L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Ragging menace must be checked

To the editorial “Murder, not ragging” and the news-
report “Inquiry but no action” (March 11), I want to add
that one feels ashamed of such abominable incidents.

How every other day young students are falling prey
to the menace of ragging despite the Supreme Court
ban is shocking.

Those who commit the crime in the name of ragging often get away and no action is taken against them.

Ironically, we are expecting a change from these very youngsters who have no respect for others.

In the tragic case of Aman Kachroo, what is more disturbing is that he had reportedly made a written complaint to the college authorities against his seniors.

DR I M JOSHI, Chandigarh

II

Exactly 47 years ago, as a student of Guru Nanak Engineering College Ludhiana, I too was a victim of ragging. My seniors humiliated me and tried to deal a big blow to my self- respect and confidence.

I took my college principal into confidence and he firmly stood by me. His support gave me the courage to fight this menace.

I think that the victim, the late Aman Kachroo, was let down by the staff of
his college. The faculty in colleges should adopt tougher ways of dealing with
ragging monsters.

HARJAP SINGH AUJLA, New Jersey, USA

III

Aman Kachroo’s death as a consequence of ragging at a medical college in Tanda has shocked all the right-thinking people.

I joined the college at Hoshiarpur in the early fifties. Ragging was customary
then too. Humour and innocent jokes apart, our seniors treated us better than
real siblings.

Mr Hamid Karzai, the Afghanistan President, is an alumnus of Himachal Pradesh
University, Shimla.

He visits the institution with great pride and joy. His seniors must surely have treated him well. Aman’s demise, therefore, is a matter of grief for all Himachalis.

KL NOATAY, Shimla

IV

The recent incidents of ragging in our educational institutions show our inability to curb the menace of ragging.

Though the Supreme Court has described ragging as a “human rights abuse”, there is no sign of relief for parents.

These tragic events flourish under the eyes of educational authorities. It is
beyond the common man’s comprehension as to why only six states have
enacted laws against ragging.

The idea of anti-ragging squads and committees at the district, state and Centre levels should be taken seriously.

SUNIL EASTWAL, Patiala

Colonial psyche It is very sad to see Indians celebrating the success of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. In fact, the world is celebrating extreme poverty depicted in this movie and we Indians, by endorsing them, are celebrating it in many more ways. In the movie, the Indian children residing in slums in abject poverty, without basic amenities, are called dogs. One of them manages to become a millionaire just by sheer luck. Our police is depicted as a cruel force which renders third-degree torture to a young child. This movie shows many aspects of Indian life in a poor light. I do not know what morals the director wanted to convey to the world through the story. No doubt, our lyricists, singers and music composer have proved their talent. But they should have thought twice before signing this movie. Superstar Aamir Khan calls children “stars” in his movie “Taare Zameen Par” and this movie dubs them dogs only because they have been destined to live in slums.  It is really sad that we celebrate only those things which the West recognizes. It shows that we have yet to recover from the colonial psyche. DR ARUN GOYAL, Patiala

Power hungry

Formation of the Third Front is an insult to Indian democracy. Rather, the Front comes in the category of “most harmful”.

Previously too, we have experienced the failure of such experiments and seen how governments have tumbled in no time. There is only one national party in this Front and that is the Left.

That, too, is a conglomeration of four sub-groups. All the major forces in the Third Front are turn-coats.

They do not care for any values. At least, we know where the Congress or the BJP stand. They are certainly less harmful.

BHARAT KUMAR GUPTA, Khanna

II

The formation of the Third Front is only a cowardly gesture to escape the incapability of the Left.

Instead of building India as a stable economy and a peaceful state, these power-hungry politicians can only think of rocking the foundation of the nation that the UPA-led government had succeeded in creating.  

ANIKET SINGH, SAS Nagar

Voting rights

My compliments to the Editor-in-Chief, The Tribune, Mr H K Dua, for drawing the attention of the voters to the crucial issue of electing a capable candidate with a clean record, well-versed in conducting the affairs of the country. Indeed, it is important that each voter should cast his vote.

Unfortunately, it is the intelligentsia which abstains. Rather they should be the trendsetters. It should not be forgotten that those who led the freedom movement were highly educated scholars and visionaries.

RAMAN BAHL, Gurdaspur