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Introduction:
Ragging in India's educational
system is widespread yet Ragging is far from being recognized as
an issue under Human rights by Indian Government and Human Rights
fraternity. This article attempts to establish
"Ragging" as an issue of "Human
rights in Education" with the help of authoritative reports
from United Nations and calls upon Human rights fraternity to
address the issue of ragging from a "Human
Rights in Education" perspective.
Ragging , a colonial legacy,
is widespread in India's education. Various State Legislatures in
India have been passing anti-ragging legislations, yet the issue
is far from being resolved. Indian legal fraternity is yet to
approach the problem of ragging from a perspective other than that
of "crime". In the absence of any
serious research work to that effect, ragging is hardly recognized
as an issue under Human Rights, neither Human Rights fraternity in
India seems to bother about "ragging".
Ragging , though widely
believed to be a major factor for campus violence and suicides in
educational institutions in India, is yet to be recognized as a
systematic human right abuse in Education and such human right
violations in education have not been given proper attention in
India, which they otherwise deserve.
However, with in United
Nations, ragging has been considered as an issue of
Human Rights in education. Education
law in India should take note of practice of ragging in
educational system as a major obstacle in realization of the
Right to Education.
Katarina Toma'evski, the Special Rapporteur with Commission on
Human Rights ,Economic and Social Council , United Nations ,in her
Annual Report in 2001 advocates 4-A scheme, whereby governmental
human rights obligations to make education available, accessible,
acceptable and adaptable have been recognized. Education with
ragging can hardly be acceptable to anyone and by this way this is
well with in governmental obligations to make education free from
ragging.
The Commission on Human Rights
had asked the Special Rapporteur to focus on overcoming obstacles
and difficulties in the realization of the right to education
worldwide and keeping in view this direction, the Special
Rapportuer made specific mention of Ragging
in Chapter V STREAMLINING THE HUMAN RIGHTS
FRAMEWORK FOR EDUCATION :
75. The Supreme Court of Sri
Lanka decided in April 1998 on the constitutionality of a law that
aimed to outlaw and suppress, inter alia , verbal abuse (called
ragging, bullying and/or harassment) within educational
institutions. The victimization of students, especially newcomers,
through verbal abuse should be outlawed, the Court has affirmed,
adding that "ragging has far too long been cruel, inhuman and
degrading. Our society has been unable to deal with the root
causes of ragging, and the anxieties, fears and frustrations of
youth on which ragging has fed and flourished."
Appreciating domestic courts'
increasing recognition of human rights in education, the Special
Rapportuer has expressed her satisfaction over entry of human
rights in education law. Report in its recommendation part says:
?81. the international and
domestic human rights law protecting the right to education and
guaranteeing human rights in education should be used as a
corrective for all education strategies.The
Special Rapporteur recommends to all international actors involved
in promoting education to review their approach using human rights
as the yardstick.
Making a
particular reference to India , the report says:
24. While fully aware of the allocations of responsibility within
education between central and State governments, the special
rapportuer emphasized the responsibility of the State in ensuring
the full implementation of international human rights law binding
upon it...
This mean that State needs to
take up the task of making education acceptable to all and
elimination of ragging should be construed to be a necessary step
in this direction.
The
Special Rapportuer's report calls for:
(1) Mainstreaming of human rights in educational strategies ,
(2)The full mobilization of the existing human rights standards
for education in order to enable the human rights community to
provide a timely contribution to developments which were, until
recently, deemed to lie beyond the reach of human rights
safeguards.
Ragging is hardly perceived as
a serious human rights issue in India and it is high time that
human rights community in India (including Governmental and non
governmental players) should consider crafting adequate human
rights safeguards against ragging.
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Ragging in India : A "Human Rights in Education" Perspective
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The
author can be reached at: anantkumarasthana@legalserviceindia.com /
