Ragging

Scenario 1: You have finished 12 years of schooling and today's your first day at college. As you and another bunch of new students make your way into the college grounds, and attend your first few classes, the excitement of being in college gives way to fear. You are accosted by senior students within the same college and asked questions which humiliate you, as well as ordered to take part in tasks which seem pointless. You cannot protest, due to fear of being ostracised. Although the institution as outlawed this practice and created infrastructure to eliminate it, it still goes on. You are constantly picked on, with some activities bordering on abuse, until a "Freshers day" when suddenly, all those seniors are now your "best friends".

Scenario 2: You have finished your degree and today's your first day in an organisation. Let's say that the organisation is a huge multi-national. As you and a bunch of other new employees enter into the company, you are accosted by others in the organisation. You haven't even met your manager yet, but you are asked to do fill in water bottles, sing songs and answer questions which invade your privacy. When you protest, you are told that this is what happens to each and every new employee that arrives in the company. You are also told that although HR frowns on this behaviour, it is silently accepted as it brings out the "bond" between yourselves and those who have worked at Microsoft for a long time. Before you can protest further, you are told to do some more humiliating tasks. You are constantly picked on for almost a month, with the humiliation ending on a "New Employees Day" at the organisation.

So what's different between these two scenarios? Well scenario 1 is played out across most Indian institutions, every year without fail, whereas scenario 2 is completely hypothetical. If scenario 2 were to happen, in any organisation, I suspect a class action would be launched alleging harassment. In the first case, there is legislation, as well as institutional rules that prevent this from happening. In the second case, there too exists legislation as well as organisational rules to prevent this from happening. Note, I am not talking about workplace bullying which occurs in every organisation, but rather the systematic humiliation of first time employees by existing employees (AFAIK, I have never come across such an incident).

Universities and institutions of higher learning are not a well in which people draw up knowledge for their 3-5 years of tertiary education. They are a means by which young school-leavers are taught to be professional, mature adults, ready to tackle the world at large. There is evidence to prove this as well. When people are asked what they remember about their college, the answer is more often, the emphasis on soft skills, such as communication, honesty, trust, rather than the lesson in which they were taught about FPGAs. However, it is interesting that many choose to justify ragging as a sequence of events that build soft skills. I find it mildly amusing, but distasteful that I would somehow improve my communication skills, by being asked invasive questions about myself. Other justifications of ragging is that lifelong friendships are made, that boys and girls can mix with greater equality and that by being ragged, it helps develop speaking skills. I find all these excuses to be rather pathetic and if these are true, it reflects a failure of universities and colleges to address these issues.

I have been rather lucky, to attend a University that although may not be in the league of the IITs/BITSs/NITs etc, but has given me an opportunity to develop my own soft skills to complement my technical skills. There is no doubt I certainly envy the minds at work in these institutions. However, what I don't envy is the practises of ragging they do. I have been fortunate to participate in public speaking events, as well as meet with leaders of industry within university. I also share a very cordial relationship with my seniors and I have the opportunity to be taught by them for a few subjects. I believe I behave in a professional and respectful manner, in interacting with boys or girls. However, the major difference is that I was not ragged at any stage of my 1^st year in University. I was asked questions, but these questions were simply harmless, and in no way invasive to privacy. Questions included my previous school, my degree specification, my interests and hobbies. After my first year, we were told by the administration to foster a sense of belonging to the new students, by acting as mentors. Once again, there was no ragging. Many of these junior students are my good friends and we share a drink when we can.

Ragging therefore has no place in any professional relationship, and if those who indulge in it, somehow believe that this behaviour is acceptable, then I shudder to think what happens when they join the organisation.

As Gandhi once said "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind".