300+ Words Essay on Ragging
As per the ‘Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English’ by A. S. Hornby, ‘ragging’ means ‘a series of practical jokes on somebody, e.g., by college students.’ Modern fanatics, especially in professional colleges, use it as an equivalent of ‘Nabin Baran,’ which means a welcome to newcomers in a very cruel form. Nowadays, it has turned into a nightmare for students and their guardians at the time of admission to engineering, polytechnic, and medical colleges. The supporters of ragging argue that it is an ordeal to prepare students for future struggles. Yet, we must say that it is nothing but an academic evil.
Various forms of ragging are practised in professional colleges. These include bathing in ice-cold water on a wintry night, passing the whole wintry night outdoors without clothes, staring at or kissing a thousand-watt bulb, walking naked along the corridor, or walking on the cornice of a hostel building. Many fat students are made to crawl under a cot or a car. Some are forced to say obscene words towards their sisters. The reports of recent incidents of ragging in some of the reputed professional colleges in our state are quite alarming.
List of 500+ Essay Writing Topics and Ideas
It is a matter of shame that even though ragging has been criticized for decades, we still encounter such incidents of inhuman torture as beating someone black and blue, throwing someone down the staircase, or making someone stare at an electric lamp until they go blind. As a result, many students give up their studies and go back home, some lose their mental balance, some are seriously injured and have to be hospitalized, and some succumb to fatal death.
Indeed, ragging has become a dreadful affair in institutions of higher learning, especially in professional colleges. It seems to be a survival of medieval barbarism. The press and the electronic media draw our attention to this cruel practice. Even the parliament of our country has taken a serious note of it. It seems that a mere appeal to one’s human sensibilities and verbal criticism cannot cure this disease. It is high time that public opinion strongly asserts itself against it. The government should also pass strict laws to stop ragging, and anybody found guilty of indulging in any form of ragging should be severely dealt with. We should have a clear call for the students concerned: “Welcome pleasure, not pain. Quit ragging.”