the freshers in their weal and woe : they ensure that the freshers get their meals duly , medicines if they fall sick , and attend to their needs. The University administration board itself appoints these mentors . Fortunately among them there are no tormentors and torturers like in Sri Lanka. When the Universities of the world are maintaining discipline , decency and civilized behavior among their students , it is natural for the world to look down on us when seniors of our Universities behave this degradingly , disgracefully and unashamedly displaying barbaric, sadistic and inhumane qualities without let or hindrance.
Based on a survey conducted by us , it is the Universities of Peradeniya , Kelaniya and Sabaragamuwa that are leading in this brutal and barbaric ragging . Last year following the ragging at Sabaragamuwa University , a female student committed suicide. At the Peradeniya University too , because of the unbearable sufferings inflicted through ragging several students of the engineering faculty left the University . They are now following the courses in private Universities. According to reports reaching us , at the Katunayake engineering technology Institute ragging is being carried out most viciously and venomously.
In any event in Sri Lanka ragging is banned legally. Based on the ragging Act , even those who aid and abet such action , as well as those who are associated with it in any way are liable to punishment. They can even be sentenced to jail. Despite this background , allowing this deplorable and abominable ragging to continue without creating an environment for the students to pursue their studies peacefully and freely after they enter the Universities is a serious situation worthy of condemnation by all. The administrative authorities of the Universities must hold themselves responsible for this grave situation.
Even now while the JVP and the Peratugamis are wielding power over the students in the Universities , 20 students died , and 27000 students abandoned their University studies. It can be imagined what calamitous and chaotic situation will prevail in the country if they wield power over the entire country.
Recently , the P.M. said , new rules and regulations shall be introduced against ragging. It is hoped those rules and regulations will become a reality soon without being shoved into the limbo of forgotten things .
Translated by Jeff
(Herein are a number of posters opposing ragging)
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by (2016-05-09 17:09:46)
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4 discussion on this news
The freshmen of this year will be seniors next year and they will do the same thing to the next year's freshmen. Is it not ragging totally against the doctrine of the JVP?
-- by Wimal Ellepola on 2016-05-09
very appropriate article. Statistics reveal the gravity of the situation. Strategies should be implemented by universities to educate senior students about human rights, eg. right of a student to attend lectures,to a safe and healthy environment, to speak freely and to wear an appropriate dress etc. Students resort to abnormal and aggressive behaviour due to various mental disorders (eg. Sadism is enjoying yourself by inflicting pain on others). These students have to be subject to a psychiiatric assessment, and appropriate treatment provided.
-- by gamini on 2016-05-09
Ragging has been there almost from the day the university system started in Sri Lanka, but in the early days it took the form of harmless antics that even the freshers did not mind very much. However, over the years, it became worse and worse until now it has reached the level of actual torture. This sad situation is entirely due to successive weak kneed governments and weak kneed university administrators who did not take stern action to punish the perpetrators. The moment ragging began to get out of hand, If a few of the ringleaders were sacked from their universities and thrown in jail for some years under the existing laws, this criminal behaviour would have stopped long ago. Even now, the Prime Minister is talking of studying the Indian model to eliminate ragging in universities. All these studies are not necessary. What is needed is for university administrators and the government to take firm action under the existing law.
-- by Kingsley Wijesinhe on 2016-05-11
If this practice of ragging which has gained ground over the years is to be stopped, deterrent punishment is called for. The administration should be stern and should inflict deterrent punishment on the culprits. An undertaking on oath should be taken from the students at the time of their admission to the university that they will not resort to ragging during their period of studentship and if later on they resort to ragging they should be expelled from the university forthwith. If this suggestion is implemented ragging will disappear from the universities very soon.
-- by Peter on 2016-05-15
