THE SURVIVAL GUIDE: RAGGING

By

Ammar Anwar

2nd Year MBBS

I am not going to sugar-coat it.

KEMU main Ragging hoti hai aur buhat hoti hai.

Before coming to KE I used to think KEMU main tou sab shareef theetay he hotay hain, koi Ragging nai karta ho ga, but I was wrong. This extremely nonsensical and idiotic tradition is still present everywhere and that includes KE as well. I was ragged, you are going to be ragged, and everyone gets ragged at least once. It all depends what kind of seniors are doing the Ragging. Meaning no offence to the seniors, with respect to the type of Ragging they do, initially you are going to group all the seniors as either good seniors or bad seniors. The ones in the 'good' group are the ones who will do the light Ragging in the university, maybe even in the hostel but this is mostly the kind done by the female seniors in the university. The bad seniors to you will be the ones who do the Ragging in the hostel rooms at unknown locations in groups and terrify you to death. But worry not. Given below is a comprehensive guide on the kinds of Ragging and how to escape Ragging.

The 'Good' Ragging

Yes, this isn't KEMU.

This is the kind done mostly by the female seniors. They are going to be in the form of groups and in the university they are going to ask you to do fun little things like singing a song or the national anthem or asking some random guy or girl for money. This is completely harmless and you will enjoy yourself without getting humiliated. And the seniors will get a satisfaction they ragged someone. So it's a win win for everyone.

The 'Bad' Ragging

Precisely.

Sorry guys, but you are going to experience this kind of Ragging, especially the hostellites. Groups of seniors will come to the Broome Hostel, the nest of young KEMCOLIANS and they will knock your door till you open it. Probably will threaten you about kicking the door down in case you are purposely not opening the door but don't worry. No one can kick a door down. The best way to save yourself from this kind of Ragging is to turn off the lights around 10 pm and then go to sleep early, keeping the door locked. They'll come and go, keep knocking but as long as you don't open the door yourself they cannot by any means take you from the room. It he unfortunate event of an open door, they will gladly invite themselves in and start interrogating you. Kon ho, kahan se aye ho, the usual deal. Don't be disrespectful in answering them. They are after all your seniors and no senior should be disrespected whatever he might be like. Answer all their questions and then you'll be asked to go with them to a secret room, the room number of which will be unknown to you. The hotspot for Ragging is the New Hostel. This small group of seniors will take you to a room where depending on your qismat another huge group of seniors will be present. You should not lose your wit here, because about 99 percent of the seniors in the room will only serve as an audience. Only one or two mouthy seniors will command you to do or say stuff. Now here is a precaution. They are going to make you say vulgar things and things that no one should speak ever, but worry not. It all passes, though not so quickly. The time that you will be ragged for will be around an hour if the seniors are forgiving. Some unforgiving ones make you stay there for upto three to four hours. That all depends.

Which brings me to my next point.

You set your own limits

Yes, never forget this. You are the only person who gets to decide what to say and what not to say, what to do what not to do when the seniors ask you to do it. In short, you get to set your own limits.

The seniors ask you to do many objectionable and vulgar things. You can politely refuse. Politely. Remember to never disrespect no matter what. If you cannot say anything they ask you to, don’t say it. Know this that they will be a bit harsh to you jokingly of course and will rudely tell you to obey their commands, but as I have stated previously, they can never make you do anything by force nor can they touch you. Touching is completely off the limits.

Never Disrespect

I think I’m writing this for the 4^th time, but please never disrespect the seniors who are doing your ragging. Don’t try to threaten them with anything and don’t try to be rude. If you cannot do something, politely refuse. But no rudeness and no disrespect.

The Mood Change

The seniors are like dragons breathing fire when they are ragging you and at the end of the ragging they change so abruptly that when my ragging ended it was hard to believe that those were the same seniors as they were a few moments ago while ragging me. They will give you their contact numbers, offer guidance and tell you to come to them in case you have any kind of problem in studies or otherwise. In other words, once the ragging ends, you are friends with that senior.

