Medical colleges emerge as ragging hotspots with 51 deaths in 3 years, reveals study

NEW DELHI: Fifty-one ragging-related deaths were reported from several Indian universities and colleges between 2022 & 2024, a figure nearly matching the student suicides in Kota, a major coaching hub in Rajasthan, during the same period, according to a new report.

The 'State of Ragging in India 2022-24' report, published by Society Against Violence in Education, identified medical colleges as "hotspots" for ragging. Based on 3,156 complaints registered through the national anti-ragging helpline from 1,946 colleges, the report highlighted key trends, high-risk institutions, and severity of ragging-related incidents.

"Medical colleges are a particular area of concern, accounting for 38.6% of total complaints, 35.4% of serious complaints, and 45.1% of ragging-related deaths during 2022-24, despite making up for only 1.1% of total students. The data also revealed that 51 lives were lost to ragging during this period, nearly matching the 57 student suicides reported in Kota," the report said.

Released on Monday, the report emphasised that medical colleges report 30 times more ragging incidents relative to number of students in these courses compared to overall student population. "It is not to say that India registered just 3,156 ragging complaints in three years, these are just complaints registered with national anti-ragging helpline. There is a huge number of complaints registered directly to colleges, and also directly to the police," the report stated.

"All such cases fail to get reflected in numbers available at the anti-ragging helpline, and hence in this report. To top it all, incidents of serious ragging will still be much higher in educational institutions as a small number of victims muster courage to come forward, others just silently suffer for fear of their safety after making any complaint," it added.

The report recommended that the helpline should accept anonymous complaints to protect victims' identities.