INTRACTABILITY OF RAGGING IN UNIVERSITIES

With reference to the article titled “When Justice steps in: The Supreme Court breaks the Cycle of Ragging Impunity” (The Island — 14.12.2025) by J. A. A. S. Ranasinghe, one is hopeful that finally the government would take effective steps to bring ragging in the universities under control.

- BY N. A. DE S. AMARATUNGA

The onus is on the government to see that the law of the country extends to the universities which didn’t seem to happen in the past. Successive governments are responsible for the continuation of the “Cycle of Ragging Impunity” the writer refers to. I will come to that later. Several raggers were allowed to get away with maim and murder. The law of the country and the penal code are well equipped to deal with verbal and physical harassment, defamation, grievous hurt, torture and murder that may happen in any part of the country which must include the universities.

New anti-ragging laws may have been necessary to deal with the complex situation where witnesses are not readily available due to fear of retaliation and where law enforcement authorities are most unwelcome. As the new laws too have not been implemented effectively the Supreme Court had directed the AG to prepare a new set of guidelines in consultation with universities and law enforcement authorities. These guidelines squarely place the responsibility of dealing with ragging on the shoulders of these authorities. For instance, if a member of the university staff does not report an incident of ragging, he or she is liable to be sanctioned. One hopes these measures would be adequate to effectively bring ragging under control though past experience brings to mind lingering doubt and apprehension.