
I often think to myself how the little seed of kindness that was sowed in innocent years of childhood reaped into a cactus with thorns that hurt others around. I often think to myself what internal compulsion leads one to go against the very divine nature of mankind. I often think to myself if these are humans what would beasts be like?
On March 7th, 2009, Saturday morning, Aman Kachroo, 19, a first year student of Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College, died of brain hemorrhage. The incomprehensible reason was an aggressive streak that over powered a few young men of the same college. Aman had been allegedly complaining to his parents that he was being bullied but they chose to believe that things would be fine ahead.
Satwinder Kumar, ended his life on 3 March 2010. He was a student of the Advanced Training Institute, Mumbai. In his suicide note he named seven seniors who had ragged him so much that he left for home for Kurukshetra rather than take mid-term exams. Before he could reach home, he committed suicide by throwing himself before a goods train in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district.
Ragging perhaps began as a friendly gesture of introducing new comers to college seniors but this warm welcome ceremony strangely turned into a brutal outlet of aggression, ego and intolerance. Every year the joy and triumph of nearly 5 lac students upon admission is turned into fear and anxiety. It starts from something as small as missing college on the first day out of fear of ragging to committing suicide.
India has the highest suicide rate in the world and isn’t this alarming enough for us to rise and do something about it? So many innocent students like Aman continue to die and The college chooses to form the cultural committee first and chooses to alot the fund for elections much before it thinks of protecting human rights by forming a committed anti-ragging society. An anti-ragging committee should be formed in every college and strict laws should be made to punish those who practice this social evil. Yoga, value education and anger management classes should be held for seniors, so that they don’t end up being brutal. Lighting candles and writing placards is just the beginning. We need to take responsibility as a society, and as individuals. That possibly is the only way we can prevent another Amann Kachroo from being lost.