Sexual Abuse in the Name of Ragging in IIT-K: Professor Explains

Dheeraj Sanghi, a professor of the institute, writes about what goes on in the name of ragging in IIT-Kanpur.

(An incident of alleged sexual abuse in the name of ragging emerged from IIT Kanpur on 18 September. The management has suspended the accused 22 students based on a report by the probe committee. The probe committee, however, has recommended termination of the accused students. The final decision is expected to be taken by November. A professor of the institute provides an insider’s perspective.)

A group of second year students call a group of first years, ask them to remove all their clothes and press each others’ genitals. The abuse lasts for hours. There are other things that have happened. But let me not waste time describing all the gory details.

What is strange is not that this happened, but the widespread support this activity enjoys, the kind of justification that is being given (of course, anonymously on IIT Kanpur’s confession page on Facebook), how it is not ragging, and how it is not sexual harassment. These are the justifications they give:

First, that this is part of the “IIT Kanpur culture”. Professors won’t understand the value of this culture anyway, and hence this should not have been investigated by a committee where the majority of members are professors.

Second, we (the second year students) are doing a great favour to the first year students by doing something to them which we ourselves don’t enjoy, but it has to be done. This will initiate them into adulthood, they will become more mature, more confident. They will be able to handle difficult situations in life more easily. By reading those “confessions”, it seemed that sexual harassment is some sort of magic that instantly converts a shy villager into a confident Kanpuriya.

Third, this is the price they have to pay for all the help that they will get from us in the next three years of our overlap with them, and even after graduation. Isn’t this such a small price?

Fourth, of course, this was completely voluntary. Anyone could have, at any stage, said that they are feeling uncomfortable and they would have been allowed to go. After all, it was for their own good. What do we get out of this, nothing. And consensual acts cannot be considered ragging or harassment.

Fifth, the first year students are advised by their respective ‘Student Guides’ to go through this tradition. Now, if the Institute Counseling Service, who are the first line of defence against ragging, is itself advising students to go through this tradition, obviously they think that it is not ragging.

Then there are people who argue that even if it is ragging, no action should be taken against the students involved. Their arguments include:

First, it would be impossible to get proof of anyone’s involvement. A couple of first year students naming someone cannot be considered as proof. They have just come in and can easily be confused about the identities of people who are present. There is no video recording or photographs of such events. So, if we only consider memory of a first year student as evidence, we would be punishing many innocents. If we do not have any other proof, everyone should get benefit of doubt. (Of course, they have been around for a month, and in many cases, have met those second year students multiple times.)

Second, it has been going on for several years. Counseling Service (read, Student Guides) has been involved. When several hundred students get sexually harassed (if you can call it sexual harassment), is it possible that wardens, the Dean, the head of Counseling Service and the anti-ragging committee do not learn of this?

Of course, everyone must have known, and yet they did not even issue a warning. If the authorities knew but did not warn, we can only conclude that this was acceptable to the institute.

We always thought that consensual acts are not ragging. Now, if you are changing the rules of the game, the new rules can only be applicable prospectively and not retrospectively.

Third, even this year, this has been done by hundreds of students. The institute has been able to identify only a few because only a few first year students have complaint. Is it fair to penalise a few for something that has been done by a large number of students? (If you can’t catch all criminals, you shouldn’t put any criminal in jail.)

Now, My Take on the Issue

I feel really sad when an IIT Kanpur student tries to argue that sexual harassment for a few hours is not ragging, and is for the benefit of first year students.

In 2017, when there appears to be a consensus in the society that ragging never helps and that there are better ways to have introductions and make friends, our student body appears to be stuck in 20th century beliefs.

The faculty always blames societal ills for student indiscipline. If students cheat in exams, it is because of what they see in the society. But in this case, the society has moved on. Ragging is done only based on what they have learnt at IIT Kanpur. We must take to task those who were responsible to ensure that such things don’t happen.

What were the previous Deans and Associate Deans doing? What were the chairpersons of counselling service doing?

The only point I agree with is that innocent students must not be punished, particularly if the punishment is removal from IIT Kanpur. I hope the committee has reasonable evidence against each of the 22 students whom they have recommended for termination. And just to satisfy the student body that due diligence has indeed been done, may be the committee can indeed invite all these 22 students and talk to them for a few minutes each. Maybe some of them will be able to convince the committee that they were not present when this act happened and could be given the benefit of doubt. The others, of course, must be removed from the rolls of the institute.

My Prediction

The current director, Professor Manna, has only seven weeks left in his term. Throughout his term, he has been very reluctant to punish any student, even for grave issues.

In a few instances where the matter reached the Senate and when the Senate decided on a tough punishment, he's taken the matter back to them after a few months and requested them to undo the earlier punishment.

Even in this case, as per law, an FIR should have been lodged against the 22 students. (Even if some of them are innocent, it is up to the legal process to find that out.) But it hasn’t been done even though it has been almost a month since the complaints were received and 10 days since the committee report has been received.

One of the recommendations of the committee is to remove the President of Students’ Gymkhana from his position since he has been named in one of the complaints for abetting ragging. Even though the recommendation was initially accepted by the Director, it has not been implemented.

The matter of termination has been forwarded to the Senate as per rules. The Senate meeting is on 21 September. My own prediction is that the matter will not be discussed in Senate on that day. If it indeed gets discussed, the chances are that the disciplinary committee (SSAC) will be asked to carry out additional due diligence. The Director cannot afford to let Senate rusticate 22 students, since he does not have the time to come back to the Senate a few months after and undo the suspension.

The other issue is that of the second year students who think that they are well wishers of the first year students. In my interaction with the first years, I always tell them to avoid seeking any advice from 2nd year students. They are very immature, and have really not experienced enough to answer questions of 1st year students.

I always advise them to contact 3rd or 4th year students. When I was at LNMIIT, we made sure that 1st year students lived in the same hostel as 3rd year students. At IIIT-D too, when a mentorship program was being designed, it was decided that only 3rd and 4th year students should be mentors. Once the first year students have spent a few months on campus, they would know which 2nd year student can give good advice (and of course, 2nd year students will also mature as weeks and months pass by).

Lately, I am interacting with many folks from IIT Gandhinagar, Ashoka University and IIIT Delhi, and I find that in all these places, the relationships across batches are far stronger and more mature than relationships at IIT Kanpur, and all these three places have no ragging. So this whole thesis that ragging is good for first year students and there is no better way to forge friendships is plain and simple bull***t.

IIT Kanpur has no option but to become a ragging free zone again.

(Dheeraj Sanghi is a professor at IIT Kanpur and this first appeared on his blog here. It has been reproduced with permission. The views expressed above are of the author’s own and The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)