Anti-ragging documentary screened at Tula’s Institute

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 10

An anti-ragging documentary film ‘Thereby Hangs a Tale’ was screened at Tula’s Institute here today. Ajay Govind, a Delhi-based filmmaker, screened his latest omnibus documentary, which was followed by a seminar titled “Say No to Ragging”.

The session, organised in collaboration with Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE), a non-profit organisation working for the eradication of ragging from all educational institutions, was also attended by students of Tula’s International School.

Speakers at the seminar engaged with the students and highlighted the need to build a safe and violence-free environment in educational institutes. The speakers at the session were Ajay Govind and Gaurav, an educator and an RTI activist.

“The film documents horrific, first-hand accounts of ragging. ‘Thereby Hangs a Tale’ shows that ragging is not an acceptable act. The film’s treatment reflects the fact that people speak of these atrocities as if they are normal,” said Govind.

“Even though it is a crime, ragging is thriving on campuses today. We must make students aware of the laws that have been put in place in order to protect them. Most students who enter an institution of higher education face ragging in varying intensity. The Supreme Court has pronounced ragging to be a crime and a human rights abuse but that has only led to a negligible drop in cases of ragging on college campuses,” said Gaurav Singhal.

Executive director of Tula’s Institute Silky Jain said “Our campus is home to two residential institutions so we understand the importance of having this conversation about ragging. At Tula’s we take the well-being of our students very seriously. The seminar and film will definitely create the right opportunity for us to play an active part in changing attitudes about ragging”.

A donation to SAVE was also presented by Silky Jain and Raunak Jain which was received by Ajay and Gaurav.