Ragging

A bunch of new joinees… Aha… One would think – Some change in the overall appeal (We will not pass the judgement i.e. ‘good’ or ‘bad’ until we have a thorough analysis done on the ‘impact’ of the new change) of the Office. However, since morning the excitement which usually accompanies such events is missing. There is some visible change with multiple groups of colleagues coming down to have a look at the new bunch of ‘Fachchas/ Fachchis’ and some going out of their way to extend a warm welcome to them and still I think that the ‘Occasion’ could have been grander. This preconceived notion about such an event can be traced back to my background. As an Engineering student (especially in second year), you wait eagerly for the ‘New Arrivals’ (at least it used to be that way when I joined Engineering and I think there is no need to mention the reason behind such anticipation).

The much dreaded ‘ragging’ (Am I politically incorrect in using this term?) period eventually turned out to be the ‘bonding agent’ for the 2002-2006 batch of my undergraduate college. The reason – A common enemy (read seniors) brought us together and there was a sense of association, a feeling of oneness and above all an understanding of each other’s plight. We were forced to interact with people, came to know of the names (by face recognition algorithm) of a batch of around 250 in just 7 days (I still don’t know the names of many in my current organization despite spending nearly a year here) and were put to some difficult challenges which made the entire batch gel as a unit. We still fondly remember the day when we ran into jungles (oblivious of the fact that we could face a cheetah or a tiger in our expedition) just because of the fear of seniors or the day when we were first introduced to our seniors (in a very peculiar manner – every college used to have a typical style. Just imagine the ‘Jahan panah tussi great ho’ of 3 idiots and you would realize to what I’m pointing at). And it was not that the seniors were out always hunting for us. They were supposed to be mentors and guardians looking after their juniors and apart from few psychoheads they used to do a perfect job. Obviously when we went to second year, we were eagerly waiting for the ‘Freshers’- Some would have got the opportunity to get the revenge of the thrashing they received by doing the same to their juniors, however, most would have loved to interact with the new lot and welcoming them to the family with some fun. That was not to happen – a diktat from the college management made it almost impossible for the seniors to interact with juniors. It was not as if there were no earlier attempts to stop ragging but this time the management was determined and they succeeded. However, in hindsight, they also assured that the subsequent batches never shared the warmth and the bond of the previous batches. My friends were in the college this winter and the Faculty informed them that the current batch of students lack the kind of association we used to have with our batch, college, department and faculty. Sometimes we overlook the other side of the coin while implementing certain things. I am not supporting ragging but I think there has to be a rethink on the exact definition of ragging. Maybe it can be introduced as a ‘Management game’ or ‘Strategy exercise’ in which members of a particular side never knows that they are a part of the game.

In my post graduate college, there was no ragging. No one could ever complain of harassment because there never was one. However, there was a process in place which introduced us to the ways of our college - an elaborately planned arrangement which made sure that once we were through the phase, we were ready to take on the challenges thrown to us by the rigour of the post graduate study. Not only this, the senior batch used to go out of their way to ensure that every piece falls in place so that the training is ‘effective’ and ‘fruitful’.

Why did I write this post?

I really do not know now. The above was written two days back sitting in the office when I was awaiting some information to proceed in my work (Yeah, sometimes you have to wait that long … J ). Now that two days have passed I really do not have any clue on why I wrote this piece in the first place. However, somewhere deep inside there is a feeling that the ‘New Joinees’ should be given the opportunity to explore the fun side of the organization as well – The reception could have been different and they could have been involved in a fun filled ‘Strategy game’.

Do I support ragging?

Well this is a tricky one. I do not support thrashing and that one thing is for sure. But I’m pained when I see students attempting suicides or leaving colleges even if they are not allowed to have their favourite fish (Yes this is true) or trivial issues like this. ‘Ragging’ (even if you exclude the physical part) used to make people mentally strong and prepared them for any adversity they would face in future. I have never ragged or harassed anybody but I do acknowledge the ‘positives’ and some ‘negatives’ which that brief phase gave me. On whole the positives outweigh the negatives (Of course I have not faced the kind of thrashing that would leave deep scar on me for the rest of my life).

P.S: I only think that there should be a rethink in the strategy which regulates the interaction of seniors with juniors. Of course do not allow anything that will scar the psyche of the ‘future’ of our country but allow the space which allows a healthy interaction and also prepare the new students (just out in the big bad world) for the adversities they are likely to face in future.

Disclaimer: This post in no way promotes ragging or any similar concept. There had been and there are still many ‘sickening’ form of practices prevalent in our institutions in the guise of ragging – those should be stopped immediately.