Chal Basanti item number pe dance karne ka! Go and propose the ugliest girl in the college! Give an account of your daily routine starting from waking up, prefixed by ‘in my pink pajamas’, boys are told to propose boys! Give your intro in hindi !This goes out to the girls - Oil your hair, keep it tied, , no trousers, no short tops only salwar kameez! And the pranks of the seniors list to infinity....

The phase of schooling ends and of college begins. Students eagerly waiting for results with fingers crossed and regular temple visits. The announcement of the results marks the admission saga with the students entering the arena of college!

First day to college, freshers dressed in their best, flaunting their dresses and attitude! But no one will be spared, as all fall preys to the bullying gourmets of the seniors!

Some of the over confident Fuchas are targeted and are ragged ruthlessly while the shy ones are easily spared.

Ragging or hazing is the systematic ritual. It involes physical and psychological abuse of freshmen (freshers) or other juniors by their seniors in an Educational Setup.

The phenomena of ragging can be traced back to the 7th or 8th century A.D.its origion was first noted in the Greek Culture, mainly in the Sports community, with time spreading to the Military System then finally entering the Education System.
Ragging was brought in India in the colonial period and soon gained momentum.
The terror of Ragging hunts all! It is milder in case of Girl’s college but gets harder in Koed’s. Now it has become more casual and a fun oriented encounter, unlike the past.

The first ragging related death occurred in 1873 when a freshman from Cornell University fell into a gorge as a consequence of ragging.

India Report 2007 highlights 42 instances of physical injury, and reports ten deaths purportedly the result of ragging.

Ragging a fun exercise once beared a grisly face where it took on a serious note. Andhra Pradesh, Sept 2006, C. Lalitha, the mother of Mukesh ended her life due to the controversy surrounding the sexual abuse of her son during ragging. Vidyanagar, MP, Aug 2006, three of the ragging deaths were that of seniors: two seniors were killed by a first year student when he was being ragged, one senior ended his life when he was punished for ragging. The other seven deaths were those of freshers, six who committed suicide, and one died as a result of brutal ragging.In addition, a number of freshers were severely traumatized to the extent that they were admitted to mental institutions.

The rules against Ragging have always been there but never has their existence been noticed. But the authorities are highly serious on the issue now, and plan to plant Anti Ragging Squads in the college premises to keep a check on the menace of Ragging.

The Raghavan Committee report, submitted to the court in May 2007, includes a proposal to include ragging as a special section under the Indian Penal Code. The Supreme Court of India interim order(based on the recommendations) dated May 16, 2007 makes it obligatory for academic institutions to file official First Information Reports with the police in any instance of a complaint of ragging. This would ensure that all cases would be formally investigated under criminal justice system, and not by the academic institutions own ad-hoc bodies.

In an encounter with an ex- college student (now working) shared his college experience on ragging, he said, ‘I was in college long time back. At our time ragging was highly severe. As I recall a fresher was trying to act smart, and as a result was stripped by the seniors and locked up in the Chemistry Lab Freezer for one hour. However the culprits were then suspended.’
Sameer Parekh, a renowned psychologist opines, ‘Ragging is absolutely unacceptable! Whether it be in any form, verbal or physical. Severe ragging can lead to serious hazards, it may lead to depression, low self esteem or even a drop out a loss to the college too. It may even result in suicidal attempts.’ With a ban on Ragging freshers breathe a sigh of relief but on the other side the seniors groan to have missed out on the fun!
Some freshers don’t mind light leg pulling by the seniors. ‘it’s a good opportunity to know our seniors, to open up and get info on college, precautions to be taken against certain teachers etc’, says Smriti, while others stick to the ban.
A second year student gloated on, ‘ it’s a brainless affair when you are the ragger but a whole lot more enjoyable when you are the Ragee!!!’ But sadly with the ban, the seniors are quite disappointed. Seniors are gloom strikken whereas for the freshers its Good Riddance!!!!