'Ragging a reflection of our brutal world'

The Supreme Court's directive to curb ragging has been welcomed by the entire country, especially those related to the prestigious Lawrence School, Sanawar.

The elite school near Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, came into the limelight after seven students were sent back home for brutally beating up juniors. The beaten students have perforated eardrums due to the severity of the "ragging".

The incident occurred barely two months after Amann Satya Kachroo, a first year MBBS student of Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC), Tanda, Himachal Pradesh, lost his life after being ragged in March this year.u00a0

Sanjiv Saran Mehra, director, Saran Sports, said, who studied at Lawrence School, Sanawar in the 1970s, said, "Even when I went to Sanawar, freshers were ragged, but it was more like a punishment of a senior to his junior. Juniors were usually told to wash a shirt or a pair of socks. Sometimes, they were ordered to bring a bottle of jam maybe from the tuck shop. At times, they may have to do a handstand or two or polish a pair of shoes, there was certainly no violence or brutality."

But the latest incident that has shocked ex-students is a reflection of a more intolerant, brutal world, he said.

Saran, who heads the Mumbai chapter of the Sana-warian Society, added, "What is needed is yoga and meditation in educational institutions and counselling too." He said the ragging issue would come up when the Mumbai chapter of Ex-Sanawarians meets in the city this July.

Some well-known ex-Sanawarians are Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, Omar Abdullah, Sanjay Dutt, Siddharth Kak, Pooja Bedi and Parikshit Sahni.