[GreaterKashmir] Stop ragging or we’ll commit suicide: IAMS students

Link to report

MIR FAHEEM ASLAM

Srinagar, Nov 22: Scores of students of the Institute of Asian Medical Sciences (IAMS) at Zakura on Thursday threatened to commit suicide if the college authorities don’t rein in the senior students who are ragging the freshers in the college.

The new comers in the college, who have joined the college nearly a month back to pursue a Bachelors degree in Unani Medicine (BUMS) said the final year students of the college have been “ruthlessly ragging” them for the past one month.

The college authorities, they added, have miserably failed to curb the ragging menace in the college. “We are not against interacting with our seniors. We respect them, but they are resorting to hooliganism and the college administration is watching all this haplessly,” the students, wishing anonymity, told Greater Kashmir.

The seniors, they said, are asking boys to “remove and tighten their pants” in front of girls.
“They (seniors) are asking us to perform immoral acts that we can’t explain,” the students said. “We’re humiliated and nobody is coming to our rescue.”

The college authorities, they said, are not paying heed to their grievances, forcing them to seek help of the media persons in curbing the problem. “We’ll commit suicide if this ragging continues,” said a visibly perturbed student, who approached GK with her mother.

“We’ll quit the college if the college authorities do not initiate disciplinary action against the seniors who have unleashed a reign of terror in the college and are harassing the girls unnecessarily.”

The seniors, they added, have asked them to follow “their guidelines” that they have pasted on certain walls of the college building. The guidelines go like this: “Juniors must know that BUMS seniors are never wrong; if any junior creates indiscipline, he or she will move 3-4 steps backwards and then wish the seniors; if any student complains before the college authorities of ragging, they will be rudely ragged; all juniors will call senior boys as sir and senior girls as madam; and finally no students will use his or her cell before any senior.”

“If any student commits suicide, the college authorities will be responsible for it,” they said, adding, they will request the university authorities to derecognize the college if the ragging continues.

“The university authorities must take a strong note of what’s happening in the college,” they said.

When Greater Kashmir apprised the Station House Officer (SHO) Zakura about the problem, he promised action. “I haven’t received any written complaint in this regard. The moment I get receive a complaint in this regard, I assure you that we’ll take action against the culprits,” the SHO, Raja Tasleem said.

When contacted, the college principal Dr Khurseed Ahmad Bakshi said that he has constituted special teams to monitor ragging. “If the students will identify the persons resorting to ragging we will certainly take action against them,” Bakshi told Greater Kashmir. “We can’t tolerate ragging in the college.”