Now I cannot really vouch for anything, but there are two kinds of seniors in this respect; one those who are actually very helpful and will help you whenever you message or call them or ask something on Facebook. The other kind will never see you again, or at least meet you here and there every once in a while but not voluntarily offer guidance. But mostly they are the former, and quite helpful to say the least.

The Treat

Once the ragging ends, the seniors are going to take you out to Lakshmi Chowk where 99% of the seniors take their juniors after ragging. You will be helped to a generous Chicken Karahi dinner and it will be fun to eat at the late hour. The alternative is that they will get food delivered to the hostel and you’ll eat in their room or your own. Either way, you will get a free dinner or a pizza out of the ragging so it is not totally a loss.

Interaction

Many people think that ragging is a positive interaction. In my personal opinion it isn’t. There are many who think that they made great friends with seniors which they hadn’t had it not been for the ragging. I disagree with this point as well. There are societies for the best possible positive interaction. You don’t need to get humiliated for positive interactions with the seniors. These are, at least, my views on ragging. So if you are looking forward to getting ragged and making really “cool” seniors your best friends, ragging is probably not the best course. Join societies and you will get to make some of the best seniors in the university, your friends! And trust me, I speak with experience.

So the bottom-line is: Don’t volunteer for being ragged.

Nostalgia

Yes, the ragging is awful, the kind that is done at the boys hostel at least, and you’re scarred for life after that experience but it does make for some pretty good laughs when you look back at the end of the year. I was pretty disturbed because I wasn’t expecting ragging to be like it was, but I found myself laughing at my own self remembering the ragging. You do some stupid stuff and that makes you laugh for sure, so ragging is pretty good nostalgia material.

Your Stance on Ragging

The choice is all yours.

Personally, I am very much against ragging and if it were under my authority I would never ever let this idiotic practice carry on for even a second. But I was ragged and ever since that time last year, I vowed to never rag a student when I become a senior. A lot of the classmates and students in general believe in the rule “hamari hui thi tou ham bhi karen ge”.

Well, no.

This is the most ridiculous thing people say to defend this act and this should not be your stance on ragging. Many students take this very lightly and ragging affects them the least, but there are some others who are deeply disturbed because, quite frankly, their image of KEMU shatters the moment they are ragged. I was one of these people who were disturbed by ragging and I take no shame in admitting that I was really terrified at that time and quite disturbed as well. But that phase passed quickly and everything returned to normal!

My point is, you will be ragged, you will go through 1^st Year, pass through the professionals and become a senior. Then choose wisely at that time, whether or not you want to take part in this stupid tradition or you want to help to end this once and for all. The choice is yours.

How to not get ragged

To escape the university ragging, don't visit the canteen for about a week or so, also most importantly DO NOT WEAR A LABCOAT! I know every firstula is very excited to wear a labcoat for the first time as a Kemcolian, but please do not wear it while roaming about in the univeristy because THAT is the first sign that will get you noticed by the seniors, also do not walk uptight and straight like a typical firstula. Stay relaxed, keep your calm and try lying to any senior that asks you which year you're from. Say 2nd year or anything and if you look like a 2nd year wala baccha you'll probably be fortunate enough to escape from the clutches of the seniors.

To escape the vulgar hostel ragging, lock the doors at night, don’t answer the door if someone knocks and certainly don’t open it and turn off the lights at 10 if you want to not face the situation at all. That is well and good. You wouldn’t have to argue with any senior in this way.

The other alternative is to call a Jamiat Senior for help. Jamiat is an Islamic group of students that is very clear about its anti-ragging stance. So they always come to help if you are being ragged and you somehow manage to message them or call them. Or if your roommates have been taken for ragging. Either way, call them and they will certainly come to help, In’Sha Allah.

And if you do get ragged, do not stress out. It will pass and just be another memory to you. Pleasant or not - it largely Depends on you and how you take it.

Best of luck!

UPDATE: 

Here is the notice displaying the contact numbers of Asst. Hostel Wardens who will come to your rescue if your roommates or you manage to contact them during or before the ragging. 

Next up in The Survival Guide: Societies.

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