Torture of silent lambs: Kerala's educational institutions grapple with rising cases of violent ragging

Unimaginably brutal acts of ragging are surfacing in Kerala's schools and colleges. In one case, a student was forced to lick toilet seats; in another, a boy was stripped half-naked and dumbbells were placed on his genitals. Over the past six weeks, six cases of ragging have been reported across the state's educational institutions. What is more horrific is the magnitude of the violent deeds deployed by the perpetrators for minor reasons like not providing the seniors money to celebrate a birthday party or in some cases, standing up against the ruling political hegemony in the campus.
Three cases have emerged from medical colleges under the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS)-Sree Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences, Govt Medical College Konni, and Malabar Medical College. Two cases were reported in University of Kerala-affiliated colleges-Sree Narayana College, Varkala, and CSI Institute of Legal Studies.
The latest incident took place at the Govt College of Nursing, Kottayam, under the directorate of medical education (DME). This was the most brutal of all, in which the victim was tortured with a divider, and dumbbells were placed on his genitals.
Ragging is now being reported in schools as well. In Kannur, Class XII students broke a junior's shoulder for allegedly "disrespecting them." In Kochi, a mother claimed her Class IX son took his own life after being bullied at school, though authorities denied any ragging incident.
In 90% of cases, both victims and perpetrators are male, with colleges under UGC being the main hotspots. Unlike the national trend, where medical colleges report the highest ragging cases, Kerala sees fewer incidents in these institutions.
The rise in student drug and alcohol abuse is also a major concern. "Drug addiction may also be fueling violence on campuses. We must act immediately to prevent this dangerous trend," said KUHS vice chancellor Dr Mohanan Kunnummal, who is also the VC of the University of Kerala.
Gaurav Singal from Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE), an anti-ragging NGO, pointed out systemic failures: "At present Kerala is in the news, but the problem is seen on campuses across India. Toothless anti-ragging laws, insensitivity of institutional heads to the issue as they are more concerned with burying the issue rather than stopping it and the degradation of the next generation, especially of alpha males, who are probably consuming a lot of mental poison and vomiting it out on others are the real challenges," he said.
A SAVE survey found that in most cases, including the Kottayam incident, the official anti-ragging helpline failed to work. Shockingly, 95% of institutions did not file a police complaint as required by law, acting only when public outrage erupted.
Adding to the problem is the political patronage given to the accused in the name of student politics. "The severity of physical assault during ragging is increasing. There is outright cruelty involved in it. The minds of these children have become so cruel that they lack empathy," said Dr C J John, senior consultant psychiatrist at Medical Trust Hospital.