Eliminating “Ragging” – Who Is Willing To Do What It Takes ?

By Asoka N.I. Ekanayaka –March 3, 2017

Prof. Asoka N.I. Ekanayaka

It is good to observe the prevailing public uproar following the arrest of student thugs of the University of Peradeniya for ragging new entrants in a torture house they had set up for this purpose. However as someone who has seen it all before and can look back on a lifetime of frustrating endeavor against “ragging” ( an unfortunate euphemism for human torture in the campus) , one may be excused for being somewhat skeptical about the ultimate outcome of the current hue and cry and media publicity over ragging, before the dust settles and all is as it was before. Consequently this article is intended to set out some critical perspectives based on long personal experience resisting this abomination, for the benefit of those who may be serious about doing something about it today.

During 30 years of relentless struggle against this depravity as a university teacher and Dean of a Faculty one has often been up against the weakness and conciliatory mentality of university authorities to whom what matters is peace at any price on campus whatever the sacrifice of moral principle. In a world where outward appearances count more than the inner reality University authorities often share with other heads of institutions the vanity of wanting to show the world that all is well in their own neck of the woods. To frankly concede that things are bad and can only get better is not considered good for the institutional image nor does it flatter the ego of those who run it !

On one occasion I recall some brave anti rag students having to endure the stubborn inactivity of even a deputy proctor in the faculty where it is the primary duty of proctors to ensure student discipline, so much so that one wondered on whose side he was. And then there was the persistent apathy ignorance and naivety of a large majority of the academic community who couldn’t care less about the problem of ragging, so that the few who motivated by a deep sense of moral outrage and zero tolerance are passionate about eliminating this evil, find themselves out on a limb being resented as eccentric mavericks who are rocking the boat.

Sadly the few who have the courage and inspiration to fight this evil far from being appreciated frequently have to pay a painful price for their convictions. In my experience idealistic “anti-rag” students who bravely refuse to be ragged are compelled to be non-residential throughout their course despite the financial cost as it would be too dangerous for them to remain in halls of residence. Such high principled students are the cream of our youth with their commitment to freedom and human dignity. Yet I have known them to be abused, threatened, and assaulted by student thugs, and even resented by the teaching staff and administration, while being persecuted in various ways throughout their undergraduate course. Many are the occasions when such fine students have filed into my office in distress seeking sympathy and support during a time of trial. Indeed university authorities see to shrink from even using the expression “anti rag” for fear of alienating the larger student population.

Incredibly as a professor I myself have had to endure my share of hardship for being an inveterate opponent of campus ragging. I recall the terrific explosion of a powerful firecracker being set off just outside my bungalow at dead of night followed by a nasty telephone call. My vehicle parked in the faculty premises was broken into, ATM card stolen, and the pouch containing vehicle documents taken and thrown by the roadside where miraculously it was retrieved by a generous ice cream seller ! In 2006 one Faculty was plastered with offensive posters against a certain professor with the students on strike, all because he had on principle objected to the sham of a blood donation campaign organised by the seniors with its subtle overtones of coercion at a time when new entrants were being ragged by seniors. Some of the posters implied that he was a terrorist sympathiser, a dicey thing in the bad old days where anybody who had been so stigmatized was fair game. It transpired that in his naivety the Dean of the Faculty had himself approved the blood donation so that when trouble broke out this staff member was isolated with the Faculty Board looking at him as if he was the troublemaker, a classic case of ‘victim blaming’ ! It did not matter that in a vote of thanks several years before a Vice Chancellor had said of this ‘victim’ when he was stepping down as Dean of the Faculty that he “ appreciated the ethical and moral stand taken by him in arriving at decisions whenever there was a crisis in the university”. A decade later the sordid posters that should have been taken down immediately, were allowed to pollute the walls of the Faculty all day until late afternoon before they were finally removed. That exemplifies the attitude of the system towards the problem and those who fight against it. That is why the problem remains.

Such stories need to be told and there is more. But such examples of painful struggle point to the fact that the problem of campus torture is a malignant evil that goes much deeper and is far more complex and resistant to solution than people think. Despite much talk, pious statements and periodic howls by the media, campus torture will never be eliminated unless there is a fundamental transformation at the level of both heart and head in those dealing with the malady.

Firstly, at the level of the “heart” people must be moved by a profound sense of moral outrage. There is a world of a difference between simply being concerned about something opposing it or even condemning it, and reacting to it with passionate moral outrage. Sadly that is what is missing. Soon after Black July 1983 I recall the late Bishop Lakshman Wickremesinghe controversially calling for an expression of “shame and apology”. That was moral outrage. I recall telling students that moral outrage is when you feel so bad about something that it keeps you awake at night. The converse is a passion for righteousness that Jesus famously referred to in his Sermon of the Mount blessing those who “ hunger and thirst after righteousness”, where the desperate yearning for righteousness justice and truth is like food and drink to a man dying of starvation. How much sheer moral outrage about the torture of new entrants do we see in politicians, university administrators, academic staff, parents and society in general ? I wonder how many university teachers burn with the moral outrage and indignation that keeps them awake at night ?!! But that is what makes all the difference.

Far back in 1983 I wrote to the UGC Chairman Professor FSCP Kalpage proposing that a central task force or steering committee of people driven by moral outrage comprising “committed individuals with total unrelenting uncompromising commitment to the complete elimination of all forms of ragging”, be established with wide powers to study the problem, make recommendations, monitor their implementation and evaluate their impact. He responded asking for a list of persons who would fit that description ! I could think of very few then. I wonder how many there are now. However today 34 years later I hope the government would identify such a dedicated group and constitute them as a powerful task force coming directly under the President / Prime Minister with the task of formulating an effective final solution to completely eradicate ragging in our educational institutions within a specific time frame.

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