Nationwide No Ragging Day on October 11
Amit Kumar Srivastava
No Ragging Day
Once again, shocking cases of ragging have
been reported from various parts of the country in the past few days, involving
deaths of several innocent students, severe physical assaults & injuries,
mental trauma, mob & campus violence etc. Coalition to Uproot Ragging
from Education (CURE) calls for a nationwide observance of
"No Ragging Day" on Thursday, October 11th,
2007.
The day is relevant to not only students but all of us who
are concerned about dignity of life.
This day coincides with the tragic death of
Amit Sahai, an engineering student from NIT Jalandhar who committed suicide
by jumping in front of a running train on the same day in the year 2005
distressed and depressed due to the severe physical and sexual abuse at hands
of his seniors.
- Hide quoted text -
AMIT SAHAI'S SUICIDE NOTE:
"You call it ragging but it is humiliation and should be
banned. It is, but everyday students are ragged in the college. They are made
naked and ordered to do bad things. This all has brought me to this point. I
can't tell it even to my parents. It is not justified but I can't bear it any
more."
REMEMBER:
On this day, we remember all the students who have lost their
lives due to ragging (31 till date), all students who were compelled to leave college
and couldn't pursue higher studies, all students who suffered seriously from
physical, sexual and mental torture and lost the basic human right of 'life
with dignity' on name of ragging.
MANTRA:
'No more ragging, no more torture, no more deaths... In
friendship, respect and fun, May the New Indian Youth Arise'
ACTIVITY:
--MUST DO--
* College students to wear white t-shirt
* Observe 2 minute silence at 11 a.m. to remember all
students who lost their life due to ragging.
* Educate two of your friends about ragging and why it is wrong.
Refer http://www.noragging.com/analysis/CR2007_05-16_RaggingInIndiaSummary.pdf
--ALSO DO--
* If you are a senior student, treat atleast one fresher at the
canteen and re-affirm your friendship.
* Put "No Ragging Day" poster (attached with this mail)
on the notice board/college premises/hostel etc.
SOME FACTS:
* Ragging is not a traditional Indian custom, it was imported
from the Brits pre-independence. The whole world is ragging free today, except
the Indian sub-continent.
* Ragging is not harmless jokes or teasing, it has led to sexual
abuse, physical injury and deaths.
* There have been more than 55 cases of ragging (including 6 suicides and 3 attempted suicides) reported in
last 4 months, which is a more than
three time increase over last year during the same period.
* Over the last 10 years, 31
lives were lost due to ragging.
* In all ragging cases reported, more than 30% are sexual abuse
and a whooping 60% has led to serious physical injury and hospitalization.
We request all of you to sincerely observe this day and SPREAD
the message.
Please send us the pictures or write-up of how you observed the
day on cu...@noragging.com
Do simply email your name, stream/occupation and email ID
(optional) to us if you are with us in this campaign.
Thanks
Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE)
cu...@noragging.com
www.noragging.com
Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE) , estd
in 2001, is a non-profit organisation dedicated solely towards the elimination
of ragging and promotion of more positive ways of interaction among seniors and
freshers in Indian
Universities and
Colleges. It is the only organization world-wide maintaining data and
statistics on ragging and worked closely with the Raghavan Committee (MHRD) on
the report submitted to the Supreme Court of India. CURE was referenced more
than 12 times in the report and provided a list of 250 ragging cases as a
crucial evidence about how widespread ragging is.
For further details please contact
Harsh Agarwal ph: (9873051418)
Mohit Garg ph: (9971606116)
Varun Aggarwal ph: (9891987559)
Amit Srivastava ph: (9911059101)
Regards,
--
Amit Kr. Srivastava
Senior Research Fellow, CSIR
Ph.D. Student, JNU, New Delhi
contact- 09911059101
http://amitsrivastava.tk
http://simplyyuva.tk
http://www.bharatudaymission.org/
http://amitsri.rediffiland.com
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A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic person can do more in a year
than a mob in a century -Swami Vivekanand
